NEW ORLEANS DAY OF THE DEAD 2010

IN SEARCH OF AN ENDURING VOODOO MYSTERY:

THE GATES OF GUINEE

By Alyne A. Pustanio

In Voodoo beliefs “Guinee” is the name given to that portion of the spirit world where the dead reside. Unlike the underworld of mythology or the hell of the Judeo-Christian tradition, Guinee is not a place of punishment. Though there are different schools of thought on it, most agree that Guinee is a realm through which the dead must pass on their way to the “deep waters” and spiritual reunion with their ancestors and other deities.

The ruler of this in-between realm is the great and powerful Baron Samedi, the Voodoo loa of death, regeneration, transformation and rebirth. The Baron is usually depicted as a tall skeleton wearing a top hat and tuxedo, or undertaker’s clothing, dark glasses, cotton-plugged nostrils, and carrying a spade which he uses for a walking stick: in short, a corpse ready for burial in the Haitian style.

Baron Samedi, it is said, stands at the Crossroads before the Gates where the souls of the dead pass on their way into Guinee. The Baron is considered a wise judge, and only he can allow a soul to pass into the realm of the dead. If a soul appears before him prematurely, the Baron, in his aspect as the great magician, will send the soul back into the world of the living. Legions of spirits, known as the lesser Guede, assist the Baron in his work, digging graves and helping to ferry the dead from Guinee and across the final Abyss.

In Voodoo belief, when a person dies their soul remains near the corpse for a period of seven days. During this time both body and soul are very vulnerable to the threat of being made into zombies by hoodoo sorcerers. Baron Samedi, in all his aspects, and the Guede, led by the rambunctious Papa Guede, are called upon to assure that this horrible fate does not befall the newly dead and that the passage to Guinee is a safe one. Baron Samedi and the Guede also assure that the corpses of the dead are not disturbed but are allowed to decompose completely, again to avoid the horrible fate of being zombified by a malevolent hoodoo worker. Only the boldest black sorcerer would attempt to confront Baron Samedi over the soul of a dead person; he is one of the most infamous and frightening of the Voodoo deities.

According to some legends, it is not necessary to wait to meet Baron Samedi, Papa Guede or the legions of other Guede who serve them. Because of the Baron’s distinction as a worker of sorcery himself, and Papa Guede’s ability to see in both the waking world and the world of spirit, many brave individuals are said to have sought them out for empowerment or enlightenment in the world of humankind. In fact, some claim that it is only necessary to find the passage to the realm of the dead, the legendary Gates of Guinee, to find these dreaded loas.

But where are these Gates? Are they real, or, as some suggest, are they simply metaphors meant to represent the Voodoo death process?

Some point out the significance of the period observed following death – a period of seven days – as a clue to what the Gates of Guinee really are. Adherents to this theory have suggested that each of the seven days represents a separate Gate of Guinee; the soul passes through each gate and is finally met at the seventh gate by Baron Samedi who then escorts it into the land of the dead. Others say the Gates of Guinee are actual gates and that they exist in the real world. They claim that, like the infamous Seven Gates of Hell, the Gates of Guinee are the voodoo version of those nightmare portals, leading into a realm of shadows, evil, and death.

Some New Orleans hoodoo practitioners will tell you that the Gates of Guinee are none other than the entrance to certain local cemeteries – seven of them, in fact, and they will even point you to them. Because the hoodoo workers never give much genuine information away, their opinions should be taken with a hefty grain of salt.

Still, this last version of the Gates of Guinee legend seems to have a kernel of truth at its core because coincidentally (or maybe not) there happens to be a great crossroads in New Orleans near which there is a convergence of many of the most significant cemeteries in the city.

This crossroads, it is said, represents the crux of the crucifix in Baron Samedi’s mysterious “veve,” or the Voodoo sigil that represents this powerful death loa. According to some who subscribe to this legend, the Gates of Guinee are clearly marked in relation to the veve crucifix; one need only decipher the remainder of the veve markings to discover the location of the Gates themselves.

The Gates are said to number seven – a particularly significant number in both the voodoo and hoodoo traditions. Like the construction of the veve, which is usually created in cornmeal by the hands of the priest (hougoun) or mambo during rituals, there is a certain ritual order to the location of the Gates. Anyone searching for the Gates on a path of enlightenment or for magical purposes is warned that the order of the opening of the Gates must be strictly observed. To ignore this caveat, or to incorrectly open the Gates out of sequence, is said to put the seeker in the greatest danger as spirits entering the material world through the gates can possess unwary humans or even take them, body and soul, back through the gates into the realm of the dead.

In addition to opening the Gates in the proper order, the proper timing must also be observed. One cryptic rhyme, said to refer to the opening of the Gates of Guinee, states the following:

Seven nights,

Seven moons,

Seven gates,

Seven tombs

It is possible that this rhyme makes reference to particular aspects of an opening ritual that must be observed in order to assure success in opening the Gates. Again, note the significance of the number seven.

More important, and more ominous, than just observing the order and the time, at least according to one version of the legend, is the respect and propitiation of the guardians of each gate. These guardians are said to be powerful Guede, including aspects of the Baron himself, whose job it is to assure that the living do not pass into the world of the dead unbidden, without the Baron’s permission. Those seeking to enter any of the Gates of Guinee must appease the gate’s guardian with appropriate offerings, a process said to be further complicated by the fact that the identities of the guardians can at best only be guessed at. It is suggested that these powerful Guede are subject to the same ritual order of the Gates themselves, and to appease one before the other can lead to no end of problems. One thing no one wants is angry Guede after them!

This version of the Guinee legend seems at first to have more details than speculation about it and this has caused some researchers to put forth the theory that the Gates of Guinee are aligned with the cemeteries that surround the intersection of Canal Street (where it becomes Canal Boulevard) and City Park Avenue. This convergence, quite literally a City of the Dead where at one time seventeen separate burying grounds were located, is the only crossroads that meets the specifications set out in the legend.

Standing as it does at what would have been the most outlying point past the old city limits, this crossroads and its nearby cemeteries are perfectly suited to the Gates of Guinee legend. New Orleanians have buried their dead here since the end of the 18^th century; when the City was strafed with yellow fever outbreaks, the cemeteries at Canal and City Park took the overflow of the city mausoleums. Benevolent societies figure prominently in the founding and organizing of these old bone yards among which can be found acres dedicated to Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and even Freemasons. Significantly, two indigent burying grounds, so-called “Potter’s Fields” are also located here.

It is not hard for the mind to race in this place and for imagination to take hold. Extrapolating on the legend, using the veve of the great Baron Samedi as a guide, it is easy to conjecture a list of the possible locations of the Gates of Guinee (and maybe the names of the Guede who guard them) from the alignment of some of the cemeteries with the great crossroads. What is impossible to ascertain, however, is what order should be given to the gates, and this is no doubt a good thing, because were this known, the parade of curious and the thrill-seekers would be endless. This would only serve to irritate the spirits of the dead and their guardians.

More important still, which guardian is attached to which gate? According to some old beliefs set down in the days of Marie Laveau, the guardians of the Gates are as follows:

The First Gate: Baron LaCroix

The Second Gate: Guede Nibo

The Third Gate: Guede Plumaj

The Fourth Gate: Baron Cimitiere

The Fifth Gate: Guede Babaco

The Sixth Gate: Baron Kriminel

The Seventh Gate: Baron Samedi

But this information may be completely false, meant to intentionally mislead the seeker of the Gates.

The fact remains, however, that all the Guede, really aspects of the same Baron Samedi, guard ALL cemeteries and burying grounds, so it is impossible to know the proper offerings for any particular “Gate” at any given time.

It should also be stated, particularly in light of the current ghost-hunting craze, that as a general rule cemeteries are not really places you want to be hanging around in for long amounts of time. This is not so much out of respect for the dead or even deference to their powerful guardians. One should not spend inordinate amounts of time randomly poking around cemeteries because of the simple fact that the dead are truly hungry for life and the life-energy. Some discarnate human spirits will do anything to perpetuate the feeling of being alive, such as attaching to a living human host upon whom they will literally feed until they are either displaced (as in an exorcism or cleansing ritual) or from whom they have tapped so much life energy that they detach on their own to seek out new sources. It is also prudent to be aware that not all spirits found in cemeteries were once living human beings; there are many, many types of spirits there who, once attached, will literally eat you alive.

In the course of my research I have come across what I believe to be several legitimate local contenders for the seven Gates of Guinee. From what I have learned, these Gates are not as innocuous as some believe and nothing to joke about; they pose very real supernatural dangers to novices and thrill-seekers.

For this reason, as much as any other, I feel it would be irresponsible to reveal the actual location of the genuine Gates of Guinee – even if you call me a “scaredy cat” because of it!

Story and associated content Copyright © 2010 by Alyne A. Pustanio. No portion of this material or any site content is to be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the author and owner.

Sallie Ann Glassman,

The Island Of Salvation Botanica and Magical Pharmacie,

La Source Ancienne Ounfo

Present the 29th Annual*

DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION

Sunday, November 1^st

3319 Rosalie Alley

New Orleans, LA.

Ceremony for Gede: 7 p.m., in Rosalie Alley, off of Rampart, between Piety and Desire.

Followed by: Pot Luck supper & procession to the cemetery to feed the Dead.

Please wear white with a purple headscarf, or black and purple for Gede. Bring a dish (not a blond) for the people, and an offering for the Dead or Gede.

Gede’s tastes tend towards peppers, flat breads, rum, cigars, goat stew, crosses, grave-digger’s tools, black cock feathers, skeletons, sunglasses with one lens, hot Creole foods, money, the colors black, mauve, and white. He is syncretized with St. Gerard.

Or you can bring something that your ancestors or loved ones enjoyed in life.