“Annually, thousands of pilgrims make the difficult trek to Sodo, a sacred waterfall in the heart of Haiti near Ville Bonheur. ‘Sodo’ is the Creole spelling of ‘Saut d’Eau,’ which means ‘waterfall’ in French. This pilgrimage to the sacred dwelling place of Viej Mirak (the Miracle Virgin) takes place on or around July 16th, when Catholicism celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. This occasion also commemorates the date in 1849 when the Virgin Mary appeared to a peasant farmer among palm foliage. This concurrence led to the desire to worship the Vodou spirit of Ezuli Danto, the warrior mother. These images are from my annual participation in the pilgrimage from 1997 to 2001.”

– Phyllis Galembo