Our Baron Samedi devotional candle was designed to represent him as the head of the Ghede family of Loa, ruling over them with his wife, Maman Brigitte.

Loa can be understood as being like angels, but different in the sense that they each possess their own unique personalities. Therefore, to navigate through daily life, Voodooists must cultivate personal relationships with the Loa, to have their needs met.

Baron Cimitiere performs the duty of guardian of the cemetery, digging the graves and welcoming the deceased to the underworld. He even protects the graves, so that the dead aren’t disturbed. He is a dashing and debonair character, so much so, that even his horses wear tuxedos and top hats. He has expensive tastes, smokes the best cigars, and drinks fine liquor. However, Baron Cimitiere is still just as crass as the other Ghede, but with a polite manner and upper-class airs.

Baron Samedi has the power to decide who should die and who can go on living. He isn’t simply a spirit who guides the souls, he has the power over life and death. He ensures that the veil between the living world and the dead is never disrupted.

Thus, anyone wishing to connect with the dead must evoke the help of the Baron, who then determines whether to allow the dead to contact the living world or not. He may also be asked to dispel ghosts that may be haunting the living and even asked to ward off death.

Bawon Samdi smokes strong cigarettes and drinks, in addition to kleren, black coffee, vodka, or gin. His favourite foods are black goats and black roosters. His symbols are a skeleton, a coffin, a black cross, and farm implements. Like Gran Brijit, Bawon is associated with the colours black, purple, and white. Because they live in cemeteries or in hidden locations, their realm is the earth.

Baron Samedi may be petitioned for help with conception, as he represents the confluence of sexuality and death. He is also invoked as the patron of many professionals who come into contact with death, such as gravediggers, funerary officials, and mortuary workers. Because Samedi has absolute authority to decide when and how an individual will die, he is also thought to favor children and to intervene on the behalf of ailing children, ensuring that they live a full life before they arrive in the underworld.