Part 9: Sins of the Fathers 9: Lesson Time!

Part 9: Lesson Time!

So at this point, we kind of really need to know what the fuck cabrit sans cor’ means; Not only because we’re not getting anywhere with Cazanoux without it, and also in my original playthrough it was driving me fucking batty. So if she won’t tell us, Dr. John won’t tell us, and Willy at the Voodoo store won’t tell us….I guess that means it’s lecture time!



So here we are at the University, and I’m not going to transcribe the entire thing, but I do HIGHLY recommend that you watch the video because it’s really quite fascinating.
To sum up: Voodoo/Voudoun involves the worship of spirits called Loa who can be damn near anything from ancestors to the Virgin Mary. Some of them include Papa Nebo or Gede “the lord of death” (Gee I wonder if there’s any connection???), and Ogoun Badagris “The lord of destruction”. Voudoun temples are called hounfours, with a matriarchal priestess called the mamaloa. The hounfour has a ritual circle called a veve (glares at WendyO), which differs from tribe to tribe, as each veve indicates the tribes’ Loa.





Did I mention that Magentia fucking sucks at her “job”??



At any rate, Gabriel falls asleep during the lecture and has a dream about the sekey madoule, and is woken up by the end of the lecture. That being done, we better talk to this egghead Arcade Gannon Professor Hartridge.

“Are you a student?”
“No. My name is Knight. Gabriel Knight.”
(It actually just occurred to me that he always introduces himself in James Bond fashion. Come to think of it, why the fuck hasn’t Tim Curry been a Bond villain yet???)
“Well, you have walked into my private office, Mr. Knight. I hope you have something worthwhile to do here. If you figure it out, let me know.”
“Your lecture was terrific.”
“Oh, you think so? You were snoring so loud, I didn’t think you’d heard it.”

Burned. But yeah, that one’s on you, Gabriel. Anyway, interrogating Hartridge finally answers the question that’s been haunting us for awhile now:

“Do you have any idea what cabrit sans cor’ means?”
“Cabrit sans cor’? Yes, I do. It’s a Haitian term, I believe. It’s French, and literally translates as ‘goat without horns’.”
“As in a female goat?”
“No. As in a human sacrifice. Sacrifices in Voudoun are usually of the animal variety…chickens, bulls, goats…but if the gods demand a ‘goat without horns’, it means a human being.”

Okay, we’re officially into creepy fucking territory now, and I’d kind of like to know how the old bat is aware of human fucking sacrifice. Also, now accepting bets that the Loa involved in the Voodoo Murders is Kali, meaning that the killers have betrayed Shiva. But wait, there’s more! We can show Hartridge the completed pattern…

“Can you tell me anything about this pattern?”
“Wow. Interesting…VERY interesting! Mind if I copy this?”
“Be my guest.”
“Here you go. You know, this is a fascinating veve! You must tell me all about its origin!”
“Uh, actually, I was hoping YOU’D tell me. Can you figure out anything about it from the symbols?”
“Well, some. That’s why I wanted a copy: I want to research the design myself. Each of the symbols in the veve represent something…a Loa, a place…Where did you get this?”
“Have you heard of the Voodoo Murders?”
“No! You’re kidding! Really?! Then the Voodoo IS authentic! The newspapers are wrong…boy, are they wrong!”
“You think this…veve…is authentic then?”
“Authentic? Mr. Knight, that’s like asking if the Mona Lisa is a painting! Tell you what…I’ll look into these symbols myself and see what I can learn about the sect that made this. I’ll give you a call when I have more information.”

And with that, we have two mysteries solved. Back to Cazanoux! Now she tells us more about what she knows, specifically that Marie Laveau was apparently the fall gal for the real Voodoo Queen of New Orleans…who is apparently still in power, and has been for over 200 years now. Could be that she’s still just talking crazy, but you never know….
Cazanoux also shows Gabriel a bracelet handed down through her family that is supposed to mark the wearer as permitted entrance to the Voodoo Queen’s secret hounfour, and asks him to bless it for her. Which leads to….this:

“Bless this bracelet of a snake, even though its vibes aren’t great. Let it do nobody harm, when they wear it on their arm. Voodoo spirits go away, don’t come back another day. And now, let us pray.”

I’d like to believe Tim Curry came up with that on his own. Now that we have the bracelet in our hot little hands, we can’t steal it…but remember way back when at Lake Pontchartrain, when we got some clay from the riverbank? Gabriel quickly makes an impression of the bracelet in the clay and continues with his….blessing:

“Bless, oh, bless, this circlet of silver! Take the curse, oh, take it…Wilbur!”
( )
“*sniff* A lovely blessing, mon pere!”
( )
“Yes, I think it made a lasting impression. Here you go!”

Oh lordy, loo. Anyway, we’ll wrap it up for now, and next time, we’ll see what we need to do to get a replica of the damn thing made.