Encyclopedia of African Religion

power and energy is recognition that they

cannot be escaped.

Whenever the Gèlèdè festival is planned, men

are used in the celebration as dancers, indicating

that the power of “our mothers” has overcome all

obstacles. On the preceding night, it is common

for the people to have male masks and dancers to

go through the market place to scare the people.

On the following day, the Gèlèdè festival is a

rebirth, celebration, and practice of honoring the

mothers in ways that substantiate the people’s

belief in reproduction, fertility, and the continua-

tion of the society by virtue of the spirit and

power of women.

Molefi Kete Asante

See alsoYoruba

Further Readings

Epega, A., & Neimark, P. J. (1995).The Sacred Ifa

Oracle. San Francisco: HarperCollins.

Fama, Chief/Ms. (1994).Sixteen Mythological Stories of

Ifá. San Bernardino, CA: Ilé Òrúnmìlà

Communications.

Lawal, B. (1996).The Gèlèdè Spectacle:Art,Gender,

and Social Harmony in African Culture. Seattle:

University of Washington Press.

GINEN

Ginen (also referred to as Guinée or La Guinée) is

that aspect of the Vodu religion that establishes

a direct link between Haitian Vodu devotees and

282 Ginen

Oro Efe masks emerge from the sacred forest to sing traditional prayer songs that invoke divine blessings on the Gèlèdè festival.
The masks feature layers of carved wooden animals that tell of the hierarchical order of the world and the natural laws of power
and social position.
Source: Carol Beckwith/Angela Fisher.