Haiti Voodoo and Relief: Is it helping?

A month before Haiti's devastating earthquake, prominent musician Theodore "Lolo" Beaubrun and a few friends were summoned by spirits who
tried to warn them about the impending cataclysm.

"They told us to pray for Haiti because many people would die," says Mr Beaubrun - the frontman of the group Boukman Eksperyans.

"I thought it was about politics. I didn't know it was going to be an earthquake." The spirits may have failed to make themselves understood, but according to Mr Beaubrun - whose music and outlook are steeped in voodoo culture - they are standing by the Haitian people in their hour of need. "We
are extremely traumatised," he says. "We have seen death. But the spirits entered the minds of people to advise and help them heal. They speak to us. It's like therapy." But Mr Breaubrun's idea
that voodoo should play a leading role in helping victims of the country's worst-ever natural disaster is currently little more than a hope.

Voodoo relief

Haiti's traditional religion has kept a low profile in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The songs and prayers heard amid the rubble and tent cities around Port-au-Prince
are overwhelmingly Christian.

The voodoo religion may be practised by many Haitians - the exact number is unknown - and has not been totally absent from the aid effort.