Haiti [Harry Potter Lexicon]

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======Haiti======
=====Location Information=====
  * **Type:** Country
  * **Location:** Caribbean
  * **Owner/Residents:** Unspecified Haitian [[wizarding community]].
  * **Key Features:** Known as the site of a significant incident involving [[Inferi]] orchestrated by [[Lord Voldemort]].
=====Description and History=====
[[Haiti]] is a country located in the Caribbean. While little is detailed about its magical community, it is known to have a wizarding population. (Pottermore)
The most notable event associated with [[Haiti]] in modern [[wizarding history]] is an incident referred to by [[Albus Dumbledore]] as "that business in [[Haiti]]". This event involved a large number of [[Inferi]] and was significant enough to be known to [[Dumbledore]] in [[Britain]]. It is presented as an example of [[Lord Voldemort]]'s early mastery and use of this particular branch of the [[Dark Arts]], demonstrating the international scope of his activities even prior to the [[Second Wizarding War]].
Students from the Caribbean region, including [[Haiti]], are eligible to attend [[Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]] in North America (Pottermore).
=====Role in the Story=====
[[Haiti]]'s primary role in the narrative is to broaden the scope of [[Lord Voldemort]]'s power and influence beyond the confines of [[Britain]]. The single mention of the country in //[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]// serves several purposes:
  * It establishes [[Voldemort]]'s long-standing proficiency in creating and commanding [[Inferi]], a particularly dark form of [[magic]].
  * It demonstrates that [[Voldemort]]'s activities were global, underscoring the true extent of his threat to the [[wizarding world]].
  * It provides context for the presence of [[Inferi]] in the seaside cave where [[Voldemort]] hid one of his [[Horcruxes]], suggesting he had vast experience with them from incidents like the one in [[Haiti]].
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * J.K. Rowling's choice of [[Haiti]] as a location for an [[Inferi]]-related incident may be a reference to the real-world Haitian Vodou (Voodoo) folk religion, which features lore concerning reanimated corpses, or zombies. This provides a cultural parallel to the magically reanimated bodies that are [[Inferi]].