A surge of young Haitians are being initiated into mystical societies. They explain why.

Several reasons explain this choice, notably growing insecurity, a quest for protection against evil, and the possibility of guarding against so-called supernatural illnesses.

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Johnson Jean-Pierre had not always been interested in esoteric societies, these mystical groups which devote themselves to the practice and transmission of knowledge reserved for initiates.

Raised in the Protestant religion by conservative parents, such a choice would be seen as an affront by them.

But one day, one of Jean-Pierre’s professors at the Gonaïves School of Law and Economics (EDSEG) fell seriously ill. It was rumored that the latter was the victim of a searing mystical attack.

It was at this moment that Jean-Pierre, freshly sworn in as an attorney-at-law, decided that to be a successful lawyer, he needed to be protected from such misfortune.

In 2021, the young lawyer joined the Métalogie sect, a mystical society which claims to be the study of the sacred, having emerged in Haiti in 2013.

Metalogy logo.

In recent years, more and more young people are being initiated into esoteric societies. Several reasons motivate their choice, including, growing insecurity, a quest for protection against evil, and the possibility of guarding against so-called supernatural illnesses, according to two spiritual leaders and four young initiates from four different mystical sects contacted by AyiboPost.

Read also : Pourquoi de plus en plus de jeunes Haïtiens se convertissent au Vaudou ?

Jean-Pierre is originally from Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite. A Protestant since his youth, he had to face the dissatisfaction of his parents when he decided to join Métalogie in November 2021.

“In this country, because of the wickedness of the people, having academic knowledge is not enough to excel,” he explains to AyiboPost. “You have to grant yourself mystical protection,” he adds.

Based in Marchand Dessalines, Métalogie today has nearly eight academies, spread across the country. The one in Port-au-Prince has up to 80 members.

These academies are open to young girls and boys aged eighteen and over.

Although Jean-Pierre initially joined this sect in order to protect himself against the forces of evil, he nevertheless affirms that he was quick to modify his initial objectives, given the learning opportunities that were offered to him.

“Beyond protection against evil, there is the inner peace that spirituality provides, through meditation. And also a better knowledge of the self. A better relationship with oneself and with others. It’s very important to me,” said the young lawyer.

Metalogy victory march organized every November 16 to thank the Great Architect.

In 2008, when Dierry Jeudy’s sister was found, overcome by madness, under the Morin bridge in Turgeau, her family concluded without a medical prognosis that the young girl was the victim of a mystical attack.

Later, it will be another of his sisters who will faint several times during official exams, his mother bedridden following a serious illness, and his father, victim of a “lanmen monte, » which will close the circle of persecutions described as mystical, directed against the Jeudi family by the « evildoers » of the Bourdon neighborhood where they took up residence.

Wanting to find a way to put an end to what he describes as “a merciless cycle of mystical vengeance,” the young Dierry Jeudy saw no other option than to be initiated into Freemasonry.

The Respectable houses the United Hearts at Rue du Magasin de l’Etat. 11-11-2023. | © Jean Feguens Regala/AyiboPost

Having historical roots dating back to the Middle Ages, Freemasonry, organized into obediences, is, among other things, a philosophical and philanthropic institution which provides progressive teaching using symbols and rituals, established in Haiti during the 19th century.

“It was by seeking to ward off the blows directed against my family that I began to explore [sic.] the mystical domain,” Jeudi explains to AyiboPost.

A heavy drinker, Jeudy’s father often took part in games of chance or dominoes in his neighborhood.

According to Jeudy, who studied development sciences at the Haiti Center for Professional Development, his father must have drawn the wrath of the locals down on his family by making comments that they must have found humiliating.

In 2017, Jeudy decided to become a Freemason. “Since then, the mystical persecutions to which my family suffered have become nothing but pale memories,” he told AyiboPost.

The Respectable houses the Friendship of the FF. RR to Rue du Magasin de l’Etat. 11-11-2023. | © Jean Feguens Regala/AyiboPost

Mystical sects are seeing their admissions explode. “Over the last five years, three out of five people we have initiated are in the 21 to 35 age range,” says Dierry Jeudy.

Élie Laurent Andral was 21 years old when he entered the Moshe Kabbalah School of Haiti (Ecamoh), one of the branches of the mystical Eco-cosmic Tradition (T-MEC) in 2020.

Three years later, the young man rose to the rank of “Hierophant,” the equivalent of the venerable in other lodges present in Haiti.

“I wanted to find answers to the questions and great mysteries that populate the world and life,” he told AyiboPost.

Read also: Des Haïtiens veulent pratiquer le vodou à l’étranger. C’est parfois un calvaire.

The Moshe Kabbalah School is one of the fourteen temples that make up the eco-cosmic mystical tradition. It has several dozen followers, particularly in the metropolitan region.

This mystical organization, established in 2019 in Haiti by the Count of Sabatha, a kabbalist, tends towards work on the soul to transform matter.

“Our brotherhood has a growing number of young people, almost 70%,” Sabatha reveals to AyiboPost.

In addition, he continues, several of our mystical temples have young people aged 23 or 26 as venerators.

According to Andral, one of the reasons which explain the growing presence of these young people in the brotherhood is the way in which it offers itself to the public, as well as its liberal philosophy which leaves the way open to young people who can, notably, be initiated at the age of 21.

In 2023, the Moshe Kabbalah School of Haiti already has nearly ten promotions and a real academic structure, like classical schools.

Admission fees of 7,500 gourdes, and 2,875 gourdes in monthly payments for the first grade are among the requirements for entry.

Other mystical sects with distant origins such as Reiki attract young people. This sect includes an unconventional healing method of Japanese origin, based on so-called energetic treatments through the “placing of hands.”

Established in Haiti on May 14, 2018, the date on which the first stone of its temple was laid, Reiki teaches initiates to channel the universal energy of healing and life with the aim of healing themselves or others.

Vanessa, mystically nicknamed “Mother Freda,” is a young woman who joined Reiki in 2021 at the age of 25, after working in the institution’s administration for three weeks.

“My parents didn’t like me going there. But after the miraculous healing of my sister in 2019, bedridden since 2014, following three Reiki sessions, I signed up,” explains the young woman.

Vanessa currently lives in Canada, but she still takes part in Reiki sessions through online meeting apps.

Today, according to Vanessa, the Reikian community, spread all over the world, has more than 500 initiates and the number of young people who are part of it, particularly in Haiti, is considerable.

“Our Haitian community is quite young, almost 95%,” emphasizes Vanessa. “I can count on my fingers the number of initiates who are advancing in age,” she adds.

My parents didn’t like me going there. But after the miraculous healing of my sister in 2019, bedridden since 2014, following three Reiki sessions, I registered

Venerable of the Métalogie Academy of Port-au-Prince with nearly 80 young people, Fabien Garil Poliscar recognizes the enthusiasm of the younger generation for spirituality and mystical sects these days. Even for him, this is not an entirely new phenomenon.

Metalogy victory march organized every November 16 to thank the Great Architect.

“Before, it was older people who were interested in this. In addition, there were too many restrictions, for example regarding age. This reduced the enthusiasm in younger people,” he explains to AyiboPost.

But, continues the venerable, since 2010, with the arrival of new, more open and more liberal denominations, more and more young Haitians are joining sects.

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By Junior Legrand and Wethzer Piercin