Boukman

Boukman aka Boukman Dutty; Zamba Boukman

Leader of the rebellion in its initial stages, he is reputed to have led a vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman on August 22, 1791 which signaled the start of the rebellion. He had come to Haiti by way of Jamaica, then to become a maroon in the forest of Morne Rouge. Giant, powerful, "grotesque-looking man... with a 'terrible countenance', a face like an exaggerated African carving." (Parkinson, p. 39) Fierce and fearsome, he was an inspiring leader.

"Boukman Dutty (said to have been called "Book Man" in Jamaica because he could read) was sold by his British master to a Frenchman (and his name became "Boukman" in Haiti). A giant with imposing stature, with courage to match, he was a Voodoo priest, exercising an undisputed influence and command over his followers, who knew him as "Zamba" Boukman." (Espeut, 2003)

Note that Geggus doubts Boukman was a houngan, as no reference to this exists before accounts of the Bois Caïman ceremony appear. (Geggus, p. 89)

References

• Geggus, David Patrick (2002). Haitian Revolutionary Studies (Blacks in the Diaspora). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34104-3.
  
• Parkinson, Wenda (1978). This Gilded African. London: Quartet Books. ISBN 0-7043-2187-4
  
• Espeut, Peter (Dec. 31, 2003). Two hundred years later. Jamaica Gleaner.