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- This article is about West Indian religion and magic. For obeah within the context of Thelema, see Obeah and Wanga. For the West African monster, see Obia.
Obeah (sometimes spelled "Obi") is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from Central African and West African origins. As such, Obeah is somewhat similar to Palo, Voodoo, Santeria , and African American conjure, rootwork, and hoodoo. Obeah is practiced in Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, Trinidad, Tobago, Belize, the Bahamas and Barbados.
Obeah is associated with both black and white magic, charms, luck, and with mysticism in general. In some Caribbean nations Obeah refers to African diasporic folk religions with admixtures such as Hindu puja; in other areas, Christians may include elements of Obeah in their religion—Obeah is associated with the Spiritual Baptist church—and it appears within the magical praxis found within Thelema.
Obeah in Jamaica
In Jamaica, slaves from different areas of Africa were bought into contact, creating some conflicts between those who practiced varying African religions. Those of Ashanti descent, who called their priests "Myal men" (also spelled Mial men), used the Ashanti term "Obi" or "Obeah" -- meaning "sorcery" -- to describe the practices of slaves of Central African descent. Thus those who worked in a Congo form of folk religion were called "Obeah men" or "sorcerers." Obeah also came to mean any physical object, such as a talisman or charm, that was used for evil magical purposes. However, despite its fearsome reputation, Obeah, like any other form of folk religion and folk magic, contains many traditions for healing, helping, and bringing about luck in love and money.
During the mid 19th century the appearance of a comet in the sky became the focal point of an oubreak of religious fanaticism and Christian millennarianism among the Myal men of Jamaica. Spiritualism was at that time sweeping the English-speaking nations as well, and it readily appealed to those in the Afro-Carbbean diaspora, as spirit contact, especially with the dead, is an essential part of many African religions.
During the conflict between Myal and Obeah, the Myal men positioned themselves as the "good" opponents to "evil" Obeah. They claimed that Obeah men stole people's shadows, and they set themselves up as the helpers of those who wished to have their shadows restored. Myal men contacted spirits in order to expose the evil works they ascribed to the Obeah men, and led public parades which resulted in crowd-hystreria that engendered violent antagonism against Obeah men. The public "discovery" of buried Obeah charms, presumed to be of evil intent, led on more than one occasion to violence against the rival Obeah men.
Laws were passed that limited both Obeah and Myal traditions, but due to the outrages perpetrated by the mobs of Myalists, the British govenment of Jamaica sent many Myal men to prison, and this, along with the failure of their millennialist Christian prophesies, resulted in a lessening influence for Myalism, while Obeah remained a vital form of folk magic in Jamaica. By the early 20th century, Myalism was considered a thing of the past, and Obeah dominated.
Obeah in the Virgin Islands
One aspect of Obeah with which many visitors to the Virgin Islands are familiar (although they may not fully comprehend it) is the Mocko-Jumbie, or stilt dancer.
In the Virgin Islands Obeah tradition, a Jumbie is an evil or lost spirit, related to the Kongo word Nzumbi, which led to the sensationalistic Zombies of Hollywood. Jumbie however, retains more of the word's original meaning. It is sometimes associated with a child who has died before being baptized. Such a child is said to be forced to forever walk the earth at night, and is easily identified by its backward-facing feet. The connection between the Jumbie and death is extended into botany: Abrus precatorius, a species of tropical legume bears deadly toxic red and black seeds called Jumbies in English-speaking regions of the Caribbean. By contrast, the Mocko-Jumbie of the Virgin Islands is brightly colored, dances in the daylight, and is very much alive. The Mocko-Jumbie also represents the flip-side of spiritual darkness, as stilt-dancing is most popular around holy days and Carnival.
Obeah within Thelema
The term Obeah appears in conjunction with the term Wanga in The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema, written by Aleister Crowley in 1904. The text reads, "Also the mantras and spells; the obeah and the wanga; the work of the wand and the work of the sword; these he shall learn and teach" (AL I:37). Interpreting this line, Crowley writes:
- The obeah is the magick of the Secret Light with special reference to acts; the wanga is the verbal or mental correspondence of the same. The "obeah" being the acts, and the "wanga" the words, proper to Magick, the two cover the whole world of external expression. [http://www.hermetic.com/220/crowley-comments.html
Crowley was fond of reinterpreting magical terms from other traditions, as is evident with Obeah. As the original African term referred to the general practices within sorcery and folk magic, Crowley is using it to reference the strictly physical components within his technical system of magick.
See also
- Hoodoo - African American folk magic, similar in practices to Obeah
- Obeah and Wanga - the phrase "Obeah and Wanga" as interpreted in Thelema
- List of magical terms and traditions
External links
- History of antagonism between Myalism and Obeah in Jamaica
- Article about Myalism and Obeah in Jamaica
"Obeah"