Bio

Houngan Jean-Sebastien Duvilaire (Babbas) is an independent scholar focusing on Haitian and African histories and traditions. He is the founder of the AfrikAyiti Project, bridging the gaps between Africa and the Diaspora through cultural exchange programs, sustainable business activities, and working on traditional platforms to nurture contemporary relationships. Houngan Babbas as he is affectionately called, is also a Dancer/choreographer/artist/educator from Abricot, Haiti, who strongly believes in the use of the performing arts to trigger real social change. He is the director of JSDDance by Tahomey; the later is a business comprising various projects aimed at promoting unity between Ayiti and Africa. He travels extensively throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa to teach and perform, sharing his ideologies of African culture through his Haitian lens. He promotes Pan-africanism and considers the union of Africans as a crucial step towards creating a better world for current communities to thrive in. His commitment to cultural sustainability and justice is tied into working with artists, scholars, and farmers in rural Ayiti and rural Africa, considering them all as very important agents of a better tomorrow. 

Houngan Babbas is also a new member of the Worcester MA community in the United States. He is an active member of -Sosyete Nago-, an advisor in the Royal court of the Aïzos of Allada Benin, west Africa; he is a husband and a father.