The Gede (french: Guede) are the family of
lwa that represent the powers of
death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
and
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
. Gede spirits include
Gede Doub Gede Doub is a lwa in Haitian Vodou who can endow people with the gift of "second sight" (clairvoyance
Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory pe ...
,
Guede-Linto,
Guede L'Orage
Guede L'Orage ( ht, Gede Loraj) is a lwa in the Haitian Vodou religion. This spirit usually only manifests during storms.
Footnotes Notes
References
Haitian Vodou gods
Sky and weather deities
{{Religion-stub ...
,
Guede Nibo
Gede Nibo ( ht, Gede Nibo) is a lwa who is leader of the spirits of the dead in Haitian Vodou. Formerly human, Gede Nibo was a handsome young man who was killed violently. After death, he was adopted as a lwa by Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte. H ...
and
Guede Ti Malice. All are known for the drum rhythm and dance called the "banda". In possession, they will drink or rub themselves with a mixture of
clairin
Clairin (, , ht, Kleren) is a distilled alcoholic spirit made from sugarcane produced in Haiti, that undergoes the same distillation process as rhum.
There are between 500 and 600 micro-distilleries in Haiti, compared to fewer than 50 in total ...
(raw rum) and twenty-one
scotch bonnet
Scotch bonnet (also known as Bonney peppers, or Caribbean red peppers) is a variety of chili pepper named for its supposed resemblance to a Scottish tam o' shanter bonnet. It is ubiquitous in West Africa as well as the Caribbean. Like the clos ...
or goat peppers. Fèt Gede is celebrated on 2 November,
All Souls' Day
All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and ...
("Festival of the Dead"). Boons granted by the Gede not repaid by this date will be avenged afterwards.
* Papa Gede is the corpse of the first man who ever died. He is recognized as a short, dark man with a
high hat on his head who likes to smoke
cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
s and eat apples. Papa Gede is a
psychopomp
Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are supernatural creatures, spirits, entities, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afte ...
who waits at the crossroads to take souls into the afterlife. He is considered the good counterpart to
Baron Samedi
Baron Samedi ( en, Baron Saturday), also written Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi or Bawon Sanmdi, is one of the lwa of Haitian Vodou. He is a lwa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix and ...
. If a child is dying, Papa Gede is prayed to. It is believed that he will not take a life before its time, and that he will protect the little ones. Papa Gede has a very crass sense of humor, a divine ability to read others' minds, and the ability to know everything that happens in the worlds of the living and the dead.
* Brav Gede is the guardian and watchman of the graveyard. He keeps the dead souls in and the living souls out. He is sometimes considered an aspect of Nibo.
* Gede Bábáco is Papa Guede's lesser known brother and is also a psychopomp. His role is somewhat similar to that of Papa Guede, but he doesn't have the special abilities of his brother.
*
Guede Nibo
Gede Nibo ( ht, Gede Nibo) is a lwa who is leader of the spirits of the dead in Haitian Vodou. Formerly human, Gede Nibo was a handsome young man who was killed violently. After death, he was adopted as a lwa by Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte. H ...
is a psychopomp, an intermediary between the living and the dead. He was the first person to die by violence, so he is the patron of those who died by unnatural causes (disaster, accident, misadventure, or violence). He is the guardian of the graves of those who died prematurely, particularly those whose final resting place is unknown. His ''chevals'' ("horses", possessed devotees) can give voice to the dead spirits whose bodies have not been found or that have not been reclaimed from "below the waters".
*
Baron Criminel ("Baron of Criminals") is the enforcer of the Gede. He was the first person to kill another (probably Nibo). As the first murderer, he is master of those who murder or use violence to harm others. Families of murder victims and the abused pray to him to get revenge on those who wronged them. His "horses" have an insatiable appetite and will attack people until they are offered food. If it doesn't please them or takes too long, they will bite and chew on anyone nearby (or even themselves) until they are sated. He is syncretized with
St. Martin de Porres
Martín de Porres Velázquez (9 December 1579 – 3 November 1639) was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-r ...
, perhaps because his feast day is November 3, the day after Fèt Gede. He is sacrificed black roosters that have been bound, doused with strong spirit, and then set alight.
*
Maman Brigitte
Maman Brigitte (English: ''Mother Brigitte'') sometimes also written as Manman Brigitte and also known by Gran Brigitte, Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit, and Maman Brijit is a death loa (or ''lwa'') and the consort of Baron Samedi in Haiti ...
("Mother Bridget") is the wife of Baron Samedi. She is syncretized with
St. Brigid, perhaps because she is the protector of crosses and gravestones.
Marassa: The divine twins
The Guede loa have their own versions of the Twins, which appear as gravediggers. Twins are seen as having divine insight and vision. They also are part in the material world and the spiritual world (in their case, the living and the dead). They usually wear contrasting colors.
Guede Masaka assists Guede Nibo. He is an androgynous male gravedigger and spirit of the dead, recognized by his black shirt, white jacket, and white headscarf.
Guede Oussou wears a black or mauve jacket marked on the back with a white cross and a black or mauve headscarf. His name means "tipsy" due to his love of white rum. Guede Oussou is sometimes also linked with the female Guede L'Oraille.
Bawon Gede
The Gede are closely associated with the lwa, Bawon, whose aspects are Bawon Samdi (Baron Saturday) - ruler of the graveyard,
Baron La Croix (Baron of the Cross) - guardian of the gravestone, and
Baron Cimetière (Baron of the Cemetery) - guardian of the grave.
Depending on the tradition followed, Bawon is:
# one of the Gede
# their spiritual protector, who has raised them from the dead with the help of Bawon Samdi's wife,
Maman Brigitte
Maman Brigitte (English: ''Mother Brigitte'') sometimes also written as Manman Brigitte and also known by Gran Brigitte, Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit, and Maman Brijit is a death loa (or ''lwa'') and the consort of Baron Samedi in Haiti ...
.
# An aspect of the Gede gods.
In any of these configurations, Bawon, Maman Brigitte, and the Gede rule death, the cemetery, and the grave.
References
Sources
* ''
Voodoo: Search for the Spirit'', "
Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to:
* Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname
* '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war
* M1 Abrams, main battle tank
* Abrams, Wi ...
" series.
Laënnec Hurbon
Laënnec Hurbon (sometimes anglicised as Laennec Hurbon; born 1940) is a Haitian sociologist and writer specialising in the relationships between religion, culture and politics in the Caribbean region. He is also a Catholic theologian and ex-pr ...
.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery.
The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael ...
1995.
* ''A Dictionary of World Mythology''. Arthur Cotterell. Oxford University Press, 1997.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guede
Haitian Vodou gods
Psychopomps