Dutty Boukman (Boukman Dutty) was a Jamaican born houngan, or vodoun priest who conducted a religious ceremony in which a freedom covenant was affirmed, this ceremony is considered a catalyst to the slave uprising that marked the beginning of the Haïtian Revolution.
Boukman Dutty was a self educated slave born on the island of Jamaica, his first name on the island means "book man", his last name means "dirty". He was later sold by his British master to a French plantation owner after he attempted to teach other Jamaican slaves to read, who put him to work as a commandeur (slave driver) and, later, a coach driver.
His French name came from his English nickname, "Book Man," which some scholars have interpreted as meaning that he was Muslim since even in Africa a Muslim was referred to as a "man of the book": "It is likely that Boukman was a Jamaican Muslim who had a Koran, and that he got his nickname from this. Ceremony at the Bois Caïman In August 1791, Boukman presided in the role of houngan (priest) together with an African-born priestess and conducted a freedom ceremony at the Bois Caïman and prophesied that the slaves Jean François, Biassou, and Jeannot would be leaders of a resistance movement and revolt that would free the slaves of Saint-Domingue.
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