By the time of the Haitian Revolution, there were already several Masonic lodges catering to French colonists. The idea of mystical fraternities also appealed to Haitians whose ancestors had developed their own secret societies in Africa. After Independence, they joined Masonic lodges in great numbers and freely used fraternal imagery in other sacred contexts. The all-seeing eye, pyramid, square and compass, skull and crossbones, pick, shovel, top hat, and other funereal symbols are especially prevalent in imagery evoking the Gedes and the Bawon Samdi.
