Haitian revelers honor the dead in Vodou festival

By EVENS SANON
Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Hundreds of revelers clad in white and clutching candles are crowding into the main cemetery at Haiti’s capital to pay their respects to the dead during an annual Vodou festival. Many in the crowd on Monday surrounded the tomb of the first person buried in the Port-au-Prince cemetery, believing it contains the guardian of the dead, known in Haitian Vodou as Baron Samedi. The celebration comes at a time of deepening misery and violence for Haiti. At least one man asked a Vodou priest for help in finding a job. Another asked the dead for tips on a lottery ticket.