Priestly spirit

FOLK religions rarely have leaders or articulate their doctrines. And until Max Beauvoir felt its call, voodoo’s main achievement was survival. Hollywood sensationalised it; Christian missionaries out-competed it; Haiti’s corrupt rulers co-opted it, and America used it as evidence of barbarity to justify invasion. Uniquely among religions, even its name has pejorative overtones: “voodoo economics”.

But its charms, ceremonies and beliefs, rooted in west African animism and topped up with elements of Christianity, gave comfort and identity to the people of the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Mr Beauvoir’s aim was to turn voodoo from a downtrodden and semi-secret cult into a proud and public religion.