Hey Alex, could you talk about what each of the Barons are like? Like what separates Samedi from La Kwa and Cimitiere? Thanks
So, there is often a lot of confusion about Bawons, because there are a lot of them. There are also personal Bawons specific to bitasyon (since many families inter on their own land) and family.
Bawon Samdi is often considered the oldest Bawon. He is the big boss of all the Gede and he is the Bawon who selects which abandoned souls will become Gede. He has a special relationship with Agwe, who brings souls anba dlo after they die.
Bawon Simityè is the boss of the cemetary he is interred at. Each cemetary will have a Bawon Simityè; he is the first man buried in the cemetary and he oversees all the comings and goings, along with the Brijit of the cemetary, who is the first woman buried there. He is the one who can allow or disallow spiritual work there, including if a priest or boko can take souls as zonbi. In Haiti, all ceremonies have a huge central cross, and that belongs to Simityè; many folks say that Bawon Lakwa is another name for Simityè, as the kwa of the cemetery is Simityè's so talking to the Bawon of the cross is talking to Simityè.
Bawon Kriminel is overseer of all the souls who were criminals in life. He oversees justice; you can bring a case in front of him for judgement and he will discipline who he feels is wrong in the situation or excuse someone if their behavior was justified. He is found at or near the grave of the first criminal interred in the cemetery, and will have his own cross in his area.
Bawon Kadach/Kadash is a mean Bawon who doesn't tend to like people and will do whatever bad work is given to them. This Bawon is the first person in the cemetary who was left there because they have no family and were forgotten; their identity is lost and their body was lost, too...likely not even placed in a grave, but abandoned on the ground and likely scattered. They can be found in the area of the cemetery that is not well taken care of, and their cross (if there is one) is often surrounded by trash. This is the only Bawon that could potentially be a woman, but no one would ever know because whomever the first person left there who was forgotten is lost to time. Some people say this Bawon is someone who was murdered in the cemetery or was murdered and then left in the cemetery.
Bawon Lorand is a happy and good-natured Bawon. He is often considered to be the first farmer, gardener, or other person who worked agriculture to be buried in the cemetery, and many folks say he will have died in his garden or field. He is a good and compassionate judge, and is often the Bawon of last resort; if Simityè and Kriminel and Samdi say no (and Kadach will almost always say no) and you have a good heart and good intentions, it is Lorand who will take your case.
It can be difficult to find these Bawon outside of Haiti, because we do not mark areas and graves like are done there, and our cemeteries are comparatively massive.
Also, things like who the Bawon was in life contribute to who they are after they pass to the next life. For example, in one of the towns that my husband's family is from, the first man interred in the cemetery was completely deaf. No work can be done in that cemetery because the Bawon of that cemetery cannot hear anyone calling him.
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