Boukman’s Invocation To climax the ceremony, Dutty Boukman rendered his famous Invocation to Voodun. "The god, who created the earth, who created the sun that gives us light. The god who holds up the ocean; who makes the thunder roar. Our god who has ears to hear. You who are hidden in the clouds; who watches us from where you are. You see all that the whites have made us suffer. The white man's god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good. Our god, who is so good, so just, He orders us to revenge our wrongs. It's He who will direct our arms and bring us to victory. It's He who will assist us. We all should throw away the image of the white men's god who is so pitiless. Listen to the voice for liberty that speaks in all our hearts."

The worship of Ogun normally involves blood sacrifice. The sacrificial animal’s throat is slit, and the blood is poured out. All those attending the ceremony then made a covenant with Ogun and other African deities, by dipping their hands into the sacrificial blood and took an oath to serve the deities for the rest of their lives. At the end of the ceremony on that fateful day in Bois Caïman in August 1791, erstwhile timid men and women went forth, emboldened by the assurance that Voodun through his messenger Ogun, would lead them to victory over their oppressors. The oath of vengeance taken by these oppressed men and women would later translate to massive destruction of lives and properties of their slave masters.

Dutty Boukman’s Place in Haitian History Dutty Boukman therefore deserves the honor as the first leader of the African slave rebellion which eventually led to freedom for the oppressed peoples of Saint Domingue, and the birth of Haiti as the first autonomous Black Republic in the World. Those who took over the mantle of leadership of the African slaves of Saint Domingue from Boukman Dutty, after he was captured and beheaded by the French colonists, were all present at the now unforgettable and landmark dedication ceremony to Ogun at Bois Caïman on August 14, 1791. The roll call: Cecile Fatiman, Georges Biassou, Jeannot Bullet and Jean François Papillon. They all became leaders of the early stanza of Haitian Revolution.

In Present day Haiti, the memory of Dutty Boukman is venerated and highly regarded, as the first leader of the Haitian Revolution. Bois Caïman is now a Haitian national heritage site where all devotees of the ancient African religion, now corrupted as voudou, gather to pay homage to Ogun, and the memory of Dutty Boukman. It is now widely accepted that the religious ceremony to the African deity of war, Ogun, at Bois Caïman on August 14, 1791, was the starting point for the Haitian Revolution.

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