ABSTRACT
The bulk of secret rituals is concerned with the initiation of new members or the promotion of existing members to higher degrees. The regular ritual sessions of the lodge are followed by institutionalised, lavish banqueting and drinking. Largely without any conscious policy or design, Freemasonic rituals and organisation helped to articulate an informal organisation, which helped the Creoles to protect their position in the face of increasing political threat. The difficulty in developing a unified leadership and a system of authority was further increased by the fact that, outside the formal political arena, the Creoles had several, often competing, hierarchies of authority within different groupings. Many Creoles claim that they are facing not just the threat of losing their property and their positions, but virtual physical annihilation and they quote in support of this claim various pronouncements by politicians and others, particularly in the provinces.
