Haitian rural society is predominately made up of subsistence farmers who rent or own a small plot of land and cultivate beans, sweet potatoes and other crops using labor-intensive technology such as picks and hoes. Most families live in small one- or two-bedroom homes without electricity or running water and rely on charcoal as the principle energy source. The load is lightened a bit by communal work teams called kombits, music, and pastimes like Krik Krak, an oral game of riddles. But make no mistake - Haiti is hard living and the poverty is more harsh than quaint. Perhaps the country's celebrated sense of humor is requisite for survival.
Many young people hoping to escape the cycle of rural poverty move to Port-au-Prince or Cap Haïtien, and most end up living in shantytowns like Cité Soleil, where 200,000 people occupy 5 sq km (2 sq mi) of reclaimed swampland. An almost total lack of civilian infrastructure is as obvious as the open sewage ditches and as invisible as the dearth of accountable police maintaining some semblance of law and order. In the cool hills above the slums, however, the mainly mulatto 1% of Haiti that controls 44% of the country's wealth live in the gated communities of Pétionville, where fine restaurants and glittering shopping centers cater to a very different side of Haitian society.
There are deep and bitter divisions between blacks (about 95% of the population) and mulattos (about 5%). While blacks have always had an overwhelming majority, mulattos have had advantages within education, government and the military. Most mulattos speak French, the language of higher education and most job opportunities, while the vast majority of Haitians speak Creole. This two-tiered social system is perhaps the greatest barrier to Haiti coming into its own as a stable and successful Caribbean nation.
Haiti is the home of much maligned but beautifully spiritual Vodou (Voodoo). At its heart, Vodou is a pantheistic African religion similar to the Nigerian Yoruba faith, which was brought over by African slaves and later syncretized with Catholicism. After missionaries persuaded the slaves to convert to Christianity (religious leaders being tortured to death and that sort of thing), certain Catholic saints with attributes similar to those of African deities came to symbolize the spiritual paths that had been venerated for generations.
Rituals commemorating the lwa (spirits), lucky events, births and deaths involve dancing, drumming and spirit possessions. Ceremonies are also performed to gain a certain lwa's favor, perhaps to heal disease or end a run of bad luck, and may include offerings of food, toys and even animal sacrifice. Other forms of prayer include the veve, a pattern made of cornmeal that pleases a specific deity, and the creation of colorful prayer flags, which are considered Haiti's finest form of folk art and collected worldwide. The music, drumming and dancing associated with Vodou rituals have become an important part of Haitian pop culture.
The national dance is the méringue (a cousin of the Dominican version), though you can also see people doing the juba or the crabienne. Haitian music has been influenced by Cuban styles and American jazz. One of the most popular imports is the compas, though zouk, reggae and soca have significant followings.
The country has many celebrated painters, chief among them Hector Hyppolite, LaFortune Félix and Prefete Duffaut. Haitian painting has a rich visual and thematic vocabulary, often rendered in vibrant colors and sensual, organic forms. Haitian writers include Philippe-Thoby Marcelin, René Depestre and, most influential, Jean Price-Mars. Together, these writers created the basis of a national literature, which has recently seen a shift toward writing in Creole rather than French.