Strong Catholicism
The Christian religion is virtually omnipresent. When Europeans discovered the archipelago, they converted slaves from Africa to Catholicism. Over the decades, this religion has evolved. The slaves integrated elements from their African culture, resulting in the integration of many popular beliefs into the religion.
The large number of churches testifies to the importance of the Catholic religion and the faith of Guadeloupeans. There is a church in every commune, as well as two cathedrals, Notre-Dame-de-Guadeloupe in Basse-Terre andSaint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul in Pointe-à-Pitre, commonly known as the "cathedral" even though it has never been consecrated. Sunday mass is well attended and provides an opportunity to take out jewelry and fine clothes.
Every funeral brings together the whole commune. Funeral notices are broadcast daily on local radio stations. When a loved one passes away, a wake is organized in the home of the deceased. Everyone can come and pay their respects with a drink and a snack. At All Saints' Day, all cemeteries are illuminated. Every patron saint's day is celebrated with pilgrimages and processions.
The diversity of worship is not confined to Catholicism, voodoo or animism: Jehovah's Witnesses, Evangelicals, Seventh-Day Adventists, Rastas and others have large audiences. Hindus, for their part, have preserved their rituals.
Death in Celebration
A week before All Saints' Day, the graves are cleaned, repainted and decorated with flowers. The cemeteries are all illuminated at dusk. The Morne-à-l'Eau cemetery, with its black-and-white checkerboard tiled staircase, and the Port-Louis cemetery, with its earthen graves decorated with bathtub-shaped lambis, are the most picturesque. It's all about celebrating with your ancestors and holding out all night with the help of the Holy Spirit, not forgetting the picnic and the rum. The mood is not at all gloomy like in France. November 2, the Feast of the Dead, is a public holiday in the West Indies. In the evening, all those little candles attract photographers. Ask permission before taking any photos! Traditional families celebrate death with storytellers. They are true "markers of the word", exorcising the pagan and Christian duality. The tradition of the wake at home is still alive and well in Guadeloupe, even though funeral service companies are now well established. Inside the house, the deceased is surrounded by family and neighbors; outside, friends arrive one after the other to accompany the soul of the deceased with a drink. When present, the storyteller recites fables, interrupted only by songs accompanied by the gro ka or gwo ka (African drum). Compère Lapin rubs shoulders with oxen, pigs and elephants. This is how life is rebuilt, with cheerful stories, excessive gestures and even laughter.
Beliefs and traditions
Reflecting the history and diverse make-up of the population, Guadeloupe's beliefs and superstitions are tinged with the Haitian spirit, and notably influenced by the voodoo rite. These are not things that are easily talked about, but they do exist. West Indians often say they don't know, or brush aside embarrassing questions by talking about ancient history. In the end, it's in the island's literature that we find the most revelations. Famed author Ernest Pépin often evokes in his books the world of soucougnans, human beings capable of flying(Toxic Island), dorlis, mischievous creatures who abuse women while they sleep(L'homme au bâton), bêtes à Bon Dieu and other she-devils(L'Envers du décor), all possessed of spiritual powers that turn ordinary mortals upside down. Haunted houses, luxuriant nature and the early hours of the morning all contribute to these supernatural forces. Many believe in the existence of benevolent or malevolent spirits, who can be summoned with the intention of doing good or harm.
Quimboiseurs
Very popular in the West Indies, these people are consulted in the same way as a fortune-teller or marabout, and play a part in social life. Even today, people still go to the gadèd zafé, or fortune-teller, to understand and thwart bad luck, ward off illness and attract love, money or success. The use of quimbois is murkier, since it may involve ingesting a potion based on plants and rum(coud'zeb), a beverage supposed to have an effect on reality. Quimbois are usually small packages of various inscribed objects, ingredients and dead animals, which are supposed to bewitch the person for whom they are intended.
Healers
Z'spirits and zombies may influence West Indian society, but it's the healers who have the power. They know how to handle curative plants, scrape bark from tropical trees, concoct medicinal powders from soursop leaves... Some use bonesetters' techniques, massages and bone repositioning. They may not be well known, and you won't get their addresses so easily, but the practice of natural healing is deeply rooted in the West Indian mentality.
Festive traditions and commemorations
These multiple beliefs lead to a philosophy of present time, a kind of local carpe diem, which consists in making the most of the moment, since happiness, ephemeral by nature, can be interrupted in a thousand ways. It's all about living intensely, and celebrating opportunities to get together. And there's no shortage of them: funeral or cultural wakes, lewoz and gwoka evenings, Carnival, Christmas, Mardi Gras, Easter, but also cockfights, oxen, patron saint's festivals, association events like Sunday lunches...
The Rastafarian movement
This movement, born in Jamaica in the 1920s and highly developed in the English-speaking islands, reached Guadeloupe in the 1970s. It induces a lifestyle and philosophy based on strong religious beliefs: vegetarianism, self-sufficiency, living in harmony with nature... This community is present in Guadeloupe in small groups.
