The Serpent and the Rainbow combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans.

When he does talk about the Zombie poison, Davis makes it easy to understand how without giving specifics but revealing the major components. Beginning with a sound hypothesis when starting on his adventure and unraveling the mystery scientifically as the book progresses. He loves is terminology, but never does it frustrate the reader. Also, where he excels again is when he uses historical reference to provide many examples how similar or the same poisons have accidentally given the appearance of death in different parts and times of the world. Furthermore Davis explains that the poison is just a component to religious and social conditioning that reinforce the defintion of "Zombi".

After reading "The Serpent and the Rainbow" it will compel you to look up figures such as Macandal, Dr. Francois Devalier and especially Zore Neale Hurston, in which he names a chapter from the works of this remarkable woman.

My only complaint about the book is that I wish the author had provided a map. As descriptive as he is, it's hard to get a point of reference. One would say go on the net, but that's hard to do when your reading on a bus.

What I find ironic is that the movie of the same name glorifies the stereotypes in wich this book goes a lengths to disprove. But the irony within that irony is that if it wasn't for the movie, I never would have bought and read such a great book.


An exploration of another world   March 23, 2002
 39 out of 40 found this review helpful

Davis guides us through a fantastic world in this superb account of his investigation into Haitian "secret societies." Although outlandish at first glance, Haitian social justice and how it's administered is revealed in its deep cultural framework. The terms "voodoo" and "zombie," so ignorantly applied in our culture over the years, are clarified by this serious scholar. Davis offers much more than simply a redefinition of what media has distorted. He examines the origins and use of various toxins that are applied to put a living person in a death-like trance. This seemingly "evil" practice has deep and positive social roots. It's the social milieu that ultimately gives this book its real value. As Davis pursues botanical sources used in rendering people comatose, he is caught up in an investigation of why the drugs are used on particular individuals.

Davis' quest began with a commission to investigate anesthetic drugs from plants and animals. His mentor, Richard Schultes, was considered the founder of ethnobotany, the study of plant chemistry as a cultural artifact. Davis is sent to Haiti in 1982, a time of growing awareness of the numbers of natural products overlooked for medicinal use. Davis is sent to Haiti to investigate the zombi myths. He learns of the use of "magic powders" to bring about a catatonic state. People are declared dead, buried, but are exhumed and led away, often to a life of near slavery. Davis, using Schultes' work as background, investigates the Datura genus of plants. Datura in various species, ranges across the Western Hemisphere and is widely used by Amerindian and other peoples for various rituals. So, too, are the excretions of Bufo marinus, the Central American "cane toad," that today is the scourge of vast reaches of Australia. Its poison was adapted for various uses in Europe within years of Columbus' voyages.

This pharmocopoeia of toxins and anesthetic drugs have been a part of many cultures, but in Haiti, they prove to be a mechanism of social justice. Wade's account of the structure of Haitian society is worth the price of the book. The classic picture of hierarchical society, resembling so vividly that of our own, is dissected carefully by Davis. Haiti, with its history of dictators and oppression, foreign rule and harsh slavery so vividly depicted by North American media, retains a hidden but powerful underlying structure. While the government seems to sit dominant in Port-au-Prince, in the rural areas an almost independent organization of communities flourish. These local structures reflect accepted norms, deal with local conflict and provide an underlying enforcement mechanism for the maintenance of social order. Their foundation is derived from African roots, modified by Roman Catholic ritual, and remain unheralded except by those who decry their secretiveness. Wade argues these community establishments are not truly "secret societies," but instead reflect the needs of people for whom bombastic pronouncements have no place in their daily existence. The houngans ["vodoun priests"] are little more than Haitian parsons supporting their local populations.

Although focused on Haiti, Davis' book cannot but evoke how much we have yet to learn about other "hidden" or "clandestine" societies. If the method of "zombification" of malefactors seems extreme in our view, it may be simply because we hide our criminals away in concrete tombs at taxpayer's expense. Davis explains that no victim of zombification has been selected arbitrarily. Each situation is carefully examined to assess whether the victim has offended family or the community. Catatonic drugs are administered to render the culprit to a state where they may be transported from the community they've offended. To Davis, it's simply the quiet application of justice. Is this a technique we could apply in our own society? Probably not, since we don't possess the cultural background. But the rendering of justice at the local level for local offenses is surely something we might consider as a behavioural innovation. Davis leaves this question open, but if we engage in the type of investigation he relates, there might be other examples in other societies from which we can learn. This book offers much information and interesting examples of lives different from our own.


The Ends Justify the Means?   December 7, 2003
 27 out of 65 found this review helpful

The author takes us on his own macho trip to find the truth about Haitian zombies, prying his way into the ceremonial temples called "hounfours" where dancers in trance hold fire to their lips and are not harmed. Financed by academic money, Davis made a number of trips to the island and managed to uncover much information about the practice of what we call "voodoo" and specifically about the making of zombies. Yes, there really are zombies, people supposedly dead and buried, but who emerge from the grave to become mindless slaves. How is this accomplished?

By buying his way into the favor of various "houngans," the author appears to have found the answer. As an ethnobotanist, the author has the knowledge and skills to determine if the various wierd ingredients (ground human bones, lizards and toads, various plants, etc) actually have any pharmacological basis for causing a simulation of death and/or subsequent "resurrection." While he watched as the houngans prepared the powder, he noted there were different formulas used, but each contained some of the same ingredients, and those could produce a death-like effect.

As I read this book, by the middle of it I found I did not like the author's methods nor much like the author; he blithely lied to people numerous times to get what he wanted, and the preparations he brought back were used on hapless rhesus monkeys to test their potency. In order to get at the methods and reasons for creating zombies, the author had to finally adopt a Haitian mind-set that brought conflicts with his Harvard Sophisticated background. It turns out that people are not snatched at random to be turned into zombies, but rather the practice is part of the fabric of Haitian culture, which, reflecting the African origins of its people, is actually governed by interlocking secret societies. The legal government could not exist without the consent of these societies, which are generally headed by houngans. The zombie "poison" is used on people who break what appear to be perfectly reasonable rules, and only after a judgment by their peers in which they have a chance to defend themselves.

The author ultimately finds that it is the beliefs -- the "magic" -- that makes the zombifiction possible. The powders he brings back to his civilized laboratories are crucial to the process, but it is the web of cultural beliefs that allow it to happen. As I got further into the book, I was glad the author finally saw that the best thing he could do is back off and recognize that he is not Haitian and he cannot penetrate the ultimate secrets of Haitian culture. I thought he went too far in buying his way into knowledge best left for those who can understand it. Some of his travels around the island were for tasks that were not well explained. Was he on a personal quest, a scientific mission, or just a traveler soaking up the local color?

The book provides much information on how Haiti came to be. I was surprised by the information that for 100 years Haiti was the only black-led nation. The history of the slave uprising is fascinating. Haitian culture is essentially African because the slave turnover was so great and many who participated in the final revolt had been born in Africa.

This book, while worthwhile for what it reveals about Haiti, made me think about the excesses of science in pursuit of knowledge. The Haitian people, through their interaction with the author, have proven that not all knowledge comes from logical discovery. The dancers who gyrate to the drums in trance and serve the loas do not need an explanation of why the fire does not burn them. Perhaps we do not need an explanation either.


A serious, scientific look at zombies   March 5, 2000
 26 out of 27 found this review helpful

Written by an ethnobotanist (a combination of a botanist and an anthropologist), this book focuses on Haiti, the secret societies within Haiti, and of course, the psychological and scientific means of making a zombie. No, Wade Davis doesn't come out and say, to make a zombie, do this, this, and this. Instead, he uses reason and logic to track down the actual processes, both social and psychological, that lead to the Haitian people's tendency to believe in them. As it's written by a scientist, the focus on Haiti's past and culture should be more expected than a flat out 'Indiana Jones goes to the tropics'. For those who've seen the movie: no, he doesn't get zombie poison blown in his face. No, he doesn't get buried alive. No, he doesn't get harassed by a corrupt police chief who cuts off peoples' heads. It's pretty down to earth. For those really interested in Haitian culture and, to some extent, voodoo, this is a perfect book to read. If you want adventure, rent the movie.


A fascinating scientific adventure   September 21, 1997
 21 out of 22 found this review helpful

In "The Serpent and the Rainbow" Ethnobotanist Wade Davis chronicles his explorations of Haitian culture and religion in what begins as a search for an actual drug used to create Zombis. As Davis delves deeper in to the Voudoun societies in search of this rumored drug, he discovers a many layered religious and social culture that raises new questions and leads to further investigations into the peasant culture of Haiti and its roots in West African religion and culture.

While not a reference work on the Voudoun religion, "The Serpent and the Rainbow" sheds new light on Voudoun practice and theology, and it's ubiquitous presence in all levels of Haitian society. This is not a horror story of "devil drums" and "Voodoo dolls" but an exploration of how history has shaped the lives and culture of the people of Haiti.

In a nutshell, this is a real life adventure that is, if anything, more entertaining, and interesting than the fictional adventures of Indiana Jones, and far more satisfying than the Wes Craven film which is loosely (very loosely) based on this book.