Haiti is a country with many voodoo practitioners. Voodoo like any other religion, deals with life and death. Baron Samedi is one of the loas (spirits) of the dead and is associated with ancestor worship, death and magic. He is usually depicted with a top hat, black tuxedo, dark glasses, and cotton plugs in the nostrils. He has a white, frequently skull-like face (or actually a skull for a face) and speaks in a nasal voice. He is a sexual spirit and has a particular fondness for tobacco and rum. As well as being master of the dead, he is also a 'giver' of life. It is said that he can cure mortals of any disease or wounds, especially when it is inflicted by voodoo curses and black magic. The colours that represent him are black and purple. As with his name, Saturday is the day that best represents him (Samedi means Saturday in French).
Food (and foodstuff) offered to Baron Samedi often includes the following:
- Salted Herring
- Fresh Herring
- White Skinned Sweet Potatoes
- Purple Skinned Sweet Potatoes
- Corn-On-The-Cob
- Ground Corn
- Lamb or Goat
- Tasso (a kind of cured pork)
- Smoked Plantains
- Yam
- Dumplings
- Pumpkin Soup
- Meat & Root Vegetable Stew
- Black Coffee
- White Rum
- White Rum With Hot Peppers
- Tequila
Due to his fondness for tobacco, smoking pipes filled with tobacco and cigars are usually offered too.
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