#gede lwa

[kemetic-dreams]

Baron Samedi (English: 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 Baron Criminel.

He is the head of the Gede family of lwa; his brothers are Azagon Lacroix and Baron Piquant and he is the husband of Maman Brigitte. Together, they are the guardians of the past, of history, and of heritage

Baron Samedi is usually depicted with a top hat, black tail coat, dark glasses, and cotton plugs in the nostrils, as if to resemble a corpse dressed and prepared for burial in the Haitian style. He is frequently depicted as a skeleton (but sometimes as a black man that merely has his face painted as a skull), and speaks in a nasal voice. The former President-for-Life of Haiti, François Duvalier, known as Papa Doc, modeled his cult of personality on Baron Samedi; he was often seen speaking in a deep nasal tone and wearing dark glasses.

He is noted for disruption, obscenity, debauchery, and having a particular fondness for tobacco and rum. Additionally, he is the lwa of resurrection, and in the latter capacity he is often called upon for healing by those near or approaching death, as it is only the Baron that can accept an individual into the realm of the dead.

Due to affiliation with François Duvalier, Baron Samedi is linked to secret societies in the Haitian government and includes them in his domain.

Baron Samedi spends most of his time in the invisible realm of vodou spirits. He is notorious for his outrageous behavior, swearing continuously and making filthy jokes to the other spirits. He is married to another powerful spirit known as Maman Brigitte, but often chases after mortal women. He loves smoking and drinking and is rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth or a glass of rum in his bony fingers. Baron Samedi can usually be found at the crossroads between the worlds of death and the living. When someone dies, he digs their grave and greets their soul after they have been buried, leading them to the underworld.

Baron Samedi is the leader of the Gede, lwa with particular links to magic, ancestor worship and death. These lesser spirits are dressed like The Baron and are as rude and crude but not nearly as charming as their master. They help carry the dead to the underworld

As well as being the master of the dead, Baron Samedi is also a giver of life. He can cure mortals of any disease or wound, so long as he thinks it is worthwhile. His powers are especially great when it comes to Vodou curses and black magic. Even if somebody has been afflicted by a hex that brings them to the verge of death, they will not die if The Baron refuses to dig their grave. So long as The Baron keeps them out of the ground, they are safe.

In many Haitian cemeteries, the longest standing grave of male is designated as the grave of Baron Samedi. A cross (the kwa Bawon, meaning "Baron's cross") is placed at a crossroads in the cemetery to represent the point where the mortal and spiritual world cross. Often, a black top hat is placed on top of this cross.

He also ensures that all corpses rot in the ground to stop any soul from being brought back as a zombie. What he demands in return depends on his mood. Sometimes he is content with his followers wearing black, white or purple clothes or using sacred objects; he may simply ask for a small gift of cigars, rum, black coffee, grilled peanuts, or bread. But sometimes The Baron requires a Vodou ceremony to help him cross over into this world

[rockofeye]

Hello! I found out recently that Baron La Croix owns my head but I can't find much about him online. Is there anything you know about him?

Hello!

Unless you passed through some kind of ceremony done by a houngan or manbo, you did not find out that a particular lwa owns your head. That information can only be determined when you are taking part in specific rituals within Haitian Vodou. It can't be determined by spiritualists outside the religion, via a casual reading, or anything else.

Moreover, all of the Barons are aspects of death and putting death on someone's head as their head spirit is inviting them to enter death quickly. We don't do that; the Bawons and various Gede are not put on heads or named as the met tet because we don't want people to die before God determines it is time.

Evdn further, the ceremonies that assign a master of the head are ceremonies of life where death can have no place; none of the Barons or Gede are allowed to have a presence so they certainly wouldn't be placed to the head.

I am happy to discuss the specifics of how this was communicated to you privately, if you'd like. Feel free to send me a message.

[the-girl-who-didnt-smile]

RE: Was Baron Samedi worshiped in New Orleans prior to the late 20th century?

This one is also about the actual lwa.

Baron Samedi can aptly be described as not just the most iconic lwa, but one of the most iconic things from New Orleans Voodoo. Ironically, I have only found inconclusive evidence that he was worshiped in New Orleans during the 19th or early 20th centuries.

In American popular media, Baron Samedi is frequently conflated with other Haitian deities, called the Gede. The real-life Baron Samedi has his origins in Haitian Vodou, as does Maman Brigitte (Gran Brijit). The Haitian lwa are derived from African deities, among the most important being the Dahomean trickster god Legba (himself, derived from the Yoruba deity Eshu). Over the course of Haitian history, Dahomean Legba was refracted into Papa Legba, Met Kalfou, and the Gede - by extension, the Bawons, including Baron Samedi. This explains why the Gede are trickster deities of sexuality and liminality, who embrace all that is taboo - just like Dahomean Legba!

19th Century New Orleans Voodoo was greatly influenced by Haitian Vodou, due to the massive influx of Haitian refugees that arrived in the Crescent City after the Haitian Revolution. Following the post-Revolution migration wave, several Haitian lwa became features of New Orleans Voodoo, including: 

Papa Legba → “Papa Limba” or “La Bas”, syncretized with St. Peter

Damballah → “Daniel Blanc”, syncretized with St. Michael

Agassu → “Yon Sue”, syncretized with St. Anthony

Ogou Feray could have also been worshiped as “Joe Ferraille” (“Joe Feray”), and Ayizan Velekete as “Vériquité”. While the Erzulies were not directly worshiped per se, veneration of Mother Mary was a key feature of 19th century New Orleans Voodoo. (The Erzulies are syncretized with Mother Mary.)

(I should also note that, in New Orleans, the lwa were called “spirits”, while Bon Dieu/Bondye was simply called “God”)

During the 19th century, the two most important lwa were probably Papa Legba - the Doorkeeper - and Damballah - the most ancient of the lwa. This would explain why their names appear most frequently in 19th- and 20th-century sources, especially in large scale rituals. Damballah might have been refracted into multiple deities, including “Daniel Blanc” and “Zombi the Snake God” – a deity famously associated with Marie Laveau. Others argue that “Grand Zombi” is actually derived from the Kongo supreme deity Nzambi Mpungu, or an invention fabricated by journalists. 

A third key deity – “Onzancaire” / “Monsieur Assonquer” – might have been associated with Ogou Feray – one of the most important Haitian lwa. However, the origins of “Onzancaire” are elusive. Because so many different theories have been proposed, I do not know where his true origins lie.

Other deities of non-Haitian origin were also features of New Orleans Voodoo. St. Marron (Jean St. Malo) was the New Orleanian folk saint of runaway slaves. Mother Leafy Anderson – founder of the Spiritual Church Movement in New Orleans – introduced worship of the Native American Saint Black Hawk (see: Kodi A. Roberts (2015) Voodoo and Power: The Politics of Religion in New Orleans, 1881–1940). My understanding is that “Dr. John” (Jean Montaigne) was also deified, in a similar manner to St. Black Hawk. Orisha, such as Shango and Oya, may too have been worshiped. Other deities are listed here and here. 

Baron Samedi is conspicuously absent. I think this has to do with the history of Haitian Vodou. Prior to the Haitian Revolution, Haitian Vodou was less of an organized religion, described as a "widely-scattered series of local cults" (see: The Social History of Haitian Vodou, p. 134). It was between the years 1804 and 1860 that Haitian Vodou began to stabilize into a clear predecessor of its present form. (see: The Social History of Haitian Vodou, p. 139) This period of stabilization took place after the migration wave of the early 19th century, which could explain why key features of Haitian Vodou are missing from 19th century New Orleans. For example, I have yet to find evidence that division of the Petwo and Rada lwa made it over to American soil. The refraction of Dahomean Legba might have never been transmitted by Haitian refugees, which would explain the absence of Met Kalfou and the Gede/Bawons from worship.

This too explains why the Papa Legba of American history was both Doorkeeper AND Guardian of the Crossroads. It has been theorized that the legendary “Devil at the Crossroads” was actually Met Kalfou. However, this “Devil” does not match the appearance of Kalfou, described as "no ancient, feeble man...huge and straight and vigorous, a man in the prime of his life." Instead, the one at “the Crossroads” appears as a limping old man who loves music and dogs (“Hellhound on my Trail”). It’s Papa Legba!

Rather than Kalfou, I think American Papa Legba actually inherits his more menacing attributes from Eshu. This would explain why he walks with a limp (like Eshu), is notoriously vengeful (like Eshu), and is sometimes described as androgynous (like Eshu!).

In any case, the Papa Legba of American history can be clearly traced back to Haiti. His appearance as a limping old man is inherited from Haitian Papa Legba; his love of dogs and music from Dahomean Legba. 19th century sources clearly identify him with Saint Peter (“St. Peter, St. Peter, open the door;”) The same cannot be said for Baron Samedi. He was probably not syncretized with St. Expedite, because St. Expedite “did not achieve popularity until the late 1800s or early 1900s in New Orleans” – long after the Haitian migration wave.

I have found one compelling source that places worship of Baron Samedi in 19th century New Orleans. Creole author Denise Alvarado is something of an expert on this topic, her being born and raised in New Orleans. In Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans (2022), Denise Alvarado identifies a “Spirit of Death” with Baron Samedi / Papa Gede. The most convincing piece of evidence comes from the second interview, in which the interviewee describes a ceremony where attendees donned purple robes. The color purple has been historically associated with Papa Gede (by extension, Baron Samedi). 

That being said, I do think the evidence Alvarado provides is tenuous. Without additional context, it’s difficult to say whether the purple robes are truly linked to the Haitian lwa. The other newspaper article sounds rather sensationalized. The 19th century saw horrendous news coverage of New Orleans Voodoo, where reporters would exaggerate or straight-up fabricate details to demonize Vodouisants. The reporter’s description of the spirits of death does not align with the Haitian Gede or Bawons. It is important to remember that New Orleans Voodoo is not entirely Haitian in origin. Several other traditional African spiritualities are woven into New Orleans Voodoo. Prior to the Haitian migration wave of the early 19th century, one of the main influences was Kongo spirituality, in which ancestor veneration is central. Additionally, the newspaper cited is from the year 1890 – years after Marie Laveau’s death. The reliability of this article is therefore questionable. I think this could be a Damballah / “Grand Zombi” situation, where this “Spirit of Death” bears superficial resemblance to the lwa but isn’t actually him. It is also possible that he is simply a fabrication by journalists.

The defamation of Vodou continued into the early 20th century, as Haiti was occupied by the U.S. between the years 1915 and 1934. I don’t see how worship of the Gede/Bawons could have been transmitted to New Orleans between the end of the Haitian migration wave and year 1934. There’s a good chance that Baron Samedi / Papa Gede only properly became features of New Orleans Vodou during the revitalization movement of the late 20th century.

As such, I propose two hypotheses: 

Baron Samedi was not properly worshiped in New Orleans until the late 20th century. He quickly rose in popularity, as he was easily grafted onto the pre-existing worship of the spirits of the dead (ancestors). 

Alvarado has correctly identified Baron Samedi / Papa Gede with the “Spirit of Death”; however, this “Spirit of Death” was a radical departure from his Haitian predecessor, taking on a markedly different form from the lwa. 

But that’s all just a Theory… A GAME THEORY!!!

…Anyways, annotated bib: 

 Marshall, Emily Zobel. American Trickster: Trauma, Tradition and Brer Rabbit. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. 

Chapter 1 ("African Trickster in the Americas") describes Dahomean Legba’s origins in the Yoruba deity Eshu. 

Cosentino, Donald. "Who is that fellow in the many-colored cap? Transformations of Eshu in old and new world mythologies." Journal of American Folklore (1987): 261-275. https://www.jstor.org/stable/540323.

From the abstract: “Myths of Eshu Elegba, the trickster deity of the Yoruba of Nigeria, have been borrowed by the Fon of Dahomey and later transported to Haiti, where they were personified by the Vodoun in the loa Papa Legba. In turn, this loa was refracted into the corollary figures of Carrefour and Ghede.” Accessed here: https://www.centroafrobogota.com/attachments/article/24/17106647-Ellegua-Eshu-New-World-Old-World.pdf 

Haitian immigration : Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The African American Migration Experience. https://www.inmotionaame.org/print.cfm@migration=5.htm

Describes post-Haitian Revolution migration wave like so: “the number of immigrants [from Haiti to New Orleans] skyrocketed between May 1809 and June 1810… The 1809 migration brought 2,731 whites, 3,102 free persons of African descent, and 3,226 enslaved refugees to the city, doubling its population.”

Fandrich, Ina J. “Yorùbá Influences on Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 37, no. 5, 2007, pp. 775–91. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40034365. Accessed 23 June 2024.

Mentions worship of Ogou Feray as “Joe Ferraille”. Fandirch herself cites Long, C. M. (2001). Spiritual merchants. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, p. 56: https://archive.org/details/spiritualmerchan0000long/page/56/mode/2up?

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 247: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT247#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Mentions worship of Ayizan Velekete as (the male) “Vériquité”.

Anderson, Jeffrey E. Hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure: A handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2008, p. 15: https://books.google.com/books?id=TH7DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Relevant quote: "Blanc Dani, Papa Lébat, and Assonquer make the most frequent appearances in both nineteenth- and twentieth-century sources. The first two, in particular, figure prominently in large-scale rituals."

Humpálová, Denisa. "Voodoo in Louisiana." (2012). https://dspace5.zcu.cz/bitstream/11025/5338/1/BP%20Denisa%20Humpalova%202012.pdf 

One of several sources that identifies “Grand Zombi” with Nzambi Mpungu.

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 247: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT247#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Posits that “Grand Zombi” could be derived from Nzambi Mpungu, or "may be the invention of journalists inspired by "zombie tales" of Haiti's infamous living dead, combined with Moreau de Saint-Méry’s endlessly repeated description of a snake-worshiping ceremony in colonial Saint Domingue."

Anderson, Jeffrey E. Voodoo: An African American Religion. LSU Press, 2024, p. 46:  https://www.google.com/books/edition/Voodoo/O-v3EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22assonquer%22+%22azewe%22+vodou&pg=PA46&printsec=frontcover 

Describes several possible origins for the elusive “Onzancaire”, including a theory that he was a deity related to Ogou Feray. 

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 236: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT236#v=onepage&q&f=false 

One of several sources to describe St. Marron (Jean St. Malo). 

Roberts, Kodi A. Voodoo and Power: The Politics of Religion in New Orleans, 1881-1940. LSU Press, 2015, p. 82: https://books.google.com/books?id=EWOkCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT82&lpg=PT82 

Describes how Mother Leafy Anderson (founder of the Spiritual Church Movement) “found” St. Black Hawk, introducing him to New Orleans Voodoo. 

Alvarado, Denise. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans. Weiser Books, 2022, p. 39: https://books.google.com/books?id=ktlWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Posits that high priestess Betsy Toledano worshiped the Orisha Shango and Oya during the 19th century. 

Anderson, Jeffrey E. Hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure: A handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2008, p. 15: https://books.google.com/books?id=TH7DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false 

List of deities worshiped in 19th century New Orleans Voodoo. 

Alvarado, Denise. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans. Weiser Books, 2022, p. 126: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Witch_Queens_Voodoo_Spirits_and_Hoodoo_S/ktlWEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA126 

Another list of deities worshiped in 19th century New Orleans Voodoo. 

Mintz, Sidney & Trouillot, Michel-Rolph (1995) “The social history of Haitian Vodou” in Cosentino, Donald J., ed., Sacred Arts of Vodou, Chapter 4. LA: UCLA Fowler Museum, 123-47. P. 134: https://ghettobiennale.org/files/Trouillot_Mintz_LOW.pdf 

Describes Haitian Vodou as a "widely-scattered series of local cults" prior to the Haitian Revolution. 

Mintz, Sidney & Trouillot, Michel-Rolph (1995) “The social history of Haitian Vodou” in Cosentino, Donald J., ed., Sacred Arts of Vodou, Chapter 4. LA: UCLA Fowler Museum, 123-47. P. 139: https://ghettobiennale.org/files/Trouillot_Mintz_LOW.pdf 

Describes the stabilization of Haitian Vodou into a predecessor of its current form. This occurred between the years following the Haitian Revolution and year 1860. 

Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen : The Living Gods of Haiti. New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 1983 (originally published in 1953), p. 101: https://archive.org/details/divinehorsemenli00dere/page/100/mode/2up 

Description of Kalfou (Carrefour) as "no ancient, feeble man...huge and straight and vigorous, a man in the prime of his life."  Deren conducted her ethnographic work during the 1940s and 1950s.

Marvin, Thomas F. “Children of Legba: Musicians at the Crossroads in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.” American Literature, vol. 68, no. 3, 1996, pp. 587–608. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2928245. Accessed 23 June 2024.

Description of “The Devil at the Crossroads” as a musical genius and “limping old black man”: “Most versions of this story instruct the aspiring musician to bring his instrument to a lonely crossroads at midnight and await the arrival of a limping old black man who will tune the instrument, play it briefly, and then return it endowed with supernatural power."

Robert Johnson’s song “Hellhound on My Trail” identifies “The Devil at the Crossroads” with Papa Legba, who is associated with dogs. 

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 244: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT244&lpg=PT244#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Relevant quote: "Mary Washington, born in 1863, said she was trained in the arts of Voudou by Marie Laveau. She remembered a song that was sung at the weekly ceremonies: "St. Peter, St. Peter open the door; I am callin' you, come to me; St. Peter, St. Peter open the door." Mrs. Washington explained that "St. Peter was called La Bas, St. Michael was Daniel Blanc, and Yon Sue was St. Anthony." She also mentioned a spirit called Onzancaire."

Alvarado, Denise. The Magic of Marie Laveau: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Weiser Books, 2020, p. 57: https://books.google.com/books?id=SZOMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Relevant quote: “Baron Samedi remains a popular and powerful force in New Orleans Voudou today, along with his wife Manman Brigit. He is syncretized with St. Expedite, among the most popular of saints in New Orleans. We do not hear of St. Expedite in association with Marie Laveau, however, because he did not achieve popularity until the late 1800s or early 1900s in New Orleans (Alvarado 2014).”

Alvarado, Denise. Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints: A Guide to Magical New Orleans. Weiser Books, 2022, pp. 127-128: https://books.google.com/books?id=GsofEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127#v=onepage&q&f=false 

This is the strongest evidence I could find that Baron Samedi / Papa Gede was worshiped in 19th - early 20th Century New Orleans.

Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen : The Living Gods of Haiti. New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 1983 (originally published in 1953), p. 107: https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.505921/page/107/mode/2up?q=purple 

Historical evidence that, since at least the 1940s, Papa Gede’s colors are “black or purple”. To this day, purple is associated with Baron Samedi and the Gede as a whole.

Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans voudou priestess: The legend and reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2007, p. 250: https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT250&lpg=PT250 

Relevant quote: “The religion that evolved in nineteenth-century New Orleans and was embraced by Marie Laveau and her Voudou society combined traditions introduced by the first Senegambian, Fon, Yoruba, and Kongo slaves with Haitian Vodou, European magic, and folk Catholicism. It also absorbed the beliefs of blacks imported from Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas during the slave trade of the 1830s–1850s. These “American Negroes” were English-speaking, at least nominally Protestant, and practiced a heavily Kongo-influenced kind of hoodoo, conjure, or rootwork. New Orleans Voudou is therefore not identical to Haitian Vodou, but represents a unique North American blend of African and European religious and magical Traditions.”

Fandrich, Ina J. “Yorùbá Influences on Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 37, no. 5, 2007, pp. 775–91. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40034365. Accessed 23 June 2024.

Describes major Senegambian and Kongo influences on New Orleans Voodoo, prior to the Haitian Revolution. Relevant quote: “New Orleans's African population was Kongo dominated with a strong affinity with the spirits of the dead…Dahomeyan influence occurred only indirectly through the Haitian refugees who "flooded" the city after 1808. In 1809 alone, more than 10,000 Haitians arrived, and doubled the city's population. They brought their Vodou religion with them, which ultimately merged with the already existing New Orleans or Louisiana Voodoo traditions. During the French colonial regime, 80% of the enslaved Africans came from one single ethnic group: the Bamana (also called Bambara) people from the Senegal River basin (today's Senegal, Gambia, and Mali), most of them stemming from one single ethnic group, the Bambara people. The majority of the remaining 20% were Kongolese and some Dahomeyans (Hall, 1992). Despite their rather different geographical origins, these two cultures blend easily into one another. Eighteenth-century Louisiana Voodoo maintained a marked Senegambian flavor, with some Kongolese elements blended in, until the end of the 18th century.” 

Dubois, Laurent. “Vodou and History.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 43, no. 1, 2001, pp. 92–100. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2696623. Accessed 23 June 2024.

An overview of the history of Haitian Vodou, as it pertains to U.S. history. Demonization of Vodou continued past the U.S. occupation of Haiti, until the late 20th century.

[conjuremanj]

How To Use Saint Expedite In Your Non Hoodoo Spell Work for Fast Results.

Now if you follow me you know that hoodoo doesn't have saints in it's practice Root workers in hoodoo were Protestant not Catholics. But there is nothing wrong with using them just don't add them on your hoodoo altar keep them on a separate space.

But if your wanted to use Saints and saint magic he's the a good one.

Saint Expedite is one of the more favorable folk saint to petition when a situation gets tough. He works quickly. . Yes I said folk saint because he isn't recognize as a saint by the church.

St. Expedite In Your Practice: For some Haitians who practice Vodou and even Voodoo in some parts of Louisiana St. Expedite is often been associated with the Baron, "Baron Semedi" to “Baron La Croix” They are Lwa spirit's of death, he reminds us that life is meant to be enjoyed. In New Orleans voodoo St. Expedite is not associated to Baron Samedi/ Papa Gede. But like St. Expedite he works well for speedy progress for anything that feels blocked. When it comes to a working, Saint Expedite is frequently petitioned as he is known for bringing luck quickly. He is also known to aid in gambling. He is a fantastic Saint to work with when one finds themselves in a bind.

Need to know: You should only petition him when you really NEED what you're requesting. Don't petition Saint Expedite for things that would be nice to have, or things that you want. Petition him when the going gets tough and you have no other options is what best. Same goes for the Baron only for dire need.

Feast Dates: On April 19th, we celebrated the feast day of Saint Expedite.

Payment Offering: You should make a deal with Saint Expedite as part of the petition. Ask clearly for what you need, meaning if you petition him and promise him something for his help an offering. He likes a piece of pound cake and a glass of water along with some flowers.

Typically Petition Saint Expedite: Take a red candle or glass candle if preferred.

I would rub Holy Oil, or used St Expedite oil around the wick. I write down what I need in detail on petition paper.

Dab a little Saint Expedite on the four corners and center of the paper. Fold the corners. Place this under the dressed candle by your Saint Expedite statue or photo.

Then pray.

Prayer of Saint Expedite for Fast Results:

Saint Expedite, faithful and hard-working servant of our Lord Jesus Christ hear my plea. I come to you humbled and desperate, seeking your divine intercession on my behalf. You who have fought many righteous battles and know the pain of hard labor, help me in my hour of need.

I seek __________________________, for the best of all those involved.

I pray to you, divine servant of God that you assist me now. I offer you your due wages of a piece of pound cake, a glass of water and flowers in thanks once you have assisted me. With gratitude and humble thanks, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen!"

Let that candle burn all the way down. You can repeat this prayer every day until it has come to pass. Once the candle has burned out if you want to repeat the candle burning and prayers you certainly can but it is not necessary.

I can wear Saint Expedite Oil by dabbing a bit on the bottoms of my feet, on your wrists or behind each ear.

Paying Saint Expedite: Once Saint Expedite comes through with your request, give him his Offering.

[alastors-radioshow]

Ah, yes. November 2nd.

Feast day of the the Gede. Bawon Samndi.

He would be busy with cooking, preparing some hearty, homely meals, a good batch of beignets, assorted snacks, and, naturally, a healthy assortment of various rums.

He could most likely be found in the gardens, the veve of his patron drawn on the ground with white sand, the feast neatly set up around it.

Later in the evening, he would light a bonfire, meticulously built to fit the occasion.

He was honoring his Lwa. His patron. And the entirety of the Gede clan.

He would be busy for the rest of the night. It was a feast, after all.

It could get rowdy.

[south--of--nowhere]

Martine was made for South Park so... She'd be home lol.

Let Kenny can have his cute voodoo lwa psychopomp girlfriend, you know? He deserves people to hang out with who can travel between life & death and who remember he died!!

And since she's descended from Gede Nibo (Patron of People Who Died From Unnatural Causes!!!) Kenny always has a direct line to her and Nibo no matter what condition he's in.

also look how cute they are??? anyway I love them <333

Quick! The first OC you think of is dropped in the world of the last movie/show you watched. How are they faring?

[rockofeye]

A death rite in Haitian Vodou

Here is a rare look at the publicly viewable portion of desounay/desounen, which is the first rite after a houngan, manbo, or other vodouizan passes. Unfortunately, this was a rite done on behalf of the death of a very well known and well respected houngan in Jacmel, Haiti who died unexpectedly this morning. This is difficult to watch, with lots of crying and expressions of grief.

The video begins with the procession, which has likely started at the home of the houngan (Woodson Antoine, ki di Gwètòde Plenipontansyè), where he passed, and is leading into the temple where Houngan Sonson was initiated. The procession ends as the rest of the desounay is completed behind closed doors. After, folks who have arrived gather to hear Houngan Woodson's papa kanzo speak, and then the videographer shares the news that Houngan Woodson has passed and shares what details were available; that he has been in ceremony just hours earlier with many of the people present, had not been well and had many health issues, had been encouraged to go to the hospital, and then went home, where he passed due to breathing difficulties. By the time an ambulance was found, he had already gone. The videographer compares desounay to the Catholic rite of extreme unction, which is aimed at allowing someone sick to pass to eternity with the blessings of their God and forgiven of their sins. Desounay is a little different than that, as it is only completed after death.

The desounay is completed as soon as possible after death is realized; this is the first ceremony that begins to separate our various soul pieces to go where they must so that we, our lwa, and our descendants can have peace after we pass. It is preferable that this ceremony is done before the body is taken from the home to the morgue or funeral home. In this case, you can see how quickly it was put together; it is happening very early in the morning, pre-9AM, and folks have clearly come directly from ceremony or their homes in a rush, you can see that they have put their white clothes on over other clothes or black and purple clothes from the Gede ceremonies they were attending. This has happened so quickly that there has not been time to prepare the temple or really even the community; Houngan Woodson was extremely well known in Jacmel and in Haiti at large due to his position as gwètò and not everyone was able to come in the moment to share in the grief. His bowoum and traditional internment will undoubtedly be huge.

This is a huge loss. While Haitian Vodou professes no central authority figure(s), a gwètò is a sort of regional coordinator that takes on the responsibility of watching over the community/communities in his or her region. A gwètò might mediate disputes, help a new temple start up, and represent the region throughout the country. Houngan Woodson took his position seriously and attended just about every ceremony in the area, even if he could only go for awhile. I personally benefitted from his intercession when there were local issues my husband needed help with, and I knew Houngan Woodson to be a kind, thoughtful, and caring individual who was always pleased to see me and hear how I was.

This has been a very introspective Gede season for me; Gede has had me sitting and reflecting on things that I will write about soon. What I have thought about today in thinking about this particular death is that access to healthcare is a liberation issue. While only Bondye knows our time and we ask to only be taken at our right time, had Haiti had more equitable access to both emergency medical care in that someone could have called for help and Houngan Woodson could have gone to a hospital that was staffed and had medical equipment, and regular healthcare that could have provided ongoing support for his medical issues as we know in many other parts of the world, perhaps his death could have been avoided. If liberation was fully realized in Haiti, deaths from things we take for granted as minor annoyances, like asthma, strep throat, high blood sugar, and similar, would be a thing of the past.

Woukoukou, yon gwo pyebwa te tonbe. May Houngan Woodson awaken in the company of his ancestors and his lwa in Alada, and may his friends, family, and loved ones find comfort in his memory.

[paines-heart]

Now, this is, evidently, an older drawing. But little did I know, at the time of drawing this, that it was the beginning of the situation I’m now in. 

You see, I am a vodouisant. Or voodooist, if you prefer. And this right here, is my patron Lwa. Baron Samedi. He’s more than just a patron to me, though. But that’s possibly something I might wanna talk about at a later point, since this is about the drawing. I decided to finally upload this, after having seen many posts about him, so I thought that I’d share this old piece. 

In Voodoo, you don’t pick what Lwa you wish to work with. The Lwa picks you. I didn’t even pick Voodoo. I was kind of just thrown into it. So Voodoo picked me. And in turn, the Lwa I currently work with picked me. And how he picked me? Well, might post about that later. But gods be damned, he scared the shit out of me, and I had no idea what had just happened, haha. 

Anyway. I just wanted to finally post this drawing, because I’m still awfully fond of it, though I’ve made many pieces featuring this guy since then. I’ve, naturally, evolved my drawing techniques since then. 

To think that it took me 4 years to actually kick myself in the butt hard enough to upload it. I need to get better at just uploading my drawings and cosplays when I have them, in stead of procrastinating XD

[deathmimedream]

Remi took a swallow of juice, nodding.

“Oh yes! Each one has special days, colors, scents, plants, animals, foods and drinks they all enjoy.”

He nibbled at a strawberry, and sat one aside. There was the laughter again, and in a whisper of red smoke, the berry vanished. Dantour loved her sweets, and strawberries were a favorite.

“ You can make offerings on your own, like I just did, and they’re not too likely to respond to non-practitioners, or you can bring an offering to someone in the religion…hougan or mambo, a sort of high priest or priestess, and they can make the offering for you, and ask the Lwa to help you, or simply be more favorable to you. “

He sat another berry aside, further from him, and though it vanished too, nothing marked its disappearance this time.

“Even though the Lwa that chose Alastor is different than mine, I still make offerings to him as well as my own. It’s always best manners to honor all the Lwa in a house, even if they’re not yours, because it’s very rude. It’s Like, lavishing attention on one houseguest, and ignoring the other.”

He loved to talk about what he could of his religion. Though most of his mortal youth was part of a cannibalistic hunting cult, based loosely on Alastor…and actual voodoo.

Thankfully he and Sebastian, his biological sibling, were raised by the cult’s resident mambo. Remi had been blessed with the gift more than Sebastian, and that was fine. Bastian had the brains and brawn, Remi had the power.

Too bad in the end Remi had lost his mind in a terrible accident, and by then Sebastian became too debauched and jaded to keep things going. A few too many mistakes, and the cult was destroyed, the boys with it.

“Did you have any particular Lwa in mind you wanted to offer to? The only other Lwa I know that are left is Bawon, that’s Bawon Samdei, lord of the gede Lwa, the kings of the cemetery and the dead. His wife is Madame Brigette, and it’s he who guards the house in the swamp where I live with Alastor. He’s the one who chose Alastor, like how Miss Dantour chose me.”

"Remi? I know the practice of voodoo is a very closed off religious practice but.. if it alright to say would you tell me about the Lwa?"

Remi smiled.

“I can tell you plenty of things, just can’t teach you the magic or rituals, but I can tell you what I know of the Lwa I work with and have met if that helps?”

[the-girl-who-didnt-smile]

THE WHITEWASHING OF MAMAN BRIGITTE

Why it is problematic to portray Maman Brigitte (Grann Brijitte) as a white woman

Companion piece to: https://the-girl-who-didnt-smile.tumblr.com/post/761617414938148864/baron-samedi-vs-papa-guede

Disclaimer: I have no ancestral ties to Haiti. I am half White and not Black. The following is merely an opinion piece, which I have attempted to support with evidence.

If you have ever attempted to research New Orleans Voodoo, you’ve probably encountered descriptions of Maman Brigitte like so:

In Voodoo, Ma'man Brigit (Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit, Manman Brijit) is the mother of cemeteries, the loa of money and death, and the wife of Baron Samedi. She may be related to the "triple" Celtic goddess of poetry, smithcraft, and healing, Brigid/St. Brigit, as her name is Irish in origin. She is usually depicted as a white woman.

The above is inaccurate.

Traditionally, Haitian artists depict Maman Brigitte as a Black woman, where she is not white, biracial, or lighter skinned than Baron Samedi.

Baron Samedi, Grande Brigitte, and Guede Nibo, as portrayed by Andre Pierre. 

Grann Brijitte, as portrayed by Amina Simeon.

Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte, as portrayed by Gerard Paul.

Grann Brijit, as portrayed by Roudy Azor.

Grann Brijit, as portrayed by Salnave Philippe-Auguste.

Where does the notion of a white Maman Brigitte come from? 

In “Gran Brijit: Haitian Vodou Guardian of the Cemetery” (2010), Kerry Noonan examines the roots of the Vodou lwa Gran Brijit, and her connection to the Irish Saint Brigid. There are several parts I disagree with, but it is helpful as an overview. 

In a key section, Noonan cites Milo Marcelin’s Mythologie Vodou Vol. 2 (1950). In this volume, Marcelin includes a two-page description of Maman Brigitte (Grande Brijitte). The first paragraph of this section reads as follows: 

Grande Brijitte, femme de Baron-Samedi et mère des Guédé, est une négresse très vieille —c’est pourquoi on l’appelle grande (grand' mère). Elle est identifiée à Sainte Brigitte, patronne de l’Irlande; elle a pour reposoir un «cirouellier» (spondias purpurea L.) ou un figuier maudit marron (clusia rosea Jacq.) et, parfois, dans les cimetières, un amoncellement de pierres la représente. Ses jours sont le lundi et vendredi, sa couleur, le noir.

English Translation: 

Grande Brijitte, wife of Baron-Samedi and mother of the Gede, is a very old Black woman – this is why she is called “grande” (grandmother). She is identified with Saint Brigid, patron saint of Ireland; she has as her resting place a “cironelle” (spondias purpurea L.) or an autograph tree (clusia rosea Jacq.) and, sometimes, in the cemeteries, a pile of black stones represents her. Her days are Monday and Friday, her color, black. 

Noonan notes several similarities between Saint Brigid and Maman Brigitte, including similar ceremonies, similar offerings (notably, potatoes and chicken), and a shared association with crosses. She also notes circumstances where Saint Brigid becomes speechless, which is similar to Marcelin’s description of Maman Brigitte: “Grande Brijitte ne parle jamais.” 

The full excerpt from Mythologie Vodou, Vol. II is found on pages 177-178, and included at the bottom of this article, in APPENDIX A.

Noonan also notes similarities between the Yoruba orisha Oya and Maman Brigitte. Moreover, the association between the cross and Maman Brigitte is not rooted in a European understanding of the cross, but an African one. 

From Leslie Gerland Desmangles’ (1997) “African interpretations of the Christian cross in Vodun”:

“The symbol of the cross is central to Vodun's ceremonies…While it is true that the Catholic crosses in Haiti may well have been invested with Vodun meaning, the cross symbol in Vodun does not originate in Catholicism but in African mythology. In Dahomey, for example, the universe is conceived as a sphere transected by two mutually perpendicular and intersecting planes, which, perceived in a cross-section of the sphere, represent the arms of a cross…the cross symbol in Vodun cannot be seen as representing a symbolic relationship between Roman Catholicism and Vodun but indicates the retention of African religious elements on Haitian soil.”

The above applies to the lwa associated with liminality – especially Papa Legba, but also the lwa of the Dead, including Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte. 

From Benjamin Hebblethwaite (2021) A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou: 

“The Cross of Crosses, mentioned in line 3, is the intersection of life and death. The center of the cross is where Bawon, Brijit, and the Gede take charge of the passage from life to death. The “Cross” is a crossroads (kafou) linking the living with the ancestors under the water.”

Noonan asserts that Maman Brigitte is identified with Saint Brigitte because of the influence of “Irish settlers and sailors and Breton priests". In one of the most objectionable sections of this article, Noonan characterizes the “Irish settlers” as “indentured servants”. 

As indentured servants, Irish and Scottish people were sent to territories under the control of the British Empire. The British West Indies did not include present-day Haiti. Presumably, Noonan is referring to fugitive indentured servants, called “ingleses”. In “Irish Indentured Servants, Papists and Colonists in Spanish Colonial Puerto Rico” (2007), Jorge L. Chinea claims that “Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba became popular destinations for the fugitives.” 

Chinea also describes how the Spanish repeatedly denied the Irish authorization to settle in Hispaniola during the late 1600s: “In this instance, their potential infringement on the Spanish American trade in a colony already heavily involved in contraband was a major reason for turning them down.”

Nowhere does Noonan mention the influence of Irish slave owners. 

"The many Haitians and West Indians who trace their ancestry back to Africans transported on Irish-owned slave ships are living proof that the Irish have not always been the victims of history."

– Joe O’Shea (2012) “The Irish have not always been the victims of history”:

In “Irishness, Whiteness, Blackness, and Slavery in the Early Modern World” (2022), Jane Ohlmeyer describes how the Irish contributed to “one of the harshest systems of servitude in western history” during the 18th century:

“Of the 550 families involved in the French slave trade, seventeen had Irish surnames. One of the most successful Irish slavers was Antoine Walsh, the son of an Irish merchant who had settled in France in the later seventeenth century and married Marie O’Sheil/Shiell, whose grandfather had settled in France. Over the course of his career Walsh made forty slaving trips from Nantes and shipped more than 12,000 enslaved Africans. With his profits Walsh purchased a plantation for himself in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (modern day Haiti), which supplied up to seventy percent of all of the sugar sent to France.”

Rather than indentured servants, it is likely that Breton priests are behind the Maman Brigitte-Saint Brigid connection. 

In “Rev. John J. Burke, the National Catholic Welfare Conference, and the American Occupation of Haiti” (2014) Donald J. Slawson describes how Roman Catholicism was brought to Haiti: 

“The concordat between the Vatican and Haiti dated to 1860. From the time of Haitian independence in 1804 until that year, the condition of the Catholic Church in that country was deplorable…As early as 1834, Rome and Port-au-Prince had entered into negotiations to regularize the status of the Church in Haiti. President Fabre Geffrard finally achieved that goal…Given the nation’s colonial and cultural ties with France, the bishops and clergy came from Brittany.”

Noonan describes the importance of Saint Brigid to Breton priests: "Catholics in both Ireland and Brittany are devoted to the Irish St. Brigit of Kildare, and many churches are dedicated to her in both areas."

According to Sidney Mintz & Michel-Rolph Trouillot's "The Social History of Haitian Vodou", many features of modern Vodou took shape in the century that followed the Haitian Revolution. During this time period, Roman Catholics were sent to Haiti for the purpose of religious imperialism. They were openly hostile toward vodouisants, and sought to destroy African-based traditions. 

This attitude persisted into the 20th century, as described by Melville Herskovits in Life in a Haitian valley (1964): 

“The attitude of the Church toward vodun is one of intransigent hostility. The anger with which the priest preached his sermon on the Sunday morning following a vodun dance held close enough to town so that the sound of the drums, plainly audible, "disturbed" him the night long, clearly indicates how deeply the priests of the Church resent the worship of the African gods. In Mirebalais they tell how, at the instance of the Church, vodun rites were unmercifully suppressed by the Americans during the occupation, to whom it was represented as a potential focus for revolt. In the place huge bonfires were made of vodun drums painted and "dressed" in elaborate manner. Everything found in the humforts and the private houses of worship was confiscated, and the "thunder stones," necklaces of the devotees, and other sacred objects that would not burn were thrown into the Artibonite River. Today the Church takes full advantage of its status as the only recognized religious organization in Haiti to dictate the official position of government toward vodun.”

Maman Brigitte is not named after Saint Brigid because of friendships between African slaves and Irish indentured servants. Instead, it is because European priests imposed the worship of white saints onto a Black population.

The narrative that connects Maman Brigitte to indentured servants is a fiction invented by white people. 

Pictured: Mambo Racine

“Maman Brigitte, the Mother of the Gedes” is a Google Groups conversation on alt.religion.orisha, dated Jun 16, 2001 - Jun 19, 2001. In this conversation, which may have only involved white people, there is an exchange between Mambo Racine and Kenaz Filan (at the time, named Kevin Filan). 

The full conversation is included in APPENDIX B. The top post is the most relevant one:

Maman Brigitte is a manifestation of the Celtic Goddess Brigid. During the formative period of Haitian Vodou, many Scottish people were deported from Scotland to the Antilles because of the Stuart wars, and those Scots were the most traditionalist, the least Christianized. They were the ones who brought Brigid to Haiti.

During this time, blacks outnumbered whites about 4000 to one. This is a literal fact. So it is unlikely that those few whites could prevent Africans from having drum dances - it seems to me more likely that an uneasy truce obtained, you know, the whites said in effect, "Do your work and I will leave you alone."

At that time the whites most likely to participate in drum dances were of course the poor whites, not the few French elite whites. And among them, the most likely people to participate were the women - just the folks most likely to have preserved the service of Brigid.

(Before I go any further let me suggest that anyone who hasn't read Jayelle's "White Women in Vodou" do so!)

Now, the first woman buried in any cemetary is by definition Brigid, and the first man buried in any cemetary is by definition Baron. Of course when those drum-dancing poor Scottish women died they were buried in the same earth as Africans, and the agglomerative, pragmatic nature of Vodou as it developed would of course naturally incorporate Brigid, and metamorphose her into Maman Brigitte.

Now, to make Gede lwa, Maman Brigitte and Baron La Croix take souls from "under the water" and rebaptize them. That is why all Gede lwa have the last name La Croix, because their father is Baron La Croix. This is a real birth, out of the waters, Baron and Brigitte are not "adoptive parents", they are as much parents as any parent can be.

For more information on the travels of one Gede lwa, see "Biography of a Lwa" under the Special Topics heading on The VODOU Page. And for more information on ancestral lwa in general, see Vodou Lesson 2 under the Vodou Lesson heading on The VODOU Page.

Peace and love,

Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen

"Se bon ki ra" - Good is rare Haitian Proverb

The VODOU Page - http://members.aol.com/racine125/index.html

It goes without saying, this is not well-researched. 

This is how Maman Brigitte became something of a “patron saint” for white people involving themselves in Vodou, at the expense of Black women.

It feels childish that I even have to say this, but I don’t want anyone to send this woman hate. I don’t think it is fair to rake someone over the coals for saying something stupid over 20 years ago. Additionally, it would be unfair to pin the blame on this one person, as she is not necessarily the originator and it was clearly a group of people who believed this. Rather, it is important to learn from past mistakes by examining the cause and effect.  

This false narrative didn’t stay confined to a small group of people. It spread into publications, which are now sitting in libraries and websites all over the internet. 

Recall the description I included at the beginning: 

In Voodoo, Ma'man Brigit (Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit, Manman Brijit) is the mother of cemeteries, the loa of money and death, and the wife of Baron Samedi. She may be related to the "triple" Celtic goddess of poetry, smithcraft, and healing, Brigid/St. Brigit, as her name is Irish in origin. She is usually depicted as a white woman.

This is an excerpt from Denise Alvarado’s (2009) The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook. This is one of several popular books that mischaracterizes Maman Brigitte in this manner. Artists, authors, and other creators read these books, which informs their character designs.

See how Maman Brigitte is typically portrayed in popular media: 

This is not the fault of this actress, at all. American Gods was actually praised for its portrayal of African spiritualities! At least, by some people… There could be intense internet discourse about how bad this portrayal was, which I am not privy to because I don’t use Twitter… 

I genuinely think the creative team behind American Gods (and possibly Smite…I wouldn’t know because I don’t play…) made a serious attempt to research New Orleans Voodoo. It is not because they didn’t care or try to research this topic; rather, it speaks to how widespread and deep-rooted this problem is. 

This matters because it contributes to colorism and racism against women. All across popular media, dark-skinned Black women are denigrated and erased, which impacts how people see and treat Black women in real life. Whenever they do appear, they are often stereotyped and/or excessively criticized by audiences, who can’t be normal around a “twofer minority”. This pattern has been the norm for most of human history. It went uncriticized until very recently, and continues into the present day.

More to the point, the lwa are sacred to Vodouisants of Haitian heritage. Haiti Vodou is embedded in the history of Haiti – the first nation to permanently ban slavery. This was won through a bloody Revolution, which is why the lwa are these warrior-like gods of justice. The whitewashing of religious figures is disgraceful–especially the lwa of Haiti.

There are regional differences in Haitian Vodou, which is why accounts from different, credible sources can vary. Unfortunately, this is used as an excuse to invent falsehoods about the lwa. It is inaccurate to describe Maman Brigitte as a mere manifestation of the European saint or goddess, as this erases her African and Caribbean elements. Instead of viewing her as European or African in origin, Maman Brigitte is best described as a lwa that is uniquely indigenous to Haiti.

Haitian Vodou is a part of Haitian national heritage, and the lwa are ancestral to the Haitian people. We should respect the depiction of Maman Brigitte as she is portrayed by Haitians.

She is not this:

But this:

CITATION LIST:

Alvarado, Denise. Voodoo hoodoo spellbook. Weiser Books, 2011: p. 34. 

Chinea, Jorge L. "Irish Indentured Servants, Papists and Colonists in Spanish Colonial Puerto Rico, ca. 1650-1800." Irish Migration Studies in Latin America 5.3 (2007): pp. 171-81.  https://www.irlandeses.org/0711.pdf#page=35 

Desmangles, Leslie Gerald. “African Interpretations of the Christian Cross in Vodun.” Sociological Analysis, vol. 38, no. 1, 1977, pp. 13–24. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3709833. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.

Hebblethwaite, Benjamin. A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou: Rasin Figuier, Rasin Bwa Kayiman, and the Rada and Gede Rites. United States, University Press of Mississippi, 2021. p. 204

Herskovits, Melville J.. Life in a Haitian Valley. United States, Octagon Books, 1964: pp. 289-290. https://archive.org/details/lifeinhaitianval0000hers/page/288/mode/2up 

Marcelin, Milo. "Mythologie vodou (Rite Arada), Volume II." Pétionville: Éditions Canapé Vert (1950). pp. 177-178 

Mintz, Sidney & Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. “The Social History of Haitian Vodou”. In Cosentino, Donald. Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou. United States, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1995: pp. 123-147. https://ghettobiennale.org/files/Trouillot_Mintz_LOW.pdf 

Noonan, Kerry. “Gran Brijit: Haitian Vodou Guardian of the Cemetery.” In Goddesses in World Culture: Volume 3, Australia and the Americas, edited by Patricia Monoghan, 123-133. Denver, Colorado: Praeger, 2011

Ohlmeyer, Jane. “Irishness, Whiteness, Blackness, and Slavery in the Early Modern World.” American Journal of Irish Studies, vol. 17, 2022, pp. 5–38. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27290673. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.

Slawson, Douglas J. “Rev. John J. Burke, the National Catholic Welfare Conference, and the American Occupation of Haiti (1915-34).” The Catholic Historical Review, vol. 100, no. 3, 2014, pp. 514–54. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43898675. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.

APPENDIX A: FULL EXCERPT FROM MILO MARCELIN’S (1950) MYTHOLOGIE VODOU VOL. 2:

GRANDE BRIJITTE

Grande Brijitte, femme de Baron-Samedi et mère des Guédé, est une négresse très vieille —c’est pourquoi on l’appelle grande (grand' mère). Elle est identifiée à Sainte Brigitte, patronne de l’Irlande; elle a pour reposoir un «cirouellier» (spondias purpurea L.) ou un figuier maudit marron (clusia rosea Jacq.) et, parfois, dans les cimetières, un amoncellement de pierres la représente. Ses jours sont le lundi et vendredi, sa couleur, le noir.

Grande Brijitte est aussi puissante que son mari. Parfois elle préside au cimetière. Si la première personne enterrée dans un cimetière nouvellement construit est un homme, on dit qu'il est Baron-Samedi et il est le maître de ce cimetière; si c’est une femme, elle est Grande Brijitte et elle est maîtresse de ce cimetière.

Les cas de possessions de Grande Brijitte sont fort rares. Quand elle possède une personne, celle-ci est comme morte. On lui bande la mâchoire avec un foulard noir, on lui met du coton aux oreilles et aux narines, on la couvre d'un drap blanc, on l'asperge de clairin (rhum blanc) et on chante:

Ou dit Manman Brijitte couché,

L’ap’ dômi!

Ou dit Manman Brijitte couché,

L’ap’ dômi! 

Lô-r la réveillé,

Dèniè hounsi dô-bas!

D'leau lan gé Manman Brijitte!

Lô-r la réveillé

Dèniè hounsi dô-bas!

Tu dis que Maman Brijitte est couchée,— Et qu'elle dort! — Tu dis que Maman Brijitte est couchée, — Et qu'elle dort! —  Quand elle se réveillera,— Toutes les hounsis (serviteurs du temple) seront dos bas! — Il y a de l'eau dans les yeux de Maman Brijitte! — Lors-qu’elle se réveillera, — Toutes les hounsis seront dos bas!

Grande Brijitte ne parle jamais. Quand elle se retire de son cheval (de sa possédée), on chante parfois cette chanson:

Manman Brijitte alé

Guingue, gongue!

Manman Brijitte alé

Guingue, gongue!

Manman Brijitte est partie – Guingue, gongue (tintement de la cloche: le glas funèbre!) – Maman Brijitte est partie – Guingue, gongue! 

Parfois Grande Brijitte et Baron-Samedi apparaissent ensemble. On revêt ce dernier d'un linceul, on lui met aussi du coton aux oreilles et aux narines. Il s'assied sur le lit où est étendue sa femme. Lui non plus ne parle pas, ne boit pas, ne fume pas. On les veille alors, comme on fait pour les morts.

Une invocation à Grande Brijitte: 

Brave, oh!

Alé rhélé Manzè Brijitte pou mouin!

M’ prall’ Thomazeau!

M’ pa gaingnin Manman, 

Qui pou palé pou mouin!

M’ pa gaingnin Papa,

Qui pou palé pou mouin!

Brave, oh!

Alé rhélé Manzè Brijitte pou mouin!

M’ prall’ Thomazeau!

Brave (Guédé), oh! — Va appeler Mam'zelle Brigitte pour moi! — Je vais à Thomazeau (ville du Département de l’Ouest)! — Je n’ai pas de Maman, — Pour prendre ma défense! — Je n’ai pas de Papa, — Pour prendre ma défense! — Brave, oh!— Va chercher Mam’zelle Brijitte pour moi! — Je vais à Thomazeau!

Le menu rite du repas de Grande Brijitte est composé de patates, de bananes (plantain), du hareng-sel et de la morue boucanés, du maïs et des pistaches grillés, du gros-sirop (sirop de canne à sucre). On lui offre du clairin (rhum blanc) et en sacrifice, des poules noires.

APPENDIX B: “Maman Brigitte, the Mother of the Gedes”

Racine125

Jun 16, 2001, 4:37:00 PM

to

Maman Brigitte is a manifestation of the Celtic Goddess Brigid. During the

formative period of Haitian Vodou, many Scottish people were deported from

Scotland to the Antilles because of the Stuart wars, and those Scots were the

most traditionalist, the least Christianized. They were the ones who brought

Brigid to Haiti.

During this time, blacks outnumbered whites about 4000 to one. This is a literal fact. So it is unlikely that those few whites could prevent Africans from having drum dances - it seems to me more likely that an uneasy truce obtained, you know, the whites said in effect, "Do your work and I will leave you alone."

At that time the whites most likely to participate in drum dances were of course the poor whites, not the few French elite whites. And among them, the most likely people to participate were the women - just the folks most likely to have preserved the service of Brigid.

(Before I go any further let me suggest that anyone who hasn't read Jayelle's "White Women in Vodou" do so!)

Now, the first woman buried in any cemetary is by definition Brigid, and the first man buried in any cemetary is by definition Baron. Of course when those drum-dancing poor Scottish women died they were buried in the same earth as Africans, and the agglomerative, pragmatic nature of Vodou as it developed would of course naturally incorporate Brigid, and metamorphose her into Maman Brigitte.

Now, to make Gede lwa, Maman Brigitte and Baron La Croix take souls from "under the water" and rebaptize them. That is why all Gede lwa have the last name La Croix, because their father is Baron La Croix. This is a real birth, out of the waters, Baron and Brigitte are not "adoptive parents", they are as much parents as any parent can be.

For more information on the travels of one Gede lwa, see "Biography of a Lwa" under the Special Topics heading on The VODOU Page. And for more information on ancestral lwa in general, see Vodou Lesson 2 under the Vodou Lesson heading on The VODOU Page.

Peace and love,

Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen

"Se bon ki ra" - Good is rare Haitian Proverb

The VODOU Page - http://members.aol.com/racine125/index.html

Kevin Filan

Jun 17, 2001, 3:43:50 PM

to

Thanks for a fascinating essay on Maman Brigitte. While I can't comment

on her place in Haitian Vodou, I do have some knowledge of Scots and

British history, as well as a bit of experience doing scholarly

research. While I think you make a couple of questionable assertions,

you also have raised some interesting points.

Racine125 wrote: > > Maman Brigitte is a manifestation of the Celtic Goddess Brigid. During the > formative period of Haitian Vodou, many Scottish people were deported from > Scotland to the Antilles because of the Stuart wars, and those Scots were the > most traditionalist, the least Christianized. They were the ones who brought > Brigid to Haiti.

http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog13/feature/index_text.html

Tells us the first African slaves in the New World arrived in Hispaniola in 1501... and the first slave rebellion in Hispaniola was in 1522. By that time Scotland had been Christian for over a thousand years. While Neopagans love to speculate about isolated villages practicing "the Olde Pagan Customs" well into the 20th century, I've yet to see any evidence of same. I certainly doubt VERY strongly that there were any Scotsmen of that time, no matter how isolated a little town they came from, who would have considered themselves "Brigid worshippers." I'm even inclined to think that by the time of the Stuart Wars poor White indentured servants were largely becoming a thing of the past, as the Slave routes became well-established and the full horror of that machinery was coming into operation. There were certainly Catholic Scots who got the heck outta Dodge during the Stuart Wars: many of them wound up in Catholic France or some of the French colonies. But I'm not sure that they came to St. Dominique as indentured servants.

Here's an excerpt from http://www.scotlandspast.com/religion.htm which shows that Christianity was well established in Scotland by the 8th century: the whole site, BTW, is fascinating and well worth a read.

* * * * *

The first named missionary to Scotland is Ninian who is referred to in an aside by Bede while discussing the conversion of the Picts in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People written in 731 AD. In this aside he says 'The southern Picts, who live on this side of the mountains, are said to have abandoned the errors of idolatry long before this date and accepted the true Faith through the preaching of Bishop Ninian, a most reverend and holy man of British race, who had been regularly instructed in the mysteries of the Christian Faith in Rome. Ninian's own Episcopal see, named after Saint Martin and famous for its stately church, is now held by the English, and it is here that his body and those of many saints lie at rest. The place belongs to the province of Bernicia and is commonly known as Candida Casa, the White House, because he built the church of stone, which was unusual among the Britons.' Ninian is also dealt with in Miracula Nyniae Episcopi which also mentions a king called Tudwal, historians have used the above evidence to date Ninian to the 5th century, about the same time as Patrick. There have been many suggestions that Ninian operated much further north than Galloway and dedications to him can be found as far north as Fife and even into Angus. Although the term missionary has been used here it is likely that Christianity of some kind already existed and that Ninian, Columba and the other early saints were not missionaries in the modern sense.

* * * * * *

That being said, there certainly were indentured White servants in Haiti during the earliest days of its colonization. From http://208.154.71.60/bcom/eb/article/6/0,5716,108616+21,00.html

* * * * *

As the English, French, Dutch, and, to a lesser extent, the Danes colonized the smaller West Indian islands, these became plantation settlements, largely cultivated by blacks. Before the latter arrived in great numbers, the bulk of manual labour, especially in the English islands, was performed by poor whites. Some were indentured, or contract, servants; some were redemptioners who agreed to pay ship captains their passage fees within a stated time or be sold to bidders; others were convicts. Some were kidnapped, with the tacit approval of the English authorities, in keeping with the mercantilist policy that advocated getting rid of the unemployed and vagrants. Black slavery eventually surpassed white servitude in the West Indies.

* * * * *

By the time of the Code Noir, there was some effort made to distinguish between Blacks, mulattos, and Whites: I suspect by that time most of the ancestors of the early indentured Whites were considered mulatto at best. Some of the worst buccaneers of the time were headquartered on the Island of Tortuga, an isle populated by creoles, escaped indentured servants, escaped slaves and other "lawless riffraff." So there was definitely mingling of the races and mingling of the cultures.

> During this time, blacks outnumbered whites about 4000 to one. This is a > literal fact.

I was under the impression it was more like 20 to one, but if you could cite some source which says otherwise I'd certainly be open to correction.

> So it is unlikely that those few whites could prevent Africans > from having drum dances - it seems to me more likely that an uneasy truce > obtained, you know, the whites said in effect, "Do your work and I will leave > you alone."

It generally appears that slave owners were, if anything, *hostile* to attempts to convert their slaves. They didn't want to deal with the responsibility of teaching these savages, never mind giving them time off to go to church. While they punished anything which smacked of rebellion with truly horrendous savagery, they of course weren't able to stop every drum dance or religious service.

> At that time the whites most likely to participate in drum dances were of > course the poor whites, not the few French elite whites. And among them, the > most likely people to participate were the women - just the folks most likely > to have preserved the service of Brigid.

This involves a whole bunch of assumptions, some of which may not be true. I think the assumption that the service of Brigid was preserved is a dubious one at best. (I'm also not sure that Brigid was particularly popular in Scotland: I was of the impression that she was more favored in Ireland). And were White women regularly participating in erotically-charged (at least in the popular White imagination of the time) drumming rituals? While the Code Noir allowed intermarriage, there were certainly social taboos against this, particularly against White woman sleeping with Black men.

> (Before I go any further let me suggest that anyone who hasn't read Jayelle's > "White Women in Vodou" do so!)

An excellent and moving piece which describes what Maman Brigitte means to Jayelle and how she has integrated Maman Brigitte into her own life. I have no interest in "debunking" Jayelle's personal mythology, or in "disproving" her belief that her Maman Brigitte is related to the Celtic Brigitte. Jayelle seems like a very nice and very intelligent person: if her service of Brigitte does good things for her, then I wish her well. I can respect the opinions of a devout, sincere Moslem, without believing that the Koran is the direct word of God and that Mohammed is the seal of the prophets.

That being said: I think one of the big problems facing Neopagan theology today is flabby scholarship. "Authorities" pull assertions out of their posteriors without any kind of evidence: other "authorities" then point to these assertions as "proof." I saw a recent claim, for instance, that the "Black Madonna" found throughout Europe is really a survival of Isis and Horus worship. I didn't see any evidence backing that claim up -- just a bald-faced assertion. I could just as easily claim the Black Madonna was a survival of Parvati holding the Infant Krishna, or of the infant Guatama being held by his Mother. I'm sure that I could find a "Mother holding a Child" figure in the art of just about EVERY culture: does that prove that the Black Madonna is a survival of Inuit rule over Europe, or that Europe was once occupied by South Sea Islanders? Speculation is one thing: so long as you clearly say "This is what I believe," or "This is one possible explanation," I'm not inclined to complain. But once you and others start presenting your speculation as Historical Fact, you can run into all kinds of problems.

> Now, the first woman buried in any cemetary is by definition Brigid, and the > first man buried in any cemetary is by definition Baron. Of course when those > drum-dancing poor Scottish women died they were buried in the same earth as > Africans, and the agglomerative, pragmatic nature of Vodou as it developed > would of course naturally incorporate Brigid, and metamorphose her into Maman > Brigitte.

You're assuming a lot here again. I'm not saying that you're wrong, but I'd like to see some scholarship regarding the ethnic makeup of indentured servants in Haiti, the interactions between indentured servants and African slaves, and the religious beliefs of indentured White servants in Haiti. As I said before, there certainly were intermarriages and interrelationships between poor Whites (particularly escaped indentured servants) and African slaves. And if you can point me in the direction of evidence that Brigid-worship survived in Scotland as late as the 17th century, I would be greatly appreciative.

Peace Kevin Filan

-- Now in the graveyard of my secrets there's a hope buried beneath All this talk of peace and righteousness as left me weary beyond belief And there's this unwanted mistress in my bed late at night She says "I know you're a criminal -- you been on death row all your life."

- Bill Mallonee

Racine125

Jun 17, 2001, 4:34:43 PM

to

In article <3B2D3334...@SPAMBGONE.com>, Kevin Filan

<mrha...@SPAMBGONE.com> writes:

>..the first African slaves in the New World arrived in Hispaniola >in 1501... and the first slave rebellion in Hispaniola was in 1522....

I don't mean that Scottish deportees were in Haiti from the beginning of the slave trade! The Stuart wars took place later, in the mid-1700's, which is in plenty of time to contribute to the formation of the contemporary Vodou religion. Not only that, but Scottish people were being deported to the West Indies including Haiti long before the Stuart wars - that is where all those Jamaicans get names like Fitzwilliam and Fitzroy, and that is why there are Haitians named Bailly.

> I certainly doubt VERY strongly that there were any Scotsmen >of that time, no matter how isolated a little town they came from, who >would have considered themselves "Brigid worshippers."

Oh, I don't doubt it for a moment, I bet Scots*women* kept Brigid alive in their hearts - that is no different from the modern Haitians in the north of Haiti who are hereditary Muslims! Documents written by Christians claiming that the "Picts are Christianized" mean as much to me as modern documents written by Christians in Haiti claiming that the majority of Haitians have renounced Vodou.

The population statistics I quoted are from historical documents of the time, it's on the 'Net in a few places, I will look and see if I can find them again.

There is no doubt that Brigitte is a manifestation of Brigid, although we may go rooting around a bit to decide exactly how and when. Like Bob Marley said, "Half the story has never been told."

Kevin Filan

Jun 18, 2001, 11:58:10 PM

to

In article <20010617193443...@nso-mc.aol.com>, Racine125 says...

>

>In article <3B2D3334...@SPAMBGONE.com>, Kevin Filan

><mrha...@SPAMBGONE.com> writes:

>

>>..the first African slaves in the New World arrived in Hispaniola

>>in 1501... and the first slave rebellion in Hispaniola was in 1522....

>

>I don't mean that Scottish deportees were in Haiti from the

>beginning of the slave trade! The Stuart wars took place later,

>in the mid-1700's, which is in plenty of time to contribute to

>the formation of the contemporary Vodou religion. Not only

>that, but Scottish people were being deported to the West

>Indies including Haiti long before the Stuart wars - that is where

>all those Jamaicans get names like Fitzwilliam and Fitzroy, and

>that is why there are Haitians named Bailly.

I don't think you were seeing a lot of indentured servitude in St. Dominique by the 1750s. At that stage in the game they were mostly using the "labor camp" model: buy slaves, work them to death, repeat as necessary. For the most part the farms were divided into massive plantations where indentured servants would be working as overseers at best. It's highly unlikely that any overseers were hanging out at African drum dances ... in fact, I'd say the overseers would have been among the first killed when the rebellion started.

I think a more promising approach might be to compare some of the folk beliefs of the early French settlers, particularly any settlers from the Breton area, and compare them with the beliefs and rituals found in Haiti today around Maman Brigitte. For that I'd look no later than the early 18th century, before the Code Noir and before the disenfranchisement of the Mulattos. At that period you would have had a prosperous Creole culture where you might have seen that kind of interaction between Whites and Blacks and their belief systems. Later you get much more a "state of siege" and an effort to keep the systems separate. (You can still see the psychological effects of this among Haiti's mulatto elite). And then, during and after the Revolution, the Whites who weren't killed out got the heck out of Dodge: after that time there wasn't enough of a white presence, IMO, to have that kind of an impact on the development of Vodou.

I just picked up W.Y. Evans-Wentz's 1911 book *The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries.* While he engages in a fair bit of psychical and theosophical speculation, he also did a goodly amount of field work in the British Isles and in Breton. He was also a disciple of the great American philosopher William James: I can definitely see the influence of *Varieties of Religious Experience* in the preconceptions he brings to the table when compiling his data. From what I've read so far, the book is fascinating and thought-provoking, although you may want to keep a salt shaker handy when reading.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ffcc/ has an online edition of this book.

One thing I've noted is that Bretons strongly identify the Fae folk with the spirits of the dead, arguably more so than other Celtic peoples. If this is true (and, again, I've not done the research to verify all of Evans-Wentz's claims), then it might be an explanation of how a goddess frequently assoicated with the Fairy Kingdom became the Queen of the Dead.

When are Maman Brigitte and the Baron first mentioned in print? I know that the scholarship on Vodou is woefully thin, but in present day Vodou these are two of the most popular and well-known Lwa. If we could get some idea as to how long Brigitte has been served, perhaps we'd get some better clue as to her origins.

>> I certainly doubt VERY strongly that there were any Scotsmen >>of that time, no matter how isolated a little town they came from, who >>would have considered themselves "Brigid worshippers." > >Oh, I don't doubt it for a moment, I bet Scots*women* kept >Brigid alive in their hearts - that is no different from the modern >Haitians in the north of Haiti who are hereditary Muslims!

The broker who got us our apartment was a Lebanese Haitian: I've gathered there is also a Syrian population in Haiti as well. Are these the Muslims of whom you speak?

I would expect that most of the peasants from France, Scotland, England and Ireland would have considered themselves Catholics. They might pay homage to "saints" like Brigid in ways which reflected the pre-Christian worship of Brigid... but they would likely consider this Catholic. While I am open to the possibility -- and would love to see it, actually -- I have not yet seen any evidence of widespread survival of pre-Christian religion in Europe, particularly a pre-Christian survival which recognized itself as such. I suspect the situation resembled African-American Hoodoo: lots of bits and pieces from an earlier structure, but lacking major amounts of the underlying philosophy of that structure and incorporating many Christian ideas.

>Documents written by Christians claiming that the "Picts are >Christianized" mean as much to me as modern documents >written by Christians in Haiti claiming that the majority of >Haitians have renounced Vodou.

What those documents prove is that there was a pretty established Christian community in Scotland as early as the 8th century. It doesn't prove that the pre-Christian customs had died out entirely ... indeed, if Evans-Wentz's field research was at all accurate, many of them survived as late as the 19th and early 20th century. What it means is that we can expect these pre-Christian myths to have incorporated a good deal of Christian mythology by the time St. Dominique was being colonized.

>The population statistics I quoted are from historical documents >of the time, it's on the 'Net in a few places, I will look and see >if I can find them again. > >There is no doubt that Brigitte is a manifestation of Brigid, although >we may go rooting around a bit to decide exactly how and when. >Like Bob Marley said, "Half the story has never been told."

I'm not saying that you're wrong here, although I think you may be pointing a bit in the wrong direction. I'm definitely interested in hearing more about why Maman Brigitte "comes from England" and for how long this identification has been made. Do you know any other Maman Brigitte songs? Looking at those lyrics might help to uncover other clues as to Brigitte's origin.

I know we have a few people on here with some knowledge of Celtic culture and mythology. Any recommendations for good books on the subject which avoid the Standard Newage Pitfalls?

>Peace and love, > >Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen > >"Se bon ki ra" - Good is rare > Haitian Proverb > >The VODOU Page - http://members.aol.com/racine125/index.html

Peace Kevin Filan

"My country, right or wrong," is a thing that no patriot would think of

saying expect in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother,

drunk or sober." - G.K. Chesterton

Other

Jun 19, 2001, 6:05:57 AM

to

<snip>

> There is no doubt that Brigitte is a manifestation of Brigid, although

> we may go rooting around a bit to decide exactly how and when.

> Like Bob Marley said, "Half the story has never been told."

>

Don't forget that there is a Catholic Saint, St. Bridget who is clearly a

Christianized version of the Goddess Brigid.

-- Troy

"Self, I could do bad pencil drawings of Mr. Spock!"-Robin Wood

Racine125

Jun 19, 2001, 9:16:10 AM

to

In article <6KCX6.678$yp1....@www.newsranger.com>, Kevin

Filan<mrha...@excite.SPAMBGONE.com> writes:

>I don't think you were seeing a lot of indentured servitude in St. Dominique >by >the 1750s. At that stage in the game they were mostly using the "labor camp" >model: buy slaves, work them to death, repeat as necessary.

They who? Think again, Kevin - wealthy French plantation owners did not soil their shoes going down to the cane fields or the indigo patch or whatever. That work was done by poor whites and some "trusted blacks" usually Kongo men because they were considered by whites the most likely to betray their own people.

>It's highly unlikely that any overseers >were >hanging out at African drum dances ...

To the contrary - where else would they hang out? The fancy whites wouldn't have anything to do with them. I want to stress again and again the incredibly high numerical disparity between blacks and whites, it wasn't like the USA, whites were few and far between, and they had to have an "understanding" with blacks who outnumbered them vastly (By the way the source of that population data is online somewhere and I will keep trying to find it and give it to you). And also remember that the most likely participants were the women! These were not refined, constrained Frenchwomen, these were rough, lower class independant Celtic women accustomed to taking responsibility for themselves. Now, faced with a choice between some boring white guy and some big handsome Ashanti or Ibo, I know who I would rather hang out with! LOL!

> in fact, I'd say the overseers would >have >been among the first killed when the rebellion started.

No, that came later - in the beginning there were groups of blacks who protected whites whom they felt had done their best to protect blacks, sometimes even to the point of battling for them, getting them out of the country... it was Dessalines who brought on that mentality that led to pregnant white women being split open and their fetuses pulled out for the purposes of general amusement, that kind of thing. In fact at one point he promised a large group of white women and children safe passage back to France, and then when they assembled, he had his men cut them to pieces with swords because he "wouldn't waste the bullets".

>I think a more promising approach might be to compare some of the folk >beliefs >of the early French settlers, particularly any settlers from the Breton area, >and compare them with the beliefs and rituals found in Haiti today around >Maman >Brigitte.

That might have been a part of it too! But you know, the Vodou song which refers to the geographical origins of Maman Brigitte says that "Maman Brigitte, li soti nan anglete", anglete being properly "England" but by extension the British Isles.

>One thing I've noted is that Bretons strongly identify the Fae folk with the >spirits of the dead, arguably more so than other Celtic peoples. If this is >true (and, again, I've not done the research to verify all of Evans-Wentz's >claims), then it might be an explanation of how a goddess frequently >assoicated >with the Fairy Kingdom became the Queen of the Dead.

Brigid was identified with the dead in her own country, and with healing and smithcraft too.

>>Oh, I don't doubt it for a moment, I bet Scots*women* kept >>Brigid alive in their hearts - that is no different from the modern >>Haitians in the north of Haiti who are hereditary Muslims! > >The broker who got us our apartment was a Lebanese Haitian: I've gathered >there >is also a Syrian population in Haiti as well. Are these the Muslims of whom >you >speak?

No, I am talking about black people in the north of Haiti whose ancestors were Muslims when they came over from Africa. Their contemporary descendants remain Muslims until present, and the anthropologists are having a field day with them! LOL!

>>Documents written by Christians claiming that the "Picts are >>Christianized" mean as much to me as modern documents >>written by Christians in Haiti claiming that the majority of >>Haitians have renounced Vodou. > >What those documents prove is that there was a pretty established Christian >community in Scotland as early as the 8th century. It doesn't prove that the >pre-Christian customs had died out entirely ... indeed, if Evans-Wentz's >field >research was at all accurate, many of them survived as late as the 19th and >early 20th century.

So there.

>I'm not saying that you're wrong here, although I think you may be pointing a >bit in the wrong direction. I'm definitely interested in hearing more about >why >Maman Brigitte "comes from England" and for how long this identification has >been made. Do you know any other Maman Brigitte songs? Looking at those >lyrics >might help to uncover other clues as to Brigitte's origin.

Of course I know more songs for Maman Brigitte, but none of them say anything about her origin.

Kathy Latzoni

Jun 19, 2001, 10:10:50 AM

to

In article <20010619121610...@nso-mi.aol.com>, Racine125 says...

>

>In article <6KCX6.678$yp1....@www.newsranger.com>, Kevin

>Filan<mrha...@excite.SPAMBGONE.com> writes:

>

>>I don't think you were seeing a lot of indentured servitude in St. Dominique

>>by

>>the 1750s. At that stage in the game they were mostly using the "labor camp"

>>model: buy slaves, work them to death, repeat as necessary.

>

>They who? Think again, Kevin - wealthy French plantation owners

>did not soil their shoes going down to the cane fields or the indigo

>patch or whatever. That work was done by poor whites and some

>"trusted blacks" usually Kongo men because they were considered

>by whites the most likely to betray their own people.

Hmm. Why were the Kongo [as opposed to Africans of other origins] considered the "most likely to betray their own people"? <:/

I'd be interested in seeing your sources for this information...

>Brigid was identified with the dead in her own country, and with healing >and smithcraft too. >

In my own [somewhat casual] studies of Brigid, I have heard her identified with all of these things as well -- but again, this has mostly come from pagan or women's-spirituality books and websites, which often don't give many academic citations, or statistics, to back up the assertions they make. [Yes, I'm familiar with the quote about "lies, damned lies and statistics" ;) ... but that would at least provide some primary research for us to evaluate.]

Your own reading has probably been more extensive than mine: are you able to give us some more "hard facts" to support these conclusions here?

KL

Racine125

Jun 19, 2001, 11:31:52 AM

to

In article <uILX6.1515$yp1....@www.newsranger.com>, Kathy

Latzoni<lat...@my-deja.com> writes:

>Hmm. Why were the Kongo [as opposed to Africans of other origins] considered >the >"most likely to betray their own people"? <:/ > >I'd be interested in seeing your sources for this information...

Oh dear, another bibliography search, huh? There are actually quite a few references to the "execrable Congos" and how other ethnic groups scorned them because they would sell out incipient rebellions, all sorts of stuff.

There are echoes of this kind of thing in current Haitian parlance too - for instance "owsa" (Hausa) means "pickpocket", and apparently Hausas had a reputation for being lightfingered in Africa as well.

I am getting on the plane very shortly and won't be able to look it up for you but the references abound, it won't be hard for you to find.

[conjuremanj]

Gede Family (Haitian Vodou)

The Gede (French: Guede) Gede are the dead–spirits who were once human and have since been elevated (by Bawon) to serve as Gede. There are Gede of all genders.

The Gede are souls that never went through the funeral rites and became lost then Baron finds then and elevate them to Gede.

They are the family of spirits not Lwa, that represent the powers of death and fertility. All are known for the drum rhythm and dance called the "banda". Banda is danced at funerals to assist the passage of the dead to the world of the spirits within vodou thinking about death is the notion of rebirth. The dance is a sexual dance with grinding , cussing etc..

The Gedés are spirits and guardians of the dead. The dead reside in the cemetery, but so do liminal spirits who straddle the frontier between life and death.

Gede is born under the water, of souls that are unclaimed by families, usually. Bawon selects souls to serve as Gede and does whatever he does to make that particular Gede, and then the new Gede exists. Even very well known Gede like Gede Nibo or Gede Mazaka vary wildly from lineage to lineage.

The Barons are a family of lwa who are the aspect of life of death. They oversee the Gede.

In possession sometimes they can be the life of the party in most lineages it can be the exact opposite. In possession, he falls to the ground and is arranged as a corpse.

Baron Samedi.: is the leader of the Gede family, he's the lwa that represent death. He's the chief spirit of the dead, the Baron guards the veil between life and death, welcoming new souls into the underworld and deciding who lives and who dies. He is recognized as a man with a high hat on his head, sunglasses with one lens gone who likes to smoke cigars. Papa Gede- is a spirit who guides souls into the afterlife. He is a great healer when it's a life and death situation. can help with fertility and is fine if children.

However, he is also the patron of young children and a great healer, when there is a life or death situation.

Barons Cross in Haiti.

Maman Brigitte ("Mother Bridget") is the wife of Baron Samedi. She is syncretized with St. Brigid, perhaps because she is the protector of crosses and gravestones.

Now some may say that Gran Brigit is not presented as white and she may not be, some consider her to be a light skinned black woman. When you have a lwa spirit who embody death, such as her and her husband Bawon Samdi, sometimes they can often appear pale because they are deceased. They are other spirits that do portray themselves passing for white like Damballah Wedo, Agwe Tawoyo, Ezili Freda, Ogou Sen Jak, and others.

For practitioners of Haitian Vodoun and the New Orleans Voodoo religion, Maman Brigitte is one of the most important loa. Associated with death and cemeteries, she is also a spirit of fertility and motherhood.

She can be called on for a number of different matters. Like healing—particularly of sexually transmitted diseases—and fertility, as well as divine judgement. She's known to be a mighty force when the wicked need to be punished. If someone suffers from long term illness, Maman Brigitte can step in and heal them, or she can ease their suffering by claiming them with death.

"We here in New Orleans call upon Mama Brigitte to clear our path of negativity and evil, to help our memory and to bring us the protection and wisdom of our Ancestors and Spirit Guides."

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.

Gede Nibo (Haitian Creole) is a lwa who is leader of the spirits of the dead in Haitian Vodou. Formerly human, Gede Nibo was a young man who was violently killed.

After death, he was adopted by Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte. Nibo wears a black riding coat or drag. He is a intermediary between the living and the dead. And is the patron of those who died by unnatural causes (disaster, accident, misadventure, or violence). He can help to give a voice to the dead spirits whose bodies have not been found or that have not been reclaimed from "below the waters".

"Baron Kriminals" is the enforcer of the Gede. He was the first person to kill another (probably Nibo). He's the second man to be buried in the cemetery. As the first murderer, he is master of those who murder or use violence to harm others. He's the guardian of the cemetery and watch over the tombs and what's in them. He has a skull painted face and smokes a cigar and rest under the tallest tree in the cemetery. He call sometimes captain zombi you'll see him in an image wearing a bottle around his neck which contains the zombies spirits in the bottle. He is called apon to help when the matter is serious not when ever you want to. The families murder victims and the abused pray to him to get revenge on those who wronged them. He's know to work with Met Kalfu. You can put a pic of him by the door to protect from criminals.

He is syncretized with St. Martin de Porres, perhaps because his feast day is November 3, the day after Fèt Gede.

Baron LaCroix, says to be Barons brother, but he's the cemetery groundskeeper and maintains the graves. He is one of the Gede, a lwa of the dead and sexuality along with Baron Samedi and Baron Cimetière in Vodou. He is syncretized with Saint Expeditus. Baron La Croix is also known as Azagon Lacroix. He's another aspect of Semedi not the same but similar.

He is generally not invoked unless under certain circumstances but people avoids him do to can try to kill and turn one to a zombi.

Baron Cimetière is one of the Gede, a spirit of the dead, along with Baron Samedi and Baron La Croix in Vodou. He is said to be the guardian of the cemetery, protecting its graves.

Ghede Masaka and Ghede Oussou Known as the twins, these two Loa are Haitian Voudou’s gravediggers gifted with divine insight. Masaka is depicted as an androgynous or transgender male who assists Ghede Nibo, while Oussou is his rum-loving brother dressed in opposite colors.

Baron Del Cementario: Although technically Baron Del Cementario’s name is the Spanish version of the French Baron Cimitière, (they are not the same spirit.) In the Vodou traditions of the Dominican Republic, the first man buried in a cemetery becomes that cemetery’s Baron Del Cementario. To identify or contact him, locate his grave. In Dominican tradition, Baron Del Cementario is the Baron with the closest relations with the living, perhaps because he, unlike most Barons, has had a relatively recent human incarnation.

JustBaron Del Cementario is contacted or invoked in the cemetery at midnight. Enter by one gate; make your offerings and petition, then leave by another gate, not the one by which you entered. Throw nine coins over your left shoulder (have them ready in your pocket) and then go home via a circuitous route without looking back.

[americangodstalk]

Cultural backgrounds: Anansi

Anansi is a popular folktale character and cultural hero. He is from Ghana, originating from the tales of the Akan people. He quickly got a good place in the Ashanti mythology and his legends spread across all of West Africa, and then into the Caribbean folklore.

Sometimes called Kwaku Anansi, Kompa Nanzi or Nancy, Anansi is described as both a spider (Anansi meaning “spider” in the Akan language) and a humanoid being – his depictions ranging from fully human-looking or completely spider-like to hybrids such as a spider with human face and clothes or a man with eight limbs. He is often described as having a family: he has a wife, that bears different names according to the sources, and several sons (Ntikuma, his first-born son, Tikelenkelen, his big-headed son, Nankonhwea, his son with spindly necks and legs, and Afudohwedohwe, his big bellied son). Some story also tells of Anansewa, the beautiful daughter of Anansi that he tries to wed to the most profitable parties.

Anansi is a famous trickster, renowned for his ruses, his cunning, his talent at making speeches and his skills as an orator. The Akan consider him an Abosom (equivalent to the Yoruba orishas and Vodun loas). The Abosoms are in the Akan spirituality powerful spirits, akin to lesser gods, that helped shape the world and are a link between the mortal, earthly beings and the supreme entity that is Nyame, the Sky Father. Anansi is said to be either the son of Nyame and Asase Ya, the Earth Mother, or merely their servant and messengers. However, Anansi never received any intense worship and his divine nature was never put forward by the Akan, who felt that his role as a cultural figure and folklore hero was much more useful than his religious aspect.

Among the many legends about Anansi, two stick out the most because they each explain one of Anansi’s role in the world.

The first story explains that in the beginning the world was story-less, for all of them were kept in a box by Nyame, the Sky Father. Anansi thought the world was boring and thus went up at the top of the universe to meet with Nyame and ask from him the box of stories. Nyame, impressed that Anansi managed to reach him with his silk strings, agreed to give him the stories in exchange for the capture of extremely dangerous creatures, such as the Python, the Leopard and the Hornets. Anansi managed to capture all these deadly beings through ruses and tricks, and Nyame gave him the box. That is why today Anansi is considered the master of all stories in the world and the patron of storytellers.

The second story says that a long time ago, the clever Anansi craved for more intelligence,and set out on a quest to collect all of the knowledge in the world. Then he put all of this wisdom into a jar (or a calabash) and decided to keep it all for himself. Searching a safe place to hide his treasure, he chose to put it on top of a high tree. He tried several times to climb the tree while holding the jar, or tying it to his belly, to no use. Anansi hadn’t noticed that his son, Ntikuma, had secretly followed him, curious about what his father may be doing. When Ntikuma suddenly shouted at Anansi that to carry the pot all up to the tree, he had to carry it on his back, Anansi got a shock due to the surprise.

Here the story splits in two popular versions. In the first one, Anansi, surprised, let the jar out of his hand, and it crashed on the ground. Immediately, a storm came and its rain washed all of the world’s wisdom away in the river. Anansi, angry at his son, chased him under the rain until he realized that having all the world’s wisdom was not useful if you still needed the help of a child to do things right, and forgave Ntikuma. The other version rather has Anansi following his son’s advice, and climbing on the top of the tree with the jar, only to conclude the same thing as in the other version. He then threw the jar himself onto the ground, so that the wisdom would be free to spread in the world. This story explains why Anansi isn’t merely considered as a clever and cunning trickster, but also as a “wise” figure and the one who offered knowledge and wisdom to the world. (Some like to claim that the box of stories of Nyame and the jar of wisdom of Anansi are one and the same [1]).

But these are just two of Anansi’s many stories. Another one tells of how he created the first inanimate human body, another speaks of him as the one who brings rain in the mortal world and causes the floods. He is also considered the one who taught human how to plow and sow. A legend says he created the sun, the moon and the stars and thus was responsible for days and nights[2], and another explains that he helped Owia the Sun, youngest son of Nyame, to gain his father’s role as the chief of the world, against his two older brothers Esum the Night and Osrane the Moon, and that for his services Anansi became Nyame’s personal messenger. A last tale explains that when all of the animals in the world fought over who was the oldest, Anansi won the argument because he explained that, when his father died, he had to bury him in his own head, for the earth didn’t exist back then.

Fittingly for Anansi, master of storytelling, his survival and the spread of his popularity across the globe was due to him being part of an oral culture – unwritten traditions and stories that spread from mouth to ear in all of the western African continent before going over to the Caribbean Islands, and then the New World. Indeed, when slaves were brought over from the Caribbean and the African continent to the Americas, they told each other the stories of Anansi – the “anansesem” or “spider tales” in the Ashanti language, a specific genre of tales for children centered around the Spider adventures. Since most of these stories told of a little, weak spider turning the table on powerful oppressors through his cunning and his tricks, Anansi quickly became a symbol of resistance and survival during the slavery era – and telling his tales was a way for the slaves to keep their original identity and culture alive.

However, this transition from the Old World to the New World modified Anansi’s characterization. While in America he became a classical hero to admire, imitate and follow, originally Anansi wasn’t a paragon of moral virtues. He was a flawed character and while his stories often showed him as, indeed, the winner or the survivor of a world turned against him, sometimes Anansi brought unfortunate events upon himself or the world due to his own vices – the “anansesem” were entertaining and instructive, yes, but also a warning against how avarice and selfishness could be our own undoing.  

For example, a story explains how Anansi, supposed to find Nyame a wife among a village of beautiful maidens, decided to take all of them as his own wives without any of them for Nyame, and when the Sky Father “stole back” all of Anansi’s wives for his personal harem, the Spider unleashed all of the sicknesses existing upon the world as a way to get his revenge. Another explains that Anansi one day received meat from Death itself to feed his family. However, upon seeing that Death had endless supplies of meat (for everything living in this world belongs to Death), Anansi became greedy and stole from Death. Death, angry, followed Anansi back to punish him and while the Spider evaded it, he still brought mortality into the world of the living. A last story explains how Anansi announced to all the animals that Gun, the personification of firearms, their deadly archenemy, was dead and invited them to his funeral. What the animals didn’t know was that in fact, Gun wasn’t dead, and Anansi had borrowed him from the Hunter – thus, once all the animals were reunited, Anansi killed them all and then took their bodies to his home so that he may feast on them.

Anansi was included into the Haitan Vodou as a Gede Lwa. The Lwa or Loa, falsely called “gods” of vodou, are powerful spirits forming an in-between stage between the mortal creatures and the supreme being, while the Gede were a specific family of Loa associated with death, the afterlife and funerals. As a Loa Gede, Anansi was supposed to establish or facilitate the link between the living and their deceased ancestors. [3]

[alastors-radioshow]

The much taller entity rolled his eyes. This man clearly had some issues in regards to how to address people. Especially people with more authority than himself.

But that wasn't his issue to fix.

"Name's Bawon Samndi. The Lwa of the dead. Head of the Gede." He explained, simply. He was death. But it wasn't his name.

"He ain't dead, no. I don't know what happened, that's what I'm 'ere ta' find out." He'd murmur, crouching down next to the body.

"'Deathlike' is th' right word."

Death? That was who this man was? That was believable. The shadow demon stood up, wiping his eyes of tears once more. Even knowing the stag wasn't dead, Ombra couldn't bear to look at what greatly resembled his friend's dead body. It made him sick to his stomach.

"Well, Death, if he's not dead, then what's happened to him? He seems so... deathlike. Can he be saved?"

[manbomary]

Gede’s food! Massive thanks to @rockofeye my bro for the great recipe: salt mackerel, hot chili’s with oil, and roasted root veg with plantains. Feed and treat your Gede well this month and he will hear your prayers

[haitianartlover]

[andrehoraart]

#martadominadora #ladominadora #santamarta #mamiwatta #filomenalubana #lwa #gede #voodoo #hoodoo #santafilomena #art #andrehoraart