Vodou tè a ee salou e ! (Greetings to the spirit of earth!)  
Vodou dlo a ee, salou e ! (Greetings to the spirit of water!)  
Vodou lè a ee, salou e ! (Greetings to the spirit of air!)  
Vodou zo a ee, salou e ! (Greetings to the spirit of fire!) 


—Manzé & Lòlò Beaubrun 

The ritual of equilibrium in Vodou tradition is a profound spiritual practice aimed at restoring balance and harmony amongst individuals and communities. Central to Vodou is the belief that discord can disrupt physical and spiritual wellness. Here, the quest for equilibrium becomes a way of coping with everyday challenges and connecting to ancestral spiritual forces believed to rule human existence. In this opening blessing, Vodou practitioners, musicians, and political activists Lòlò and Manzé Beaubrun invoke the loa (spirits) of earth, water, air, and fire to call for balance and reconnection with the knowledge and power that made the original Bwa Kayiman gathering possible.  

Dutty Boukman, Cécile Fatiman, and their peers also played a key role, having shepherded the troops to the mangrove forest where the ceremony took place in 1791. Boukman was soon taken prisoner and murdered by French colonial troops afterwards, but remains a national hero in Haiti, prompting the Beaubruns to name their musical group Boukman Eksperyans when they formed in 1978. As founding pillars of Boukman Eksperyans, Lòlò and Manzé Beaubrun pursue their revolutionary mission both socially and spiritually, assisted by their son Ted Beaubrun.