Day of the Dead - November 1-2, 2003 |
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| Vodou believers light white and homemade yellow beeswax Vodou candles and
make requests at the foot of a cross dedicated to Baron Samdi, the head of the Gede family
of spirits, the spirits of the dead, which is decorated with offerings of flowers and food
in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on November 1, 2003 - All Saints Day
and the first of two days devoted to the Gede, who are feted for most of the month of
November. One of the most important Vodou holidays in the country, but especially in the
capital, Vodouists go to cemeteries to pray with food, coffee and peppered alcohol, to
light candles and to put fresh flowers on graves, and then dance all night at 'peristyles'
or Vodou temples. (AP Photo/Daniel Morel) |
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| A Vodou believer, in center with the kerchief, holds a bottle containing
homemade hot pepper-spiced alcohol as she performs a ceremony and makes requests at the
foot of a cross dedicated to Baron Samdi, the head of the Gede family of spirits of the
dead which is covered with burning candles and alcohol, while other her daughter and other
devotees also pray and look on in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on
November 1, 2003 - All Saints Day and the first of two days devoted to the Gede, who are
feted for most of the month of November. One of the most important Vodou holidays in the
country, but especially in the capital, Vodouists go to cemeteries to pray with food,
coffee and peppered alcohol, to light candles and to putfresh flowers ongraves, and then
dance all night at 'peristyles' or Vodou temples. (AP Photo/Daniel Morel) |
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| A Vodou believer pours hot pepper-spiced homemade alcohol on her genital
area, one of the key rituals during Gede, a Vodou holiday dedicated to Baron Samdi and the
Gede family of spirits of the dead, while other believers, one clutching a miniature
coffin, look on in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on November 1, 2003,
which is All Saints Day and is also the first of two days devoted to the Gede, who are
feted for most of the month of November. One of themost important Vodou holidays in the
country, but especially in the capital, Vodouists go to cemeteries to pray with food,
coffee and peppered alcohol, to light candles and to put fresh flowers on graves, and then
dance all night at 'peristyles' or Vodou temples. (AP Photo/Daniel Morel) |
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| Anne-Marie opens her arms while possessed by 'Gede' during the
celebration of All Saints' Day at the municipal cemetery of Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2003. Haitians celebrate the Catholic All Saints' Day Nov. 1, and
festivities continue in cemeteries through Nov. 2, the Day of the Dead. Saturday is also
New Year's Day in the Vodou calendar in Haiti. Practitioners visit the tombstones of
relatives and pay their respects to Baron Samedi, the god of the dead, and to his
lascivious, sardonic offspring, Gede. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) |
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| A man holds a candle and a bottle of raw rum at the base of a cross at
the entrance of the Petion-Ville cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Nov. 1,
2003. Haitians celebrate the Catholic All Saints' Day Nov. 1, and festivities continue in
cemeteries through Nov. 2, the Day of the Dead. Saturday is also New Year's Day in the
Vodou calendar in Haiti. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) |
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| Haitians touch a cross while praying at the municipal cemetery of
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2003. Haitians celebrate the Catholic All Saints'
Day Nov. 1, and festivities continue in cemeteries through Nov. 2, the Day of the Dead.
Saturday is also New Year's Day in the Vodou calendar. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) |
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| Haitian women touch the wall of a mausoleum while praying at the
municipal cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2003. Haitians celebrate
the Catholic All Saints' Day Nov. 1, and festivities continue in cemeteries through Nov.
2, the Day of the Dead. Saturday is also New Year's Day in the Vodou calendar. (AP
Photo/Andres Leighton) |
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| 'Malia,' a Haitian Voodoo priestess, center, sings in front of a crowd of
people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, cemetery during an annual ritual connected with Gede, a
Voodoo holiday dedicated to Baron Samedi and the Gede family of spirits of the dead in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Nov. 2, 2003, which is also Day of the Dead. Malia is the most
popular priestess in her neighborhood and every year hundreds follow her to the cemetery
where, while possessed, she dances and lifts her dress. One of the most important Voodoo
holidays in the country, especially in the capital, Gede mixes honoring one's ancestors
through joking and making sexual innuendos as Vodouists go to cemeteries to light candles
and pray with food and drinks. (AP Photo/Daniel Morel) |
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