Guede et Mô: A Workbook by Ya Sezi bo Oungan

We are extremely pleased to announce the release of Guede et Mô: A Workbook by Ya Sezi bo Oungan. This book follows on from the author’s Papa Legba: A Workbook, released as a Guide to the Underworld in July 2019, and is one of our ‘little books’, measuring 178mm by 111mm. A paperback and digital edition is available from Hadean Press, a Kindle edition will be available on Amazon within the next day or so.  Includes cover and interior art by S. Aldarnay, and additional artwork by JM Hamade and Aarron Campbell, and photography by Nathan Tucker.

Papa Guede, the Bawons and the Guede Lwa represent the power and mystery of death, funerary rites and the afterlife in Haitian Vodou. They are the lost ancestors - the ancient unknown force that pushes us from behind.

The figure of a skull wearing sunglasses and a top hat is ubiquitous in popular culture, but often misrepresented and misunderstood. This workbook unpacks some of the myths and describes who these Lwa are and how they are served in Haitian Vodou. It is an educational guide for how to begin approaching these mysteries in a traditional and non-appropriative context, and includes guidelines on how to meet these spirits in the cemetery, as well as instructions for cleansings, baths and lamps that can be performed once a relationship with these spirits has been established.

 Table of contents:

Who are the Guede
Are the Guede Ancestors
Where do the Guede Originate
Who are the Bawons
Who is Maman Brigitte
Accoutrements of the Guede
Devotional Space for the Guede
Identifying Forces in the Cemetery
Entering the Cemetery or Graveyard
Works
Baths
The Lamp
Piman
Offerings
Songs and Prayers
Ancestors
Zombi

As with Papa Legba: A Workbook, we must stress that this book should be used as an early way through the dark, not as a substitute for traditional education within an oral tradition.