Vodou Lakay at a Dance in Miami

The percussionists of Rara Lakay are known as Vodou Lakay when they perform alone, as they do for various dances, like the one I was invited to in far north Dade County on a Friday night. The event was held at a private home, but it attracted a huge crowd, for cars were all over the subdivision and most of the people remained outside because of the heat and such crowded conditions inside where the drumming and dancing was taking place. Most of the drum rhythms used for Haitian dancing are of course African in origin and ancient. In the cycle of drum rhythms known as rada (a name asssociated with the Arada people in Benin), it is usual for the drummers to use sticks, whereas the drumming of the petwo rhythms is done with the bare hands. Such a dance, having begun at midnight or so, would likely continue until the early morning hours.