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Fet Gede |
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Spontaneous eruptions of Gedes happen everywhere. There are stories of Gedes marching on the palace and demanding money from the president
before they would leave. And he paid them, too. That's cause to turn down a Gede, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is to court death itself. Not even the president was willing to take that chance. In Jacmel, there is a large parade that takes place each November 2. All the houngans and mambos assemble, along with their sosyete members, and solemnly parade down the streets of Jacmel to the cemetery. There, they pay obeisance to the Baron, before heading over to their family graves and tending them. Offerings of rum. coffee, peanuts and popped corn are strewn over crosses and graves. Smaller offerings are handed over to the beggars and street people, for this is a day of blessings, and it's especially auspicious to give to the children, Gede's favorites.
Feed your dead, not just on Fet Gede, but every day. A small dollop of coffee and a slice of bread will gladly do the trick. Lite a candle and say hello, how are you, I remember you. The actual work is to honestly remember them, and they will faithfully remember you, by assisting in all you do each day. |
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Fet Gede or Gede Feast Day is celebrated all over Haiti on November 2. Participants put on purple and black, sometimes even white face and march
down tot he cemetery to say hello to the Baron and to attend the family grave site. This is not unlike any Day of the Dead feast, celebrated throughout many
countries. But what make this day unique is that the Dead themselves come back to talk with you in the streets, in the cemeteries and in the air.
You can celebrate Fet Gede here in the states quite easily. Our sosyete sets up a large ancestral altar every year, with luminaries for
each dearly departed. We make traditional offerings for the ancestors - strong, cold coffee, pop corn, peanuts, white bread, favorite foods (like
lasagna for my Italian relatives and maple syrup pudding for the Canadians). I also place items that belonged to them - coins, hair pins and other
mementos that have come down to me through family lines. When it's all assembled, we take out the Baron and Maman Brigette - skulls that have been baptized, blessed and established as links to the Dead. They are
paraded around the peristyle, formally installed on the altar and feasted. Finally, we reverently approach them
for the working of magic we do each year with the offerings we create for them - peppered rum, cigars, coins, black roosters and grilled pig.