The Founders
Cécile Fatiman
born c. 1771
Priestess of Bois Caïman. A mother of the revolution.
Cécile Fatiman was a mambo, a Vodou priestess. On the night of 14 August 1791 she presided with Dutty Boukman over the ceremony at Bois Caïman, the gathering that launched the uprising.
Few written records of her life survive. According to tradition, she lived through the whole revolution, saw independence, and died at a very old age. She later married Louis Michel Pierrot, a soldier of the revolution who became president of Haiti.
Achievements
- Co-led the Bois Caïman ceremony, the spiritual start of the revolution.
- Gave the uprising the unity of a sacred oath.
- Stands for the women whose role in the revolution was rarely written down.
