In Voodoo,
Maman Brigitte (Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit,
Manman Brijit) is the mother of cemeteries, the loa of money
and death, and the wife of Baron Samedi. She may be related
to the "triple" Celtic goddess of poetry, smithcraft, and
healing, Saint Brigit, as her name is Irish in origin. She
is usually depicted as a white woman. The first woman’s
grave in a cemetery in Haiti is dedicated to her. Her colors
are black, purple, and white; her number is nine; and her
particular days of service include Monday and Saturday. Her
sacrificial animal is a black chicken. She drinks rum laced
with hot peppers—"gaz lakrimojen Ayisyen" (Haitian tear
gas), and like her husband and the rest of the guede
spirits, she is a "potty mouth" and uses profanity. Maman
Brigitte is known to rub her private parts with hot peppers,
and those who appear to be faking possession by
her in
a Vodou ceremony may be subjected to this test, which they
obviously would not pass if their possession is not genuine.
She is a very sexual dancer, and her skill in the banda
dance is legendary.40
Maman Brigitte is invoked
to cure those who are near death as a result of magick. She
will protect gravestones if they are marked properly with a
cross.
