Further Readings
Klieman, K. A. (2003).The Pygmies Were Our
Compass:Bantu and Batwa in the History of West
Central Africa,Early Times to c. 1900C E.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Lewis, J. (2000).Batwa Pygmies of the Great Lake
Region. London: Minority Rights Group
International.
BAWON SAMDI
One of the classifications of deities in Haitian
Vodou is theGedefamily, or spirits of the dead.
Bawon Samdi (also sometimes spelled Baron
Samedi) is the father of the hundreds of Gede and
Bawon (Bawon La Croix, Bawon Kriminel, Gede
Nimbo, Gede Zareyen, Gede Ti Pete, and Gede Ti
Pise, to name a few).Gran Brijit, Bawon’s wife
and mother of all the Gede andGedelia, are some
of the rare females. The Gede are viewed asLwa
creole, who did not originate from Benin, but
were instead born on the island.
Bawon is considered to be wise because he
holds the knowledge of the dead and the outer
world. The first body buried in a cemetery is said
to become the manifestation of Bawon, guardian
of the cemetery; the first female becomes the man-
ifestation ofGran Brijit. When Bawon ventures
out of the kingdom of the dead, he must wear
dark or colored glasses to protect his eyes from
the bright light. However, he frequently takes
out the right lens to see in the world of the living
while the other lens allows him to keep an eye on
the realm of the dead. It is also said that with his
right eye he keeps an eye on his food, as Bawon
Samdi is notorious for his formidable appetite. He
even makes his own liquor: a rawkleren, a form
of cheap rum, steeped in 21 spices, and so spicy
that no other Lwa can bear to drink it.
At times Bawon Samdi comes to Earth as a
ragtag beggar, but he usually wears formal attire,
which includes his top hat, tailcoat, and long
black cane, complete with a skull handle.
Although his dress attire may indicate otherwise,
he is quite a trickster, and he spends much of his
time engaging in lewd, licentious behavior as he
ridicules those who take themselves too seriously.
Bawon is very much a partier, and no Vodou cer-
emony ends without one of the Gede, oftenGede
Nimbo(called Papa Gede), arriving to liven things
up. Bawon’s presence is a constant reminder to
those in the land of the living that all must suc-
cumb in the end to Bawon, ruler of the afterlife.
Bawon Samdi drinks black coffee or vodka
and gin, the strongest of all alcohol, and he often
smokes strong cigarettes. His favorite foods are
black goats and black roosters. Like his wife,
Gran Brijit, Bawon is associated with the colors
black, purple, and white, and because they live in
cemeteries or hidden locations, their realm is the
Earth. Bawon Samdi and Gran Brijit are known
to have a somewhat playful rivalry, and they try
to avoid each other altogether. If they end up
meeting each other, all know to steer clear
because their fiery tempers might lead to long,
drawn-out brawls. The Gede is its own classifica-
tion, its own family, to which Bawon Samdi
belongs. His symbols are a skeleton, a coffin, a
black cross, and farm implements.Kyrah Malika DanielsSee alsoLwa; Vodou in HaitiFurther Readings
Deren, M. (1953).Divine Horsemen:The Living Gods
of Haiti. London & New York: Thames & Hudson.
Desmangles, L. (1994).Faces of the Gods. Vodou and
Roman Catholicism in Haiti. Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina Press.
McCarthy Brown, K. (1991).Mama Lola. A Vodou
Priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Métraux, A. (1958).Le Vaudou Haitien. Paris:
Gallimard.BAYA
The Baya or Gbaya people live principally in the
Central African Republic (CAR) of Africa. Situated
about 500 miles north of the equator, the CAR is a
land-locked nation bordered by Cameroon, Chad,
the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
and the Republic of Congo.Baya 115