Gede

The family of lwa of the dead, led by Baron Samedi: humour at the boundary of life and death.

The Gede, also Ghede or Guédé, are in Haitian Vodou the family of lwa who belong to the dead and the cemetery. At their head stands Baron Samedi, Bawon Samdi, with his wife Manman Brijit, who watches over the cemeteries. The first grave in a new cemetery, usually that of a man, is dedicated to the Baron, and a cross in the cemetery is his place.

The Gede are the lwa of the boundary between life and death, and therefore also of life itself. They are famous for their humour: crude, sharp, often sexual, and meant to mock the pride of the living, for everyone dies. They are depicted in black and purple, with a top hat, sunglasses with one lens missing and a cigar. At the same time they are protectors of children and healers: no one can die as long as the Baron has not dug their grave.

Around 1 and 2 November, All Saints and All Souls, Haitians celebrate Fèt Gede, the festival of the Gede, with visits to cemeteries, music and exuberant celebrations.

According to practitioners the Gede are recognised in dreams by purple and black, cemeteries, crosses, jokes at unexpected moments or a figure in a top hat. Such a dream is rarely read as a threat. More often it is about the bond with the dead, about a farewell, or about the invitation not to take life too seriously.

The Gede also stand for equality: in the cemetery there is no difference between rich and poor, and their jokes remind everyone of that.

Dreamkin does not establish that a dream comes from the Gede, and does not predict death.