Marie Laveau is an important figure in Louisiana Voodoo, a religion largely formed from Western African religion and various cultures from the area (including Spanish and French) (Nickell). Among fifteen Voodoo Queens in New Orleans during the 1800s, Laveau is the most prominent and the most noteworthy (Nickell). She was born free in 1794 to a Creole woman and a white man (Nickell). Much of Marie Laveau’s life is uncertain as a great amount of legend surrounds the icon. It is believed that she married, and was then widow to, a French Creole named Jacques Paris (Nickell). Following this, Laveau entered into a long relationship (eventually a common law marriage) with Christophe Dominick Duminy de Glapion, the father of her alleged fifteen children
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She was laid to rest in the tomb of her husband’s family in St Louis Cemetery Number 1, a Catholic cemetery in New Orleans (Nickell). Laveau’s tomb has become a sight of pilgrimage for both practitioners of Voodoo and interested tourists (Nickell). The tomb itself has been vandalized countless times—it is covered in small markings, graffiti, and until recently, pink latex paint (Webster). The tomb is also very worn by natural weathering—much of the plaster has crumbled away revealing brick (Webster). Many of the markings are small X’s (usually in sets of three) (Webster). There exists a legend that Laveau grants a wish when someone interacts with her tomb (Guiley). The ritual varies, but the general conception is that you draw three X’s on the tomb, shout your wish, and leave an offering (Guiley). Along with this wish-granting belief, many have people have allegedly sighted Laveau by her tomb or in other places in New Orleans (Nickell). Additionally, Marie Laveau is believed to haunt New Orleans in different animal and human forms (Guiley). Various legends and tales of Marie Laveau are often told by tour guides in New Orleans, but the stories are often sensationalized or even made up (Nickell). Although the magical power of this tomb is unverified and could be a ploy for tour guides to capitalize on, the tomb itself is still important to believers in New Orleans Voodoo, and Laveau remains an important figure in today’s
She was laid to rest in the tomb of her husband’s family in St Louis Cemetery Number 1, a Catholic cemetery in New Orleans (Nickell). Laveau’s tomb has become a sight of pilgrimage for both practitioners of Voodoo and interested tourists (Nickell). The tomb itself has been vandalized countless times—it is covered in small markings, graffiti, and until recently, pink latex paint (Webster). The tomb is also very worn by natural weathering—much of the plaster has crumbled away revealing brick (Webster). Many of the markings are small X’s (usually in sets of three) (Webster). There exists a legend that Laveau grants a wish when someone interacts with her tomb (Guiley). The ritual varies, but the general conception is that you draw three X’s on the tomb, shout your wish, and leave an offering (Guiley). Along with this wish-granting belief, many have people have allegedly sighted Laveau by her tomb or in other places in New Orleans (Nickell). Additionally, Marie Laveau is believed to haunt New Orleans in different animal and human forms (Guiley). Various legends and tales of Marie Laveau are often told by tour guides in New Orleans, but the stories are often sensationalized or even made up (Nickell). Although the magical power of this tomb is unverified and could be a ploy for tour guides to capitalize on, the tomb itself is still important to believers in New Orleans Voodoo, and Laveau remains an important figure in today’s