If you missed my article on Anhur and Khepri, you can find it here.
Maman Brigitte is also known by many other names, such as Brigid and Mary Magdalene. I promise I will explain in a minute. She is the Voodoo loa of, as the title says, life and death, as well as cemeteries and healing. Brigitte is a member of the Guede in addition to being a loa.
While just as powerful as any other practice, Voodoo is the descendant of West African spiritual practices. It went through Haiti, where its African practitioners who were sold into slavery met the Irish, Scottish, and English Catholics and Pagans who were put into slavery. So, it became Vodou because everyone had to hide their practices. When it came to the Southern part of the US, like Louisana, it became Voodoo. All of this is important, I promise. In both Vodou and Voodoo (they are pronounced the same, I believe), the loa or lwa are powerful spirits that are the bridge between the gods and humans—kind of a blend of Hermes, the messenger of Olympus, and the nymphs. The Guede, or Gede, is a specific family of loa that deals with death and fertility.
Okay, back to Maman Brigitte after that brief history lesson. Maman Brigitte has a number of symbols that include rum, hot peppers, fire, gravestones, and, of course, crosses. Trees that are sacred to her are elms and weeping willows. Her favorite colors are purple, black, and green. Funny enough, that is my family’s color palette. Animals that are sacred to her are the horse and especially black roosters.
For a family history of Maman Brigitte, we would have to look at the Celtic goddess Brigid’s family tree. I promise I am getting to that and the Mary part. Her consort is Baron Samedi, who is her male counterpart in life and death. Maman has no biological children of her own. She does, however, have an adopted son, Guede Nibo.
So why is she called Brigid or Mary Magdalene? Throughout history, when a conquering nation overthrows another, it absorbs them, pushes out the losing side’s culture and beliefs, and replaces it with their own. For any of the conquered to keep their beliefs, they must hide them. Where better than in plain sight? So, the West Africans hid their gods in Catholicism as the Celts did. Remember the route I said the West Africans took? The lwa and African practitioners picked up Brigid in Haiti from the Irish who had been hiding in her native Celtic nations as St. Brigid after the Catholics took over, forcing her to do so. She continued to hide in St. Brigid here but also took on the name Brigitte.
Brigitte being adopted in Haiti explains why she is the only white-skinned, red-haired loa in a sea of chocolate and coffee. It also explains why she has healing powers and speaks like a lady at times, as Brigid is a goddess of healing and poetry. Brigid is also a goddess of fertility, which aligns with Brigitte. Brigitte is also big on justice and will dish out vengeance to those she feels are deserving of it.
Brigitte is especially close to women. She will stand guard over their graves, most closely the grave of the first woman to be buried in a new graveyard dedicated to Baron Samedi. She protects women during childbirth when invoked. She is also especially concerned with women in domestic abuse situations and with unfaithful lovers of her followers. Maman also teaches that death is not to be feared but respected and that you should honor your dead.
Have you played Maman Brigitte since she has come out? What do you think of her mythology? What are your thoughts on either? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
