Baron Samedi Veve - Meaning and Haitian Metal Wall Art

Veve Baron Samedi Skull Metal Wall Hanging Sculpture, Sugar Skull Skeleton Artwork, Handmade in Haiti, Recycled Metal 7.6 X 9.75 Inches

Who Baron Samedi Is Baron Samedi - Bawon Samdi in Haitian Kreyol - is the lwa of the dead and the head of the Gede, the family of spirits that embodies both death and fertility. He is not a figure of dread. He digs the grave, greets the soul, and leads it onward, and he is just as often called on for healing. The Gede are famous for mocking the powerful, and Baron Samedi holds court in a top hat and dark glasses with a cigar in one hand and a glass of rum inthe other. Reading the Veve A veve is the signature of a lwa. Before a ceremony, an oungan or manbo traces it on the earthen floor of the peristyle in cornmeal and wood ash, and the spirit is invited to descend through the cross at its center. Baron Samedi's veve draws on the imagery of the cemetery he governs. The cross echoes the kwa Bawon, the cross that marks his presence in every Haitian graveyard, where a black top hat is often placed on top. The skull speaks to his dominion over the dead. His day is November 2, All Souls' Day, when Haitians fill the cemeteries to honor him and the Gede. About This Piece Hand-cut and hammered from a recycled steel oil drum by artists in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti, where this metalworking tradition has been passed down since the 1950s. Every piece is cut by hand with a hammer and chisel, so no two are identical. Fair trade. The artist is paid directly.