#st peter port

[saffronsplace]

Warro, mon ami.

pose @ amitie - shopping day V2

hair @ truth / wasabi collective - elysen outfit (top, skirt, tights & boots) by Just Because @ Uber - Brittany Coat @ moon elixir x MUSE - expensive taste coat

(Milk Motion) Paris streets (part 1) Amitie The Coffee Shop BACKDROP +ILO+ Awning

[cooljamaicauniverse]

St. Peter's Church, Port Royal, Jamaica

Mark Phinn Photography

[altamontpt]

Cowboy Sadness -Selected Jambient Works Vol.1 (2024)

É muito mais fácil ouvir do que escrever sobre Selected Jambient Works Vol.1. Mesmo assim, tal a magia do que se sente nesse álbum, resolvemos arriscar. Se vos parecer etérea, a escrita, lembrem-se do verso de Sá-Carneiro: “É no ar que ondeia tudo! É lá que tudo existe!” Pode ser que assim faça mais sentido este texto.

É muito mais fácil ouvir do que escrever sobre Selected Jambient Works Vol.1. Mesmo assim, tal a magia do que se sente nesse álbum, resolvemos arriscar. Se vos parecer etérea, a escrita, lembrem-se do verso de Sá-Carneiro: “É no ar que ondeia tudo! É lá que tudo existe!” Pode ser que assim faça mais sentido este texto. Aqui há tempos, há quase um ano, e nestas mesmas páginas, escrevemos sobre o…

[antifainternational]

January 13 - Global Day of Action for Palestine

Here is a list of protests in solidarity with Palestine for January 13th. If there's no protest on saturday near you, take a look at this site (where we got this list from) to see if there is one near you on another day.

It's a looong list so it's under the cut here:

AUSTRALIA

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 5 pm, Parliament House. Info: http://www.afopa.com.au/afopa-events/2024/1/13/global-day-of-action-for-palestine

ALTONA BEACH, VIC, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 11 am, Altona Beach (Kites for Palestine). Info: https://bukjeh.org/etn/fly-a-kite-for-gaza/

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Garema Place. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Tmi9jyT6x/

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 5 pm Nightcliff Foreshore. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C13PZfQyx6P/

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 3:30 pm, Surfers Paradise Esplanade. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1vvY_kpjkM/

HOBART/NIPALUNA, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Davey Street in front of Grand Chancellor. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/877061687400715/

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, Civic Square. Info: https://friendsofpalestinetasmania.org/

MOSS VALE, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13 (Weekly), 1 pm, Leighton Gardens, 127 Argyle St. Info: https://apan.org.au/event/weekly-moss-vale-vigil-for-peace-justice-in-palestine/

MPARTNWE, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 9 am, Cars meet at Telegraph Station, 9:30 am Bikes meet at Snow Kenna Park. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C10iKLbSjU-/

NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Newcastle Museum. Info: https://facebook.com/events/s/protest-end-the-genocide-in-ga/351713430807807/

PORT MACQUARIE, AUSTRALIA – Sat Jan 13, 10 am, Oxley Beach (Kites for Gaza). Info: https://apan.org.au/event/port-macquarie-fly-a-kite-for-gaza/

AUSTRIA

GRAZ, AUSTRIA – Sat Jan 13, 4 pm, Grazer Hauptbahnhof. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1xAHAstgtj/

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Alter Markt

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, 1070 Platz der Menschenrechte. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C12dm9itpPv/

WIENER NEUSTADT, AUSTRIA – Sat Jan 13, 2:30 pm, Herzog Leopoldstr. 32 beim BORG.

BELGIUM

BRUGGE, BELGIUM – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Burg. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1413973119327402/

GHENT, BELGIUM – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Stadshal. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1xNF3Drkr4/

BRAZIL

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – Sat Jan 13, 2:30 pm, MASP. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1uPIywL3Ch/

CANADA AND QUEBEC

COBOURG, ON (CANADA) – Sat Jan 13, 11 am, Victoria Hall (every Saturday). Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1050719572872023/

WINNIPEG, MB (CANADA) – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Winnipeg City Hall. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C12TvRUgZr5/

DENMARK

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – Sat Jan 13, 5 pm, Sundbyoster Plads to Amagerbro Station. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C141sIFsEyb/

ENGLAND

HALIFAX, ENGLAND – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Savile Park (Kites for Gaza). Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1rcDm1M-bN/

HALIFAX, ENGLAND – Sat Jan 13 (every Saturday), 1 pm, Wilkos on Southgate. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C14Vb4wMgI_/

HEBDEN BRIDGE, ENGLAND – Sat Jan 13 (every Saturday), 3 pm, Roadside Rally, Holme St; 4 pm, Vigil, St. George’s Square. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C14Vb4wMgI_/

LEEDS, ENGLAND – Sat Jan 13, 12:30 pm, Leeds Becket University to City Square. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1zmlUvMtUE/

LONDON, ENGLAND – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, Bank Junction. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1uiCejM9U7/

NELSON, ENGLAND – Sat Jan 13 (every Saturday), 1:30 pm, Nelson Bazaars. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1745872575916888/

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, St Peter’s Church. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/895516721895213/

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – Sat Jan 13, 10:30 am, Ellesmere Green. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C131K5OqywW/

FINLAND

HELSINKI, FINLAND – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, Central Railway Station. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1zWU7JtCWt/

FRANCE

LYON, FRANCE – Sat Jan 13, 2:30 pm, Place des Terreaux. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C12BHiDoyBT/

PARIS, FRANCE – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Republique. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C12Kx3hIFnC/

TOULOUSE, FRANCE – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Jean Jaures to Arnaud Bertrand. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1wtkVPiTaC/

GERMANY

AACHEN, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, Hauptbahnhof

AUGSBURG, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, Moritzplatz

BERLIN, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Neptunbrunnen. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1uWAoUMYgr/

BRAUNSCHWEIG, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Schlossplatz 1

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Hauptbahnhof

FRANKFURT, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 1:30 pm, Hauptwache. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1xJbX7tDbH/

FREIBURG, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, Konzerthaus. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1wmG5TKy0H/

JENA, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Holzmarkt. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C15Gvxyse7n/

KIEL, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Bootshafen

MAINZ, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Hauptbahnhof

MUNICH, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Odeonsplatz. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1vDFzfsviF/

SAARBRUCKEN, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, Landwehrplatz

STUTTGART, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 5 pm, Schlossplatz. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1uhwaBs1OB/

TUBINGEN, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Holzmarkt. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1uiIwVooMj/

ULM, GERMANY – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, Marktplatz

IRELAND

CARRICK-ON-SHANNON, IRELAND – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, The Bridge. Info: https://www.ipsc.ie/protest/emergency-protests-for-palestine-around-ireland

CORK, IRELAND – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Grand Parade

DERRY, IRELAND – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, Derry Waterside Train Station. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/379355981136459/

DUBLIN, IRELAND – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Garden of Remembrance. Info: https://www.ipsc.ie/protest/emergency-protests-for-palestine-around-ireland

SKIBBEREEN, IRELAND – Sat Jan 13, 12:30 pm, Aldi Carpark. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/884577173028746/

ITALY

FIRENZE, ITALY – Sat Jan 13, 2:30 pm, Corteo da Piazza dei Ciompi.

NAPOLI, ITALY – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, Piazza Garibaldi. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C11jF13IMfk/

ROME, ITALY – Sat Jan 13, 3 pm, Via dei Fori Imperiali to Largo Corrado Ricci. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C12TtZUNVDn/

KOREA

SEOUL, KOREA – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Zionist embassy. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1wWJ2WJvMn/

MEXICO

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO – Sat Jan 13, 4 pm, Rambla Cataluna to Plaza de la Liberacion. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C13FY23uHH_/

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – Sat Jan 13, 4 pm, Angel to US Embassy to Zocalo. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C126FgtOh2y/

NEW ZEALAND

TIMARU, NEW ZEALAND – Sat Jan 13, 2:30 pm, Face of Peace, Caroline Bay. (Kites for Gaza). Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/351982744232340/

WHANGAREI, NEW ZEALAND – Sat Jan 13, 10 am, Town Basin. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1062868608192188/

NETHERLANDS

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Museumplein. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C14bgz6skSe/

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – Sat Jan 13, 5 pm, Dam Square to Museumplein. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C15I-anI-lc/

LEEUWARDEN, NETHERLANDS – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Leeuwarden Station. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1rgX_OoVe4/

ZWOLLE, NETHERLANDS – Sat Jan 13, 3:30 pm, Starbucks station. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C11cUhjsyFd/

NORWAY

OSLO, NORWAY – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Youngstorget to Zionist Embassy. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/876776784142252/

PERU

LIMA, PERU – Sat Jan 13, 3:30 pm, Plaza 27 de noviembre, San Isidro – Parque Kennedy. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1r3BHZrSSM/

PORTUGAL

PORTO, PORTUGAL – Sat Jan 13, 3:30 pm, Praca da Batalha. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C14UrYhs-hB/

PORTO, PORTUGAL – Sat Jan 13 (every night), 10 pm, Camara Municipal (Vigil). Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1mWoJ0srwr/

ROMANIA

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Universitate to Victoriei. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C11qxxuIlKe/

CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA – Sat Jan 13, details TBA. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1tsmB2ojCq/

TIMISOARA, ROMANIA – Sat Jan 13, details TBA. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1tsmB2ojCq/

SCOTLAND

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Foot of the Mound. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1od7QsNlCM/

INVERNESS, SCOTLAND – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, The Spectrum Centre. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C15ggmFtNyg/

ORKNEY, SCOTLAND – Sat Jan 13 (every Saturday), 1 pm, St Magnus Cathedral Steps. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/899757958430523/

SOUTH AFRICA

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Mandela Glasses, Sea Point Promenade. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C14N2xlqjyK/

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – Sat Jan 13, 11 am, US Consulate, Sandton. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C13qpzSNbYt/

KNYSNA, SOUTH AFRICA – Sat Jan 13, 9 am, N2 C/O Main Service Rd and Wagtail St, Sedgefield, Western Cape. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/910931826901335/

SPANISH STATE

A CORUNA, GALICIA, SPAIN – Sat Jan 13, 5 pm, Praza de Lugo. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C14lQvascZx/

BETERA, VALENCIA – Sat, Jan 13, 5 pm, Ayuntamiento de Betera. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1ISqjUN2ir/

COMPOSTELA, GALICIA, SPAIN – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, Praterias. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C14lQvascZx/

MOLINA DE SEGURA, SPAIN – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, Plaza de Ayuntamiento. Info: https://twitter.com/LibreRegion/status/1743912944612540608

VIGO, GALICIA, SPAIN – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, Porta do Sol. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C14lQvascZx/

SWEDEN

KARLSKRONA, SWEDEN – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Klaipedaplatsen. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/7004450806289059/

KRISTIANSTAD, SWEDEN – Sat Jan 13, 2:30 pm, Stora Torget. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C15GIWbNI_K/

MALMO, SWEDEN – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, St Knuts Torg. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1348ATC6Uq/

VARBERG, SWEDEN – Sat Jan 13, 11 am, Varbergs Torg. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1piXtgLGYj/

SWITZERLAND

BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Theaterplatz. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1m6lOxLDI-/

UNITED STATES

EUGENE, OR (US) – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Federal Courthouse, 405 E 8th Ave. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1jOAiXiUJ0/

FORT COLLINS, CO (US) – Sat Jan 13 (every Saturday), 3 pm, Old Town Square Stage. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1n9pmNOGFd/

FORT WAYNE, IN (US) – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, MLK Bridge.

KALISPELL, MT (US) – Sat Jan 13, 12, Main and Center by Depot Park (Every Saturday). Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1puNa1ucrm/

KANSAS CITY, KS (US) – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Granada Park, Roeland Park. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C10Y27LJ1EO/

LANGLEY, WA (US) – Sat Jan 13, 11 am, Bayview Rd and Hwy 525. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/373235975254744/

MIAMI, FL (US) – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, University Metrorail Station. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C15V1BXLyc-/

NEW YORK, NY (US) – Sat Jan 13, 12 pm, NE Corner 5th Ave and 44th St, Brooklyn. (Vigil, every Saturday). Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0KsY8PvCwp/

NEW YORK, NY (US) – Sat Jan 13, 5 pm, Bryant Park Library Steps. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C145mA_Jido/

OAKLAND, CA (US) – Sat Jan 13, 5 am, West Oakland BART, Port Shutdown for Palestine. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1qpwPaLsLY/

OLYMPIA, WA (US) – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Heritage Park, 5th Ave SW. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1xUYlRPtRc/

PETALUMA, CA (US) – Sat Jan 13 (every Saturday), 12:30 pm, Petaluma Blvd and East Washington. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/362661229552435/

PORTLAND, OR (US) – Sat Jan 13, 6 pm, Protest Michael Rapoport, Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1nDhO7vNM4

SACRAMENTO, CA (US) – Sat Jan 13, 1pm, State Capital, West Steps. Info: https://sac4palestine.org/january-3-2024-solidary-rally-with-national-march-on-washington/

SAN DIEGO, CA (US) – Sat Jan 13, 11 am, Plaza de Panama, Balboa Park. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C13b08grRj2/

ST PAUL, MN (US) – Sat Jan 13, 2 pm, Western District Police Dept to MN State Capitol. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C12sMuQJHeh/

VIROQUA, WI (US) – Sat Jan 13, 11 am, Main St and Decker St, Weekly Vigil by Driftless Solidarity. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1fWWvKNJlI/

WASHINGTON, DC (US) – Sat Jan 13, 1 pm, Freedom Plaza, 1325 Pennsylvania Ave NW Info: https://march4gaza.org

BUSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY to this national march from CT, FL, IL, IN, MA, MI, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VA and WI – get at the website

PRE-RALLY – WASHINGTON, DC – Sat Jan 13, 7 am, National Mall. Info: https://twitter.com/_FRFP_/status/1742706175114661946

HEALTH CARE WORKERS MARCH – Sat Jan 13, 10 am ,Dept of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave SW. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C10DXDiADMK/

[davidstanleytravel]

Bellflowers (campanula) growing on a wall in St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands.

[squishfacestudio]

We're back!

Haven't posted in a long time. Homecooked Comics Festival has gone to bed, but Emerald Hill Comics Festival is our new event, and it's on this weekend.

Since we ended Homecooked, Victoria doesn't have any comics festivals focused on local work (as far as we know)! We're glad to start a new one. It's an experiment to run a festival in our new space at Studio Hall, and we hope it will have legs.

Join us! We have a great lineup of artists and retailers from Melb, Vic and around Australia.

Come and meet: Sticky Institute, Angie Spice, Peter Lane, Daniel Reed, Khale McHurst, Nhu Duong, Bruce Mutard, Mirranda Burton, Jo Asscher, Cockatoo Comics, Amplified Press (Owen Heitmann), James Steeth, Nem, Alien Mandy, Roger Stitson, Neale Blanden, Ira Francis, Steven Christie, Squishface Studio, Eli Abidin, Andrew Pilkington, David Mahler, Andy_drws, Reimena Yee, Ann Li Khaw, Stephanie Luo, Tree Paper Gallery, Gestalt Comics, Sabina Wills, Alex Smith, Stephen Cox, Benji Bajorek, Helen Graham, Ive Sorocuk, Zander von Stiegler, Jess Wilson (Dubblu)

WHEN: 11am - 4pm, Sunday 15th September WHERE: Studio Hall (319-327 Dorcas St, South Melbourne: on the grounds of St. Kilda South Port Uniting Church, next to the Port Phillip Men's Shed)

Entry is free!

More info.

Join our Meetup page for updates on the festival and other Squishface events.

[focsle]

what's the best way to serve whale?

am hungee

Can’t attest—I have not eaten whale.

Muktuk is a traditional Inuit food. It’s skin and blubber usually from bowheads (but also beluga and narwhal) that’s diced small and often eaten raw. It can also be prepared in other ways like frying or pickling. Very high in Vitamin D & C.

Turning to my 19th c. American whalers, it being my schtick and all, they tended to not be particularly interested in eating whale. Nor were whales hunted for meat. But sometimes the odd recipe comes out here and there. John Martin, whaler on the Lucy Ann, 1840s talked about ‘roasting the top of a whale’s head’ that they were otherwise processing.

��The top of a right whale’s head is covered with barnacles & small crabs. When roasted they are good eating. They also take part of his lip and render it out in the hot oil. When eaten with pepper & vinegar it tastes very much like soused tripe.”

Mary Lawrence, whaling wife on the Addison, 1850s also mentioned eating whale up North:

“We have been eating bowhead meat for several days, made with pork into sausage cakes, also fried, and it is really good eating, far before salt pork in my estimation.”

J.E. Haviland, greenhand on the Baltic 1850s shared a similar recipe for porpoise, which is similar enough.

“We had it for Breakfast this morning. The way it is prepared at sea is to take + hash it up very fine seasoned with sage pepper + salt and then made in small balls + fried or baked in pork + I can say from experience it is proper good.”

William Tripp, boatsteerer on the John R. Manta, 1920s,

“The meat was cooked as steaks, while some was ground and made into 'whalemeat balls.' It was eaten by all hands and much relished as the first frest meat since leaving port."

John Ross Browne, writer on an unnamed whaler in the 1840s, talked about snacks whilst trying out. In addition to frying saltwater-soaked sea biscuits and celebratory donuts in the whale oil, sometimes whalers would eat the leftover ‘cracklings’, i.e. crispy bits of whale skin left over after the process, as well as:

“Sometimes, when on friendly terms with the steward, they make fritters of the brains of the whale mixed with flour, and cook them in the oil. These are considered a most sumptuous delicacy. Certain portions of the whale's flesh are also eaten with relish, though, to my thinking, not a very great luxury, being coarse and strong. Mixed with potatoes, however, like " porpoise balls," they answer very well for variety. A good appetite makes almost any kind of food palatable. I have eaten whale-flesh at sea with as much relish as I ever ate roast-beef ashore.”

Not everyone’s into it, though. When John Langdon and other crew members aboard the St. Peter, 1840s, came to air grievances about the captain expecting them to be content with eating spoiled beef, the captain,

“rowse[d] up a little telling us how he had lived on whale and blackfish meat for a time on the Nor’west; but this would not go down with us and we demanded state’s allowance. He saw we were in good earnest so after while concluded to give us good beef.”

And lastly, from Moby-Dick, Stubb’s preferred method of cooking whale steak which he berated the cook with:

“Hold the steak in one hand, and show a live coal to it with the other; that done, dish it; d’ye hear?”

[fluentisonus]

The churches of the town of Dunwich slowly falling into the sea one after another, as described in a topographical and historical description of the county of suffolk (1829):

"Gardner, in his historical account of Dunwich, observes, that one of the two carves of land, taxed in the reign of Edward the Confessor, was found to be swallowed up by the sea, at the time of the survey made by order of William the Conqueror. The church of Felix, and the cell of monks, were lost very early. In the first year of Edward the Third, the old port was rendered entirely useless, and before the twenty-third year of that king's reign, a great part of the town, with upwards of 400 houses, which paid rent to the fee-farm, with certain shops and windmills, were devoured by the sea. After this the church of St. Leonard was overthrown; and, in the fourteenth century, the churches of St. Martin and St. Nicholas were also destroyed by the waves. In 1540, the church of St. John Baptist was taken down; and in the same century the chapels of St. Anthony, St, Francis, and St. Catharine, were overthrown, with the South Gate and Gild Gate, and not one quarter of the town left standing. ... In the reign of Charles I, the foundation of the Temple buildings yielded to the irresistible force of the undermining surges, and in 1677 the sea reached the market-place. In 1680 all the buildings north of Maison Dieu lane were demolished, and in 1702 the sea extended its dominion to St. Peter's church, on which it was divested of the lead, timber, bells, and other materials, the walls only remaining, which tumbled over the cliff as the water undermined them; and the town hall suffered the same fate. In 1715 the gaol was undermined and in 1729 the farthest bounds of St. Peter's churchyard fell into the sea. In December 1740, the wind blowing very hard from the north-east, and continuing for several days, occasioned terrible devastations for a great part of the cliffs were washed away, with the remains of St. Nicholas's churchyard, as also the great road which formerly led into the town. ... All Saints, as observed before, is the only church of which any portion is still standing.*"

*All Saints Church has, since this account was written, entirely fallen into the sea.

[lostinfic]

Fic: Winter happens, like a secret

Cesare x Lucrezia | Rated E | 3k words

Summary: Cesare has been gone for many weeks, fighting in the Romagna after the Sforza’s downfall, but one snowy Christmas Eve, he returns home to Lucrezia. Has she forgiven him for killing Alfonso?

The box was wrapped in a handkerchief, tied together with a velvet ribbon. Rather than look inside the box, she unravelled the red ribbon and slipped it around her brother’s neck. He chuckled. “What are you doing?” “You are my present this year,” she said. She pulled on the ribbon lightly, coaxing him closer though he could easily resist it if he so wished. He didn’t resist.

Loosely based on the infamous Folgers commercial, but set in Renaissance-era Italy.

Read on Ao3 or under the cut ↓

Lucrezia woke up in the middle of the night, her light slumber disturbed by a change in the luminosity beyond her eyelids. The night sky seemed aglow behind the curtains. The fire had faded down to embers, and warmth had seeped out of the room. She slipped on a red, fur-lined robe and went to the window. Outside, snowflakes drifted down from the sky, draping the garden in white. It was so bright, moonlight seemed to emanate from the ground itself.  

She laughed, delighted by the snow, though the feeling in her heart was closer to melancholy than joy. 

Tiptoeing down the stairs, she made her way to the kitchen. The cook and servants had been hard at work preparing food for tomorrow’s Vigila di Natale feast. Lucrezia filled a pot with water, added mint, honey, orange peels, ginger and tea leaves to it, then hung it above the fire in the hearth. Djem had introduced her to tea, and she was pleased to find some Asian ships, trading in the port of Naples, carried the leaves even though few locals drank it. She stirred the simmering water with a wooden spoon, and delicious aromas rose from the pot. She could have woken up a maid to make it, but she wanted to be alone. Admiring the falling snow through the frosted window, she warmed her hands on the earthenware cup and sipped her tea. 

Inevitably, her thoughts turned to Cesare.

Lucrezia had spent the Novena— the nine days before Christmas— reflecting on the Bible, singing carols and praying in St. Peter’s. The Pope had commissioned a splendid Nativity scene, and boughs of evergreen perfumed the space with their scent so deeply associated with Christmas. The populace filled the basilica with joyous hymns and brightly coloured attires, unlike Lucrezia who wore her widow’s blacks and whose heart was too heavy to be lifted by music. Six months had passed since Alfonso’s death, regrets rather than grief filled her heart now. Soon, her father would seek to marry her off again. Though who would take her, when rumours of Cesare’s hand in murdering Alfonso circulated around Rome which in turn reignited the gossip of an incestuous relationship. Had anyone heard the prayers she whispered in her mind, it would only have added fuel to the fire: she prayed to rid herself of this sinful desire for her brother, prayed to hate him, but in the same second, she prayed for his safety, his return and his eternal love. She promised God a life of holy devotion yet longed for her brother’s presence and dreamt of his lips at her neck. 

Cesare had been gone for months now, on some mission for the Holy Father— punishment for killing Alfonso and ruining their shaky alliance with Naples. Since capturing Caterina Sforza and killing her son and both her cousins, he had made many enemies. Yet he still pursued control over the Romagna. She and her parents hadn’t heard of him in a long time. And it seemed to Lucrezia that half her mind and heart were with him, somewhere beyond Rome. She willed each of her breaths to fill his lungs and each beat of her heart to push blood through his veins. In her darkest moments, she worried he had died, or worse, travelled back to France, to spend the holidays with his new family.  

Still, she had made garlands of dried citrus slices to hang around the house and infuse her gloomy mood with merriment, for Giovanni’s sake. The scent of lemon and firewood filled their home. Cousin Adriana would arrive soon with her family, as well as cousins from Spain, seeking some favour from the Pope, no doubt. Would she be able to keep a smile on until Epiphany? 

Lucrezia sighed. She’d drank half her tea without savouring it. Snow fell in big, fluffy clumps now. 

A man on horseback came through the gates. The horse’s clip-clopping disturbed the silent night, and hoofprints marred the pristine snow. Fear clutched her guts— at this hour, he could only bring bad news. Sweat beaded down her spine as she imagined he would tell her Cesare had died. 

The man appeared in no hurry to deliver the news. He stopped in the middle of the courtyard and waited for the stable boy to stumble out. She recognized the familiar grace with which he jumped off his horse, but she dared not hope. At last, the man lowered his hood and looked up in the direction of her bedroom window. Moonlight highlighted dark curls, stubbled cheeks and green eyes. Her heart leapt in her chest. 

Lucrezia rushed towards the kitchen door and yanked it open just as he was reaching it. 

“Cesare!” his name came out with a cloud on her breath. 

She jumped in his arms, and he caught her as he had so many times before. His cold nose tip pressed against her neck and sent a shiver through her. The snowflakes dusting his hair melted against her flushed cheeks. Her other half was back, and her whole body sang with relief. 

Holding her up, he carried her in, kicking the door close behind them with his foot. He murmured her name and sagged against her, tension released from his shoulders. 

“Why are you slipping in during the night like a phantom?”  

She kept her voice down. She should have woken up her mother who worried about Cesare too, but she wanted a moment alone with her dear brother. 

“I could not wait any longer,” he said. 

He slipped his hands under her dressing gown. However, the minute his frozen fingertips met her waist, she squirmed away with a squeal. He laughed at her reaction.  

She loved his laughter, she had missed it. The way it came out of his throat in a burst of giggles, more high-pitched than expected, and how he would try to contain it, pressing his lips together but a smile always remained, like a mischievous kid.  

Lucrezia took his large hands and rubbed them between her small palms, blowing warm breath on his fingers.  

“I have missed those hands,” she said. 

“And I have missed that face.” 

They took comfort in repeating those words they had said years ago, as if they could have their innocence back. In that moment, they could pretend their relationship had not changed, that despite sharing a bed and killing Juan and Alfonso, they were the same boy and girl who had once reunited in a deserted Apolostic palace. 

He kissed her hands, though with some restraint. His hasty departure, not long after Alfonso’s death, had left some things unresolved between them.   

“I’m starving,” he announced. 

Lucrezia lit a candle as he surveyed the food laid out in the kitchen.  

“Ah, good food, at last,” he said, picking candied fruits and chestnuts from a silver plate. 

She pushed his hand away. “It’s for the feast tonight.” 

With a cheeky grin, he popped a few honey-coated pistachios in his mouth. She offered him some tea which he sipped gratefully. The stone floor was cold under her feet, so she hopped up on the wooden counter, pushing aside a bouquet of dried rosemary. As he drank and warmed himself, he kept stealing glances at her, studying her reaction to his return. 

To be honest, Lucrezia was ambivalent. Though she was beyond happy to see him safe and home, of that there was no doubt, she questioned what form their relationship would take now. She knew what her body craved, what her heart hoped, but her rational mind cautioned her against it.  

“I brought you something, sis, from far away.” 

He should have waited until the 25th, but he never could restrain himself when he had an opportunity to cheer her up. And this proof that he had been thinking about her while he was away could only bring a smile to her lips. 

The box was wrapped in a handkerchief, tied together with a length of velvet ribbon. Rather than look inside the box, she unravelled the red ribbon and slipped it around her brother’s neck. 

He chuckled. “What are you doing?” 

“You are my present this year,” she said. 

She pulled lightly on both ends of the ribbon, coaxing him closer, though he could easily resist if he so wished— he didn’t resist. He stepped closer, leaning on his hands, placed each side of her knees. Sitting up on the counter, she was almost the same height as him. Suddenly serious, they looked into each other’s eyes, and she knew all too well these moments of tense silence in which one of them had to do the right thing. Neither of them looked away. She held onto the ribbon, and he stared at her, steadfast, intense. Anticipation made warmth pool low in her stomach. 

She had tried taking a lover, but quickly grew bored of the affair. Cesare had ruined her for other men, it seemed— and wouldn’t he like to know that. 

“You were my present too,” he said, in a low voice. “The day Mother put you in my arms, I had never held anything so precious.” He touched the ends of her loose blond waves as if it were spun gold. “I knew, even as a boy, that I would do anything to protect you…” 

She realized then, this was about Alfonso. 

“Do you forgive me?” he asked. 

“We are Borgias, brother, we never forgive.”  

He squeezed his eyes shut, pained to hear those words as much as she was to have voiced them. 

“And so, I cannot forgive even myself,” she continued, finally saying aloud the thoughts that had plagued her but which she could not share with anyone, “for I also am to blame for my husband’s death.” 

Cesare rested his forehead against hers, shaking his head in disagreement. She ran her fingers through his hair and gripped a fistful of curls. 

“It is the truth,” she said. 

“It was my fault. I wielded the blade and I—” 

“Yes, you wielded the blade,” Lucrezia said, working open his leather doublet, stiff with cold, “but I wield your heart.” She slipped her hands inside, spreading them over his chest. “As you do mine.”  

Under her palms, his heart was beating so fast it threatened to escape his ribcage. He could not deny the truth of her words.  

“Peace, brother,” she murmured soothingly, caressing his chest. His skin was damp under the leather. 

He rubbed his nose against hers, slowly, eyes closed, with none of the usual playfulness. He didn’t try to kiss her but neither did he step away. She tasted his honey-sweet sigh across her mouth. 

“Lucrezia,” he whispered her name with such adoration, but tainted with pain and reluctance. 

Why try to resist the inevitable? Was there virtue in a half-hearted effort? 

“Make me yours again.” 

His chest rumbled with something like a growl.  

When she brushed her lips against his, he captured her mouth. He kissed her deeply, hands tightening in the heavy fabric of her robe.  

Though she had not forgiven him in words, it was a kiss of absolution. Ardent and tender and so full of love, tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. 

She loved him, always, in spite of everything. He had made her that way, with his gentleness and indulgence, with his jealousy and adoring gaze. She could not even hold it against him. She had blossomed in his light and always would seek it. Nothing else would do. No one else would do.  

They broke the kiss well before they’d had their fill. 

Cesare searched her face for a sign of reluctance or regret, but he found the opposite. There was still time for one of them to pull away— usually Cesare. Instead, his hand slid up her back, along her spine, to cup the nape of her neck. That touch always filled her with such a delicious haze. Even back when she was too innocent to understand what it kindled in her, she sought it, luxuriated in it. And just like that, God was sitting in the room with them again. Her chest swelled with elation and the top of her head tingled from a shower of invisible, yet tangible light which descended upon them, shielded them. And the silence, only broken by the crackling fire, became almost musical. 

She touched Cesare’s chin, and he smiled. 

“I’ve missed this,” he whispered before kissing her again. 

She parted her lips for him, welcomed his tongue, and spread her legs. 

Hips cradled between her thighs, he assailed her neck with ravenous kisses. In his hunger, he nearly ripped open her shift. Her dressing gown slipped from her shoulders. Her short nails raked down his abdomen, towards his belt.  

The cold draught in the room was no match for the fever overtaking them. She made quick work of his codpiece, and he tugged her to the edge of the counter.  

He pushed her shift up her thighs and, for a moment, seemed lost in the softness of her skin and marvelled at how small she was next to him.  

Slipping her hand inside his pants, Lucrezia spurred him back into action. He bucked his hips into her palm with a ragged moan and found her wet and wanting under her bedclothes.  

Cesare sought her gaze then entered her in one long, luxurious thrust. Pleasure knocked the breath from their lungs as they clung to each other.  

She used to think time and longing had embellished her memory of their lovemaking. Surely, it could not have been as amazing as she made it out to be in her mind. But it was. A miracle. Rapture. She could not doubt they were two halves of the same whole, meant to be together lest they withered apart. 

Already pleasure made her toes curl and her core clench with each thrust. 

“Oh, God!” she moaned, throwing her head back. 

“I don’t think God wants anything to do with this,” he joked. 

“Then he should not have made you so well-endowed.” 

He grinned, and she kissed him, wanting to taste his joy, to take it inside herself. 

Laughter and sighs of pleasure mingled as they moved together. 

Anyone could have walked in on them, embracing passionately in the kitchen, but they were too far gone to care. 

-

Out of breath and utterly satisfied, Lucrezia slumped down on the counter, “Happy Christmas,” she said.  

He smiled, gazing down at her, admiring her body where her shift clung to her sweat-damp skin. The ribbon still hung around his neck, and she used it to pull him down to her for a kiss. 

“I think I’d better not let you get used to having me on a leash,” he said as if that had not already been the case for years. 

He removed the ribbon from his neck and tied it in a bow around hers. 

“Beautiful,” he said. 

He was still in her, half-hard, her legs locked around his hips. There was a risk, she knew, that she might become pregnant. Would the Pope believe it was another Immaculate Conception if she said so? The thought amused her rather than scare her. 

After gathering food and wine, they headed upstairs to her bedroom. 

Cesare put another log in the fireplace and stirred the embers. He spared a moment to check on his godson, sleeping in the adjoining room. 

“Giovanni asked for you yesterday,” she said. 

“Perhaps that’s why I was in such a hurry to come back and rode through the night.” 

“Or is there another reason, perhaps?” 

She tilted her head with an impish smile. 

He hooked a finger under the ribbon at her throat and brought her lips to his. His kiss warmed her to her toes. 

“Will La Befana bring your son sweets or coal?” he asked. 

“Sweets, of course. He’s a angel.” She smiled proudly. 

“And tell me, my love, what will she bring me?” 

“We shall make our own sweetness, Cesare.” 

She picked a sweet from a plate and fed it to him. He sucked the sugar from her fingertips and peppered kisses down her wrist. In one swoop, he picked her up and carried her to bed. 

They cuddled under the covers, and talked of nothing important until the room was warm enough they could undress completely. Skin to skin, bodies entwined, they reaffirmed their bond and commitment to each other. 

It was one of the longest nights of the year, but the sun seemed to dawdle beyond the horizon just for them. 

In the morning, he would pretend his room was too cold without a fire or that he’d lost his way in the dark palazzo after weeks away. Outside, snow still blanketed Rome, it would melt in the daylight, but for now, it protected them with its silence and purity. 

[aimeedaisies]

Court Circular | 12th March 2024

St. James's Palace

The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, today attended a luncheon on board MV HEBRIDEAN PRINCESS to mark the Sixtieth Anniversary at Greenock Ocean Cruise Terminal, Patrick Street, Greenock, and was received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Renfrewshire (Colonel Peter McCarthy).

Her Royal Highness, accompanied by Admiral Laurence, this afternoon visited Peel Ports Group Limited Greenock Ocean Terminal at Custom House Way, Greenock.

[haveyoubeentothiscity]

Population: 18,958

Note from a submitter: “Guernsey isnt part of the UK. Also its name in French and Guernésiais (Local language) is St Pierre Port!”

[confusedbyinterface]

Because it is a shamefully wicked thing to strip the body naked at a banquet among the drunken and licentious, it does not follow that it is a sin to be naked in the baths.

St Augustine, On Christian Doctrine

Rereading Chapter 14 of Misericorde, and I've got a few thoughts about it.

1: 🤔

Look, I know Hedwig having trouble applying her encyclopedic scriptural knowledge is a running theme, but it's still very funny that Hedwig, embarrassed at the prospect of seeing Eustace and Moira nude, says "But what if I start having lustful thoughts? That would be incest!" and Eustace goes "You know 'Sister' is just a title, we're not actual blood relatives"

Also interesting how Moira makes such a bit deal out of Hedwig's black hair being a sign of melancholy, then acts like the only incongruous thing about her black hair is that she's Irish.

2: Uncleanliness and spiritual despair

One huge theme in this chapter is Hedwig's sense of unworthiness. First, when reflecting on her vision she thinks herself unworthy of having been given a vision, that while of course God is all powerful and all seeing, that maybe she is worth less than the lillies of the field and the sparrow that falls (incidentally I'm not sure what she means about Augustine's warning against allegorizing too heavily: her error here seems more like his warning not to misread rhetorical questions.)

Hedwig talks about "the indignity of the laundry water incident [being] something that would stick with [her] permanently". There's an obvious literal meaning of it being upsetting, but think back to her vision: the dog became sick after eating fritters soaked through with the laundry water. Whether the dog represents Hedwig or someone else, it's clear the laundry water is being associated with sin here (Proverbs 26:11, 2 Peter 2:22), either as sin itself or the actions of other provoking one to sin. Hedwig feels like even if she is washed clean, she'll still feel somehow tainted.

When getting Moira's clothes, Hedwig spills her ink, and feels unable to deal with it or tell Moira. She feels that there's no way Moira could forgive her for that. Fortunately Kumasawa uses finite magic to fix the bottle and put the ink back inside before Campy knocks it over again, but Hedwig still feels like even a clumsy mistake is enough to destroy her relationship with Moira.

And at the feast, Hedwig feels unworthy of being celebrated. She's the Mother Superior's spy, betraying everyone's trust by her very presence. Everything keeps coming back to a sense of worthlessness, contamination, and stain.

3: Saint Cecelia

This chapter (and the previous one) all occur on Saint Cecelia's day. Cecelia is patron saint of music, for having inwardly sung hymns during her wedding ceremony, and the portative organ is one of her attributes, but there's more to her story than that. After being married, she warned her husband that an angel stood ready to strike him down if he touched her, but he could not see it unless he was also baptised. He went out, was baptised and converted, and saw the angel which miraculously produced flower crowns for them. The two of them, and her brother-in-law, were condemned to death by a Roman prefect, and initially Cecelia was to be suffocated in the baths (I think locked into a room and heated up until she died) but no matter how hot it was she felt cool and comfortable. Then, she was to be decapitated, but despite being struck on the neck three times she survived another three days, preaching to crowd, before finally dying.

So baths, bodily inviolability, visions that only appear to some but not others, and outward appearances vs inner feeling. These all come up: Hedwig and Eustace argue about how Hedwig could have flown while the Farmer saw her walking, there's a bath scene in which Hedwig is concerned about her body being seen. And at the feast, while outwardly appearing happy, inwardly Hedwig was tormented with guilt and was always thinking of her secret mission from the Mother Superior, just as Cecelia outwardly looked a bride but beneath her dress mortified her flesh with a hair shirt and in her heart was always singing to God. I feel like there could be something there.

4: Surprise parties

I forget the exact episode number and context (presumably about foreshadowing?), but while talking about Cursed Child, Xeecee mentioned how easy it is to overtelegraph surprise parties (something like "Hey can you be out of the house 3-5, I'm cleaning all the floors or something, but make sure you definitely get back right at five. But not before! Five sharp!" yeah okay now I know you're doing a surprise party I'll pretend to be shocked). So I like how Hedwig, after saying that she'd like a nice prank like a surprise party, reacts to being brought into the rectory with "oh no I am going to be murdered!" Great to take a woman with 3 weeks total of socialization and just put her in situations.

5: The Bishop of Carlisle looks a bit like God, doesn't he?

I mean obviously he's a bearded man making a sign of benediction, that's going to do something, but God did look a bit fat in the vision.

I know some of these might seem like a reach, so in case any of you feel like criticizing me I'm going to leave you with the words of Saint Augustine of Hippo:

Thus, when one man says, “Xeecee meant what I mean,” and another says, “No, they meant what I do,” I think that I speak more faithfully when I say, “Why could they not have meant both if both opinions are true?” And if there should be still a third truth or a fourth one, and if anyone should seek a truth quite different in those words, why would it not be right to believe that Xeecee saw all these different truths?

[oakappleday]

In St Peter Port, Guernsey, July 16

[ancestorsalive]

Very early photo of the Old Harbour and Town Church of St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands...1845

[the-girl-who-didnt-smile]

CRACKPOT THEORY: THE VOODOO ‘VIRGIN MARY’ IS ACTUALLY ERZULIE

Pictured: “Miss Erzulie Freda” by Andre Pierre

(Previously, I had argued that this must be Erzulie Freda, but now I no longer think that is necessarily the case.)

In Voodoo in New Orleans, Robert Tallant described how New Orleans Voodooists worshiped the Catholic saints:

“These merchants also sell pictures of saints. To certain Roman Catholic saints particular Voodoo power has been attributed: St. Michael is thought best able to aid in conquering enemies; St. Anthony de Padua is invoked for “luck”; St. Mary Magdalene is popular with women who are in love; St. Joseph (holding the Infant Jesus) is used to get a job. Many Voodoos believe a picture of the Virgin Mary in their homes will prevent illness, and that one of St. Peter (with the Key to Heaven) will bring great and speedy success in financial matters (without the Key to Heaven, St. Peter is still reliable in helping in the achievement of minor successes; the power of the picture is less, however). Pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are believed to have the ability to cure organic diseases.”

SOURCE: Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983.: 

Many of these saints are not actually the Catholic Saints, but African-derived deities hidden under their names. 

From the interview with the 75-year old Mary Washington (“Mary Ellis”), who was born in 1863*:

“That’s all I can remember. Marie Laveau used to call St. Peter somethin’ like ‘Laba.’ She called St. Michael ‘Daniel Blanc,’ and St. Anthony ‘Yon Sue.’ There was another one she called ‘On Za Tier’; I think that was St. Paul. I never did know where them names come from. They sounded Chinee to me. You know the Chinee emperor sent her a shawl? She wore it all the time, my aunt told me.”

SOURCE: Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983.: 

*Age and date of birth described in: Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007.

Due to her age, the septuagenarian seems to have corrupted the pronunciation of the deities’ names. “Daniel Blanc” can be identified with Dan (Damballah), while “Laba” can be identified with Legba (Papa Legba). “Yon Sue” is probably Agasu (Miché Agoussou), while “On Za Tier” is possibly Azaka (Assonquer). 

In Mythologie Vodou, Milo Marcelin identifies Maitresse Ezulie (Erzili Freda Dahomey) with the Virgin Mary. To be precise, she is identified with Our Lady of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa), and two “Black Madonnas”: The Virgin of Altagracia, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. 

“Maitresse Ezili est identifiée à la Mater Dolorosa, représentée, dans les chromos catholiques, sous les traits d'une jolie femme qui porte des colliers en perles et en or, beaucoup de bracelets et de bagues en argent et en or, et qui a le coeur transpercé d'une épée en or. Elle est aussi identifiée à ces deux Vierges noires: Altagrace, appelée aussi Vierge d'Higuey (nom d'une ville Dominicaine), et Notre Dame du Mont-Carmel.”

SOURCE: Marcelin, Milo. Mythologie vodou: rite arada, vol. I. Haiti, Éditions haïtiennes, 1949, p. 77.

An intriguing bit of evidence is mentioned in Jeffrey E. Anderson’s Voodoo: An African American Religion.

In her thesis, Kendra Cole discovered a pencil drawing on the upper right corner of a document from the 19th century: The State of Louisiana v. Louise Johnson, New Orleans: City Archives, June 7, 1893.

The drawing can be viewed here, on page 31: https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/658 

It is not an exact match, but resembles Erzulie’s vèvè, as portrayed by Andre Pierre (shown above) and identified by Maya Deren in the 20th century.

See: Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen : The Living Gods of Haiti. New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 1983 (originally published in 1953), p. 260: https://archive.org/details/divinehorsemenli00dere/page/260/mode/2up 

Erzulie Dantor is also identified with the Virgin Mary, but her vèvè is not a match. See: https://haitianartsociety.org/ezili-dantor 

Cole notes:

“My research in New Orleans was the first time the case had been opened since it was deposited; therefore, the probability of someone else representing the practice and drawing the symbol is doubtful.”

SOURCE: Cole, Kendra, "The State and the Spirits: Voodoo and Religious Repression in Jim Crow New Orleans" (2019). Honors Theses. 658. https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/658

However, Anderson cautions: 

“Unfortunately, the drawing is of uncertain age and origin and has no clear relevance to the case with which it associated, rendering it possible that the resemblance is simple chance.” (footnote 88)

SOURCE: Anderson, Jeffrey E. Voodoo: An African American Religion. LSU Press, 2024.

Indeed, the symbol might not be related to the lwa Ezili, but African in origin. For example, a similar heart-shaped symbol appears in the following photograph from 1900:

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. "Le roi d'Allada." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1900. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-07a3-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

As suggested by the name “Ezili Freda Dahomey”, Erzulie’s originates in the West African vodún Azili:

“An enslaved woman from Agonli-Houegbo, east of Abomey, established a shrine for the spirit Azili in the Tové neighborhood. Azili is the namesake of Haiti’s Èzili spirit family. The Dahomian army sold the woman in Hueda during the reign of Agaja, where she ended up remaining...Given Èzili’s importance in Haiti’s Rada and Petwo Rites, the narrative of the spirit’s origin in Dahomey and implantation in Hueda after 1720 suggests that the Èzili spirits have a Dahomian or Mahi origin.” (p. 73)

“Some have claimed that Ezili is a Haitian spirit (Dayan 1995, 58). However, the spirit Azlì or Azili is still served today in the Fon language area of Benin. Azlì dwells in the waters of Lake Azili that surround the island of Agonve, located on the left bank of the Oueme River (Brand 2000b, 7). In addition to their common traits, major differences include leprous male manifestations of Azlì in Fon culture (Tossounon 2012).” (pp. 169-170)

SOURCE: Hebblethwaite, Benjamin. A transatlantic history of Haitian Vodou: rasin figuier, rasin Bwa Kayiman, and the Rada and Gede Rites. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2021.

See also: Daniels, Kyra Malika. "An Assembly of Twenty-One Spirit Nations." Africa and Its Historical and Contemporary Diasporas (2023): 67. 

Worship of St. Peter and the Virgin Mary were prominent features of New Orleans Voodoo.

In an interview from the Federal Writer’s Project, Charles Raphael (“Raoul Desfrene”, born ca. 1868) described how Marie Laveau’s altar for “good work” featured statues of the Virgin Mary and Saint Peter:

Raoul Desfrene, a “French Negro” of 77, remembered Marie II well and attended some of her rites when he was a boy of about fourteen. What impressed him most was the jewelry he said she wore, which included, besides the ponderous gold earrings, diamond and ruby clasps in her scarlet-and-blue tignons, many rings set with diamonds and other precious stones, a huge horseshoe brooch of diamonds and a heavy gold bracelet on each arm. “She sure used to dress up,” he said.

He dismissed Marie I with, “There was an old lady living there, but nobody paid her no mind.” Raoul enjoyed describing the home of the Laveaus. According to him there was an altar for “good luck and good work” in the front room. It was covered with a white cloth and held a statue of the Virgin and one of Saint Peter. Raoul recalled one of another saint, a Saint Marron, who, he explained, “was a colored saint white people don’t know nothing about. Even the priests ain’t never heard of him ’cause he’s a real hoodoo saint.”

SOURCE: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. United States, Pelican Publishing, 1984. Originally published in 1946.

If St. Peter was Papa Legba, it is plausible that the Virgin Mary was Erzulie, due to her prominence in Haitian Vodou as the divine feminine principle. 

In Haitian Vodou, Milo Rigaud emphasized the importance of Damballah, Legba, and Erzulie, where the three form a holy trinity in the form of a triangle (“le triangle”): 

Legba is figured as a divine masculine prototype, while Erzulie is figured a divine feminine prototype:

Dans le voudoo, Legba origine et prototype mâle du voudoo, est donc le soleil qui préside aux rites, tandis qu'Erzulie, origine et prototype femelle, en est la lune. Legba en est le Christ et Erzulie la Vierge. Les autres mystères viennent à leur suite, par ordre hiérarchique.

TRANSLATION:

In Vodou, Legba - male origin and prototype of Vodou - is the sun who presides over rites, while Erzulie - female origin and prototype - is the moon. Legba is the Christ and Erzulie the Virgin. The other mystères follow them, in hierarchical order.

SOURCE: Rigaud, Milo. La tradition voudoo et le voudoo haïtien: son temple, ses mystères, sa magie. FeniXX, 1953. https://original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu/AA00002240/00001 

SEE ALSO: Rigaud, Milo. Secrets of voodoo. City Lights Books, 1985. French edition by Editions Niclaus 1953. Accessible here: https://archive.org/details/secretsofvoodoo00riga/mode/2up 

This mirrors the importance of Saint Peter and the Virgin Mary in Louisiana Voudou. 

Additionally, “Mama You” might be referring to one of the Ezili.

This is what is known about “Mama You”:

“Finally, some divinities survive only as names recorded in old documents, while others were probably no more than creations of imaginative authors. Mama You is one of the former, with her lone mention being a brief reference in a 1939 Federal Writers’ Project oral history. The only details supplied by the document are that she was “the mother of the child Jesus” and that she would sometimes answer from the ground when called by Marie Laveau.”

SOURCE: Anderson, Jeffrey E. Voodoo: An African American Religion. LSU Press, 2024.

Pictured: The protective mother, “Erzulie Dantor” by Andre Pierre

In Haitian Vodou, Ezili is sometimes referred to as “Manman” (as in, “Ezili bel Manman”, “Manman cherie” “Manman lavi” etc...) This is especially true for the protective mother Manman Ezili Danto. Words of praise for Ezili (especially, “Manman Danto”) sometimes refer to her as “Manman Ou”; there are many examples of this that can easily be found on the internet. 

Just a hypothesis, but “Mama You” might be derived from “Manman Ou”, or part of a sentence that goes “Mama, You…” where “Mama” refers to (Mama) Ezili. In other words, “Mama You” might not be the name of a spirit but words of praise for Ezili - possibly, but not necessarily Ezili Danto.

In Lapriye Ginen, there is a lwa called “Manman Wou”, who is part of the Ezili famille. Another possibility is that "Mama You" is derived from this "Manman Wou".

SOURCE: Beauvoir, Max. Lapriyè Ginen. Haiti, Edisyon Près Nasyonal d'Ayiti, 2008.

Benjamin Hebblewaithe reproduced Beauvoir’s list of lwa here: http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/02/68/96/00001/Historical%20Linguistic%20Dimensions%20of%20Spirit%20Migration%20in%20Haitian%20Vodou.pdf 

This is nothing definitive; I could have this wrong.

***

Previously, I proposed a theory that the Saint-Domingans may have brought a version of Erzulie who was both Erzulie Freda and Erzulie Dantor, like so:

“While I previously argued that this must be Erzulie Freda Dahomey, I have since realized that my logic was not entirely consistent. In Haitian Vodou, there exists a massive pantheon, where the lwa can be categorized by famille . “Erzulie” is actually a famille of lwa , where Erzulie Dantor is often described as the Petwo counterpart to Erzulie Freda Dahomey. (others categorize Erzulie Dantor as Rada and Erzulie Freda Dahomey as Danwonmen ) In the historical record of New Orleans, there is no evidence of an organization of Voudou spirits by famille . Petwo counterparts to Rada lwa - such as Damballah la Flambeau, Erzulie Dantor, and Maitre Carrefour - are absent. 

Papa Lébat (Louisiana Voudou) might capture an earlier version of Papa Legba (Haitian Vodou), where he is both Atibon Legba and Maitre Carrefour. If Erzulie really was incorporated into Louisiana Voudou, it is possible she was both Erzulie Freda Dahomey and Erzulie Dantor.”

Upon reflection, I realize this theory doesn’t actually make sense.

The emergence of Erzulie Dantor can be dated to Bwa Kayiman. The Saint-Domingans fled to New Orleans years after this event. It is very unlikely that Erzulie Dantor would have merged with Erzulie Freda during this time window.

Because the historical record is so sparse, there is a lot of uncertainty here. But it seems more sensible that the Saint-Domingans would have brought something resembling Azili and possibly Erzulie Freda Dahomey, if they brought a version of Erzulie with them at all. In other words, my previous speculation that this version of Erzulie would be both Erzulie Freda and Erzulie Dantor is probably wrong.