The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-03-07
4 PLANTATION Spell,


h'aihs Were Stole,
IT., s oneah Man Was Called sA :, After d.
The following is an install a H.
Mr.. Hesketh j. Bell saw ' IAN. fwha,
eyes IN the British colony 90" Of c MS ovl
one OF the Windward islands Ts 'renada,
a !, planter pla had In his grou ,uS' :.
Oh 200 200 plantains, but could Id nsr nn' lot
a bunch OF the fruit for the tah never got
"wretched niggers' of th. 'aOle' The
n nooa always walked off with tb'sn !,
quickly as it ripened. As nei H,sn ~, n as
man nor spring-guns had aur rs witch,
checking the depredations sly be en 'e1
mined to to have the gardens " ss "e's !,
by All Obc1h man. uresaed'
Accordingly one day he wa. l..
polntment waited on by wizen y p 4.
African attended by small hla",' Old
carrying large covered bas b,a'A 10y
kombo, on being told what was u. MO
promised: was wanted,
Me go set strong obeah for dem
uey never go tief your plantain on' au
Instructed TO go to work. MotS a.a.
took up his basket and won tAvil0o
among the trees. which were p,a as"a
IN long rows in large field l N.Y.
plantain il much the same nc ~" iae
na-the fruit growing in eno, Oara'
punches out OF a soft heshy trunk, t ~
leaves on which spread out like th ,n'
of a palm. '' muse
ms is what the Obeah man ~
ceeded to do: Out of his basket no t t.v
a number OF large and small mad d vA
nott'es filled with some mysterious
liquid; then taking up position =
front of a plantain he tied one n w.
bottles to a branch of the fruit nnt nv
tering the while an incarnation Y
some African lingo, completing tha
spell by frequent genuAectjons and
waving of the arms. He went tbrouah
all the rows in the same fashion, wnsu
ne had used up mis- stock of bottles h.
took from his basket a small b..l
wooden coffin. This he placed with
good deal Of ceremony in the branches
oil a cocoa tree. and on the top Of the
coffin. he put saucer containing N.
tie water with a hens egg floating iuit
He then walked right round the field
muttcring his 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 lee, he departed, saying: Me let 20
plenty cribo, massa. and now if anycne
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 war
on the rats. These criboes, howeser.
are supposed to become deadly under
the influence of the Obeah man, and
the negroes believe that when be
dresses" garden or field, he sets Tree
in it swarm of ferocious criboes, who
will assuredly destroy anyone who
goes into tine place for the purpose Of
stealing. They know well enough
that there is no venomous snake in The
island, yet the African dread and ven.
Grafton of the serpent is ineradicahle.
On the particular occasion referred
to the bottles were examined after Mo-
departure, and found to ION
tain nothing but sea water, colored
with a little laundry blue, with dead
cockroach floating OF the top. Some
of them had also a few rusty nails, Or
a bit of red fanenl. But there might
be any sort of rubbish in the mystic
bottles, for no negro would dare 70
touch them Nor would he go near me
trees on which they were hung 70
steai, unless he was prepared to "swei
up and bust" All the teaching o.
Christian ministers and schoolmasters
for so years has not been able to &c,
stroly the dark superstitions brouSn'
over WITH the cargoes OF slaves llon
the African coast during the previous
two centuries.-Chambers Journal