Loa are the spirits of Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. They are also referred to as "mystères" and "the invisibles" and are intermediaries between Bondye —the Supreme Creator, who is distant from the world—and humanity. Unlike saints or angels, however, they are not simply prayed to, they are served. They are each distinct beings with their own personal likes and dislikes, distinct sacred rhythms, songs, dances, ritual symbols, and special modes of service. Contrary to popular belief, the loa are not deities in and of themselves; they are intermediaries for, and dependent on, a distant Bondye.
Joel Chandler Harris was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories and defense of slavery. Harris was born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his teenage years. He spent most of his adult life in Atlanta working as an associate editor at the Atlanta Constitution.
Papa Legba is a loa in Haitian Vodou, who serves as the intermediary between the loa and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives permission to speak with the spirits of Guinee, and is believed to speak all human languages. In Haiti, he is the great elocutioner. Legba facilitates communication, speech, and understanding. He is commonly associated with dogs.
Anansi is an Akan folktale character. He often takes the shape of a spider and is considered to be the god of all knowledge of stories. Taking the role of trickster, he is also one of the most important characters of West African, African American and Caribbean folklore.
Uncle Duke is a fictional character in the comic strip Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau. He is nominally Zonker Harris's uncle, albeit an "uncle by courtesy" only. Duke appeared in the strip July 1974 and was originally a straightforward caricature of the gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, but eventually took on a life of his own and a succession of ill-fated ventures in the areas of politics, business and crime.
The Comedians (1966) is a novel by Graham Greene. Set in Haiti under the rule of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his secret police, the Tonton Macoute, the novel explores the political suppression and terrorism through the figure of an English hotel owner, Brown.
The Trickster is a moniker used by three DC Comics supervillains, two of which are enemies of the Flash. Both have been members of the Rogues.
The Kingdom of This World is a novel by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier, published in 1949 in his native Spanish and first translated into English in 1957. A work of historical fiction, it tells the story of Haiti before, during, and after the Haitian Revolution led by Toussaint Louverture, as seen by its central character, Ti Noel, who serves as the novel's connecting thread. Carpentier's work has been influenced by his multi-cultural experience and his passion for the arts, as well as by authors such as Miguel de Cervantes. The novel stems from the author's desire to retrace the roots and history of the New World, and is embedded with what Carpentier calls "lo real maravilloso" or "the marvelous real"—a concept he introduced to the world of literature.
Général Alibée Féry was a Haitian playwright, poet, and storyteller. Born in Jérémie, Féry was largely self-taught. He was the first person to tell stories of Uncle Bouqui and Ti Malice, characters who appear frequently in Haitian folklore.
"Choucoune" is a 19th-century Haitian song composed by Michel Mauléart Monton with lyrics from a poem by Oswald Durand. It was rewritten with English lyrics in the 20th century as "Yellow Bird". Exotica musician Arthur Lyman made the song a hit in 1961.
Haitian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices from Haiti. It is a Creole cuisine, that originates from a blend of several culinary styles that populated the western portion of the island of Hispaniola, namely the French, African, indigenous Taíno, Spanish and Arab influence. Haitian cuisine, comparable to that of "criollo" cooking and similar to the rest of the Latin Caribbean, but differs in several ways from its regional counterparts.
Vodou drumming and ceremonies are inextricably linked in Haiti. While drumming does exist in other contexts in the country, by far the richest traditions come from this distinctly Haitian religion. As such, before one can come to play, appreciate, and understand this music one should view it in its religious context. Haitian Vodou is a henotheistic religion, although viewed by many Haitians as a cultural practice, widely practiced in the country of Haiti. Vodou as practiced in urban centres in Haiti and some cities in North America is a ritualistic faith system that involves ceremonies that consist of singing, drumming and dancing. While certain aspects of this religion may share the same roots, it is completely contrary to the stereotype of black magic, witch doctors, pins in dolls, and zombies portrayed by New Orleans style Voodoo.
Br'er Rabbit, also spelled Bre'r Rabbit, Bruh Rabbit or Brer Rabbit, is a central figure as Uncle Remus tells stories of the Southern United States. He is a trickster who succeeds by his wits rather than by brawn, provoking authority figures and bending social mores as he sees fit. The character was first recorded by Joel Chandler Harris in the 19th century, and later The Walt Disney Company adapted it for its 1946 animated motion picture Song of the South.
An animal tale or beast fable generally consists of a short story or poem in which animals talk. It is a traditional form of allegorical writing.
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story, which exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge, and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and conventional behaviour.
Horizon is a fantasy novel by American writer Lois McMaster Bujold. It is the fourth in the tetralogy The Sharing Knife.
A literary cycle is a group of stories focused on common figures, often based on mythical figures or loosely on historical ones. Cycles which deal with an entire country are sometimes referred to as matters. A fictional cycle is often referred to as a mythos.
The historiography of Haitian cinema is very limited. It consists only one double issue of the journal of the French Institute of Haiti Conjonction, released in 1983, devoted to film; a book by Arnold Antonin, published during the same year, entitled Matériel pour une préhistoire du cinéma haïtien ; and an article by the same author in the 1981 book Cinéma de l’Amérique latine by Guy Hennebel and Alfonso Gumucio Dagrón.
Akhu Tönpa is a fictional character portrayed as a trickster in Tibetan folklore. "Akhu" means uncle in Tibetan, but it is also used as a title for older men by younger people.
According to "a survey of fifty-three Tibetan students from Yul shul, Mgo log, Rma Iho, Mtsho byang, Mtsho Iho, and Mtsho nub prefectures studying at Qinghai Education College in Xining...all the students had heard Aa khu bstan pa stories, thirty-three students had heard Afanti stories," while many other Tibetan tricksters were only known by a small number of the students, showing the ubiquity of Akhu Tönpa stories.
"Tsumi no Keishō " is the forty-eighth single of Japanese recording artist Gackt. It was released on March 22, 2017. The single was used as the ending theme for the anime Trickster. In the song Gackt was seeking to portray the essence of human beings.
