Guinee is the underworld found in Haitian religion and is ruled over by Baron Samedi the loa of death.
Overview[]
Guinee is presided over by the loa known as Baron Samedi. Often depicted as a skeleton in corpse paint dressed in a top hat and tails, the Baron is a powerful symbol of death and rebirth, guarding the crossroads which form portals to other worlds. The most important of all these portals are the “Gates of Guinee” themselves.
The order the gates are opened in is of key significance. Approached incorrectly, the gates can allow dangerous spirits to enter the world of the living, dragging the unwary seeker - body and soul - back with them to the land of the dead. A traditional rhyme amongst the voodoo practitioners of New Orleans is said to describe the proper timing for opening the Gates of Guinee; “Seven nights, Seven moons, Seven gates, Seven tombs.”