Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1896-04-03
A PLANTATION SPELL.
No More Plantains Were Stolen After the
Ubeah Man Was Called In.

Obeah Man Was Called In.
The following is an instance of what
MIR. Heske'h j. Bell saw with his own
eyes in the British colony of Grenada,
one of the WindwarG islands.
A planter had in his ground a fine lot
of 1000 plantains, hut could never get
bunch of the fruit for the table. The
"wretched niggers" of the neighbor-
hood always walked off with n as
quickly as it ripened. AS neither wntch'
man nor spr}ng-guns had any effect in
checking the depredations, he deter
mined to have the gardens dressed"
by an Obc;ih man.
Accordingly one day he was by APP
pointment waited on by wizened old
African, attended by small black hoy
carrying large covered basket. Mo-
l1ombo, on being told what was wanted,
promised:
''Me go sci strong Obeah for dem, and
dey never go tief your plantain again"
Instructed TO go to work, Molombo
took up his basket and went down
among the trees, which were planted
in long rows in large field The
plantain is much the same as the bana-
na-the fruit growing in enormous
punches out of IA soft fieshy trunk, the
leaves on which spread out like those
of palm
This is what the Obcah man FRO
ceeded to DO. Out of his basket he took
a number OF large and small medicine
bottles filed with some mysterious
liquid; then taking up a position in
front of plantain he tied one of the
bottles to a branch of the fruit, nut
tering the while IN incarnation in
some African lingo, completing the
spell by frequent genuhections and
waving of the arms. He went through
all the rows in the same fashion. When
he had used up MS stock of bottles, he
took from his basket small bl5ck
wooden coffin. This he placed with a
good deal OF ceremony in the branches
of a cocoa tree, and on the top of the
coffin he put saucer containing lit
tie water with hens egg floating in it
He then walked right round the field
muttcring lis incarnation and waving
his arms, after which he came to the
planter and declared that the Obeah
was complrte-not another bunch OF
plantains would be stolen. Receiving
his ice, he departed, saying: Me let &c
plenty cribo, massa and now if anyone
da go and tlef dem plantains he must
swell up and bust!"
Criboes are large black serpents
very common in the island, but quite
harmless. The planters, indeed
rather protect them, as they wage wal
on the rats. These criboes, however
are supposed to become deadly under
the influence of the Obeah man, an6
the negroes believe that when h,
dresses" a garden or field, he sets ire,
in it a swarm of ferocious criboes, WHIT
will assuredly destroy anyone wht
goes into the place for the purpose o
stealing. They know well enough
that there is no venomous snake in TIL,
island, yet the African dread and ven
Grafton of the serpent is ineradcahle
On the particular occasion referred
to the bottles were examined after Mo
kombo's departure, and found to ION
tain nothing but sea water, colore'
with little laundry blue, with q dea'
cockroach floating or the top. Som
of them had also few rusty nails, o
bit of red flanenl. But there nigh
be any sort of rubbish in the myst
bottles, for no negro would dare t.
touch them Nor would he go near tn
trees on which they were hung, t
steal, unless he was prepared to "swel
mp and bust All the teaching o
Christian ministers and schoolmaster
for 50 years has not been able to de
, stro.' the dark superstitions brough
, over with the cargoes of slaves fror
| the African coast during the previou
, two turies.-Chambers' journal.