Part of the mystery of Marie Laveau is the identity of the woman buried in this tomb. The inscription on the upper vault of this two-tiered tomb says that a woman named MARIE PHILOME GLAPION rests here. Marie Laveau is known to have lived with a man named Glapion (who was a free man of color) after the death of her first husband in 1826. Her interest in voodoo dates from this time as well. Marie lived with this man, but never formally married him. Since Louisiana didn't follow the common law, a couple had to be married in a church before the union was legally binding. Marie and M. Glapion never did this, so why would she take his name in death? It's possible that this is not the tomb of the "original" Marie, but her daughter, who also went by the name Marie Laveau. The daughter was also a voodoo priestess, and her uncanny resemblance to her mother allowed the "second" Marie to pass for her mother. The faithful believed that Marie was indeed a powerful priestess to be so old, yet look so young! If M. Glapion was the girl's father, it makes sense she would bear his name on her tombstone.
So, is the woman in this tomb the mother (who would have been in her 90s), or the daughter?
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