History of the Hash
The Hash House Harriers received its humble beginnings in 1938 from a British man named Albert Stephen Ignatius Gispert (“G”), in what is now Malaysia. Having a fondness for the “paper chase”, he gathered together several expatriates to form a group in Kuala Lumpur that would later become a world-wide legacy. There are currently almost 1700 Hashes, including groups in almost every major city in the world. New Orleans itself has 3 active hashes: the New Orleans Hash (NOH3), the VooDoo Hash (VDH3), and the WhoreBell Hash (WBH4).
Hares and Hounds
Hares and Hounds style chases have been around for centuries in one form or another. Of course the original concept was to mimic the hunting sport during times or in locations where sporting game was sparse or children mimicking the hunt as practiced by adults. This sport was well entrenched long before these sportsmen became known as “Hashers”. The sport was referred to as Hares and Hounds or the Paper Chase. The hares were given a six-minute head start, then the pack was off. When Scent was located, the member of the Pack calls “Forward!” instead of the currently traditional “On-On!”, otherwise the description of the Trail is a typical cross-country fare familiar to all Harriers – meadow, hedgerow, fence crossings, plowed fields, thorns, brooks, Shiggy and hills. Members of the Pack worked together finding Scent and straining to keep up with the FRB’s (Front Running Bastards), as we call them today. The disappointment of the DFL’s (Dead Fucking Last’s), again a term of today, was depicted as they contemplate short-cutting to the finish and being among the first historical SCB’s (Short Cutting Bastards). The name was chosen from their Club Chambers nickname, Hash House, where much of the discussion concerning creating the Hash developed, thus dubbed the Hash House Harriers.
Today’s Hash
Today, the term “Hash” refers to both the actual run and the running group as a whole. Here’s how it works: some members of the group (usually one or two) are designated the “Hares”, the remainder of the Pack are the “Hounds”. The Hares set Trail with pats of flour and get a 10 – 15 minute head start. Then the Hounds are off in pursuit of the Hares and must follow Scent.
VooDoo History
The VooDoo Hash was conceived right before Halloween 2007 at the Balcony Bar on Magazine – somehow quite fitting. Since it was a drunken orgy of hashers (pretty standard fare), nobody is sure whose DNA got combined. Those present were: Dock Cousteau, ASD, Dental Dam-zel, Tighty Whitey, Re-Leash Me, Tidy Bowl Man, Takes It in the Face, PS Knave, Spread ‘Em and Chicken Pot Guy. Looking at the VooDoo now, it looks like it got a little bit of everyone.
That’s one ugly kid.
Dock came up with the “bring a buck and a six-pack” idea, and as far as we know, we’re the only hash in the UNIVERSE that does this. The Voo do it like nobody else!
The VooDoo was officially born on Thanksgiving night 2007, hared by Vagina Miner and trailed by Dock Cousteau, Dental Dam-zel, Tidy Bowl Man, Bend Over Rover and Blow My Banana…. Bitch. This hash was in Old Jefferson and we ended at the river with the usual assortment of bottled beer and one big ol’ Heineken mini-keg (whose shell was given to Banana Bitch for being an overall silly jackass). These inaugural wankers were presented with ceremonial turkey bones, engraved (using Dental’s tooth drills) with the hashers’ names and date.
“Icon Candles/vessels” were first presented to VooDoo Hashers with 10 *uns at the Stations of the Hash- held on Hash Wednesday (Okay, it was Thursday), the second day of Lent (or 2 days after Mardi Gras). Hared by the “iconic” Dental Dam-zel and Haf-Wax, the trail began at St. Alphonse’s and St. Mary’s on Constance and Felicity. Receiving candles that night were: the hares, Dock Cousteau, Re-Leash Me, Tighty Whitey, Tidy Bowl Man, Daddy’s Dick, Cockwork Orange, Bend Over Rover, Show Me Your Posse and Tighter Twat. Doc and Dental, who instilled much of VooDoo’s now ancient traditions, have moved out to Okinawa and have a little hasher of ther own – congrats!
The VooDoo is cumming up both on its 100th Hash and its 2nd birthday – truly a great achievement. Come join up with the VDH3 and make future history!
