Guédé

In Haiti, the Guédé (also spelled Gede or Ghede, pronounced [ɡede] in Haitian Creole) are the family of Loa that embody the powers of death and fertility. Guédé spirits include Ghede Doubye, Ghede Linto, Ghede Loraj, Guédé Nibo and Guédé Ti Malis. 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 (raw rum) and twenty-one habanero or goat peppers. Fête Ghede is celebrated on 2 November, All Souls' Day ("Festival of the Dead"). All boons granted by the Ghede must be repaid by this date or they will take their vengeance on you.

Papa Ghede is the corpse of the first man who ever died. He is recognized as a short, dark man with a high hat on his head, who likes to smoke cheap cigars and eat apples. Papa Ghede is a psychopomp who waits at the crossroads to take souls into the afterlife. He is considered the good counterpart to Baron Samedi. If a child is dying, Papa Ghede is prayed to. It is believed that he will not take a life before its time, and that he will protect the little ones. Papa Ghede has a very crass sense of humor, a divine ability to read others' minds, and the ability to know everything that happens in the worlds of the living and the dead. Another version of this is Papa Gé from Once On This Island.

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Sleepwalking

by: Kittie

Watching me fall
Into the flames
Of a broken soul tonight
No stone overturned
This graveyard of mine
Allows me no peace
[Chorus]
Sleep as day dies
Sleepwalk with the dead
Wander aimlessly through the night
Love and regret
Course through my veins
As I slowly fade away
Please let me sleep
Just one last night
Before I must wake
[Chorus]
And I walk with these ghosts
And I walk with these ghosts
And I walk with these ghosts...
[Chorus]
Sleep as night falls
Sleepwalk with the dead
Hope keeps me alive




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