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Jess DiPierro Obert

Photographer
   
The Marasa's Dance Beneath Kalbas
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Nationality: American
Biography: Jess DiPierro Obert is a visual journalist and filmmaker based between New York and Haiti, where she has lived for 5 years (2016-2021). She is focused on reporting on stories related to women, abortion rights, human rights, immigration, identity,... MORE
Private Story
The Marasa's Dance Beneath Kalbas
Copyright Jess Obert 2024
Updated May 2020
Location Haiti
Topics Belief, Celebrations, Ceremony, Community, Culture, Documentary, Environment, Essays, Faith, Haiti, Photojournalism, Portraiture, Religion, Spirituality
On the outskirts of the town of Mirebalais in the Central Plateau, Haiti, I explore the deep integration and cultural importance of Vodou on the dynamics of a family.  

"Beneath the Kalbas tree a wooden staff to hang a lamp is planted firmly in the earth. It’s a significant tree. Grand, with big, round green gourd-like fruits hanging from its branches. It’s said to have the power to summon Spirit.

The Louis family lives outside of the small town of Mirebalais in the Central Plateau of Haiti. Across the river Fer a Cheval in Ledier. Sergo, 35, lives with his wife Guerline, 27, and their three children: Diego “Peterson,” 13, Sterline, 11, and Djoulie, 3. He had moved to Mirebalais years before from Cap-Haïtien, once the capital of Haiti, now a faded, colorful port city in the North. His sister had told him of a beautiful girl who lived on the outskirts of town. Guerline was just 14 when they met.

The father of Guerline, Jean-Bois Dubessier, is a farmer that owns a few rice fields, and the community Vodou priest. Twice a year the family gathers beneath the Kalbas tree to honor Simbi, the spirit that has always worked closely with Jean-Bois and the Dubessier family, serves Rasin Ginen, either protecting or bringing misfortune upon the family."


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The Marasa's Dance Beneath Kalbas
Beneath the Kalbas tree a wooden staff to hang a lamp is planted firmly in the earth. It's a significant tree. Grand, with big, round green gourd-like fruits hanging from its branches. It’s said to have the power to summon Spirit


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The Marasa's Dance Beneath Kalbas by Jess Obert
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