Haiti drinking and dancing on the dead

– A few people, their faces whitened with talcum powder, wander the alleyways of the cemetery in Port-au-Prince.

They are honouring the souls of the dead by dressing as voodoo spirits of death – a Haitian tradition that has faded over the years, under pressure from some Protestant groups.

Voodoo practitioners pour liquor on the tombs of their loved

Port-au-Prince

ones and at the cross of Baron Samedi, which is found in every Haitian cemetery.

As legend has it, Baron Samedi – sometimes known as Baron Lacroix, but always dressed as a foppish undertaker with a top hat and tails – runs all cemeteries.

He often carries a walking stick seen as a “phallic symbol, as the Guede spirits represent fertility,” says Erol Josue, a voodoo priest.

“As they come from a cold world, the world of death, the spirits drink a lot of alcohol with hot peppers,” Josue said. “And they dance to traditional rhythms with exaggerated hip movements to make fun of the prudishness of men who have secret lives at night.”

Drinking and dancing on the remains of the dead is what has angered some Protestants. –