Guede Nibo

Last updated
Gede Nibo
Venerated in Haitian Vodou, Folk Catholicism
Attributes Black coat, top hat, staff, cigar, rum, skull, obscenities
Patronage Gravestones, cemeteries

Gede Nibo [1] [lower-alpha 1] (Haitian Creole : Gede Nibo [9] ) is a lwa who is leader of the spirits of the dead in Haitian Vodou. Formerly human, Gede Nibo was a handsome young man who was killed violently. After death, he was adopted as a lwa by Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte. He is envisioned as an effeminate, nasal dandy. Nibo wears a black riding coat or drag. When he inhabits humans they are inspired to lascivious sexuality of all kinds. [9]

Contents

Function and depiction

Gede Nibo is a rada lwa [10] who is considered to be a great healer. He is seen carrying a bottle of white rum infused with medicinal herbs, and often carries a staff and smokes a cigar. Nibo is the special patron of those who die young, and as such is often conflated with the Catholic saint Gerard Majella, who is depicted with a skull. Nibo is the guardian of the graves of those who died prematurely, particularly those whose final resting place is unknown. He is a psychopomp, an intermediary between the living and the dead. He gives voice to the dead spirits that have not been reclaimed from (The Lower World) or in Vodou terms "below the waters", and his chwals ("horses", possessed devotees) can give voice to the dead spirits whose bodies have not been found. [9]

Service

Purple is considered his sacred color, and usual offerings include black goats, black roosters, calabash, cigars, coconut, fried plantains, pistachios, smoked herrings, sweet sesame balls, and white rum spiced with African bird pepper. [9]

Until recently, Haitian farmers would perform a praise song to Guede Nibo each November. It involved phallic thrusts and other erotic gestures and was named "Massissi", a Haitian term for a "homoerotically inclined male". [9]

See also

Footnotes

Notes

  1. ↑ alternative spellings and variations include Guédé Nibo, [2] Guédé-Nibo, [3] [4] Guede-Nibo, [5] Ghede Nibo, [6] Gédé Nibo, [7] Gédé Nibbo, [7] Gédé Nibho, [7] Guede Nibho, [8] Guede Nibbho, [8] Guede Ni-Bo, [8] Ti Puce [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lwa</span> Haitian Vodou spirits

Lwa, also called loa, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou and Dominican Vudú. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerated in the traditional religions of West Africa, especially those of the Fon and Yoruba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron Samedi</span> Loa of Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo and folk beliefs

Baron Samedi, also written Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi or Bawon Sanmdi, is one of the lwa of Haitian Vodou. He is a lwa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix and Baron Criminel.

Baron Cimetière is one of the Gede, a spirit of the dead, along with Baron Samedi and Baron La Croix in Vodou. He is said to be the guardian of the cemetery, protecting its graves.

The Gede are the family of lwa, spirits or deities associated with Ancestor worship in Haitian Vodou, that represent the powers of death and fertility. They are often said to be found at burial sites, where they escort the deceased to their afterlife. Gede spirits include Gede Doub, Guede-Linto, Guede L'Orage, Guede Oussou, Guede Nibo and Guede Masaka, and Guede Ti Malice. All are known for the drum rhythm and dance called the "banda". In possession, they will drink or rub themselves with a mixture of clairin and twenty-one scotch bonnet or goat peppers. Fèt Gede is celebrated on 2 November, All Souls' Day. Boons granted by the Gede not repaid by this date will be avenged afterwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papa Legba</span> Ginen in Haitian Vodou

Papa Legba is a lwa, or loa, in West African Vodun and its diasporic derivatives, who serves as the intermediary between God and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives permission to speak with the spirits of Guineé, and is believed to speak all human languages. In Haiti, he is the great elocutioner. Legba facilitates communication, speech, and understanding. He is commonly associated with dogs. Papa Legba is invoked at the beginning of every ceremony. Papa Legba has his origins in the historic West African kingdom of Dahomey, located within present-day Benin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maman Brigitte</span> Death loa in Haitian vodou

Maman Brigitte sometimes also written as Manman Brigitte and also known by Gran Brigitte, Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit, and Maman Brijit is a death loa and the consort of Baron Samedi in Haitian Vodou. She drinks rum infused with hot peppers and is symbolized by a black rooster. Maman Brigitte protects graves in Haitian cemeteries that are marked by the cross of Baron Samedi. Graves that are protected by Brigitte are marked by a mound of stones. In Vodou practice, the first burials serve as offerings to either Baron Samedi or Maman Brigitte depending on the gender of the person being laid to rest. If the deceased person is male then the grave is dedicated to Baron Samedi; if the deceased person is female then the grave is dedicated to Maman Brigitte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erzulie</span> Family of Voodoo spirits

Erzulie is a family of loa, or spirits, in Vodou.

Kalfu is one of the petro aspects of Papa Legba, a lwa in Haitian Vodou. He is often envisioned as a young man or as a enigmatic spirit; his color is black or red and he favors rum infused with gunpowder. He is often syncretized with the Shadow

Marassa Jumeaux are the divine twins in Vodou. They are children, but more ancient than any other loa. "Love, truth and justice. Directed by reason. Mysteries of liaison between earth and heaven and they personify astronomic-astrological learning. They synthesize the vodou Loa as personification of divine power and the human impotence. Double life, they have considerable power which allow them manage people through the stomach. They are children mysteries."

Haitian mythology consists of many folklore stories from different time periods, involving sacred dance and deities, all the way to Vodou. Haitian Vodou is a syncretic mixture of Roman Catholic rituals developed during the French colonial period, based on traditional African beliefs, with roots in Dahomey, Kongo and Yoruba traditions, and folkloric influence from the indigenous Taino peoples of Haiti. The lwa, or spirits with whom Vodou adherents work and practice, are not gods but servants of the Supreme Creator Bondye. A lot of the Iwa identities come from deities formed in the West African traditional regions, especially the Fon and Yoruba. In keeping with the French-Catholic influence of the faith, Vodou practioneers are for the most part monotheists, believing that the lwa are great and powerful forces in the world with whom humans interact and vice versa, resulting in a symbiotic relationship intended to bring both humans and the lwa back to Bondye. "Vodou is a religious practice, a faith that points toward an intimate knowledge of God, and offers its practitioners a means to come into communion with the Divine, through an ever evolving paradigm of dance, song and prayers."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haitian Vodou and sexual orientation</span>

Homosexuality in Haitian Vodou is religiously acceptable and homosexuals are allowed to participate in all religious activities. However, in West African countries with major conservative Christian and Islamic views on LGBTQ people, the attitudes towards them may be less tolerant if not openly hostile and these influences are reflected in African diaspora religions following Atlantic slave trade which includes Haitian Vodou.

The Petwo, also spelled Petro and alternatively known as dompete, are a family of lwa (loa) spirits in the religion of Haitian Vodou. They are regarded as being volatile and "hot", in this contrasting with the Rada lwa, which are regarded as sweet-tempered and "cool."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haitian Vodou</span> Religion from Haiti

Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism. There is no central authority in control of the religion and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Vodouists, Vodouisants, or Serviteurs.

Vodou drumming and associated ceremonies are folk ritual faith system of henotheistic religion of Haitian Vodou originated and inextricable part of Haitian culture.

Guédé-Linto also spelled as Guédé Linto, Guede Linto, Ghede Linto, is a Vodou loa that performs miracles.

Guede L'Orage is a lwa in the Haitian Vodou religion. This spirit usually only manifests during storms.

Gede Doub is a lwa in Haitian Vodou who can endow people with the gift of "second sight" (clairvoyance).

Baron Criminel is a powerful spirit or loa in the Haitian Vodou religion. He is envisioned as the first murderer who has been condemned to death, and is invoked to pronounce swift judgment. Baron Criminel is syncretized with Saint Martin de Porres, perhaps because his feast day is November 3, the day after Fête Guede or Fête Ghede. His colors are black, purple, white and deep blood red.

Various LGBT themes are present in different in African diasporic mythologies, primary among them being Voodoo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haitian Vodou art</span>

Haitian Vodou art is art related to the Haitian Vodou religion. This religion has its roots in West African traditional religions brought to Haiti by slaves, but has assimilated elements from Europe and the Americas and continues to evolve. The most distinctive Vodou art form is the drapo Vodou, an embroidered flag often decorated with sequins or beads, but the term covers a wide range of visual art forms including paintings, embroidered clothing, clay or wooden figures, musical instruments and assemblages. Since the 1950s there has been growing demand for Vodou art by tourists and collectors.

References

  1. ↑ Carty, Marcel, ed. (2010). Vodou The Next Stage. Xlibris Corporation LLC. p. 42. ISBN   9781450023191 . Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Rigaud, Milo; Cross, Robert B., eds. (1985). Secrets of Voodoo. City Lights Publishers. p. 213. ISBN   9780872861718 . Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Métraux, Alfred, ed. (21 October 2016). Voodoo in Haiti. Normanby Press. p. 117. ISBN   9781787201668 . Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Crosley, Reginald, ed. (2000). The Vodou Quantum Leap Alternative Realities, Power, and Mysticism. Llewellyn Publications. p. 98. ISBN   9781567181739 . Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Caribbean Quarterly Volumes 30-31". Extra Mural Department of the University College of the West Indies. 1984. p. 34. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Masquerade Queer Poetry in America to the End of World War II. Indiana University Press. 2004. p. 19. ISBN   9780253216342 . Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Malbrough, Ray T., ed. (2003). Hoodoo Mysteries Folk Magic, Mysticism & Rituals. Llewellyn Publications. pp. 147, 149. ISBN   9780738703503 . Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Cuhulain, Kerr, ed. (2010). "Lexicon of Occult Terminology". p. 36. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Randy Conner, David Hatfield Sparks & Mariya Sparks (eds), Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol & Spirit, p. 963, London and New York: Cassell, 1997.
  10. ↑ Carole Boyce Davies (ed.), Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora, ABC-CLIO, 2008, p. 963.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.