A lot of people who are new to Haitian Vodun have some knowledge of Baron Samedi, loa of the dead. But what of people don’t realize is that there are actually four Barons of the dead.
These Barons serve similar yet different roles and each of them have their own rulings in the cemetery and amongst the dead. All of the Barons are very powerful death spirits and psychopomps and should be treated accordingly. The four Barons are: Baron Samedi, Baron Cimitiere, Baron Kriminel and Baron La Croix (pronounced LA-KWA)
Baron Samedi
Baron Samedi is also known as Met Baron (Met Baron here translating to The Head Baron or Head of the Barons) in many parts of Haiti, is perhaps one of the best known loa in the Vodou pantheon, when you think of Vodou one of the things you think about is Baron Samedi, that’s because the Baron has a very powerful influence over pop culture and he knows it. Hollywood often lumps up his various of his aspects into one to project the image of a powerful mysterious spirit who often grants deals but always comes for his debts, as you can see popularized by the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog and American Horror story Coven. This image is not entirely unfounded as you’ll see when you continue reading about the Barons (maybe in another post since this is getting longer than I expected), there is a manifestation of the Baron that always comes for his debts and is perhaps scarier than anything Hollywood could ever conjure up. Does it mean you should be scared of the Baron? HECK NO, he’s wonderful to work with and you’ll find that once you’ve become close to him and he’s a fixture in your practice you’ll be laughing your ass off with all his snide and rude commentary about anything and everything.
He is the ultimate suave and sophisticated spirit of Death, he usually manifests with a white top hat, black tuxedo, dark glasses (often times with one of the lens missing to represent his ability to see into the mundane and the spirit world), and cotton plugs in the nostrils, like a corpse dressed and prepared for burial in Haitian style. However his appearance may comprise of one, all or none of those associations. Met Baron has MANY manifestations, some he’ll continue to reveal to you as you work with him. He has a white, skull-like face tells crude but funny jokes, he can also get a little physical and handsy while trying to get your attention in a manifestation.
Realize that Vodou and a lot of African Traditional Religion practices in general are different from western mysticism. The loa spirits of Vodou are very much present in this day and age. Their veneration never ceased like a lot of western spirits had due to Christianity and their influence till this day continues to expand. Sacrifices have been made in their name and are continued to be made in their name by countless followers all over the world, blood spilled, life taken and given.
Because of this amount of spiritual power, the loas presence on earth is very physical and immediate. You don’t need to be in the theta gamma sync or to be in a formalized ritual trance to work with the loa, while these might help to enhance your perception, they aren’t necessary. When they are there you’ll KNOW it. You’ll feel your heart rate quicken, you’ll feel their eyes on you, the shadows around you are no longer just phantasms made due to the absence of light, they’re darker, more tangible. You’ll feel the loa when they choose to show themselves to you in what is many times very real and physical.
Baron Samedi is very much known for his dark humor, but don’t take it to mean that he’s not serious in what he does. He is known for disruption, obscenity, debauchery, and having a particular fondness for tobacco and rum (both are suitable to offer during a summoning), often times he often uses the smoke form the tobacco as a base for his manifestation. He knows how to have a good time and he loves to. Baron Samedi is the life of the party and he knows it. He is a loa of the crossroads and can be called on all aspects of death and necromancy, have any questions about necromancy or something you aren’t sure about? Ask Samedi, he can teach you how to balance and effectively get used to and eventually embody the death essence so that you’ll learn how to avoid the negative effects of necromancy as well as anything about the art of necromancy in itself.
He stands at the crossroads, so effectively he is a psychopomp and can be used for such work such as guiding the souls of humans to Guinea (Death) or whatever afterlife awaits them. A little known fact about the Baron by the main stream media is that he has a soft spot for kids. He is a protector of children and is especially petitioned for sick children. He has the power over zombies and can teach you on the true art of Zombi in Haitian Vodou, not what you see in the meida. 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 forhealing by those near or approaching death.
As well as being the all-knowing loa of death, he is a sexual loa, frequently represented by phallic symbols. Baron Samedi can teach you the art of projecting an image of influence through magic. He is married to the loa Manman Brigit. Still he’s a sexual loa, don’t take it personal if he flirts a little.
I’ll continue the next series of posts about the Barons because this was already becoming longer than I expected and I want these to be relatively short and easy to grasp a glimpse of the nature of the loa I’m writing about.
