Ghede

Ghede (also spelled Guede or Gede) is a family of loa (spirits) in Haitian Vodou and its diaspora, including Louisiana Voodoo. They govern death and the afterlife and are believed to mediate between the living and the dead. The Ghede are also associated with birth, sexuality, humor, and the cycles of life and death, embodying both carry and irreverence in ritual practice.

Baron Samedi is the principal figure of the Ghede, commonly depicted as a skeleton in a top hat and dark suit, and he presides over cemeteries, funerary rites, and the dead. He is typically paired with Maman Brigitte, his Haitian wife, who acts as the protector of graves and the living. Together they represent the male and female poles of the Ghede and are invoked in ceremonies related to death, ancestors, healing, and protection.

Ritual practice often centers on cemetery visits and altars adorned with skulls, bones, and symbolic imagery. Offerings typically include dark rum, tobacco (cigars), coffee, and foods, as well as flowers or candles. Ceremonies feature music, chant, and dance, and possession by a Ghede through a devotee or houngan/mambo is common, allowing the loa to speak and interact with participants.

In both Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo, the Ghede are seen as powerful but ambivalent beings who can be blunt or humorous. They remind the living of mortality while also celebrating life, and they serve as facilitators of transitions between worlds, offering guidance, protection, and communal ritual within their communities.