Maire Laveau, Nawlins Voodoo Queen

When you think of New Orleans, what comes to mind? The smells of Bourbon Street, the wonderful food delicacies, the amazing cathedrals and cemeteries? These are all obvious observations, but lets dive a little deeper into the amazing history of this very eclectic city. Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, describes a set of spiritual folkways which originated from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-American religions which developed within the French, Spanish, and Creole speakingAfrican American population of the U.S. state of Louisiana. One of the more famous voodoo queens in NOLA was Marie Laveau, with powers so strong even he police, judges and court system were afraid of her. Musicians such as Bobby Bare have written songs about this famous queen and we couldn’t help but play this song over and over on the drive to her tomb this past Sunday afternoon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpZzehuWdM4

Hidden amongst the many other above ground tombs in the St. Louis Cemetery No 1, we discovered Marie Laveau’s final resting place covered in Xs and little mementos. Tourists continue to visit and some draw "X" marks in accordance with a decades-old rumor that if people wanted Laveau to grant them a wish, they had to draw an "X" on the tomb, turn around three times, knock on the tomb, yell out their wish, and if it was granted, come back, circle their "X," and leave Laveau an offering. Did we do this routine? No, but it was kinda fun to watch those who did.