J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat, Ph.D.

I am presently an Ethnographic Explorer-in-Residence with the National Geographic Society and hold a Ph.D. in Anthropology (Temple University, 2001), with a specialization in Haitianist anthropology. have conducted fieldwork in Haiti on a continuous basis for over 20 years, primarily focusing on issues ranging from Vodou to childhood, violence, and gun proliferation in the capital of Port-au-Prince. My research into Haitian Vodou commenced in earnest in 2009, and received a boost when I was named a recipient of a generous grant from the Waitt Foundation to conduct preliminary field research in to the ritual process of zombificasyon. Since that time, I have been fully initiated into the Kongo cult of Haitian Vodou in the hamlet of Soukri, where in July 2014 I completed my ceremonial induction with the high rite of "lave tet", when I was 'baptized' into the temple, tattooed on my arm with the symbol of my spiritual protector (Papa Wangol), and granted formal authorized access to all knowledge associated with the Kongo cult of Soukri.

In 2015 and 2016 two National Geographic Explorer Expeditions were launched that took the research team deep into the Haitian interior where I made contact and established rapport and a trusting relationship with the Grand Priest of All Bizango in the Republic of Haiti, and documented the results of that work - and its relationship to zombification - on my website at www.kovats-bernat.com.

February 2017