Guede

According to Vodou practitioners, "Baron Samedi", also known as "Papa Baron" and "Gran Brigitte", represent Guede's parental lineage. Guede's parents are considered the lord of death. Baron is the spirit who presides over the dead; the loa decides the faith of all human beings on earth after death.

It is relevant to note that in the Vodou religion, there exists several Gods, in addition to the Creator of the universe; whom Vodouists refer to as THE GREAT and ULTIMATE FATHER, who are responsible for a different element of life such as the sun, wind, water, earth, air, dead, fire etc. All of these deities are believed (including Jesus the son of Jehovah) to be the holy sons and daughters of the Great and Ultimate Father.

Vodou is a very complex subject to understand if one is not part of the trusted circle of the religion. Religious Vodou priest known as "Hougan" (male priest) and Manbo (female priests) have their beliefs and secrets which cannot be revealed to the world. Don't think for a moment that Christian priests, Rabbis, Free masons, and other religious leaders do not have their own secrets which they do not reveal to their followers.

To the Vodouists, Guede controls the crossroads at which every human must traverse some day to meet their faith in the afterlife. In the Haitian culture, Vodou Hougan and Mambo believe that no single individual can communicate with the dead without first obtaining permission from Papa Baron. In every major cemetery in Haiti, Papa Baron "lord of the dead" is represented by a black cross mounted on a small tomb. Guede, the keeper of the cemetery, is the primary contact with the dead. In the event that a person wishes to petition or contact the dead, he or she must first appeal to Guede/Baron Samedi to make the connection with ancestral spirits.