How many of us who know the Gede think about their fashion style? These infamous spirits of death and decay are so in-your-face with their sass, their salacious talk, their spot-on mimicry of our carnal secrets that the chic elements of their persona often slip by, like weird scraps of cemetery flotsam.
Chic, indeed! Consider Grann Brijit, Lady of the Cemetery, as she appears in Makandal’s The Drum and the Seed: “lachrymose eyes the color of coal and taut ebony lips that reflected compassion and cruelty in equal share; cross-shaped earrings, a pendant in the form of a skull, and fingernails painted purple. The woman drifted closer, the folds of her veil falling somewhat disheveled over her shoulders and the train of her gown dragging dead leaves, spiders, and lizards.”
Think about your inner Gede. (We each have one.) Is she a spider? Is he a corpse? Does he resemble the Roman Catholic Saint Gerard Majella, or does she adorn herself like West African royalty? Just how erotic, how morbid, how funky is your Gede? For more inspiration, Google “Images for Gede Haitian Vodou.”
Explore your Gede through the art of costume at Makandal’s Banbòch Gede—
Friday, November 6, 8 pm
Tonèl Restaurant, Bar & Lounge, Brooklyn
Dance to live music.
Schmooze with your fellow Gede over food and drink.
Cover Photo by Tony Savino
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