Benjamin Hebblethwaite is a professor in the department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Florida, where he teaches courses on linguistics and culture focused on Haitian Creole and French. His books include A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou, Stirring the Pot of Haitian History: by Michel-Rolph Trouillot (with Mariana Past), and Vodou Songs in Haitian Creole and English. 

He received a 12-month 2024-25 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as 3-month fellowship from the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies in Leiden to work on the book project, The Songs and Prayers of Sèvis Ginen: Historical Linguistic Approaches to Haitian Vodou. Ben’s journey into Netherlandic studies began with Afrikaans in 1993, including a year in South Africa studying the language in 1995-96, a semester at the KU Leuven in 1999, and decades of reading inspired Dutch-language book.

At KITLV Ben will focus on writing the historical analysis of the Kingdom of Hueda and its main Vodun temple, the Slangenhuis (Snake House) and its Slangendienst (Snake Service), based on the singular observations of Willem Bosman (1703: 133-173). The religious tradition of serpent veneration has become a leading feature of Haitian Vodou’s Rada and Dahomian Rites through spirits like Danbala, Ayida Wèdo, and Danyi Dangbesi, among others, as well as in Winti traditions in Suriname where fodoe dagwe is venerated. Hougan (Vodou Priest) Max Beauvoir’s (2008a and 2008b) important collections of Haitian Vodou songs contain hundreds of references to these snake lwas (spirits) that originally hail from religious communities located in contemporary Benin. Bosman (1703) is among the earliest eyewitness reports of this African religious forebear that flourished in Haiti and Suriname.

In Leiden Ben will research and write about Bosman’s (1703) account, learn more about Winti traditions, exchange ideas with specialists of Caribbean and African colonial history and language, and he will seek resources and collaboration at Leiden University Library.