In both Vodun and Orisa Worship you can find the veneration of Gede Nimbo. Because His association with the Dead, Gede Nimbo can be found in the homes of those that are called to receive the Ase or simply pay homage to Oya and/or the Egungun. This is an effective partnership in the western world.
Servants of Oya, Egungun and Gede Nimbo often possess the gift of mediumship. This comes in handy when interacting with these Owners of the Cemeteries. Through these three Figures we learn that the world in abound with Spirits of all kinds. These Spirits consist both of Ancestors and the Spirits of those that we would simply characterize as the deceased (as well as some that fit neither category!).* And the effect they have on the world is real and continuous. Working with Gede Nimbo, Oya or the Egun allows us to communicate with Spirits from those other planes for information sake or to gain assistance in some earthly matter.
Gede Nimbo is actually associated with both life and death. For who can determine which is the beginning or end? Perhaps for this reason he is protector of children, a group of humans who have just began to embark on life on Earth as well as caretaker of the Cemetery- The Cemetery being the last place that we go on on physical journey and the portal to our journey into the Spirit World.
The Gede are not known for holding their tongue. Gede Nimbo is no exception. He is frank. He ignores society’s boundaries of good taste. For good reason. It can be said that social etiquette is one of the barriers to truth. Gede Nimbo will say what needs to be said, maybe ruffle a feather or two to get everyone on the right page or to expose injustice. The Gede are indeed champions of the downtrodden, the ones that lurk waiting for their opportunity to rise. At least that is one take on it. Through seeing, speaking and working with a multitude of Spirits from all backgrounds we learn at the very least to respect ALL Spirits and people. You never know who you will need to lean on for help.
The distinction between being an Ancestor and simply the deceased depends on your lineage or tradition. In most traditional Orisa communities Ancestorship denotes high character, leaving a good reputation for your family to work with and dieing in of natural causes. In some communities, experiencing the role of father or mother would have been included on that list of prerequisites.
September 24th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I have always been told in my country that one can practice more than one religion. This is is truly acepted in many western countries, but
you cannot find ghede veneration in orisha worship, unless the person is both initiated in vodun and orisha traditions. As far as Im concerned ghede nimbo is not a path of ESU. Orisha worship is orisha worship and lwa worship is lwa worship, even if they have things in common like; fire deities, owners of the cementeries or river deities… and I know thats for sure. Im an apettebi of orunla, and vodun devotee and I like to keep things separate,my vodun altar with its own rules and my orisha altar with its own rules; mixing both only becomes confusing. Each religion is independent from the other. I dont need vodun to become an orisha priestess and vice versa, it is only an option. If you meet an orisha priest alone, provably they wont have an idea of what a lwa is unless initiated. If I work with Oya I ask permission to Oya alone, cause shes the gate keeper of the cemetery after all. If I work vodun I ask permission to ghede and work with these energies, in correspondance to their taste.