Browse:They Believe in Candles (Volume 1, entries 2735)
They Believe in Candles
Volume 1, entries 2735. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → SHRINES: ALTARS - CANDLES - SAINTS; NEW ORLEANS AREA → (1) ALTARS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2735
(They burn the candles in New Orleans and along the coast here. [I am repeating informant's words.] Do they do it in any other part of the country?) [I had not yet visited New Orleans.] No sir, it's more - it's founded on de Catholic super- stition. De Catholic Church burns a [good] deal of candles. (Then you think this candle burning is confined more or less to the colored people, who are more or less under the influence of the Catholic Church?) Yes sir. It's teaching dem because of dere religious ideas to my mind. On the other hand, of course, dey go off away from de teaching [of the Catholic Church] certainly. We understand dat de candles represent something in the life of Christ possibly, and among the praying [true believers] they use [them] in that way entirely: But the more illiterate and superstitious class of people aroun' New Orleans an' along de coast - along de Gulf of Mexico - where Spanish descent and French descent are Catholic people, their religious ideas influence that class of colored people and sometimes white people. They believe in candles an' people - de hoodoos dey use dat superstitious idea. They have a candle that they have manufactured in all colors - yo' kin git dem in all colors and dey usually have 'em in a room. [He describes altar but recording bad. For infor- mant's other contribution to this subject, see No. 427, p.128.]