Crescent City Conjure Lecture Series: Class One. 

"A Night with Gede: Exploring Spirits of the Dead in Haitian Vodou."

Presenter: Manbo Charlene Désir of Sosyete Nago (Jacmel, Haiti).

The term "Gede" refers to the family of lwa (elevated spirits/metaphysical forces) representing life and death in Haitian Vodou. During the month of November, these entities are celebrated throughout the island at festivals ("Fete Gede") designed to honor and invite Gede to incorporate physically once again and experience earthly existence. 

This class will address the role of Gede in traditional practice, their ritual function and fundamentals of their ceremonial celebration. Participants will learn conceptual attributes of Gede, the manner by which these spirits are honored by practitioners (music, altars, and social functions), and, misconceptions and misinformation will be addressed as a means to reconcile appearance with reality. 

Manbo Charlene Désir is a Vodou priestess initiated in the Sosyete Nago Lakou in Jacmel, Haiti. She is also a research professor in South Florida who received her doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus on the spiritual and psycho-social acculturation of disenfranchised children in the US and Haitian school systems. A celebrated academic, counselor and activist, Dr. Désir has also co-founded T.E.N. Global, an empowerment network focused on upliftment and spiritual liberation.