Haitians mourn Architect Didier Dominique, defender of Vodou and workers’ rights

Editor’s note: Didier Dominique died of pancreatic cancer on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at the age of 73. The obituary below is courtesy of members of KOSANBA’s executive board. 

On behalf of the Board of KOSANBA, a Scholarly Association for the Study of Haitian Vodou, housed at the University of California, Santa Barbara, we express our deep sadness and sorrow upon the transition of Didier Dominique. KOSANBA extends its heartfelt condolences to his daughter Ariel Dominique and other family members, and to the wider communities in mourning.  

With heavy hearts and deep gratitude for the legacies of Didier Dominique’s work, we salute our comrade and brother for his fierce commitment to social justice, his unending battles for workers’ rights, and his defense of Vodou. We pay tribute to the strength of his moral conscience and the consistency of his voice and leadership, which have been and will continue to be a source of inspiration for so many in Haiti and internationally.

In commemorating Didier Dominique’s life and work today, we honor the esteemed architect and longtime professor of urban sociology at the Université d’État d’Haïti, as well as the leading voice with Batay Ouvriye for the rights of workers in Haiti and beyond. We honor the distinguished writer, who with esteemed anthropologist and manbo Rachel Beauvoir-Dominique, co-authored in Haitian Kreyòl the important study Savalou E, which focused, in part, on Vodou sosyete as centers of rural organization and collective resistance. 

This work was awarded the prestigious Casa de Las Américas prize in 1989 and was published by Les Éditions du CIDIHCA in 2003. Their most recent co-authored book Textes à Conviction, published with the support of FOKAL in 2015, reflects the wide range of their collaborative work, as well as the commitment, rigor, engagement, and solidarity that guided and propelled it over decades. We honor Didier Dominique’s commitment, along with Rachel Beauvoir-Dominique, to safeguarding eritaj, and their joint curation of museum exhibits dedicated to the Haitian national religion in Haiti and in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. 

Didier Dominique was a close friend of KOSANBA, especially after Rachel Beauvoir-Dominique became a Board Member in 2012, and he participated with her, Ariel Dominique, and Malou Beauvoir in our Fall 2017 conference in New Orleans. When Rachel transitioned only two months later, Didier inherited from her many of the responsibilities for the Lakou Bovwa in Mariani, which he fulfilled with determination, commitment, and utmost respect for the rituals and tradition. 

He also continued working on their longtime joint vision to create a cultural center and archive there, a project that would, among other aims, help preserve Ati Max Beauvoir’s (and also Rachel’s) immense legacy of writings and teaching about Vodou and Haitian culture writ large. 

This past year, Didier worked with KOSANBA board members on the Portuguese edition of Rachel Beauvoir-Dominique’s book Investigations autour du site historique du Bois Caïman, researched in collaboration with Eddy Lubin in 1999. This translation will inaugurate the series “Vodou Ayiti,” initiated by KOSANBA board member Cecilia Lisa Eliceche with the support of houngan Jean-Daniel Lafontant and published in Brazil by Editora Segundo Selo. The second book of this collection will be Rachel and Didier’s Savalou E. Didier was eager to have this book published in Portuguese and in the past month was able to have a brief exchange with the translator. 

Isn’t it symbolic that Patriot Didier would make his transition on May 18, Haiti’s Flag Day, and also on what would have been Rachel’s 60th birthday? We find comfort in knowing that these marasa are now reunited and the sacred union of our beloved Rachel and Didier continues. May their celestial reunion be a joyous one and may we on this plane celebrate this incredible legacy and do all in our power to uphold and continue the tremendous work that has been done and left behind. 

Didier, may you rest in peace and power! You leave many students. We stand on your mighty shoulders and inherit a significant responsibility, but will keep the light ablaze. Be assured that the battle for liberation for Haiti and for Vodou will continue!

The Mapou has fallen but has deep roots…  

As you often said, we also say… “Gwo Kwoke” “Gwo Kwoke” to you, dear Didier.  Bonne traversée…. 

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