The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-05-08
Our @llu.
WEST INDIAN WITCHCRAFT.
Some Remarkable SupersiitiOns of the
Negroes.

me what he could about Obeah, and as he
is an old West Indian, and has passed the
greater part of his life in Trinidad, St.
Vincent, and ST. Lucia, he knows pretty
much all that there is to be known about
subject that is generally spoken of in the
West Indies in a mysterious and halt
dreaded way, and about which very little
has been written. Before going to his
house | took a look at Webster's Diction-
ary to see what the word Obeah means,
and as it is just possible that you may want
some information on that point, too, | will
quote MIR. Webster's definition Of it,
''Obeah-A species of witchcraft practiced
among the West Indian negroes, and sup
posed to have been introduced from Africa.
l<T had heard of it before, | suppose,
thousand times; it would be hard to travel
much in the West Indies without hearing
of it. But it is equally hard to get any
Trustworthy information about it. Every
white West Indian knows that it is a spe-
cies of witchcraft practiced by the negroes,
and sometimes dangerous species, that
has cost many white man his life; but
Just how it operates very few people can
tell The negroes who know anything
about it are afraid to talk about it; and a
large majority of them only know that it is
dangerous thing for them to meddle with,
without having any definite idea Of where
the danger lies. | must say that in tray-
cling nearly all over the West Indies |
have never come across single instance of
any person being poisoned or injured by an
"Obeah man." but | have read and heard
of great many such instances, for 0beah
works by frightening the ignorant and poi
soning those who are in his way, | had
seen good deal of the superstition and
witchcraft among the negroes in our South
ern States. Two years ago | came across
curious case Of it on the Ohio River,
which | described in the Times. A young
mulatto" hoodooed" a steamboat, greatly
to the terror of all the coloFed people on
board, and within six hours the steamboat
struck rock and sank Ofcourse if had
heard this story should not have believed
it, But 1 saw the hoodooing process and
was on the boat when she sank. Every
colored man on the boat believed in it and
was satisfied that the boat sank because she
had been bewitched Afterward | told of
the occurrence to colored acquaintance in
the Southern States, and many Of them in
return told me stories of still more curious
cases of witchcraft. They all believed in
it and dreaded it. Wherever there are
colored people there is superstition, and
there was a time 10 the West Indies when
"Obeah worship" was a very serious and
dangerous thing. But that was long ago,
when the negroes were enslaved and op-
pressed, and naturally looked for some safe
mode of retaliation. Now that they are
free they no longer have this incentive, and
"Obeah" is a comparatively harmless super
stition. This probably is why 1 never
have come upon any serious case of che
witching;'t they use now only foolish little
charms, where formerly they used danger
Gus poisons 1t was an oppressively hot
morning in October when l visited the
gentleman in Trinidad who was to tell me
about Obeah worship, and was glad when
the roof of his piazza sheltered me from the
burning Trinidad sun.
eQbeah is the dread OF nine negroes out
of every ten in the West Indies, said the
Trinidad gentleman, whom for the sake of
convenience I shall call Mr.. Smith. at is
nuisance to them and to the whites, but
all the efforts of the various Governments
to crush it out have been unavailing. 1t
has as many believers now as ever, notwith-
standing the education of many of the
blacks, and wherever there is any conflict
between the two races it is still dangerous.
l cannot tell you the derivation of the
word. 0beah, (Which, as you must have
noticed, is always pronounced 'oby') is not
an imaginary being or any tangible thing,
but simply the name of the wretched sys-
tenn of juggling and poisoning Certain
men among the negroes set up for 'Obeah
men, and profess to be able to do marvel
Gus things. suppose there are 500 'Obeah
men on this island, to whom the other
colored people go for assistance and ADVICE:
They have to pay for this assistance, so the
conclusion Is inevitable that the Obeah men
90 into it as a matter of business, seeing a
way to make an easy living out the super
stition of their comrades. They are natur-
ally shrewd fellows, who know how to give
some impressiveness and plausibility to
their nonsense. There is something like a
system in the 'Obeah worship, but it has
SO many variations that it is difficult to
trace. 1t is substantially the same in all
the islands, with such differences as each
performer chooses to invent. In every is
land, for instance, three white cocks heads
are used to bring trouble to an enemy.
There is no variation in that. Though
there is great deal of the Ooeah business
in Trinidad this island is by no means one
of the worst. 1t fourishes more in Hayti
than anywhere else In Jamaica it is very
much on the increase. There is no doubt
that it came originally from Africa. Nearly
hevery African negro in the West Indies is
firm believer in it. TheFe Is great deal
of it in Sierra Leone, and there it fourishes
in its worst form, that of poisoning, 1T
home in the West Indies is St. Vincent
There it is carried to greater extent than
anywhere else, and old 0beah men for q
consideration teach the secrets of the trade
to beginners and make them accomplished
poisoners and jugglers. Pupils of these
humbugs have spread through the other
islands and "St. Vincent Obeah man. is
considered an expert. There is very little
poisoning done by them in the We Indies
now, (unless it may be in Hayti,) because
there is no occasion for it. In the slave
times it always had to be guarded against
''Some of the Obeah men are very ex
pert in preparing poisons They have
several kinds, to be used according to cir
cumstances. One of the worst of them is
made from the root of the casseva. They
express the juice and allow it to ferment, ant
quantities of small worms are soon seen il
the liquid, one of which taken into th'
stomach is almost certain TO cause death
One of the worms is concealed under
thumb nail, which is allowed to grow Ions
for the purpose, and the operator in hand
ing his victim cup of coffee or some disl
of food manages to drop the worm into it
In Jamaica almost every negro has growinl
in his garden numbers Of arsenic bean plant
which are neither useful for food nor hand