Veve Baron Samedi Skull Metal Wall Hanging Sculpture, Sugar Skull Skeleton Artwork, Handmade in Haiti, Recycled Metal 7.6 X 9.75 Inches
Who Baron Samedi Is Baron Samedi - Bawon Samdi in Haitian Kreyol - is the lwa of the dead and the head of the Gede, the family of spirits that embodies both death and fertility. He is not a figure of dread. He digs the grave, greets the soul, and leads it onward, and he is just as often called on for healing. The Gede are famous for mocking the powerful, and Baron Samedi holds court in a top hat and dark glasses with a cigar in one hand and a glass of rum in the other. He is married to Maman Brigitte, and he is famously foul-mouthed, swearing constantly at the other spirits and at anyone who takes themselves too seriously. Reading the Veve A veve is the signature of a lwa. Before a ceremony, an oungan or manbo traces it on the earthen floor of the peristyle in cornmeal and wood ash, and the spirit is invited to descend through the cross at its center. Baron Samedi's veve draws on the imagery of the cemetery he governs. The cross echoes the kwa Bawon, the cross that marks his presence in every Haitian graveyard, where a black top hat is often placed on top. The skull speaks to his dominion over the dead. His day is November 2, All Souls' Day, when Haitians fill the cemeteries to honor him and the Gede. About This Piece This piece begins as a 50-gallon steel oil drum. The artist burns out the inside with banana and sugar cane leaves, cuts the drum open and flattens it into a metal canvas roughly 3 feet by 6 feet. The design is then traced and cut entirely by hand with a hammer and chisel, and finished with a protective coating. The work is done in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti, where this tradition has been passed down since the 1950s. No two pieces are identical. Fair trade. The artist is paid directly. It's Cactus Metal Art Haiti
