Ludger Sylbaris was born on 1 June 1874, on the Habitation La Donneau plantation, near the fishing village of Le Prêcheur, Martinique, about north of Saint-Pierre. It is commonly believed that his birth name was either August Cyparis or Louis-Auguste Cyparis, but his actual birth record belies this interpretation. Sylbaris worked as a common labourer in the capital city, Saint-Pierre, in the shadow of the volcano Mount Pelée.