OBEAH

Obeah: translation

ACaribbeanterm with at least two distinct uses: It can label an accusation of malevolentsorcery, but it can also refer to practices that have evolved from the interaction of indigenous-,African-, European-, and Asian-derived religious traditions. Reference to “Obeahman” or “Obeahwoman” usually indicates dislike and distrust of those accused of malevolence and inappropriate engagement withspirits. It can even be used to allege that, throughmastery of spirits, someone controls the dead and makes them serve evil interests. Practitioners themselves may speak only of “going to a man” or “going to a woman” for them to “work.” However, they may define Obeah as doing either “dirty work” or “good work” (although some are said to do “everything”).This parallels theambiguityof shamanic work elsewhere, as practitioners utilize their knowledge and relationships withother-than-human personswho act ashelpersor allies to offerprotectionand advice, especially on how to gain one’s desires or to injure enemies and prevent them harming clients, perhaps by causingillness. Alongside various ceremonial practices, herbalism is significant. The term itself is a Creolized form of the Ashanti termObayifo(“witch”) orobeye(“beings that inhabit witches”). Obeah practitioners were among the leaders of rebellions against slavery and provided some means of asserting agency among oppressed groups. Ceremonies, especially those that includeddrumming, were therefore outlawed in various places. Practitioners of Obeah can be members ofChristian, Hindu, and other congregations at the same time. Similarly, Obeah practice often contradicts the stereotype that it is the preserve of impoverished descendents of slaves—rather, it has adherents in all social and ethnic strata of society. It is of the essence that Obeah and similar Caribbean traditions are Creole and popular traditions.