Haitians parade through tombs at the Gedide celebrations (+ photo)

The celebration coincides with the Catholic tradition of All Saints Day and worships the goddess of voodoo genesis, a magical religious expression that was standardized in Haiti and continues to this day.

We will communicate with our dead at the cemetery. “We leave the offerings to them and ask them to protect us,” Jude-Jean-Pierre told Prensa Latina while leading the procession to the cemetery.

Jean-Pierre, only 24 years old, is a Voodoo priest, in one of the towns of Pétion-Ville. His father died two years ago, leaving him in charge of leading the community.

The main ceremony is held in the cemetery, near the large black cross that marks the place of the first burial.

Barons, who belong to different denominations: Baron Samde, Criminal Baron, Baron Lacroix and Baron Cemetery, are worshiped at this site and are known as cemetery chiefs.

She was also the first woman to lie in the cemetery, known as Grand Brigitte, the wife of the Baron.

In the cemetery, the scents of perfume, alcohol, coffee, and celeran, the distillates mixed with fermented fruits that accompany the festivities, mingle.

Women and men spread the drink on their genitals, which, in the cosmogony of voodoo, is a promotion of reproduction, and they cry out to their ancestors for health and a better life, especially in the midst of the wave of violence rocking the Caribbean nation.

“That children can go to school and survive the gangs is what we’re asking for now,” said Jean-Pierre.

According to experts, the Gedé was the first popular country festival to be gradually moved to urban areas in Haiti, and every year there is a greater influx of people into the metropolitan area cemeteries, particularly in Port-au-Prince and Old Town. Cemetery of the residential neighborhood Pétionville.

The festivities should end on Wednesday, in the face of pressure from the Catholic and Protestant religions in Haiti, for which their followers worship Satan.

Jha / An