Baron Samedi, the Vodou Lord of Death

[Jezabel]

Lately, I have been researching on the ways of Vodou and in the practice, Baron Samedi is seen as the lwa or loa (1) as it is more commonly spelled “who is the lord of the Gédé (2) and overseer of the crossroads between the world of the living and the world of the dead.” (The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Voodoo, p 280) He is also one of the most dreaded lwa and “without his help, no soul may pass into the ancestral homeland of Ginen, and no spirit may return to the physical world to become an ancestral spirit or immortal lwa.” (p 97)
Baron Samedi can also pass on information regarding spirits of ancestors through invocation and knows everything that is happening in the world of the dead. Anyone who wishes to make contact with the dead must invoke Baron Samedi first. “…without Baron Samedi’s cooperation, the gates to the world of the dead are closed, and the dead cannot interact with the living.” (p 97)
“Like some other loa, he has a dual function. He is the guardian of the cemetery, connected with the end of life, a party-throwing host who welcomes the dead, and a gentle protector of the children who have just come into this world. He captures the essence of the circle of life, the place where the living and the dead meet, which is always now, for we are always alive and, in this moment, on a journey toward death.
In celebration of this journey, Baron reflects back to us the physicality of life-we are all spiritual beings, but we are living in a material body-as well as the creative role of sexuality in life, its essential purpose in generating and regenerating the species we are a part of, thereby also giving birth to the spirits who wish to be born on this physical plane.
Recognizing this, Baron appears as a very earthy spirit who dances his own bawdy dance called the banda, which is full of pelvic thrusts and explicit hip movements. He is the Elvis of the dead!” (Vodou Shaman The Haitian Way Of Healing And Power p 109-110)
Baron Samedi is not only called in work with the dead, but also many Vodou healing rituals and removing of negative and stagnate energy and is seen as the last resort against someone dying by magic.
He is “portrayed as a man wearing a frock coat with tails, striped trousers, sunglasses, and a top hat. He carries a walking stick and smokes a cigarette.”(The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Voodoo, p 98 ) His symbols are the coffin, cross, and the phallus and he forms a triumvirate with Baron Cimetié and Baron Crois. His wife is Maman Brijit, considered the queen of black magic, which was brought to Haiti from the British and Irish indentured servants as Saint Bridgid. “His Catholic counterpart is Saint Expedict, and acts of magic carried out with the Baron’s help are called “expeditions.” (The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Voodoo, p 98 ) The black cross seen at the entrance of every Haitian cemetery is consecrated to him. His sacred day is Saturday and his colors are black and purple. When one is making an offering or sacrifice to Baron Samedi, one should use black chickens, grilled peanuts, black goats, or salted herring as these are his favorite foods and “all sacrificial animals are considered property of the lwa of whom they are being sacrificed.”(p122) If the lwa decides to spare a sacrificial animal, then is it up to the Vodou priest or priestess to take care of the animal for the lwa.
Baron Samedi to me sounds less like someone to fear unless you tick him off and more like the cool, party going, older brother who is away at college or younger uncle of the family. He is wise, yet knows how to have a good time. I find him very interesting indeed and now know he’s no longer just a zombie from a board game I play.

(1) Spirits that oversee different areas of human experience and the natural world. These by Vodou practitioners are revered in the same capacity as the saints in Catholicism, which is also one of the many religions/ paths that have been integrated into Vodou.

(2) The large family of loa that represent the dead, they are seen as very wise and phallic in nature. Most people who are possessed by a Gédé move in erotic manners and curse like sailors.