Maman Brigitte (
English: ''Mother Brigitte'') sometimes also written as Manman Brigitte and also known by Gran Brigitte, Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit, and Maman Brijit is a death
loa (or ''lwa'') and the consort of
Baron Samedi in
Haitian Vodou. She drinks rum infused with hot peppers and is symbolized by a black rooster.
[Torres, Rafael AgustÃ. "Loas y Vèvès del Vudú", pp. 30-31 (in Spanish)] Maman Brigitte protects graves in Haitian cemeteries that are marked by the cross of Baron Samedi.
Graves that are protected by Brigitte are marked by a mound of stones.
In Vodou practice, the first burials serve as offerings to either Baron Samedi or Maman Brigitte depending on the sex of the person being buried: if male, the grave is dedicated to Baron Samedi; if female to Maman Brigitte.
Like Samedi and the
Guede, she is foul-mouthed.
["The Ancestral Lwa - Baron, Maman Brigitte, And The Lwa Ghede"](_blank)
Meta Religion. She is also the adoptive mother of
Guede Nibo.
Due to the religious persecution of
enslaved African and Caribbean people in Haiti and the Americas, Maman Brigitte was disguised via
syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...
and represented by various saints, usually those depicted with fire or snakes, including
Brigid of Kildare and, less frequently,
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
.
In popular culture
Literature
* In the 1988 cyberpunk novel ''
Mona Lisa Overdrive'', one of the
AIs inhabiting cyberspace puts on the persona of Maman Brigitte to communicate with human characters.
Video games
* In the game ''
Cyberpunk 2077,'' there is a character named Maman Brigitte who comes from Haiti that leads the gang, the Voodoo Boys.
* Maman Brigitte appears as a playable character in the 2014
multiplayer online battle arena ''
Smite'', alongside her husband Baron Samedi. She is the second playable Voodoo Lwa.
Art
* Haitian artists such as Andre Pierre and Gerard Paul painted representations of Brigitte in their artwork, which was informed by Haitian Vodou.
Television
* In season 2, episode 5 of the television series ''
American Gods,'' Maman Brigitte is portrayed by
Hani Furstenberg as the lover of
Baron Samedi (portrayed by ''
Mustafa Shakir'').
See also
*
Ọya
References
Further reading
*
Laënnec Hurbon, ''
Voodoo: Search for the Spirit'', "
Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname
Places United States
* Abrams, Wisconsin, a town
* Abrams (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
* Abrams Mountain, Colorado
* Abr ...
" series.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (1995)
Death goddesses
Haitian Vodou goddesses
Health goddesses
Justice goddesses
Vengeance goddesses
Voodoo goddesses
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