| Loa of the Death and Fertility | |
|---|---|
| Venerated in | Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, Folk Catholicism |
| Feast | November 2 |
| Attributes | Rum, cigar, top hat, glasses with missing lens |
| Patronage | Death, tombs, gravestones, cemeteries, dead relatives, obscenities, healing, smoking, drinking, disruption, spirits |
Baron Samedi is a loa of the dead, along with his numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix, and Baron Criminel.
He is the head of the Guédé family of Loa, and married to the loa Manman Brigit.
Appearance:
Baron Samedi is usually depicted with a top hat, black tail coat, dark glasses, and cotton plugs in the nostrils, as if to resemble a corpse dressed and prepared for burial in the Haitian style. He is frequently depicted as a skeleton (but sometimes as a black man that merely has his face painted as a skull), and speaks in a nasal voice.
He is known for disruption, obscenity, debauchery, and having a particular fondness for tobacco and rum. As well as being the all-knowing loa of death, he is a sexual loa, frequently represented by phallic symbols.
He is the head of the Guédé family of Loa. He is married to another powerful spirit known as Maman Brigitte, but often chases after mortal women.
He loves smoking and drinking and is rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth or a glass of rum in his bony fingers.
Baron Samedi can usually be found at the crossroads between the worlds of death and the living. When someone dies, he digs their grave and greets their soul after they have been buried, leading them to the underworld.
Baron is a protector of children and is petitioned for sick children. He has the power over zombies and decides whether or not people can be changed into animals. Since Baron Samedi is the lord of death, he is the last resort for healing since he must decide whether to allow them to cross over or to allow them to recover.
Baron Samedi is also the loa of resurrection and is called upon for healing by those near or approaching death. It is only Baron who can accept an individual into the realm of the dead.
Magick!
As well as being the master of the dead, Baron Samedi is also a giver of life. He can cure mortals of any disease or wound, so long as he thinks it is worthwhile. His powers are especially great when it comes to Vodou curses and black magic. Even if somebody has been afflicted by a hex that brings them to the verge of death, they will not die if The Baron refuses to dig their grave. So long as The Baron keeps them out of the ground, they are safe.
He is considered a wise judge, and a powerful magician.
