MAMAN BRIGIT

Mama Brigit is a fascinating Lwa. She is served throughout Haiti as the mother of the Gedes . In my house, we serve her on November 2, along with Gede and all the ancestral dead. Brigette doesn't appear to have any verifiable lineage in Haiti. Although I have done some cursory research and found that the Irish had a strong presence in the Caribbean, I can not actually document Irish immigrants in Haiti through the slavery time period. But it seems to me that she didn't spontaneously erupt into the Haitian mind, so she must have come from some where. I am assuming she did so through contact with Irish or European descendants of the people who either worked with the slaves, or lived side by side with them.

Mama Brigette is a tough talking, hard core woman. She has a take no prisoners attitude. She as likely to tell you to piss off, as give you a helping hand. She has to be harsh - look at her unruly children, the Gedes! It would take a woman with serious cojanes to bring all those folks through the veil!

In our house, Brigette actually manifests through possession in a remarkable number of ways. There is Ti-Gette (Little Brigette) who came only once, and was like a hard coquette, who reminded me of a flower seller or street kid - tough and tender at the same time. And of course Maman Brigette. Her most frequent manifestation was as a silent judge, wearing a heavy black veil and leaning on a cane. She didn't speak , but gestured and made magic bottles with herbs and liquor. I know she also comes as a tough talking prostitute, a working woman with a hard drinking, smokey bar personna. Whatever her appearance, she offers help and makes court decisions in favor of her servitors. She also precipitates the arrival of the Gedes, by opening the path before them.

Maman Brigette is syncretized with St. Bridget (who else?) in Catholicism, and her veve is a heart surrounded by cemetery crosses. She is a harsh Lwa, but a fair one, meting out her decisions in favor of those who deserve it. Approach her with respect, and she will listen carefully and give your requests heavy consideration.

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For further reading on the Irish in the Caribbean, please see the following links. For what it's worth, I find the evidence of an Irish slave presence too compelling to just ignore, and since nothing in Vodou is without some basis, the slaves had to get the name from somewhere, regardless of where. I do not support or deny any of this, but it's just too close to ignore.
For one family's history in the Caribbean, go here: http://www.kavanaghfamily.com/articles/2003/20030618jfc.htm
Some current historical fiction: Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl by Kate McCafferty
And for a long dicussion about the Irish slave trade, http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/CARIBBEAN/2003-03

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