Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-12-27
THE HUMAN SACRIFICE
Part of the Rites of the West In
dian Cult of 0beah.
WORSHIP OF THE SNAKE GOD.


That Is the Root idea of the Peculiar |
Religion of the Negro Natives.
Dread of the obeahman and the SUI
perstition of the Snake Stick. rs
Readers of, the late Sir Walter Be
sart's novel ''The World Went Very
We'll Then may remember the sinister
old medicine man, Mr.. Brinjes, and the
snake stick, by means of which he COM
PEELED every negro he met to do his
bidding. IF Mr.. Brinjes were alive to-
day and living in the West Indies he
would be very great obeah mantle
prophet, priest and king OF our colored
brethren. %s.G n4v. r."
During five years spent in Jamaica,
Haiti and other West Indian islands /
found that Obeah and Vaudoux-bo
derivations of the west African fetch
ism brought over generation ago III
the slave ships are the real beliefs of
the great majority of the blacks, We
neered by Christianity or even grated
ON to that faith. In 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. 1t 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 defantly:
You no go fe b'lieye obeah, yah!
Den pick up me stick. I say him turn
into snake IL you touch him" s.s 4
The stick was left lying on the
ground Not even the colored minister
dared to touch it. He had been educat-
ed In q 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 typifying the spirit of evil.
Vaudoux Is the more extreme form of
0beah practiced In Haiti, Santo Domin-
go and the French West Indies. Its
rites are always accompanied by the
sacrifice Of fowls and goats and In
only too many cases by the offering up.
OF the goat without horns" the hui
man sacrifice, usually a young girl or
boy. Several cases were officially prov
ed when I was In Haiti. How many
mere never came to light can only be
guessed. The lonely groves and noun
tain caves where the devotess Of Van
doux enjoy the orgies of q Walpurgfs
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
j laws of Haiti, and its rites are as com
monty praeticed 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 1t, for their own police
men and soldiers stand In awe of the
{ 'tpapaloi', and amamalof priest
and priestess Of the snake god.
More than that, there have been pres
idents Of Haiti In recent years who be-
iieve In Vaudoux, Hippolyte was even
q spapaloi' himself. He beat the black
goatskfn drum in the streets of the
capital to call the faithful together to
see him kill the sen-sel fowl. Another
president, Gefrard, tried to do his duty
ard stamp out the cult A terrible re-
4 Venge was taken upon him. His young
daughter, Cora, was shot dead as she
Knelt In prayer before the altar Of a
Z church in Port au Prince. Today there
IS Il temple Of the red sect in the Hal.
fian capital near by a triumphal arch
! which is inscribed with the unctuous
words, II Liberty - Education = Prog
ress.'' VI:
Under British government Obeahisn
I perforce takes forms less dangerous
to the social order than it does IL
Haiti, but it is none the less 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 a few cases of obeaI
men seeking to do murder in the ole
y way. sa # ia. US
When / lived In Jamaica, an Oh
villain made an offer to black man
& IS whom he thought had offended, t,
poison me by mixing ground glass witt
my food Unfortunately for him, TIL
negro gave him away, and he go
s twelve months hard labor and sount
logging Not long before an enttr
q family at dontego Bay was poisone,
by the same method Another fayerit
trick OF the obeah man, both in jana.
a ca and Haiti Is to mix the infnites
y nal hairs Of the bamboo in the food Q
persons who refuse to bow the kne
to them This finally sets up malis
naDt dysentefy. re the afflicted on
rernains contumacious, he dies; If b
makes his peace with the obeah ma
sS and gives him a handsome present, th