"Aprè dans, tanbou toujou lou."
After the dance, the drums are always heavy.
-Haitian proverb
Plaine-du-Nord , (Kreyol: Plèn dinò, English: Northern Plain) is a suburban town of the L'Acul-du-Nord Arrondissement, in the Northern Department of Haiti located 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from Downtown Cap-Haïtien. The population was 41,225 as of the 2015 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was first settled by French Europeans in 1681 as a farming community with a parish dedicated to Saint James. Plaine-du-Nord is well known as the site of the beginnings of the Haitian Revolutionary War, in 1791, where the first slave revolt took place. It is also well known to be one of the centers of the Voodoo religion in the country.
Location in Northern Haiti (Purple dot southwest of Cap-Haitien)
About[]
Plaine-du-Nord, a small community of 40,000 inhabitants, is widely known for its annual festival honoring Saint-James and Saint Anne. The festival, attracting thousands of worldwide visitors, is certainly one of the most popular in Haiti. Known for its pool filled with sacred mud, each year, on July 24, it becomes the scene of possessions and sacrifices in honor of Ogou, the "loa" or warrior spirit represented by Saint James for vodouists.
Plaine-du-Nord is also home to Bassin Diamant, one of Haiti's stunning natural attractions. It is located at the end of a short path marked by past visitors' footsteps through fruit trees, which offer travelers the pleasure of tasting while walking.
History[]
Plaine-du-Nord is the historical site where the battle between Haiti's French colonizers and African slaves who worked in plantations began. This led to Haiti's independence from its colonizers and the freedom of slaves who became the very first official Haitians.
• Around 1730, on Le Normand de Mézy estate, the first campeches from the Bay of Campéche itself were naturalized. This useful tree was used there instead of the lemon tree for the hedges.
A runaway slave named Mackandal, who became a one-armed laborer in the local sugar factory, gained notoriety in the mid-18th century (1700s) for his use of poison. The white settlers hunted him in the forests, and he sought revenge in a cruel way typical of the oppressed. On August 14, 1791, the black leader Boukman gathered the rebellious slaves from this area and took them to Bois-Caiman. There, he had them drink the blood of a black pig that a priestess had sacrificed. Kneeling, he vowed to lead them and made them promise to follow his commands.
• On the Turpin habitation, Boukman was one of the commanders. He plundered the workshops of this plantation, along with those of Le Normand de Mezy, de Haville and Clement in 1791, appointing himself their leader on August 22.
• On August 22, 1791, during the slave insurrection, the whole Northern Plain was set on fire and bloodied: in the countryside, the whites of all parties fell under the blows of their slaves whom they had tortured mercilessly for many years.
• In March 1802, while the French were busy at the siege of Crête-à-Pierrot, General Christophe traveled the North with extraordinary activity, raising against them the cultivators of the northern plain, whose plantations and cane gardens he set fire to. In 1803, General Clausel drove out the natives encamped in the northern plain.
• In 1865, during the early stages of the Salnave's insurrection in the Cape, the Northern Plain embraced his cause against President Geffrard. As soon as the government troops approached the Cape, the North Plain sided with the government.
Plaine-du-Nord Church
Geography[]
Plaine-du-Nord is located at 19.6760° N, 72.2704° W. According to the IHSI, this commune has a total land area of 100.69 square kilometers (38.88 square miles), of which 50.61 km2 (50%) is rural, 45.58 km2 (45%) is suburban, and 4.50 km2 (5%) is urban. The town, part of the Northern Plain, is one of the eighteen communes of the Northern Department. It has a district and four communal sections. It is bathed on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and Acul Bay. It is bordered on the northeast by the city of Cap-Haïtien, on the east by the town of Milot, on the south by the town of Dondon, and on the west by the city of Acul-du-Nord.
The Northern Plain stretches from the left bank of the Massacre River, to the limits of Port-Margot, but the municipality of the North Plain does not include all this an area of 180 square leagues (5,556 km2 or 2,145 square miles).
Demographics
Its inhabitants are called Campinordais/e.
| Year | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 7,000 | |
| 1950 | 15,745 | +125% |
| 1971 | 24,323 | +55% |
| 1982 | 24,325 | none |
| 1998 | 33,662 | +38% |
| 2009 | 37,518 | +11% |
| 2015 | 41,225 | +9% |
Neighborhoods
| PDN | Plaine-Du-Nord | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPN | Ville de La Plaine-Du-Nord | Urban | 11,145 | ||
| QRB | Quartier Robillard | Urban | 3,666 | ||
| MRG | 1ère Section Morne Rouge | Rural | 14,468 | Balan, Bertrand, Carbe,Carrefour Morne Rouge, Ferrié, Flip, Globine, Joanem, Langlaise, Larry, La Salle, Lenou, Lombard, Maho, Moustique, Nan Banque, Nan Marecage, Naque, Normand, Papillon, Pont Coq, Tiberis, Trois Maries, Vaudreuil | |
| BPE | 2ème Section Basse Plaine | Rural section | 4,480 | Abord, Bois Rouge, Breda, Carrefour Bois Rouge, Carrefour Gallois, Carrefour la Mort, Carrefour Mansui, Daut, Desables, Dos Petite Place, Faubeau, Gallois, Iladan, La Suisse, Mansui, Pacot, Parque, Raidi, Rohan, Tosia, Zéphirin | |
| GBC | 3ème Section Grand Boucan | Rural section | 6,157 | Baubere, Bellevue, Dulorier, Grand Boucan, Guilleron, Le Revoir, Reine, Richate, Robillard. | |
| BAD | 4ème Section Bassin Diamant | Rural | 1,339 | Anselin, Barde , Carrefour Champion, Chiron, Dessables, Navarre. |
Economy[]
Plain-du-Nord
From the Economic and Financial standpoint, only three Hotels, two restaurants, a reception center, a credit union and five marketing cooperatives have been identified. The main markets are Balan and Vaudreuil in the 1st section and Robillard in the 3rd section.
The municipality produces a lot of campeche, coffee, and syrup used in the manufacture of tafia, its main industry. Copper ores have been found in the Morne Rouge section.
Infrastructure[]
Education
Some kids in Plaine-du-Nord
The Ministry of National Education of Youth and Sports is not represented in the Commune of Plaine du Nord. Ten Kindergarten, several primary schools including six public, numerous private, and three Congregational; and seven secondary schools have been inventoried in the Northern Plain. In addition, there are nine vocational schools and three literacy centers. There is no university or other higher school in the commune.
Health
Health center
The Ministry of Public Health is not represented in the Commune. There are four clinics, and a Radiodiagnostic center complete with a team of doctors, dentists, nurses, auxiliaries, certified matrons and laboratory technicians.
Utilities
The municipality has two rivers, five springs, and a lagoon. In addition, 15 single boreholes, ten artesian wells, twenty valves, and 150 pumps for domestic use were identified. Haiti's electricity is the institution that distributes electric power in the city, to the Communal Sections of Morne Rouge and Vaudreuil. Thanks to an electric motor, this current is provided twice a week.
Security
With regard to the Administrative and Judicial Infrastructures, the Municipality has a Court of Peace, a Commissariat and a registry office. There is no Prison but, a custody room. The garrison consists of a gendarmerie company, an administrative police, an artillery from the Cape, the national guard on foot and on horseback and the rural police.
Culture[]
Religion
With regard to Religion, nearly forty nine temples have been listed in the commune. The number of churches and chapels for denominations such as Episcopal, Baptist, Adventist, Pentecostal, Jehovah's Witness does not exceed four; the Catholic churches (13 in total) represent the confession best represented (in number of temples) in the Commune.
Pont de la Riviere Salee
Organizations
Three Popular Organizations, two easant Groups, a Women's Group and three NGOs form the political institutions and other Organizations of the commune.
Communication
At the time of the inventory, the town had no telephone. On the other hand, it has a postal service that works somehow.
Leisure
Apart from the sports practiced in the town such as: football (soccer), basketball, volleyball, athletics, tennis and karate, thirty-three (33) gaguères complete the meager places of entertainment and entertainment. In the field of Cultural Heritages, there is also the existence of a colonial site (Bois Caiman) located in Morne Rouge. This site is reminiscent of the slave revolt that took place on the night of 13 to 14 August 1793 under the direction of Boukman and another natural site (Grotte de Saint Jacques) located in Grand Boucan. The latter is a place of pilgrimage and vodonesque sacrifice. Each year, the municipality sees big events that sometimes last up to twenty two days.
Pilgrimage Festival[]
The municipality is currently considered as the country's Pilgrimage Festival capital, which attracts thousands of worshippers and foreign visitors yearly. One of Plain-du-Nord's biggest, most important festivals is the Saint Jacques Fiesta, which is celebrated every 25th of July. It is then followed by the Saint Anne celebration a day after. Pilgrims usually stay for 15 days in the municipality during these festivities in order to offer food to the less fortunate, light candles, and donate money to the local churches.
Religion[]
A woman holds a candle inside her mouth while in a trance in Plaine-Du-Nord
Aside from the different annual Pilgrimage Festivals, Plaine-du-Nord is also known for its inhabitants' active practice of vodun. The days' Tuesday and Thursday mark the occurrence of voodoo rituals in municipality's famous muddy basin also referred to as Bassin Saint Jacques. The sacred pool of Sucry is also another popular site of voodoo worship,especially during the Sucry voodoo pilgrimage that involves two long weeks of celebration and worship. Baptisms, chants, dances, and sacrifices are the usual happenings during this annual pilgrimage.
References[]
Plaine du Nord [1]
Michael Vedrine