Boukman

Dutty Boukman
Born	Jamaica
Died	November 1791
Nationality	Haitian
Other names	Boukman Dutty
Known for	Catalyst to the Haitian Revolution

Dutty Boukman (Boukman Dutty) (died November 1791) was an African man, enslaved in Jamaica. All rebellious slaves everywhere were sold to the french in Saint-Domingue, and Boukman was no exception. Boukman was sold to a plantation in North Haiti. Boukman was one of the most visible early leaders of the Haitian Revolution. According to some contemporary accounts, Boukman conducted a religious ceremony at the Bwa Kaye Iman [Bois Caïman] where a freedom covenant was affirmed; this ceremony would have been a catalyst to the slave uprising that marked the beginning of the Haitian Revolution.

Dutty Boukman was a Holy Koran-educated slave born on the island of Jamaica. After he attempted to teach other slaves how to read, he was sold to a French plantation owner and placed as a commandeur (slave driver) and, later, a coach driver. His French name came from his English nickname, "Book Man," which some scholars, despite accounts suggesting that he was a Vodou houngan, have interpreted as meaning that he was a Muslim, since in many Muslim regions the term "man of the book" is a synonym for an adherent of the Islamic faith. One scholar suggests that it is likely that Boukman "was a Jamaican Muslim who had a Quran, and that he got his nickname from this." Other scholars suggest that Boukman may have practiced a syncretic blend of traditional African religion and a form of Christianity. Boukman was killed by the French in November 1791, just a few months after the beginning of the uprising. The French then publicly displayed Boukman's head in an attempt to dispel the aura of invincibility that Boukman had cultivated.The fact that French authorities had to do this shows just how much of an impact Boukman made on the views of Haitian people during this time. However, a new study has shown that Boukman may not have been from Jamaica, as previously thought, as runaway ads reveal many other slaves of various origins with the name Boukman in the Saint Domingue colony. And according to that same research neither was Dutty his name, nor was Zamba. In fact, the name Boukman, usually written Bouqueman, has a French catholic origin. And finally, Boukman may not have known how to read, as was previously thought.

According to some contemporary accounts, on or about 14 August 1791 Boukman presided over a ceremony at the Bois Caïman in the role of houngan (priest) together with priestess Cécile Fatiman. Boukman prophesied that the slaves Jean François, Biassou, and Jeannot would be leaders of a resistance movement and revolt that would free the slaves of Saint-Domingue. An animal was sacrificed, an oath was taken, and Boukman and the priestess exhorted the listeners to take revenge against their French oppressors and "[c]ast aside the image of the God of the oppressors."

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Wikipedia