Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-12-25
THE HUMAN SACRIFICE
Fart of the Rites of the West IN
dian Cult of 0beah.
WORSHIP OF THE SNAKE GOD.

Readers OF the late Sir Walter Be
SAINTS novel The World Went Very
Well Then" may remember the sinister
old medicine man. Mr. Srinjes. and the
snake stick. by means of which he COM
PEELED every negro he met to do his
bidding III Mr.. Brinjes were alive to
day and living I'm the West Indies he
would be very great obeah mantle
prophet. priest and king OF our coiored
brethren
During five years spent In Jamaica.
Haiti and other West Indian islands I
found that Obeah and vaudoux-both
derivations of the west African fetch
ism brought over generations ago In
the slave ships~-are the real beliefs OF
the great majority OF the blacks, We
neered 10y Christianity or even grated
on TO that faith. In a jamaican village
the dirty. one eyed. diseased obeah man
has usually more power than. the par
son. saw this proved once In very
striking manner. II was on Sunday
morning. and the people were troopIng
out OF chapel with their colored min
lister. The local obeah man was passing
by and Knocked them. The parson
nerVously attempted to rebuke him.
but he threw his snake stick on the
ground and cried dehantly:
You no 90 fe b'lieve Obeah. yahi
Den pick up me stick say him turn
into snake III you touch him"
The stick was left lying on the
ground. Not even the colored minister
dared to touch IL. He had been educat-
ed I'm a theological college, but he had
not quite outgrown the superstitions
that were inculcated In his youth.
The root idea OF Obeahism and Vau-
doux is the worship and Precipitation
OF the snake god Obi. west African
word IMPLYING the spirit OF evil.
Naudoux is the more extreme form Of
/ Obeah practiced in Haiti. Santo Domin-
go and the French West Indies. It's
rites are always accompanied by the
sacrifice of fowls and goats and I'm
only too many cases by the Offering up
T OF the goat without horns"-the hui
man sacrifice. usually n young girl or
boy. Several cases were officially prov-
ed when | was I'm Haiti. How many
more never came 10 light can only be
guessed. The lonely groves and noun
tain caves where the devotees OF Vau-
+ doux enjoy the orgies OF a walpurgis
night seldom give up their secrets.
There are two sects OF Vaudoux. the
white and the red. The former which
only believes in the sacrifice OF white
fowls and goats. is tolerated by the
4 laws OF Haiti and its rites are as com
monty Rracticed as those OF the church
But even the red sect. which openly
stands for human sacrifice. Is seldom
interfered with. The authorities dare
not suppress II, FOR their own police
men and soldiers stand in awe Of the
"papalor' and ''mamaloI'-the priest
and priestess OF the snake god.
More than that. there have been pres
idents OF Haiti in recent years who be
lieve in Vaudoux. Hippolyte was even
f. ''papaloi'' himself He beat the black
goatsdn drum in the streets OF the
capital 10 call the faithful together tc
see him Kill the sen-sel fowl Another
/ president. Geffrard. tried TO do his duty
and stamp out the cult. A terrible re
venge was taken upon him. His young
daughter. Cora. was shot dead as she
knelt i'm prayer before the altar OF q
church in Port au Prince Today there
IS temple Of the red sect la the Hal
tian capital. near by triumphal arch
which is Inscribed with the unctuous
words. Liberty - Education - Prog
/ reSS."
Under British government Obeahism
\ perforce takes forms less dangerous
TO the social order than IL does In
Haiti. but IL Is none the less a con.
slant public peril in Jamaica and the
other British West Indian islands II
Is the bitter foe OF religion, education
and social advancement In olden DAYS
1t worked by means OF wholesale poi.
soning. and in quite recent days there
have been not n few cases OF obeah
men seeking TO do murder in the old
way.
When l lived in Jamaica, an old
villain made an offer TO & black man,
whom he thought had offended. 10
poison me by mixing ground glass with
my food. Unfortunately for him, the
negro gave him away, and he got
twelve months hard labor and sound
hogging. Not long before an entire
family at Montego Bay was poisoned
by the same method. Another favorite
/ trick OF the obeah man. both in Jamai.
ca and Haiti. is TO mix the infinitesi.
mai hairs OF the bamboo In the food OF
persons who refuse TO bow the knee
10 them. This finally sets up malig.
nant dysentery. II the afflicted one
remains contumacious. he dies; II he
makes his peace with the obeah man
and gives him handsome present, the
slow process of poisoning ceases, and
he lives.
In all crises and troubles OF life the
negro flies to the obeah man. II the
has TO appear ut the police court to an.
swer for his sins. he pays the obeah
man to go there also and fix de eve
or the magistrate so that he will be
discharged. Perhaps he has been
turned ont OF his office OF deacon in the
Baptist chapel for immortality by a
white minister. In that case the
obeah man Will arrange for a choice
collection OF the most powerful spells
such as dried lizards, fowls bones and
graveyard earth-to be placed In the
minister's Bible for him to stare upon
when be looks up the text OF his SER
mon. Then, IL the Obeah works prom
erly, the erring deacon will be received
back to office without abandoning his
career as the village Don Juan.
Does chocolate co.Ored Romeo want
love philter TO make dusky Juliet