The Flagstaff sun-democrat. [volume] (Flagstaff, Ariz.) 1896-1897, 1897-03-25
A PLANTATION SPELL.
No More Piantains Stolen After the Obeah
Man Was Called In.

No More Piantains stolen After the Obesh
Man Was Called In.
The following is an instance of whit
Mr.. Hesketh J. Bell saw with his own
eyes in the British colony of Grenada,
one of the Windward islands.
A planter had in his ground n fine lot
Of 1000 plantains, but could never get q
bunch Of the fruit for the table. The
"wretched niggers" Of the neighbor-
hood always walked off with 1t MS quick
ly as 1t ripencd. As neither Waterman
nor spring-guns had any effect in
checking the depredations, he deter
mined to have the gardens dressed" by
an Obeah man.
Accordingly one day he was by APP
pointment waited on by a wizened old
African, attended by small black boy
carrying large, covered basket. Mo-
kombo, on being told what was wanted,
promised:
me go set strong Obeah for dem and
dey nebber go tief your plantain again"
Instructed 10 go to work, Mokombo
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 banana--the
fruit growing in enormous punches out
of soft fleshy trunk, the leaves on
which spread out like those of palm.
This is what the Obeah man proceed
ed to do: Out of his basket he took a
number of large and small medicine
bottles filled with some mysterious
liquid; then taking up position in
front of a plantain, he tied one OF the
bottles on to branch of the fruit, NUT
tering the while an incarnation in some
African lingo, completing the spell by
frequent genufections and waving of
the arms. He went through all the
rows in the same fashion. When
he had used up his stock Of
bottles he took from his basket a
small black wooden coffin. This he
placed with good deal of ceremony in
the branches of n cocoa tree, and on the
top of the coffin he put saucer con-
tanning little water with a hens egg
floating in it. He then walked right
around the field, muttering his incanta-
ton and waving his arms, after which
he came to the planter and declared
that the Obeah was complcte-not an
other bunch of plnntains would he
stolen. Receiving his fee, he departed,
saying: "Me let go plenty cribo, massa,
and now If anyone da go and tief dem
plantains he go swell up and bust!"
Criboes are large black serpents, very
common in the island, but quite harm
less. The planters, indeed, rather pro-
feet them, as they wage war on the rats.
These criboes, however, are supposed to
become deadly under the influence of
the Obeah man, and the negroes be-
lieve that when he dresses" gar
den or field he sets free in ii a swarm
of ferocious criboes, who will assured.
ly destroy anyone who goes into the
place for the purpose of stealing. They
know well enough that there is no
yenomous snake in the island, yet the
African dread and veneration Of the
serpent is ineradicable.
On the particular occasion referred
to the bottles were examined after
Mokombo's departure, and found to
contain nothing but sea water, colored
with little laundry blue, with dead
cockroach floating on top. Some of
them had also few rusty nails, or bit
of red flannel. But there might be any
sort of rubbish in the mystic bottles,
for no negro would dare to touch them.
Nor would he go near the trees on which
they were hung, to steal, unless he was
prepared to 'swell up and bust" All
the teaching Of Christian ministers and
schoolmasters for so years has not been
able to destroy the dark supcrstitions
brought over with the cargoes of slaves
from the African coast during the pre-
vious two Observation-Disclosures jour
nal.