In Haitian Vodun, the Guédé (also spelled Gede or Ghede) are the family of spirits that embody the powers of death and fertility. They are closely associated with the loa Baron (whose aspects are Baron Samedi, Baron La Croix and Baron Cimetière). Depending on the tradition followed, Baron is: The term Voodoo (Vodun in Benin; also Vodou or other phonetically equivalent spellings in Haiti; Vudu in the Dominican Republic) is applied to the branches of a West African ancestor-based religious tradition with primary roots among the Fon-Ewe peoples of West Africa, in the country now known as... In Vodun, Baron Samedi (Baron Saturday, also Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi, Bawon Sanmdi) is one of the aspects of Baron, one of the loa. ... In Vodun, Baron La Croix (Baron of the Cross) was one of the Guédé, a spirit of the dead, along with Baron Samedi and Baron Cimetière. ... In Vodun, Baron Cimetière (Baron Cemetery) was one of the Guédé, a spirit of the dead, along with Baron Samedi and Baron La Croix. ...

• one of the Guédé
• their spiritual father who has raised them from the dead, along with Baron Samedi's wife Maman Brigitte who is their spiritual mother
• an aspect of the Guédé

In any of these configurations, Baron, his wife Maman Brigitte, and the Guédé rule death, the cemetery and the grave. In Vodun, Maman Brigitte was a death-spirit, a female counterpart of Ghede. ... In Vodun, Maman Brigitte was a death-spirit, a female counterpart of Ghede. ...

Well known Gede spirits include Gede Nibo, Gede Plumaj, Gede Ti Malis, Gede Zaranye, and many others. They are known for the drum rhythm and the dance called the "banda" and in possession will drink or rub themselves with a mixture of raw rum or clairin and twenty-one habanero or goat peppers.

Gede Nibo is a psychopomp and acts as an intermediary between the living and the dead, who gives voice to the dead spirits that have not been reclaimed from "below the waters". Many sets of religious beliefs have a particular spirit, deity, demon or angel whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife, such as Heaven or Hell. ...

The Gede often dress as an undertaker dressed in black with black sunglasses. Some Gede will only have one lens, seeing as they do in two worlds. The chief of the Gedes is still Gede Nibo. He has no wife, and goes around flirting with the lady Lwas, except Ezili who apparently does not like him.

The colors of the Gede are generally purple and black, and they enjoy unfiltered cigarettes like Pall Malls, rum steeped with hot peppers, dancing the suggestive "banda" dance with the ladies, and they are very protective of children, as many of the lwa are.

References

• Voodoo: Search for the Spirit. Laennec Hurbon. Harry N. Abrams, 1995.
• "Ghede" A Dictionary of World Mythology. Arthur Cotterell. Oxford University Press, 997.
• "Vodun". http://members.aol.com/racine125/index1.html