Celebratory wakes, lavish funerals, fanfare bands and dramatic displays are just some of Haiti’s death rites, which, like its weddings, are often extravagant social events despite the country’s poverty
Valerie Baeriswyl / Reuters
Main image: A band lead a funeral procession in Plaisance. Photograph: Valerie Baeriswyl/Reuters
Mon 18 Oct 2021 07.00 BST Last modified on Wed 20 Oct 2021 09.21 BST
Madame Sinistre, Berno and Voltaire – relatives of the deceased, Anaira Jules – dance with the coffin behind a marching band in Grand-Bera. Jules’s youngest daughter, Fredeline Alfred, said the funeral cost her family the equivalent of $2,100, while the wake cost another $3,000 – a fortune in a country where two-thirds of the population make less than $2 a day Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A group of family, friends and neighbours sing songs and pray with Dieufene Alerte, a ‘savannah father’ – halfway between a Catholic priest and a Vodou houngan – in the remote countryside of Grand-Bera Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Men play dominoes at the wake of Joseph Anselme Benoit, using corn kernels to count points, in the village of Casale. At Haitian wakes, mourners may choose to dance, sing or tell jokes until dawn. Chairs and tables are rented so that people can play dominoes, whether they know the deceased or not Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Rode Naika Joseph, 13, and her brother Rodelin Joseph, 18, mourn with cousins and nephews of the deceased, Violette Jean, at the gates of the cemetery in Plaisance. Haitian death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld and a way to mark one’s social standing Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Anderson Laroche, 17, makes an emotional farewell speech to his deceased mother, Germanie Pierre, in front of his family in Gonaïves Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Brother God and Brother Dielson perform at Salem Baptist church during the funeral ceremony for Anaira Jules. The night before the funeral, about 200 people played dominoes and cards, drank tea and bootleg rum, and ate local dishes under tarpaulin outside the family house as a DJ played evangelical music Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Weder Pierre (second from left), the little brother of the deceased, Germanie Pierre, drives a motorcycle in a procession of family and friends heading to the cemetery in Gonaïves for a final goodbye Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
The sister-in-law of the deceased falls to the ground after becoming overcome with emotion during the funeral of Chantal Montas, who died aged 42, at the Defender of the Christian Faith church in Belladère Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A man fires bullets into the air as a sign of respect for the social standing of the deceased, Joseph Anselme Benoit, in Casale Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Sisters Fredeline Alfred and Carine Alfred are shown the lights on the coffin chosen for their deceased mother, Anaira Jules, at a morgue in Saint-Marc. Jules, who lived her whole life in a small hamlet in rural Haiti, had never set foot on a plane. But for her last journey, she was sent off in a gleaming white, plane-shaped coffin complete with a wing-tail and illuminated windows Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A procession accompanied by a marching brass band makes its way to the cemetery in Gonaïves for the funeral of Germanie Pierre
Yolvida Desruisseaux irons the outfit she will wear to the funeral of her godfather’s father in Casale. Desruisseaux said the tradition of turning a funeral into a multi-day social event was a ‘balm to the soul’ of mourning families Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A young trumpeter from a brass band plays a few notes outside the home of the deceased, Violette Jean, in Plaisance Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Friends and family of 18-year-old Bily Romulus, who died in a motorcycle accident, carry the coffin from Sur la Montagne de Gramothe church to the cemetery in Thomassin Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Band members lead a procession of mourners on a 30-minute walk from the church to the cemetery in Plaisance for the funeral of Violette Jean Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
