Sanite Dede was the first Voodoo Queen in New Orleans in which there is any evidence of. She was brought to New Orleans from Santo Damingo and was believed to have purchased her freedom through Voodoo practices. This was most likely due to money made from these secret practices. However, years later she would be seen selling sweetmeats in front of the Cabildo, indicating that she could not have been too financially comfortable if she had to resort to work such as that. She lived at the brickyard in Dumaine Street and was the first person to hold gatherings on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Her powers were believed to be at its height in the year 1825. Not much is known about the pre-Laveau Queens of Voodoo or the Voodoo practices under Sanite Dede.
(Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1994)
Chris Voodoo
Women have always ruled Voodoo, but there are very few authentic records of the early Voodoo queens. There are two reasons for this. The first is because of Marie Laveau, whom was the leader of Voodoo for about seventy-five years in New Orleans. The other reason is that in the beginning, Voodoo changed significantly from one year to the next. Also another possibility is that since there had to be so much secrecy involved with the practice of Voodoo in the early years that maybe even the Voodoos didn’t even know the real identity of who the queen was.
(Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1994)
Chris Voodoo
Joseph Melon was a Voodoo witch doctor who lived in New Orleans in the 1800s. Despite all of the magic that he was believed to possess, he was never able to find a true love. He was a big Voodoo around the town who always carried a book and walking cane with him. Legend has it that he fell in love with a woman once who was already with another man. When it was clear to him that she would never love him, he put a spell on her. Shortly after, she broke up with her man and would never love again, dying an old and lonely maid. Joseph Melon had a lot of mean tricks up his sleeve, including cooking a pot of congris at night in order to complete a spell that involved dancing all night long.
(Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1994)
Chris Voodoo
Don Pedro is believed to be the successor of Doctor John as the main witch doctor of New Orleans. Not too much is known about this man. However, the police would always raid his home because it would be the site of large sexual orgies where both white and colored people took place in. On one night, a police raid led to both scandal and tragedy. At these orgies were a mixture of slaves and even the most respectable white members of high society in New Orleans, whom when discovered by the police were let free. Usually these were the people who took their own lives following the event.
(Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1994)
Chris Voodoo
Doctor Beauregard came to New Orleans from Kentucky in the year 1869. He was one of the only foreign Voodoos that came to the city. He was the most amazing in appearance of all the witch doctors because he had long hair that went all the way down to his knees. He also put the hair into a number of strange knots. In the knots, he carried all of his gris gris, bottles of oil, dried reptiles, small bones, and a hoot owl’s head. After scaring some ladies on the street one night, he was arrested for throwing the hoot owl’s head at the police and putting curses upon them. When he was released from prison he disappeared. Most people believe that he went back to Kentucky and went looking for new fields.
(Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1994)
Chris Voodoo
