Bawon Samdi

One of the classifications of deities in Haitian Vodou is the Gede family, or spirits of the dead. Bawon Samdi (also sometimes spelled Baron Samedi) is the father of the hundreds of Gede and Bawon (Bawon La Croix, Bawon Kriminel, Gede Nimbo, Gede Zareyen, Gede Ti Pete, and Gede Ti Pise, to name a few). Gran Brijit, Bawon's wife and mother of all the Gede and Gedelia, are some of the rare females. The Gede are viewed as Lwa Creole, who did not originate from Benin, but were instead born on the island.

Bawon is considered to be wise because he holds the knowledge of the dead and the outer world. The first body buried in a cemetery is said to become the manifestation of Bawon, ...