MEET THE FAMILY,
ALIVE & DEAD
THE BELOVED ANCESTOR
CECE, 30s
Cécile Fatiman. A mambo (high priestess) and one of the main forces that ignited the Haitian Revolution. Presiding over the Bois-Caïman ceremony with her co-conspirator, Dutty Boukman, she provided the momentum to the masses and cemented an intrinsic bond between Vodou and liberation. Calling on the spirits, ancestors, and others to join the fight, Cece is an inspiration and a humble leader. Having successfully started a maroon community with Boukman, she is preparing for the Bois-Caïman ceremony and many other rituals to call on the help and strength needed to fight their oppressors. When she isn’t preparing for this, she is often in the forest, looking for medicinal plants to bring back to her commune.
She meets Tino when slave catchers kidnap her from the forest, and she is taken to the same plantation as him. Through conversations with Tino, we learn about her past life with her mother, where she worked on another plantation. We see the dynamics of colorism play out as Tino is fascinated by her green eyes and lighter complexion; she presents as ethereal. While she cannot wait for him, she tells him of the maroon community that exists deep in the mountains, where he can escape. She is swift and moves silently, and escapes shortly after she is kidnapped. Cece becomes a grounding force for those around her, serving as a reminder of people’s collective power and the power of divine forces.
Cece’s arc from mysterious runaway to erudite healer:
Over the course of the season, we see Cece planning her escape from the sugar plantation to which she is brought and preparing for the Bois Caïman ceremony. Understanding the weight of the Revolution and everyone’s part in collective liberation, Cece reminds us that we cannot get to the other side of the mountain unless we all help each other. As the Haitian proverb goes, ‘men anpil, chay pa lou’, or, many hands make light work.