The night of October 31 represents a night of fun, costumes and candy for the most part but, what do we truly know about the history of Halloween?
Hallowe’en (a contraction of Hallows’ Evening) is a celebration observed in several countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallow’s Day.
All Hallows’ Day or All Saints’ Day is a Christian Festival celebrated in honour of all saints, known and unknown. In Western Christianity, it is celebrated on November 1 by the Roman Catholic Church.
Christian celebration of All saints’s Day stems from a belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven and the living.
Source: en.m.wikipedia.org
We will not mention the other churches/religions that celebrate it also, since the one stated is the only one we’re talking about today.
“Celebration of the dead” is what Halloween truly is. Now, this is a blog about Haiti how is that relevant to Haitians? Do people trick or treat in Haiti?
No. Haitians do not send their kids door to door to ask for candy, ESPECIALLY not on October 31st, November 1st and 2nd.
Today, I decided to take my readers into the dark side of Haiti in honour of “Spooky Season” and into details of what “Haitian Halloween” is to us.
Hopefully, you guys don’t scare easily and I won’t give you nightmares tonight.
There are two types of people who celebrate the Day of the dead in Haiti. Catholics and Vodouisants.
On one side, you have the Christians but truly, mostly Catholics who commemorate “La Toussaint” in French (or All Saint’s Day if you prefer), it is celebrated on November 1, in Haiti. Several Catholics go to cemeteries to pray upon their churches Saints and their loved ones who passed away.
On the other side, you have the Vodouisants who also go to cemeteries to call upon their “Lwa” or “Gede”. This feast is celebrated on November 2nd and the “Gede” represent the spirits of the dead.
“In Haiti, the Guédé is the family of Lwa that embody the powers of death and fertility. Guédé spirits include Ghede Doubye, Ghede Linto, Ghede Loraj, Guédé Nibo and Guédé Ti Malis. All are known for the drum rhythm and dance called the “banda”. In possession, the Vodouisantswill drink or rub themselves with a mixture of “klerin” (raw rum) and twenty-one habanero or goat peppers.”
“In possession” means when they are possessed by the “Gede”.
“People dress up, take to the streets, dance their communion with the ancestors, and walk in processions to the graveyards where they feed their ancestral dead with the gifts of their own table. In this way, spirits are honoured and their protection is gained for the coming year.
In peristyles (voodoo churches) up and down the country, there is music, dancing and feasting. The priests and the people come together, and there is enough drumming, singing, and laughter to – literally! – raise the dead. It is a time for celebration, for reconnecting with the past, and preparing for the future, with music, processions, sacred rituals and spiritual observances taking place throughout.”
They walk through the streets with their alcohol /peppers mixture, while mimicking very erotic gestures, it almost reaches indecency and they throw obscene comments at every turn.
The color used to commenorate those spirits are: Black, Purple and White.
“Vodouists come in a spiritual pilgrimage to the cemetery to pay their respect to the dead, but first, permission of passage has to be obtained. The grave of the Papa Gede, the first man who ever died. Ancestral services are held at this ‘crossroad’, considered to be the bridge between life and death. Kwa Baron is the Lwa guardian of the cemetery and head of the Gedes.
“Rituals take place throughout November but are most concentrated at the beginning of the month. Voodoo believers converge on the Haitian capital’s main cemetery to honour the Gede and the father of them all, Baron Samedi. They lay out gifts such as homemade beeswax candles, flowers, food and, to warm the Gede’s bones, bottles of rum stuffed with chilli peppers.”
“Who is Papa Gede?
The corpse of the ‘first man’ can in many ways be compared to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier who is revered at memorials throughout the world – he may not necessarily be Haitian – just like the Baron is not Haitian nor African, he may be ‘other’ (foreign). Papa Gede is a psychopomp who waits at the crossroads to take departed souls into the afterlife, although he does not take a life before its time. Papa Gede has a very crude sense of humour, and a cunning ability to read people’s minds, knowing everything that happens in the worlds of the living and the dead.”
Source: LunionSuite.com
Now, before y’all get scared and think that every Haitian is Vodouisant or celebrates the dead, relax.
Understand, the practice of voodoo is most common around the lower class of the country.
When it comes to La Toussaint, I’m Catholic and 22 years old, not once in my life have I celebrate any Saint in a graveyard. I’ve never done it nor seen any member of my family do it.
However, it is still in my culture, I know about it, I just don’t practice it because I was not raised to do so.
The celebration of “spirits” or “Fèt Gede” can be described as the Voodoo equivalent of Mardi Gras, the Mexican Day of the Dead, and Halloween, as I mentioned earlier, all rolled into one incredible ritual with enough drumming, singing, alcohol and laughter to quite literally “raise” the dead.
These celebrations are unique to Haiti, a blend of traditions brought over from Africa during the slave trade, mixed with colonial Christianity and a dash of ritual from the original Taino inhabitants of the island.
Nothing to be afraid of really, I know people who don’t practice but, assisted a few Vodou rituals to satisfy their curiosity. They describe it as a feeling of exaltation and I’ll just take their word for it.
When I lived in Haiti, November 1 and 2 were celebrated at the beach with my mom so really to each their own.
This was my first piece on “Haitian Culture” and I was very excited about this because I learned a lot during the research process and I hope I was able to teach you guys something new too.
I thank you all for reading this article today, hopefully, I didn’t give you guys the creeps but, since tomorrow is November 1 be sure to check under your bed for any monsters and if you’re Catholic don’t forget to visit your local graveyards to pray those Saints.
This was “Spooky Season: Gede Edition”, written by Tiff.
Vèsyon Kreyol la disponib sou Soundcloud kounya.
https://soundcloud.com/myhaiti-myvision/gede-edisyon
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