VOODOOS AND OBEAHS DIAL PRESS INC. NEW YORK MCMXXXIII LINCOLN MAC VEAGH. Phases of West India Witchcraft. JOSEPH J. WILLIAMS, Ph.D. (Ethnol.), Utt.D.

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1 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Phses of West Indi Witchcrft BY JOSEPH J. WILLIAMS, Ph.D. (Ethnol.), Utt.D. S.J. Fellow of the Royl Societyof Arts; Fellow of the Royl Geogrphicl nd the Americn Geogrphicl Societies; Honorry Member of the Sociftf Acdemique Interntionle (Pr); Member of the Interntionl Institute of Africn Lnguges nd Cultures (London); Member of the Ctholic Anthropologicl Conference; Member of the Americn Folk-lore Society; etc. Author of "Hebrewm of West Afric, " "Whinct the 'Blck Irh' of Jmic," "Whperings of the Cribben," etc. THIRD PRINTING LINCOLN MAC VEAGH DIAL PRESS INC. NEW YORK MCMXXXIII 'ft)

2 0ri Ci/ COPYRIGHT, 1932, BY JOSEPH J. WILLIAMS - First printing December, 1932 / f Second printing Jnury, 1933 Third printing My, 1933 MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OT AMERICA BY THE VAIL-BALLOU PRESS, INC., BINGHAIiTON, N. Y.

3 INTRODUCTION The new york times of August 14, 1925, printed the follow ing news item : "SEIZE PRICE LISTS OF VOODOO DOC TOR POLICE GET CIRCULARS OFFERING 'WISHING DUST* AND lucky chrms to negroes t $1 to $i,000. Specil to the New York Times. Atlntic city, Aug. circulrs sid to hve been 13. Twelve thousnd sent to th city by New York voodoo doctor were seized by the police here tody s they were being d tributed to negro homes on the north side by six negro boys. "The circulrs bore the ddress of D. Alexnder of 99 Down ing Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. "All sorts of love powders, whing dust, lucky chrms nd in cnttions re offered for sle in the circulr, with prices rnging from $1 to $1,000. " 'Guffer Dust, New Moon, No. 1, good, $50; Hppy Dust, $40; Blck Cts' Ankle Dust, $500; Blck Ct's Whbone, $1,000; King Solomon's Mrrow, $1,000; Esy Life Powder, $100; Tying Down Goods, $50; Chsing Awy Goods, $50; Boss Fix Powders, $15, nd Buzzrd Nest, $100,' were some of the goods offered." "Inquiry developed tht 'Bringing Bck Powders' were de signed to return n errnt wife or husbnd to grieving spouse, 'Tying Down Goods' were sid to keep the subject of one's effections from deprting, while 'Chsing Awy Goods' hd the op posite effect. 'Boss Fix Powders' keep one's employer in friendly mind." Four dys fter the ppernce of the foregoing in The Times, we find th desptch from Cub on the first pge of The boston post : "SAVE CHILD FROM TORTURE rescued during voodoo deth rites Hvn, Aug Pul Cejes, threeyer-old white girl, ws sved from horrible deth t the hnds

4 vi INTRODUCTION of Voodoo worshippers t Agucte, Hvn Province, tody, due to the rpidity of serch fter she hd dppered. "Pul, who lives with her prents on the Averhoff sugr plnttion, ws enticed wy by Voodoo worshippers who bound nd ggged her in cne field nd were in the ct of performing their rites when posse of serchers cme upon them. "Rurl gurds lter cptured white mn nd colored mn who hd in their possession rticles used by voodoots in scrific ing life." It my hve been items such s these tht inspired Willim Buchler Sebrook to go to Hiti with the set purpose of lerning first hnd whtever he could of Voodoo nd kindred prctices. At ll events, fter some sty in the lnd, he publhed in 1929 The Mgic Islnd which t once becme the centre of heted con troversy. To some it ws weird conglomertion of fct nd fncy worthy of little serious considertion nd of even less credibility.1 On the other hnd, the usully conservtive literry digest 2 pprently ccepted it in its entirety s htoric fct, nd without question or cvil devoted five entire pges lmost entirely to ex cerpts from its more strtling pssges nd the reproduction of 1 Note : Mgic Islnd ws unquestionbly received with fulsome pre by re viewers generlly. Thus the bookmn, Februry 1929, p. 68: "It hs been long time since volume hs held my ttention so completely s W. B. Sebrook's Mgic Islnd. It not twice told tle but vivid record of things seen." The new york herld-tribune, Jnury 8, 1939 : "Here in its own field the book of the yer." The new york evening post, Jnury 12, 1029, clls it " senstionl vivid nd immensely importnt book." To the outlook, Jnury 9, 1929 : "It prize mong trvel books." While the Sturdy review, Februry 23, 1029, de clres: "Mr. Sebrook hs done justice to th remrkble subject not only in investigting the system, but in presenting the results of h work." The more thoughtful reviews, however, refuse to be entirely crried wy by the generl cclim, nd modify their pre with lmost hesitnt reserve. Thus the yle review, Autumn, 1029, p. 185, mkes the restriction : "He spoils much of h mteril by h exggerted style nd h dubious psychology." The mericn journl of sociology, September, 1929, p. 316, insts: "He hs writ ten s n rtt, not s n ethnologt." And the ntion, Februry 13, 1929, p. 198, urges : "It time for tempered intelligent presenttion on the mnner in which they live, one tht stying close to fcts, probing under the surfce, nd eschewing rumors, will mke quite s fscinting tle." We my be prdoned, then, if we seem to dely too long on Mr. Sebrook nd h senstionl book, but we must rk the criticm in the interest of fir ply s regrds Hiti nd the populr estimte of Voodoo. 2 Februry 23, 1929, p. 35 ff.

5 INTRODUCTION vii severl photogrphs. One single reference to "the element of the occult which Mr Sebrook seems to believe" the nerest p proch to gurded cution bout the ctulity of the most im probble detils, few of which my be mentioned in pssing. Thus, for exmple, t the "blood bptm," truly voodootic rite, when the uthor ws to receive the "oung pcket" pre pred for him by Mmn Celie, fter the preliminry scrifice of two red cocks nd two blck, n enormous white turkey nd pir of doves," in due course the scrificil got ws led forth. "He ws sturdy brown young got, with big, blue, terrified, l most humn eyes, eyes which seemed not only terrified but wre nd wondering. At first he bleted nd struggled, for the odor of blood ws in the ir, but finlly he stood quiet, though still wideeyed, while red silken ribbons were twined in h little horns, h little hoofs nointed with wine nd sweet-scented oils, nd n old womn who hd come from fr over the mountin for th her brief prt in the long ceremony st down before him nd crooned to him lone song which might hve been bby's lullby." 8 After further ritul with the got, Ctherine, the sixteenyer-old dughter of Mmn Celie ws led in by her brother Emnuel who "hd to clutch her tightly by the rm to prevent her from stumbling when they brought her to the ltr. Mmn Celie hugged her nd moned nd shed ters s if they were sying good-bye forever. The pploi pulled them prt, nd some one gve the girl drink from bottle. She begn to protest in dull sort of ngry, whining wy when they forced her down on her knees before the lighted cndles. The pploi wound round her forehed red ribbons like those which hd been fstened round the horns of the got, nd Mmn Celie, no longer s mourning mother but s n officiting priestess, with rigid fce ided in pouring the oil nd wine on the girl's hed, feet, hnds nd brest. All th time the girl hd been like fretful, sleepy, nnoyed child, but grdully she becme docile, somber, string with quiet eyes, nd presently begn weird song of lmenttion." 4 The song 8 Sebrook, Mgic Islnd, New York, 1929, p Sebrook, I.e., p. 62.

6 viii INTRODUCTION itself summed up in the lst verse : "So I who m not sick must die!" 5 The uthor then continues : "And s tht blck girl sng, nd s the inner mening of her song cme to me, I seemed to her the voice of Jephth's dughter doomed to die by her own fther s scrifice to Jveh, going up to bewil her virginity on Isrel's lonely mountin. Her plight in ctulity ws rther tht of Isc bound by Abrhm on Mount Morih; horned best would presently be substituted in her sted; but the moment for tht mysticl substitution hd not yet come, nd s she sng she ws dughter doomed to die." "The ceremony of substitution, when it cme, ws pure effec tive mgic of potency which I hve never seen equled in Dervh monstery or nywhere. The got nd the girl, side by side before the ltr, hd been strtled, restive, nervous. The smell of blood ws in the ir, but there ws more thn tht hover ing; it ws the eternl, mysterious odor of deth itself which both nimls nd humn beings lwys sense, but not through, the nostrils. Yet now the two who were bout to die mysteriously merged, the girl symboliclly nd the best with knife in its throt, were docile nd entrnced, were like utomtons. The pploi monotonously chnting, endlessly repeting, 'Dmbll clls you,' stood fcing the ltr with h rms outstretched bove their heds. The girl ws now on her hnds nd knees in the t titude of qudruped, directly fcing the got, so tht their heds nd eyes were in level, less thn ten inches prt, nd thus they stred fixedly into ech other's eyes, while the pploi's hnds weved slowly, ceselessly bove their foreheds, the forehed of the girl nd the forehed of the horned best, ech wound with red ribbons, ech lredy mrked with the blood of white dove. By shifting slightly I could see the big, wide, ple-blue, string eyes of the got, nd the big, blck, string eyes of the girl, nd I could hve lmost sworn tht the blck eyes were grdully, mysteriously becoming those of dumb best, while humn soul ws beginning to peer out through the blue. But dms tht, nd still I tell you tht pure mgic ws here t work, tht something "Ditto, p. 63.

7 . INTRODUCTION ix very rel nd ferful ws occurring. For s the priest wove h ceseless incnttions, the girl begn low, piteous bleeting, in which there ws nothing, bsolutely nothing, humn ; nd soon thing infinitely more unnturl occurred; the got ws moning nd crying like humn child....8 "While the pploi still wove h spells, h hnds moving ceselessly like n old womn crding wool in drem, the priest ess held twig of green with tender leves between the young girl nd the niml. She held it on level with their mouths, nd neither sw for they were string fixedly into ech other's eyes it, s entrnced mediums stre into crystl globes, nd with their necks thrust forwrd so tht their foreheds lmost touched. Neither could therefore see the lefy brnch, but s the old mmloi's hnd trembled, the leves flicked lightly s if stirred by little breeze ginst the hiry muzzle of the got, ginst the chin nd soft lips of the girl. And fter moments of brethless wtching, it ws the girl's lips which pursed up nd begn to nibble the leves.. "As she nibbled thus, the pploi sid in.7 hushed mtter-of-fct whper like mn who hd finhed emn tsk nd ws gld to rest, 'Q. "The pploi ws now holding y shining. Mmn Celie, priestess, kneeling, held wooden thrust it bowl. It but wholly hrd, sol est' (There ). mchette, ground shrp nd it gmelle, ws oblong. There ws just spce enough to nrrowly between the mysticlly identified pir. Its rim touched the got's hiry chest nd the girl's body, both their heds thrust forwrd bove it. Neither seemed conscious of nything tht ws occurring, nor did the got flinch when the pploi lid h hnds upon its horns. Nor did the got utter ny sound s the knife ws drwn quickly cross the throt. But t th instnt s the blood gushed like fountin into the wooden bowl, the girl with shrill, piercing, then strngled blet of gony, leped, shuddered, nd fell senseless before the ltr." But let us pss to n even more grewsome nrrtive. Accord Ditto, p. 63 Ditto, p Ditto, p. 66. f.

8 X INTRODUCTION ing to Sebrook, Celestine, the dughter of Antoine Simone,9 "l though under thirty, ws reputed to be secretly the grnde 10 mmloi of ll Hiti, its supreme high priestess." The uthor dds: "And not only Celestine herself but her fther, Antoine- Simone, president of the Republic, ws reputed to be ctive in blck sorcery. It ws commonly sid tht mgicl rites nd prc tices occurred even within the confines of the plce wlls nd probbly they did." 11 In explntion, then, of h chpter "Celestine with Silver Dh," Sebrook writes : "The story of the silver dh bsed on the evidence of two credible eye-witnesses, one Frenchmn who my still be seen nd tlked with t the Cpe, the other Hitin now ded. I tlked with numbers of people bout it nd found none who questioned its pproximte truth. It current mong the Hitins themselves; so they will forgive me for including it."..,12 "One moonlight night in the Spring of 1909 it ws during Ester week the Frenchmn who now lives t the Cpe ws sit ting in one of the vine-covered summer-houses with h Hitin friend,... Towrds one o'clock in the morning they herd trmping of feet from the direction of the plce, nd presently sw blck sergent with two squds of soldiers mrching towrd the stble yrd, long pthwy of the deserted grdens. They pssed close to the summer house. Behind them, t little d tnce, cme Celestine. She ws brefooted, in scrlet robe, nd crried in her hnds silver dh. "In smll, open, moonlit glde, close to the summer house, the sergent hlted h eight men, nd lined them up t ttention, s if on prde ground. Except for h low voiced commnds, not word ws spoken. Celestine in her red robe which fell loose 9 Note : The uthor spells it with finl e, Simone. While in Jmic, the fmily themselves lwys spelt it simply Simon. 10 Sebrook, 1. c, p Note : As one who knew the Simons in Jmic, I cn ctegoriclly deny both th ssertion s well s the plusibility of the pseudo-voodootic murder which shortly to be described. 12 Sebrook, L c, p. 121.

9 INTRODUCTION like nightgown to her bre feet, lid the gret silver pltter on the grss. "The sergent hnded Celestine forked bent twig, sort of crude divining-rod, nd stepped bck little dtnce. Celestine, holding the wnd loosely before her, fcing the eight soldiers stnding t ttention, begn gliding, side-stepping dnce, sing ing her incnttions of mixed Africn nd Creole in low voice lternting from deep gutterl contrlto to high flsetto, but never red loudly, pointing the wnd t ech in turn s she glided to nd fro before them. "The men stood rigid, silent s if prlysed, but following her every movement with their rolling eyeblls s she glided slowly from end to end of the line. "For long ten minutes tht seemed interminble, Celestine glided to nd fro, chnting her incnttion, then suddenly stopped like hunting-dog t point before one mn who stood ner the center of the row. The wnd shot out stiff t the end of her out stretched rm nd tpped him on the brest. " 'Ou l soule, vnt!' ordered the sergent. (You there, lone, step forwrd.) "The mn mrched severl pces forwrd from the rnks, nd hlting t commnd, stood still. The sergent, who seemed un rmed, drew the mn's own knife-byonet from its scbbrd, grsped the unresting victim by the slck of h cot collr, nd drove the point into h throt. "While th ws tking plce, the other seven men stood silent obediently t ttention. The victim uttered not single cry, ex cept gurgling grunt s the point went through h jugulr, nd slumped to the grss, where he twitched moment nd ly still. "The sergent knelt quickly over him, s if in hurry to get the job finhed, ripped open the tunic, cut deep into the left side of the body just below the ribs, then put the knife side, nd tore out the hert with h hnds. "Blck Celestine in her red robe, holding the gleming pltter before her, returned lone beneth the plm trees to the plce,

10 xii INTRODUCTION brefooted queen of the jungle, bering humn hert in silver dh." 13 The generl rection on the uthor of such scenes, whether given s personl experiences or otherwe, utterly pplling. Thus he tells us in connection with the ceremony described few pges bck: "Not for nything, no mtter wht would hp pen, could I hve seriously whed to stop tht ceremony. I be lieve in such ceremonies. I hope tht they will never die out or be bolhed. I believe tht in some form or nother they nswer deep need of the universl humn soul. I, who in sense believe in no religion, believe yet in them ll, sking only tht they be live s religions. Codes of rtionl ethics nd humn brotherly love re useful, but they do not touch th thing underneth. Let religion hve its bloody scrifices, yes even humn scrifice if thus our souls my be kept live. Better blck pploi in Hiti with blood-stined hnds who believes in h living gods thn frock-coted minter on Fifth Avenue reducing Chrt to solr myth nd rtionling the Immculte Conception." 14 Of n erlier function t which he ws present, he wrote : "And now the literry-trditionl white strnger who spied from hiding in the forest, hd such one lurked ner by, would hve seen ll the wildest tles of Voodoo fiction justified: in the red light of torches which mde the moon turn ple, leping, screming, writhing blck bodies, blood-mddened, sex-mddened, godmddened, drunken, whirled nd dnced their drk sturnli, heds thrown wierdly bck s if their necks were broken, white teeth nd eyeblls gleming, while couples seizing one nother from time to time fled from the circle, s if pursued by furies into the forest to shre nd slke their ecstcy. "Thus lso my unspying eyes beheld th scene in ctulity, but I did not experience the revulsion which literry trdition pre scribes. It ws svge nd bndoned, but it seemed to me mg nificent nd not devoid of certin beuty. Something inside myself woke nd responded to it. These, of course, were in- 18 Ditto, p. 122 f. " Ditto, p. 6i f.

11 INTRODUCTION xiii dividul emotionl rections, perhps deplorble in supposedly civilized person. But I believe tht the thing itself their thing, I men rtionlly defensible. Of wht use ny life without 15 its emotionl moments or hours of ecstsy?" We must not be surpred, then, tht fter wtching the con struction of the "oung pcket" tht ws to preserve him "sfe from ll hrm mid these mountins" 18, when bid to mke pryer, th should be the uthor's response: "My Pp Legb, Mitresse Exilee nd the Serpent protect me from mrepresent ing these people, nd give me power to write honestly of their mysterious religion, for ll living fiths re scred." 17 And how ws th unholy pct crried out? Cndidly, the glr ing mtkes in ritul tht the uthor mkes in connection with h description of Ctholic funerl service,18 which open to the whole world to witness, does not inspire confidence in h ex position of the esoteric functions tht re jelously reserved for the initited lone. As mtter of fct, Mr. Sebrook hs divided h volume, per hps of set purpose, into two dtinct prts. First we hve 282 pges devoted to the generl story with weird fntstic drwings, more suggestive thn illuminting, wherein the detils re t vrince with the text. Then follows, 52 pges under the generl cption, "From the Author's Notebook" together with 27 photo grphs by the uthor. Th second prt mde up of quottions from stndrd uthors nd other references, with very few per sonl experiences nd those of the most ordinry type. While ccepting, then, the ltter portion of the book t its fce vlue, it would seem sfer to clssify the erlier section s tht senstionl type of nrrtive tht hs become ssocited with the nme of Trder Horn. Th impression strengthened by the fct tht mny pssges in the story, especilly those plced in the mouths of Lou nd other informnts, red lmost s pr- 15 Ditto, p. 42. " 1. c, p L c, p c, p. 118 f. Note : For exmple, not only the Dies Ire bdly mplced, but there cn be no Credo in funerl Mss.

12 xiv INTRODUCTION phrses from some of the uthors who re mentioned lter s references, nd it seems s more thn coincidence tht the quot tion from Lbt ppering on pge 292 probbly copied with out cknowledgment from Eugene Aubin,19 s the sme two vritions from the originl 20 pper in both plces. The opening word hs been chnged from "ces" to "les" nd "Us" hs been omitted before "conservent." It not t ll surpring, then, tht Dr. Price-Mrs of Petionville, Hiti, whom Sebrook ctully mentions in the course of h nrrtive 21 should publh n indignnt reply to wht he must needs consider gross libel ginst h ntive lnd. Of Mgic Islnd s whole, Dr. Price-Mrs sys: "Th nothing more thn chronicle, rther long chronicle, if you will, but throbbing, pssionte, senstionl. It contins whtever Mr. Sebrook hs seen, or thinks tht he hs seen, in Hiti, dur ing few months sty. I m forced to remrk tht th book throughout very musing nd very cruel musing, on ccount of the mteril replete with svge humor, nd bominble, becuse the Americn reder, nd even the Hitin who not in position to check up the fcts dvnced, drwn to sk himself : 'Is wht he reltes true? In ny cse, these grewsome fcts, such s re re corded, seem likely if they re not true.' Dr. Price-Mrs further sttes: "From the very beginning, Mr. Sebrook,... hs grsped the two essentil elements of " 22 Voodoo, religion nd superstition ; religion, whose rites re pre served by orl trdition lone, nd superstition which its gro tesque cricture. Not only th dtinction unknown to nine-tenths of the Hitins, but most ssuredly, s the writer ex presses Voodoo cuse of stonhment, ny of scndl, for most of us. And on ccount of th ddin, of th fer of fct, however importnt, in the life of our plebin nd rurl msses, tht our pitiful ignornce records the sinter nrrtives it, it 19 En Hiti, Pr, 1910, p P. Lbt, Nouveu Voyge ux Isles de L'Amlrique, L Hye Vol. II, p Sebrook, c, p Dr. Price- Mrs, Une-Stpe de I'Evolulion Hitienne, Port-u-Prince, 1929, P

13 INTRODUCTION xv of which we mke ourselves the complcent echo. And it no less in th wy, tht, s ripple of culture, our mystic mentlity d plys itself. When, then, foreign writers rrive mong us, I men bove ll journlts who s rule re in quest of senstionl copy, they hve only to imbibe t th fount of bsurd beliefs the most mrvellous dcourses nd put them on the lips of uthentic individuls, to color them with n ppernce of truth. Their m conception or even evil intention nothing in compron with the Hitin ignornce. How pitiful I" 28 Dr. Price-Mrs stmps the "Got-Cry Girl-Cry" epode s "A ceremony in which he pretends to hve tken prt. But to my wy of thinking, th ceremony cretion of h fertile imgin tion." 24 And gin, he positively sserts : "As regrds the cere mony of initition, it in every wy flse." 25 Furthermore, fter recounting the description of the "Petro Scrifice" which Sebrook 28 clims to hve ttended, Dr. Price- Mrs continues : "And ws he, then, the specttor tht he clims to be? I don't think so. It probble tht he did sst t Voodoo ceremonies. I personlly sought to secure the opportunity for him, becuse, in the interviews tht we hd, I ws mde wre tht he ws fmilir with the comprtive htory of religions, nd the occsion seemed to me opportune to cll ttention to certin rites which indicte the ntiquity of Voodoo, the solid foundtion of my theory, to wit, tht Voodoo religion. I ws dppointed in my purpose, becuse I encountered perstent dtrust on the prt of the pesnts to whom I ddressed myself, despite my long estblhed nd friendly reltions with them. Tht Mr. Sebrook my hve succeeded in winning the confidence of Mmn Celie. I m willing to concede to him, on the condition, however, tht he does not drmtize the sitution by depicting to us the pesnt community whose guest he hs been s nook lost in the highest nd most inccessible mountins, olted from ll communiction with urbn centres. These conditions render h ccount bsolutely 23 Dr. Price-Mrs, L c, p » Ditto, p Ditto, p. 172.!e Sebrook, 1. c, p. 28 ft.

14 xvi INTRODUCTION improbble, becuse there not single pesnt in true rurl centre who would consent to orgnize rel Voodoo ceremonies for the sole plesure of strnger. On the other hnd, the cere mony which he hs described only hlf true. At the very outset, he hs committed ritul bsurdity in mking the bull the princi pl scrificil mtter of the Petro. They scrifice the bull s the fowl nd the got in nerly ll the Voodoo ceremonies, but the victim proper to the Pedro the pig. The bsence of th niml in ritul dply of Pedro equivlent to blunder so stupid tht it would flsify its mening. Moreover, the scrifice of the bull considered s god, or symbol of god, totlly unknown in Voodoo. It seems to me n invention or t lest very fntstic interprettion nd which the footnote of Sebrook sufficiently explins." Th reference to "the Bcche" of Euripides.27 Here we my leve Mr. Sebrook for the present.28 Just s fethm ws for long time ccepted s generic term covering ll tht ws nefrious in the customs of the West Afri cn tribes, so in the populr mind tody, Voodoo nd Obeh re interchngeble nd signify like whtever weird nd eerie in 37 Dr. Price-Mrs, 1. c, p. 161 f. 28 Note : It must not be supposed tht wht hs been written intended in ny wy to impech the vercity of Mr. Sebrook. Personlly I m convinced of h sincerity nd strightforwrdness nd tht in h relly fscinting ccount he no prty to n imposition. Of course I cn never gree with h extrordinry profession of fith, nd I doubt if he relly tkes himself seriously in tht regrd. He ws probbly crried wy by the spirit of h nrrtive. As regrds the story itself, I honestly believe tht he hs tried to stick to fcts s he hs seen them or in mny cses s they hve been told to him, with perhps just little of the personl element dded for effect. But wht I do fer tht he hs been too credulous in ccepting ll tht hs been told to him. The West Indin Negro, especilly if pid by results, mine of "informtion." The workings of h imgintion re extrordinry. A couple of yers go I ws striving to collect ll the vrious nnsy stories, in connection with folk-lore study of Jmic. The techer of government "bush" school, seriously offered to invent for me ll the stories, tht I wnted if I gve him sufficient time nd pid for the results. Fortuntely for the vlue of my collection I ws restricting the contributors to children of school ge. I hve no doubt tht Mr. Sebrook must hve encountered the sme generous spirit, especilly if he ws pying by results. Even the got scene my hve been clever piece of cting. The htrionic pow ers of the West Indin re no wit inferior to h bility s rconteur. But in ny cse, no mtter how we re to explin wy the objective inc curcies of Mgic Islnd, even if we must invoke hllucintion or tht subtle form of hypnotic influence, such s t times scribed to Voodoo worship, let there be no suspicion tht there ny intention of questioning Mr. Sebrook's honesty of purpose.

15 INTRODUCTION xvii the prctices of the descendnts of these sme tribes s they re found throughout the West Indies nd the southern portion of the United Sttes. And yet techniclly, not only re Voodoo nd Obeh specificlly dtinct, one from the other, both in origin nd in prctice, but if we re to understnd the true force nd influence which they orig inlly exerced over their devotees, we must dsocite them from the countless other forms of mgic, blck or white, tht hve grdully impinged themselves upon them s so mny excres cences. Logiclly, then, we must begin our study, not in the West Indies but in Afric itself, going bck s fr s possible to the origins of the present dy prctices, nd wtching their develop ment, both before nd fter their trnsplnting, through the medium of slvery, to new nd fertile soil where they hve be come rnk, though exotic, growth. The present writer first vited Jmic in December, 1906, nd he becme t once intensely interested in the question of Obeh, nd in less degree in Voodoo. Since then he hs mde three other vits to the lnd nd hs spent there in ll bout six yers. He hs penetrted to the lest ccessible corners of mountin nd "bush" nd hs lived for some time in those remote dtricts where superstitious prctices re prevlent. He hs stedily sought to extend h knowledge of the Blck Mn's witchcrft, both by converstion with the ntives of every clss nd by seeking out its prctitioners. He hs conversed with professionl Obeh men, whom, however, he hs invribly found evsive nd non committl. But despite th ltter fct he hs by chnce, rther thn by ny prerrngement, hd occsion t times to wtch sur reptitiously the workings of their grewsome rt. Menwhile, for qurter of century he hs culled the works of others nd sought not only to fmilirize himself with the smller detils of Voodoo nd Obeh, but no less to dcriminte judiciously between fct nd fiction to the best of h bility. The result of h reserches nd observtions re now set forth in the following pges.

16

17 CONTENTS Introduction I'AGI v CHAPTER I Africn Ophioltry i II Serpent Cult t Whydh 22 III Voodoo in Hiti 56 IV Origin of Obeh 108 V Development of Obeh in Jmic 142 VI Conclusions 209 Bibliogrphy 237 Index A Plces, Peoples, etc 249 Index B Topics 252 Index C Individuls nd References 254 XIX

18

19 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS

20

21 Chpter I AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY Edwrd B. Tylor writing s long go s 1871 observed : "Serpent worship unfortuntely fell yers go into the hnds of specultive writers, who mixed it up with occult philosophies, Druidicl mys teries, nd tht portentous nonsense clled the 'Arkite Symbolm,' till now sober students her the very nme of ophioltry with shiver.1 Yet it in itself rtionl nd instructive subject of inquiry, especilly notble for its width of rnge in mythology nd religion." 2 Dr. C. F. Oldhm, Brigde Surgeon of h Mjesty's Indin Army, tells us in the Prefce of h interesting little volume, The 1 Note: Cfr. C. Stnilnd Wke, Serpent-Worship nd other Essys, London, 1888, p. 105 f. : "The fcts brought together in the preceding pges fr from ex hust the subject, but they pper to justify the following conclusions: "First. The serpent hs been viewed with we or venertion from primevl times, nd lmost universlly s re-embodiment of decesed humn being, nd s such there were scribed to it the ttributes of life nd wdom, nd the power of heling. "Secondly the ide of simple spirit re-incrntion of decesed ncestor gve re to the notion tht mnkind originlly sprng from serpent, nd ulti mtely to legend embodying tht ide. "Thirdly, Th legend ws connected with nture or rther Sun-worship nd the Sun, ws, therefore, looked upon s the divine serpent fther of mn nd nture. "Fourthly, Serpent worship, s developed religious system, originted in Centrl Asi, the home of the gret Scythic stock, from whom ll civilized rces of the htoricl period sprng. "Fifthly, These peoples re the Admites, nd their mythicl ncestor ws t one time regrded s the Gret Serpent, h descendnts being in specil sense serpent-worshippers." Th of course, would presuppose tht Adm ws the founder of only fmily nd not of the humn rce tht long ntedted Adm. Wundt, on the other hnd, with equl ssurnce, suggests s reson for the fct tht spirits re so often depicted s ssuming the shpe of snkes, since the serpentine form nturlly suggests itself to the primitive mind through the sso cition of ides with the mggots tht commonly infest ded bodies during the process of decy. Cfr. C. Meinhof, Die Dichtung der Afrikner, Berlin, 191 1, p. 18. Th perhps bout s resonble s the clims of those who connect the snke with phllic worship. 2 Edwrd B. Tylor, Primitive Culture, Boston, 1874, p »

22 2 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Sun nd the Serpent: 8 "Th work, which bsed upon ppers red before the Royl Asitic Society in 1901, ws t first in tended to refer only to Indin serpent worship. It ws soon found, however, tht the serpent worship of Indi did not originte in tht country but ws, in fct, brnch of the worship of the Sun nd the Serpent, which ws once well-nigh universl. It becme evident, therefore, tht htory of the Indin cult would go fr to explin the nture nd origin of serpent worship, in other countries nd in other times." While we cnnot ccept mny of the views expressed in the course of th work, h finl con clusion most importnt, coming s it does from such source. He sys: "It would seem, moreover, tht the deifiction of totems, of kings, of ncestors, nd of the hevenly bodies, which fur nh so mny of the divinities ssocited with the Sun-god ; s lso the humn scrifices nd other bomintions, which occurred in some Sun-worshipping countries, ll rose from the corrup tion of the erlier worship of supreme deity who ws believed to reside in the Sun. The Gytri the most scred text of the Ved, which must not be uttered so s to be overherd by profne ers, nd which contins the essence of the Hindu religion, short pryer to the Sun-god, who ddressed s Svitri, the genertor or cretor. The erly Egyptins, nd other ncient peoples lso, seem to hve worshipped the Sun-god s the Cretor." 4 8 London, 1905, p Ditto, p. 206 f. Note : Dr. Oldhm lso sttes, p. 183 : "It seems in the highest degree improbble tht th close connection between the Sun nd the serpent could hve originted, independently, in countries so fr prt s Chin nd the west of Afric, or Indi nd Peru. And it seems scrcely possible tht, in ddition to th, the sme forms of worship of these deities, nd the sme ritul, could hve ren, spontneously, mongst ech of these fr dtnt peoples. The lterntive ppers to be, tht the combined worship of the Sun nd the serpentgods must hve spred from common centre, by the migrtion of, or communi ction with, the people who clim Solr descent." Th Elliot Smith's theory which would derive the entire cult from Egypt. Oldhm, however, differs from Elliot Smith in s much s he would mke Asi nd not Egypt the point of origin. Thus, p. 197: "The socil customs nd religious rites of the Egyptins were closely relted to those of the Sun-worshipping people of Asi. There cn, indeed, be little doubt s to the Asitic origin of the Phrohs nd their follow ers." Nevertheless, Wilfrid D. Hmbly, in the cse of serpent worship, t lest, rejects the whole explntion. He finds in zoologicl evidence, sufficient reson for spontneous origins of the serpent cult in vrious prts of the world. Cfr.

23 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 3 In speking of Afric, however, Egypt, t lest for the present must be excluded from our considertion. For our question now dels with rites dtinctively belonging to the blck tribes, whether we clss them s Bntus or Negroes in the strict sense of the word. And while t first glnce it seems but nturl to ssign n Egyptin origin for the cult, s fr s the drk continent concerned, Wilfrid D. Hmbly, Asstnt Curtor of Africn Ethnology t the Field Museum of Nturl Htory, Chicgo, the first to produce strictly scientific work on the question of serpent worship in Afric,5 fter prolonged nd creful study, hs dduced strong nd convincing resons to the contrry. Hence h conclusion : "Exmintion of Africn Python worship in re ltion to cults nd beliefs from other prts of the world provides Wilfrid D. Hmbly, Serpent Worship in Afric, Chicgo, 1931, Chpter VII, p. 68 ff. Cfr. lso, John Bthurst Dene, The IVorship of the Serpent, London, 1830, who sttes in h Prefce, p. xii f. : "The pln of th trete simple. It pro fesses to prove the extence of Ophioltrei in lmost every considerble country of the ncient world, nd to dcover in the mythology of every civilized ntion, evidences of recollection of the events in Prde. If these fcts cn be estb lhed, the conclusion obvious tht ll such trditions must hve hd common origin; nd tht the most ncient record, which contins their bs, must be the uthentic htory. The most ncient record contining th bs the Book of Genes, composed by Moses. The Book of Genes, therefore, con tins the htory upon which the fbles, rites, nd superstitions of the mytho logicl serpent re founded." The Reverend Mr. Dene, M.A., F.S.A. recorded in the first edition of h work s "Lte of Pembroke College, Cmbridge : Curte of St. Benedict Finck ; nd evening precher t the Chpel of the Philnthropic Society." H vowed purpose, the support of the Biblicl nrrtive nd h un questioning cceptnce of the Mosic origin of Genes, etc., effectively excludes him from the considertion of most so-clled criticl scholrs. However, while dmitting h prtility nd b, nd even h lck of modern scientific methods, there much tht he hs to sy tht relly worthy of serious considertion. Reference should lso be mde to Professor Clemen of Bonn, who fter stt ing : "Every possible kind of niml regrded s higher being by both primi tive nd civilized peoples, nd it not lwys esy to give reson in the vrious cses," dds : "Especilly frequent the worship of the snke, whose power of locomotion without feet, s well s its repeted sloughing of its skin, its fixed gze nd its poonous fngs, no doubt ttrcted specil ttention." Crl Clemen, Religions of the World, New York, 1931, p. 30. Finlly, M. Oldfield Howey, The Encircled Serpent, Phildelphi, 1928, p. 17, sserts : "The origin of Egyptin Ophioltry lost in the mts of ntiquity, but it sid to hve been derived from Chlde, which country thought to hve given it birth, nd certinly produced enthustic dherents of its tenets. But the serpent everywhere in the mythologies nd cosmogonies of Estern lnds, so tht to trce out the ultimte source of its ppernce in so ncient civiliztion with ny certinty probbly impossible." 5 Field Museum of Nturl Htory Publiction 289, Chicgo, 1931, Anthropo logicl Series, Vol. XXI, No. 1,

24 4 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS no evidence tht Afric received Python worship from extr neous sources. On the contrry, the evidence strongly in fvour of n indigenous origin of Python worship." 8 And gin : "There nothing more thn superficil resemblnce between the snke beliefs of Afric nd those of ncient Egypt." 7 In ny cse, the subject does not relly come within the scope of the present work. We re, it true, in quest of the origin of Voodoo s serpent cult, but precely, s we shll see lter, under the prticulr spect of worshipping the non-poonous python. We hve nothing to do here directly with rinbowsnkes, or other like vrints of the serpent cult.8 Cnon Roscoe furnhes us with description of the principl centre of serpent worship in Est Afric. He tells us: "The python god, Selwng, hd h temple in Budu, by the river Mujuzi, on the shore of the lke Victori Nynz.... The p pernce of the new moon ws celebrted by ceremony extend ing over seven dys; for th the people mde their preprtions beforehnd, becuse no work ws done during the festivl. A drum ws sounded s soon s the moon ws seen, nd the people gthered together to mke their requests nd to tke prt in the ceremonies. Those who whed to mke ny request brought specil offerings, whilst the rest brought beer nd food s they plesed. The priesthood of th deity ws confined to members of the Hert Cln ; the chief of the stte upon which the temple stood ws lwys the priest. H dress ws the usul priestly dress, tht, it consted of two brkcloths, one knotted over ech shoulder, nd two white got-skins s shirt; round h chest he tied leoprd-skin decorted with beds nd with seed of the wild bnn, nd in h hnd he crried two fly-whks mde from the tils of bufflo. The priest first received the offerings for the Ditto, p. 74. Ditto, p. 75- Note : Hmbly remrks, p. 55:"My generl conclusion tht Python worship n indigenous fctor of Negro culture; but on the contrry Africn ides of rinbow- snkes, snke-monsters, nd birth-snkes, re derived from Hmito-Semitic beliefs of southwestern Asi." And gin, p. 64 :"I m reluctnt to ccept ny sttement with regrd to the Egyptin origin of snke-sun beliefs. There re, however, mny Egyptin serpent beliefs, both ncient nd modern, which my sst in trcing the origin of Africn beliefs nd customs." 6 7 8

25 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 5 god nd herd the people's requests; then, going into the temple to the medium, he gve the ltter cup of beer nd some of the milk from the python's bowl mixed with white cly. After the medium hd drunk the beer nd milk, the spirit of the python cme upon him, nd he went down on h fce nd wriggled bout like snke, uttering peculir noes nd using words which the peo ple could not understnd. The priest stood ner the medium nd interpreted wht ws sid. During the time tht the medium ws possessed the people stood round, nd the temple drum ws beten. When the orcle ended, the medium fell down exhusted, nd would lie innimte for long time like person in deep sleep." 9 To further clrify our position, we my t the outset ccept Hmbly's dtinction between worship nd cult s scientific working bs. Thus he sys : "The difficulty of supplying rigid nd logicl definition of n ct of worship indputble, but in prctice confusion of thought my be voided by using the word in connection with certin beliefs nd cts. These might re sonbly include ides of superhumn being, priesthood, pro vion of specil house or loclity, nd lso the employment of scrifice nd ritul procedure. The word 'cult' my be used to designte beliefs nd cts whose nture less clerly defined thn the cse with concepts nd ceremonies surrounding n ct of worship.... The subject of serpent worship hs suffered from hsty generliztions nd lck of clssifictory tretment. Con sequently there hve been ssumptions of similrities nd identi ties where they do not ext." 10 Of Afric in generl, Hmbly sys: "The dtribution of python worship cler. The min foci re the southwest shore of Lke Victori Nynz; lso severl centres in the costl regions of the west, from Ashnti to the south of the Niger. Python worship ws probbly indigenous to n ncient possibly boriginl Negro popultion, which ws driven to the west by 9 John Roscoe, The Bgnd, An Account of their Ntive Customs nd Beliefs, London, 191 1, p. 320 f. io Hmbly, 1. c, Prefce, p. 8.

26 6 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS rcil pressure in the est. Eventully the python-worshipping people were forced into unfvourble situtions in the Niger delt, where they re found t present. Around the min centres of python worship re python cults ; lso python nd snke beliefs." 11 Let us now follow Hmbly's rgument nd see in generl wy wht fcts hve led him to th conclusion. "West Afric," he remrks, "undoubtedly yields evidence of python worship, espe cilly in Dhomey nd southern Nigeri. There lso supple mentry evidence with regrd to python cults nd beliefs.... A geogrphicl survey through the Congo, South Afric, nd up the est negtive with regrd to the extence of python wor ship.12 Not until the region of Lke Victori Nynz reched there evidence of definitely orgnized python worship with scred temple, priesthood, nd definite ritul cts including scrifice. There ppers to be no definite evidence of python wor ship in Cmeroon, but the serpent design often employed in 18 wood crving nd the equipment of medicine-men." 11 Ditto, p. 75. Cfr. lso p. 48: "Python nd snke worship were undoubtedly more firmly estblhed in Afric yers go thn they re t present." And, p. 55 : "Python worship of West Afric found to be strongly intrenched mong people of Negro blood who spek non-bntu lnguges, nd of these the I jw re the best exmple. In Est nd West Afric the python ssocited with success in griculture nd fhing. These occuptions were followed by Negroes who were driven out by pstorl immigrnts." 12 Cfr., however, Thoms J. Hutchinson, Impressions of Western Afric, London, 1858, p Writing from Fernndo Po, where he ws h Britnnic Mjesty's Consul, hving spent eight yers in West Afric, Hutchinson sys : "The corontion of king ceremonil tht I hve not yet hd the plesure of witnessing ; but it hs been reported to me s one possessing interesting fetures. It so bound up with their notions of spirit or devil, tht I deem it necessry to explin the peculirity of their belief on th ltter point. 'Mon' the title given to the devil, nd the Botkimon (h high priest) supposed to hve in fluence with him through communiction with the cobr-cpell, the 'Roukrouko.' Their fith in God, to whom the nme of 'Rupe' given, loftier spirtion thn tht of the devil ; but they believe tht the Deity's fvour cn be only obtined by intercession through the 'Botkimon' with h mster. At the ceremony of corontion, the Botkimon steps into deep hole, nd pretends to hold converstion with one of the Roukroukos t the bottom; the cndidte for regl honours stnding longside, nd ll h subjects, in futuro, being bout. Th conference believe, crried on by mens of ventriloqum, fculty with which mny of the Fernndins re reported to me to be endowed. The Botkimon then delivers to the king the messge from the Roukrouko for h guidnce in h high sttion." The "Mon" referred to probbly not the devil, but some ncestrl or other spirit s hppens elsewhere in the serpent worship. _18HmbIy, c, p. 18. Hmbly further observes, p. 69: "Pythons of vrious kinds hve dtribution rnging from the southern Shr to Ntl. The 1., I

27 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 7 Agin: "There re two unquestionble res of python wor ship, nmely West Afric nd smller region in Ugnd, but there no definite evidence of similr institutions in the gret extent of country between the two centres. There re, however, usges which my be the residue of decdent python cult.... The following fctors re common to the Est nd West Africn forms of python worship: (1) The python only, but no other snke, selected for definite worship. Th choice my be due to the impressive size of the lrge species of python. The reptiles re trctble nd non-poonous. All observers re greed tht the python rrely ttcks humn being. (2) Hut structures (temples) contin internl rrngements for feeding the reptiles. (3) The python embodies superhumn being, god of wr, spirit of the wter, ptron of griculture, or goddess of fertility. (4) The king sends messengers nd offerings. He sks for prosperity. (5) Scred groves re found in ddition to temples. (6) Acts of worship bring people who offer scrifice nd mke requests. (7) Priests nd priestesses re employed; the ltter re wives of the python. Both dnce themselves into ecsttic trnce in which they mke orculr utternces which re given in lnguge not understood by the worshippers." 14 Hmbly lter returns to the sme point : "One of the most im portnt questions the possible reltionship between the python worship of Ugnd nd tht of West Afric. The points of com pron between these two centres hve lredy been given in Python sebe, the lrgest of ll, my be found lmost nywhere through the Sudn from Senegl to Dfur. Pythons of some species ttin enormous size, hve gret crushing power, re non-poonous, re esily tmed, seldom ttck humn beings, nd re slow to bite if hndled gently. With these points in view it not difficult to understnd why the python should hve been selected s suitble snke for cptivity in temples. The reptiles re esily controlled by priests, nd t the sme time re hrmless to those who come with petitions nd scrifices." He hd lredy sid, p. 44: "Most observers hve remrked on the ferlessness with which priests nd priestesses hndle lrge pythons. These snkes re, however, non-poonous, nd their generl hrmlessness nd domesticbility re well ttested. Very seldom do they ttck humn beings. The ques tion of immunity in hndling poonous snkes nother problem, but in th connection it must be dmitted tht mny poonous snkes, unless dturbed sud denly nd strtled, re reluctnt to strike." 14 Hmbly, 1. c, p. 29 ff. Note : He hs lredy observed : "In Ugnd the min ceremonies of suppliction re crried out t new moon; to th I hve found no prllel in the ceremonies reported from West Afric." 1. c, p. 21.

28 8 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS detil. Briefly they re : The cceptnce of the python s super nturl being ; the honouring of the reptile, which fed nd gen erlly cred for; the ppointment of priests nd priestesses who undergo specil preprtion; belief in the python s source of productiveness in reltion to humn fecundity, griculture, nd fhing; mking of petitions nd the offering of scrifice; ecsttic dnces of priests nd priestesses. These go into trnce during which they prophesy nd nswer the requests of worshippers. These points suggest reltion rther thn independent origin, though it hs to be dmitted tht the points of resemblnce re of rther generl nture. Zoologicl observtions prove tht the python likely to be ccepted nywhere s n object of dortion." 18 Despite the lst ssertion, then, Hmbly would trce the python worship of Ugnd nd West Afric t lest to common source rther thn scribe them to independent origin. He continues ; "Knowledge of rcil migrtions in Afric points to the probbility tht python worship pssed cross the con tinent from est to west.18 To certin extent the movement of Africn rces re understood; the defect of our knowledge lies in the bsence of chronology for the mss movements of rces. It known, however, tht under Hmitic pressure in the Horn of Afric the primitive Negro of the Lke Region moved cross the continent from est to west, sending brnches of the migr tory stem into the Congo re, in which the movement ws from north to south nd from est to west. There not frgment of evidence to suggest tht the intrusive Hmites brought python worship with them. The most resonble suggestion tht the worship indigenous to the erly Negroes of Ugnd though the ritul now prcticed by people who re somticlly nd linguti clly Hmitic. The migrtion of python worship ws probbly of purely rcil chrcter. The forms of worship re found in their fullest structure nd ctivity t both ends of the min rcil 15 Hmbly, 1. c, p Note :- Lter he sttes, p. 75 : "Within the Africn continent itself migr tion of ides hs probbly plyed more importnt prt thn hs independent invention. Esy communiction from est to west, nd from north to south ; known Hmitic nd Semitic movements; lso the ppel mde by trnsmigr tion nd fecundity ides in ll grdes of society, hve ssted redy diffusion."

29 migrtory line ; tht AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 9, in Ugnd t the estern end, nd southern Nigeri nd Dhomey t the western end of the line.... When the min msses of migrnts hd pssed cross the continent, they were fifteen degrees north of the equtor, tht to the north of Dhomey, Ashnti, nd Nigeri. Owing to pressure from the Fulni nd the Hus, these Negro tribes from Est Afric hd to move south into the unfvourble cost regions of the re from Liberi to the mouth of the Niger. precely in these non-bntu regions tht python worship, cults, nd beliefs re It found t present. They were exceptionlly strong t Brss, the terminus of some of the oldest of these rcil migrtions." 17 Th theory of Hmbly mply supported by independent observtions. Thus s regrds Est Afric, we my quote one or two in pssing.18 A. L. Kitching publhed, work in 1912 of which he sys himself: "Th book embodies the experiences nd observtions of ten yers spent mong the outlying tribes of the Ugnd Protectorte." 19 In the chpter on "Superstition" he writes :"While some of the tribes in Ugnd my be sid to know God in Being, whose certin sense, nd to look to nd pry to influence Supreme expected to be benign nd helpful, the religion of the mjority... consts lrgely, in common pr lnce, of dodging evil spirits." 20 Then, speking of the Gn' people of northwest Ugnd, he sttes :"In the sme vgue fshion scrifices re offered to demons on the rocks tht bound throughout the dtrict; the spot usully preferred one where there hole in which dwells snke. The demon, so ws informed, supposed to reside in the body of the snke, stte ment which hs decided Biblicl flvour, lthough there ws no I suspicion of Chrtin knowledge bout my informer." 21 Cnon Roscoe writing of the Bnyoro, or s he prefers to cll 17 Hmbly, c, p. 50 Note: The fct tht mong the Lngo only the wizrds et snkes might indicte t lest vestige of serpent cult. Cfr. H. Driberg, The Lngo, Nilotic Tribe Ugnd, London, 1923, A. L. Kitching, On the Bckwters the Nile, London, 1912, Foreword, p. xi. 20 Ditto, p Ditto, p of f. p. of J.

30 IO VOODOOS AND OBEAHS them the Bkitr, locted long the estern shore of Lke Albert in Ugnd, stresses the point tht in the common estimtion rivers nd wterholes re usully under the gurdinship of snkes to whom scrifices re offered. Thus, for exmple, "At the Muzizi there ws medicine-mn, Kupinipini, who ws in chrge of the river nd cred for the snke, to which he mde offerings when people whed to cross. He ffirmed tht it ws useless to ttempt to build bridge over the river for the snke would brek it down, nd the only mens of crossing ws by lrge ppyrus rfts on which the people, fter giving offerings to the medicine-mn for the snke, hd to be ferried over. The king sent periodicl offerings of blck cows to th snke nd the medicine-mn presented them to it with pryers tht it would not kill men." 22 And gin : "Pythons were held to be scred, nd in some plces offerings were mde regulrly to them to preserve the people. A few men kept pythons in their houses, tming them nd feeding them on milk with n occsionl fowl or got. It ws sid tht these pythons did not kill children or nimls in their own villges but went further field for their prey. The king hd specil temple t Kengw in which priest dwelt with living python which he fed on milk." John Roscoe, The Bkitr or Bnyoro, Cmbridge, 1923, p. 42 f. 23 Roscoe, 1. c, p. 44. Note : After twenty-five yers of msionry work in Afric, Cnon Roscoe undertook n ethnologicl expedition there in He tells us, John Roscoe, The Soul of Centrl Afric, London, 1922, Prefce, p. vii : "For some time funds for such purpose were not vilble, but Sir Jmes G. Frzer, who first roused in me n interest in nthropology, ws uncesing in h ttempts to find some mens of finncing the work. At length, owing to h efforts, Sir Peter Mckie, of Glenresdell, becme interested in the project, nd most generously cme forwrd nd shouldered the whole finncil burden, hnding over to the Royl Society mple sums for the purpose." It interesting then, to find Frzer writing from Cmbridge on Feb. 5, 1908, to h friend Sir Spencer Gillen in Austrli, Spencer's Scientific Correspondence with Sir J. G. Frzer nd others, Oxford, 1932, p. 107 : "I wh if possible to relieve J. Roscoe of h msion work in Centrl Afric, nd set him free there entirely for nthro pology. We should lern very much from him. I know no keener nthropologt thn he." Prticulr vlue, then, ttched to the following testimony of Roscoe, tken from the very book tht we hve quoted in the text, The Bkitr or Bnyoro, p. 21 : "Though the Bkitr hd gret number of objects of worship, there ws but one god, Ruhng, the cretor nd fther of mnkind. With him were ssocited the nmes Enky nd Enkyy Enky, whose identity it not esy to seprte from tht of Ruhng. One mn sserted tht they were trinity nd yet one god ; but s he hd been for some yers devout Chrtin, in con stnt ttendnce t the Romn Ctholic Msion Sttion h sttement my hve

31 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 1 1 It well to note here wht hs been remrked by Hmbly: "The W Kikyu regrd the snke nd some other nimls s hving mysterious connection with spirits. When snke enters the villge the people offer it milk nd ft. These snkes re not exctly the spirits themselves, but their messengers, who give wrnings of future evils nd come to indicte tht n offering to the spirits will be opportune.-4 Hving thus sufficiently estblhed the fountin-hed of Negro Ophioltry t Ugnd, we my turn to West Afric for more intimte nd detiled study of its development t wht Hmbly clls the western end of the rcil migrtory line. Mjor Arthur Glyn Leonrd, writing in 1906, fter ten yers of personl contct with the ntives of South Nigeri, cme to the conclusion tht here t lest the Ophioltry prcticed ws been coloured by Chrtin ides. The generl impression gthered, however, ws tht their belief ws entirely monothetic, nd tht, if the three were not one deity, then Enky nd Enkyy Enky were subordinte gods whose ppernce in their theology ws lter thn tht of Ruhng, nd more frequently, Enky nd Enkyy Enky were clled upon by the people in dtress or need ; pryers were mde to them in the open, with hnds nd eyes red skywrds." In connection with Est Africn Ophioltry, the following cittions might be noted. "The only dquietude to strnger in their houses res from the snkes which rustle in the strw roofs, nd dturb h rest. Snkes re the only cretures to whom either Dink or Shillooks py ny sort of reverence. The Dink cll them 'brethren' nd look upon their slughter s crime. I ws informed by witnesses which I hve no cuse to dtrust, tht the seprte snkes re indi vidully known to the householder, who clls them by nme, nd trets them s domestic nimls." Georg Schweinfurth, The Hert of Afric, London, 1874, Vol. I, p "When medicine-mn or rich person dies nd buried, h soul turns into snke s soon s h body rots ; nd the snke goes to h children's krl to look fter them." Msi sying recorded by A. C. Holl, The Msi: Their Lnguge nd Folklore, Oxford, 1905, p "Under ordinry circumstnces snke killed t sight. A snke lso killed if it enters house, nd hole hs to be mde in the wll in order to eject the body, s it my not be thrown out of the door. But if snke goes in to the womn's bed, it my not be killed, s it believed tht it personifies the spirit of decesed ncestor or reltion, nd tht it hs been sent to intimte to the womn tht the next child will be born sfely." A. C. Holl, The Nndi: Their Lnguge nd Folklore, Oxford, 1909, p. 90. "According to the belief of gret mny Bntus, especilly in South Afric, the ded pper chiefly in the form of snkes." Lucien Levy-Bruhl, The "Soul" of the Primitive, New York, 1928, p "The Zulu... recognizes the soul of n ncestor in the snke which vits h krl." Frnk Byron Jevons, An Introduction to the Htory of Religion, Lon don, 1896, p These instnces refer rther to serpent cult thn to forml Ophioltry. Hmbly, 1. c, p. 34.

32 12 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS form of ncestor worship. In h opinion the Nigerin venertes the snkes precely becuse he believes tht the spirits of h ncestors re embodied in them. Thus he sttes : "In Benin City, t Nembe, Nkwerri, nd in vrious loclities ll over the Delt, Ophioltry, so-clled, exts nd flourhes, s it hs lwys done ever since mn tught himself to ssocite the spirits of h ncestors with the more personl nd immedite objects of h surrounding. And s snkes living s they did in the olden dys in cves nd trees, nd s they now do not only in the towns, but inside the houses, underground s well s in the thtched roofs were very closely ssocited with mn, it no wonder tht they were erly chosen to represent ncestrl embodiment." SB Arthur Glyn Leonrd, The Lower Niger nd its Tribes, London, 1906, p Note: In Prefce to Mjor Leonrd's work (p. xii) Professor A. C. Hddon thus explins the uthor's generl nimtic theory. "We lern tht the religion of the Niger delt ntives bsed on the dortion of ncestrl spirits, mterilly represented by emblems, the ltter being nothing more nor less thn convenient forms of embodiment which cn be ltered or trnsferred ccording to circumstnces. These objects, rude nd senseless s they my be, re regrded s vehicles of spiritul influence, s something scred becuse of their direct s socition with some fmilir nd powerful spirit, nd not s objects which in themselves hve, or crry with them, ny so-clled supernturl powers. It not the object itself, but wht in or ssocited with it. The object ccord ingly becomes nothing more nor less thn scred receptcle, nd its holiness merely question of ssocition. The thing itself helpless nd powerless, it cnnot do hrm, just s it cnnot do good; the spirit, which invribly n cestrl, even when deified, lone does the mchief nd wrecks the vengence in the cse of neglect or impiety, or confers the benefits nd the blessings when the ncestrl rites re performed with due piety by the household." According to Mjor Leonrd, ncestor worship eventully postulted Su preme Being. Thus he rgues, p. 89 : "Surrounded on ll sides by evil, i. e. by people who were inimicl to him, nd spiritul influences, who sought h life on every opportunity, the fmily looked to its hed for protection. But he, poor mn, ws to greter extent then th fmily circumvented by enemies on ll sides, nd in spite of h skill, h strength, nd h prowess, he felt himself powerless in the fce of them ll. So in h mery he turned to the spirit of h fther, whom during h lifetime he hd honoured nd revered, nd to whose spiritul id, when he ws victorious, he hd once ttributed the victory. But vic tory did not lwys shine upon him, for the rce ws not lwys to the swift, nor ws the bttle lwys to the strong. Therefore it ws in these moments tht he looked beyond h fther to the first or spirit ncestor who hd mde every mn nd everything, good or evil. A moment th of supremest exlttion, ring out of the lowest depths of despir. Of supremest triumph lso, for the Supreme One hd once more sserted h power nd given him the victory. Hv ing recognized the extence nd presence of Cretor, nd evoked h id, the next stge in the process ws the formtion of system by which the victory of the Supreme One nd h gret influence were to be commemorted nd kept live." We cnnot ccept the Mjor's process of resoning on the prt of the soclled primitive. But it sufficient for our purpose tht he does require Su preme Being in the present-dy belief. To ll ppernces, Mjor Leonrd 25

33 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 13 To one observtion of Mjor Leonrd we must drw prticulr ttention. It th: "Irrespective of tribe nd loclity, one fct in connection with these ntives impressed me very forcibly, nd tht ws tht in every cse, with regrd to snkes, the emblem revered the python, nd not one of the poonous vrieties, such e. g. s the cobr or horned viper.... The snkes whose bite mens deth re looked on s representing the spirits of evil." 28 In Northern Nigeri there re comprtively few vestiges of the serpent cult, which my formerly hve exted there, s in dicted by certin finds. Thus C. K. Meek reports in connection with the Buchi Plteu : 27 "From surfce deposit t Rop there ws dcovered representtion in tin of coiled snke. Th evidently hd some religious or mgicl significnce, nd once gin points to the presence of former people who knew how to work in tin, who hd developed rttic sense, nd mong whom the cult of the serpent ws perhps feture of their religion." 28 And gin, "The Hus sttes were foreigners from the Est nd ll belonged to the sme rcil stock.... The legend further suggests tht the ncient people of Huslnd reverenced the snke. Th we cn redily believe, s certin snkes re still regrded s scred by the Angs, whose lnguge closely llied to Hus, nd representtions of snkes hve been dug up on the Buchi Plteu." 29 Lter he dds : "Before the introduction of Islm, mong the erly peoples of the Hus sttes vrious snkes were pprently common totem nimls, especilly mong only following Frzer who sys: "The theology of the Bntu tribes, especilly of such of them s hve remined in the purely pstorl stge, ppers generlly to be of the most megre nture: its principl element, so fr s we cn judge from the scnty ccounts of it which we possess, the fer or worship of ded ncestors, nd though these ncestrl spirits re commonly supposed to mnifest themselves to their descendnts in the shpe of snkes of vrious kinds, there no sufficient ground for ssuming these snkes to hve been originlly totems." J. G. Frzer, Totemm nd Exogmy, London, 1910, Vol. IV, p. 32. In h chpter on "The Gods of the Priests nd People," Mjor Leonrd sttes; p. 416: "Th system of religion bsed fundmentlly tht purely nd entirely on the close nd nturlly inseprble ties nd ssocitions of fmily or ncestrl reltionships, which regrded by these ntives s nturl order, direct from the Supreme God." 28 Leonrd, 1. c, p E C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes 29 Ditto, p. 76 f. ; 27 Locted bout N.io" of, Nigeri, Oxford, 1925, Vol. I, p. 54.

34 14 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS the people of Ktsin nd Dur. The Abyjidu invders of the Dur trditions would pper to hve slin the locl snke nd substituted their own scred niml, e.g. the lion (zki), or some other worship insted." 80 Percy Amury Tlbot of the Nigerin Politicl Service pub-,0 Meek, 1. c, p Note: In lter work, Tribl Studies in Northern Nigeri, London, 1931, Meek dds further detils. Thus, Vol. I, p. 164, we red : "The Melim re nturl objects worshipped publicly in the bush, but fmilies nd individuls protect themselves with minor objects known s 'hbtu' which re mulets or 'fethes,' ccording s the efficcy trnsmitted from outside or due to the presence of n indwelling spirit." He referring to the Bur nd Pbir tribes locted round N.i2 }4; E.io"!^. Agin, p. 165: "Hbtu Pwpu striking representtion in iron of snke (pwpu mens 'snke') which commonly seen in houses. Or it my be ttched to the leg s n mulet. In the houses they my be seen set in pirs (mle nd femle) in the shell of bobb nut. They re sid to wrd off evil influences nd pper to hve fertility sig nifiction. Their custodins re women, but every householder must t hrvest offer benneed nd cotton nd the blood of chicken to h Hbtu Pwpu, other we one of h household will be bitten by snke. It my be noted here tht the figure of the serpent ppers s personl or house-protecting mulet ll through Egyptin htory. A specimen of Hbtu Pwpu ws obtined." Writing of the Mumuye, locted bout N.o ; E.11 j, Vol. I, p. 468, Meek sttes : "The rin cult pr excellence for ll the Mumuye nd surrounding tribes tht centred t Yoro. When serious drought occurs ll the senior priests of the tribe proceed with gifts to the rin-mker Yoro. To th cult even the chief of Kon ppels s lst resort, by sending numerous gifts. The rites re sid to be s follows. The priest (the kpnti mi, 1. e. rin-chief) removes from lrge pot the symbol of the cult, which piece of iron fshioned like snke. It kept rolled up in curtin of blck string. The priest unwinds the curtin nd fstens it to two pegs on opposite wlls of the hut. Then tking blcksmith's hmmer in h right hnd nd pir of iron scsors in h left, he sys : 'Wht I m bout to do my forefthers did before me. Grnt tht th drought my cese, nd tht we my hve corn to et.' He then chews piece of the vit qudrngulr creeper nd spits it out on the implements, which he lys on the ground. Picking up the iron snke he sys, 'You we received from Yoro in the Est; drought hs come upon us, nd if we do not hve rin, how shll we obtin food to et? Grnt, therefore, tht by your grciousness we my hve rin in bundnce, nd tht in due course we my rep sufficient hrvest.' He gin tkes piece of the creeper, chews it nd spits it out on the iron snke. He then hurls the snke ginst the hmmer nd scsors, nd it sid tht s soon s th done the first pel of thunder herd. It sympthetic rite, the clng ing of the iron being simultion of thunder." As regrds the Hus, C. G. Seligmn, Rces of Afric, London, 1930, p. 81 records the derivtion of the word title which now signifies king or chieftin the Hus lnguge. The founder of the royl line ws sid to hve been son of the King of Bgdd. On h rrivl t Dur he found the well gurded by serpent clled Ki Serki, who prevented the drwing of wter. He slew the serpent, mrried the Queen of the country, nd ws therefter clled Mi-Ki- Serki, the mn who killed Serki. Seligmn dds :"Th legend recorded since, on the one hnd, seems to preserve some fetures of the older orgniztion of the lnd (mtrilinel descent, snke worship) ;nd on the other emphsizes the constnt tendency to borrow nd gretly exggerte Estern connections, due to the incresing prestige pressure of Islm." it & f., in

35 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 15 lhed in the conclusions resultnt of five yers of intimte contct with the Ekoi who were locted on both sides of the boundry between the Cmeroons nd Southern Nigeri. It h suggestion tht Ophioltry reched Nigeri from Egypt nd hd its origin in the introduction "of non-poonous snkes into grn ries, in order to protect their contents from predtory rodents." He writes : "Possibly the cult of the snke nd crocodile hs come down from very ncient times. It well known tht both were honoured in Egypt s tutelr gods, nd if the Ekoi hve trekked, s seems likely, from the est of Afric, it probble tht the originl reson for deifying snke nd ct, i. e. tht these cretures were the principl scourges of the plgue-crrying rt, lies t the bck of the powerful snke cult, while trces of ct worship re still to be found. Rts re gret pest ll over the lnd, nd every possible mens tken to keep them down, though with little result. In Egypt the snke ws not only the gurdin of house nd tomb, but snke goddess presided over the hrvest festivl, held in the month of Phrmuthi or April. Doubtless mong other ttributes she ws regrded s the protectress of the grnered grin, nd her cult grew from the prctice of introduc ing non-poonous snkes into grnries, in order to protect their contents from predtory rodents." 31 Fourteen yers fter the ppernce of h first book, Tlbot brought out truly scholrly work in four volumes entitled, The Peoples of Northern Nigeri.32 He ws still of opinion tht "The striking resemblnce between the Nigerin cults nd those of 31 P. Amury Tlbot, In the Shdozv of the Bush, London, 1912, p. 25. Note : Of the religion of the Ekoi, Tlbot sys, p. 13 : "The religion of the Ekoi lto gether fscinting study. Its principl fetures re the Cult of Ancestors nd of Nture Forces.... Of ctul Deities there re only two, Obssi Osw, the Sky God, nd the Erth God Obssi Nsi." Mjor A. J. N. Tremerne, The Bn of the Bori, London, 1914, p. 413, remrks : "The nmes of mny snke-worshipping tribes in the West Sudn const of so or so, in combintion with other letters. But s or z lone or in combintion, lso men chief, nd rulers with these nmes re sid to hve come from the est ; S, younger son of Mrim or Menes, the erliest htoric king of Egypt, being given the dtrict bordering the Fezzn route to the desert." He personlly rejects the opinion of those who hold tht the S in question relly stnds for serpent. Oxford, 1926.

36 16 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS ncient Egypt nd the Mediterrnen re generlly cn only be explined by intercourse, direct nd indirect." 38 The following excerpts re of interest : "Minor deities often ssume the form or inhbit the bodies of snkes, some species of which, especilly pythons, re held scred throughout the region of mrsh-lnds nd wters inhbited by the most ncient tribe of ll, the Ijw, while there re trces of Ophioltry in mny other prts." 84 "The chief juju in the Bdgri region used to be Idgbe, sym bolized by lrge python." 88 "In some prts of the Brss country, the principl worship tht of Ogidig which ws pprently introduced from Benin by Islem, the first settler t Nembe. He represented by python nd supposed by some to be identicl with the Bini nd Yorub Olokun, God of the Se." 88 "The Elei Edd worship mle Alose nmed Aru-Ng, who resides in very nimble snke, probbly Dndrp ugusticeps. If nyone kills th, chief dies. It lives in grove ner the town nd comes out when the priest scrifices to it ; it supposed to bite nd kill ny bd person." 87 "The Ake-Eze Edd chiefly worship Ezi-Aku, 'the property of the Qurter,' to whom scrifices re offered t the foot of specil tree. Snkes or hurt them." 88 re clled her children nd no one my touch "Among the Ekoi the most usul nme for juju some form of Ndeum.... The Ejghm pper to confine the word to those spirits, usully femle, who live in trees, though they mnifest themselves t times in the shpe of snke or crocodile." 89 Finlly fter nother six yers, Tlbot further enhnces h reputtion s the leding uthority on Southern Nigeri by pub- 83 Ditto, Vol. II, p Ditto, Vol. II, p. 83 f. 35 Ditto, Vol. II, p Ditto, Vol. II, p Ditto, Vol. II, p Ditto, Vol. II, p » Ditto, Vol. II, p. 126.

37 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 17 Ihing h Tribes of the Niger Delt*0 where we red: "There specil snke clled Adid, which lso worshipped t Tombi. Th sid to be the wife of Simingi nd my never be slin. Should ny Oru-Kuru-Gbw find one of these lying ded, she would give it buril just s the juju priests do for the Adumu serpents." 41 Tht th serpent cult cn hve its ddvntges t times evidenced by the following incident relted by Tlbot : "One eve ning, when stying in the rest house t Omi-Akeni, n Ibo town in Owerri Dtrict, Chief Gbriel Amkiri Yellow cme to sy tht he hd herd of womn's juju nmed Ogugu, the shrine of which ws ner t hnd. Our informnt begn : 'Ogugu the chief juju of the women of th country, nd very power ful for the grnting of children.... If nyone promes some thing to the juju nd fil to give th, or swer on it nme but does not crry out the thing, Ogugu lwys sends vitors to remind the person. Big snkes she sends to lie cross the threshhold of the house. At midnight, one will creep into bed, or coil by the hed of the sleeper. Never, never does such messenger " leve gin until the prome hs been fulfilled.' 42 Before pssing on, it should be remrked tht despite the instnce of Mr. Tlbot tht the serpent cult of Nigeri probbly owes its origin to Egypt, s he bses h supposition in gret prt on the fct tht the Ijws re ultimtely from dtnt Est Afric, so fr from wekening Hmbly's theory, he only strengthens it s the ltter hs lredy shown tht the Ijw derive their origin, in ll probbility, not from Egypt but from Ugnd. Stephen Septimus Frrow, in h thes for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, 1924, tells us : "Among the Ibo tribes of the Owerri Dtrict (ner neighbours of the Yorubs) the bo-constrictor worshipped. On the 27th dy of ech month white cock offered to him, with cowries, plm-oil or plm-nuts, white cloth nd kol nuts. The scrifice 40 London, Ditto, p Ditto, p. 92.

38 1 8 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS deposited t cross rods, wy from the town. There, how ever, no reptile worship mong the Yorubs, except in the cse of crocodiles, belonging to Olos the lgoon-goddess.48 Briefly, then, to sum up our present chpter. Prescinding from the question whether Africn Ophioltry diffusion from brod or of independent origin, we my ccept Hmbly's theory tht s regrds the Drk Continent itself, the locl centre from which it eminted ws in ll probbility in Ugnd. Further we my ccept h ssertion tht it Negro tribes which under pressure ws indigenous to dtinctively from Hmitic invsion, trekked cross the continent, crrying with them their old tribl beliefs nd customs. Thirdly, we gree tht while the oppressors in Est Afric ssimilted in some smll degree more or less of its prin ciples, West nd not Est Afric grdully becme its true centre of influence. While the exmples thus fr cited in connection with the prc tice in West Afric hve svoured rther of the cult thn of the forml worship of the serpent in the strict sense of the word, still the following points re of vlue. Independently of Whydh, where in the next chpter we will find Ophioltry prcticed in detil, scttered round th centre we hve ll the requites to stfy our definition of serpent worship. True, it, tht they serve s confirmtory evidence nd nothing more. But the very fct tht they re scttered over mny loclities nd not restricted to one plce, dds to the strength of the rgument. For locl cuses my t times led to some prticulr introduction of temporry cult, s in the instnce relted by Colonel Ell, who writes :"Djwij'hnu... ws god who formerly resided t Connor's Hill. Trdition sys tht the people of Cpe Cost first dcovered h extence from the gret loss which the Ashnt experienced t th spot on the nth of July, The slughter ws so gret, nd the repulse of the Ashnt so complete, tht the Fnt, ccustomed to see their foes crry everything before them, t tributed the unusul result of the enggement to the sstnce " S. S. Frrow, Fith, Fncies nd Feth, or Yorub Pgnm, London, 1026, p. 20.

39 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 19 of powerful locl god. They ccordingly scrificed some pr oners to him, nd sent to Winnebh to inquire of the priests of Bobowsi if their surme ws correct. The reply being in the ffirmtive, regulr cult ws estblhed, ccording to the direc tions of the priests of Bobowsi. At tht time Connor's Hill ws covered with usully dense bush, which swrmed with snkes. Indeed, even t the present dy, when the bush clered every yer, they re still very numerous, nd lrge numbers re killed by the West Indi soldiers employed in h work. From th cir cumstnce probbly rose the ide tht Djwi-j'hnu ordinrily presented himself to h worshippers in the shpe of serpent in the shpe of the cerstes, one of the most dedly of the ophidi.** Other snkes ccompnied him, nd were regrded s h offspring or dependnts. The first scrifices offered were humn victims, but in lter times eggs becme the ordinry offering. If the god did not present himself to h worshippers in h ssumed form, it ws imgined tht one of their number hd given him offence, nd the priests then mde inquiries to dcover the of fender. He, being found, would then be mulcted of sheep, white cloth, nd some rum; nd with th specil propititory offering the worshippers would gin proceed to the hill. If the god still remined invible, it ws ssumed tht he ws still d stfied, tht the tonement ws insufficient ; nd dditionl offer ings were enforced upon the guilty member till the god reveled himself. Djwi-j'hnu ws lso believed to ssume other shpes; nd leoprd, which some thirty yers go hunted the vicinity of the hill, nd becme by its depredtions the terror of the neigh bourhood, ws believed to be the god who hd dopted th form. When undgued, Djwi-j'hnu ws believed to be of humn shpe nd blck in colour, but of monstrous size. He ws repre sented s bering ntive sword in h right hnd. H worship hs now been extinct for some twenty yers, the cquition of ** Note : Here we should observe tht in the cse of th locl cult the serpent chosen poonous one ; which fct immeditely dtinguhes it from the gen erl ccepttion of the non-poonous python. Indeed if the origin of th locl cult hd not been preserved for us htoriclly, the instnce might hve been quoted to weken the clim tht one of the chrctertics of the serpent peculir to Africn Ophioltry tht it of the non-poonous type.

40 20 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS the hill by the Imperil Government, the clering of the bush, nd the building of huts for the ccommodtion of troops, hving proved ftl to the continunce of th prticulr cult." 45 Before going on to exmine Ophioltry s it exted t Whydh, we must ccentute one detil tht lredy sserts itself, nd tht the prevlence with which the venertion of the serpent, whether s cult or worship, ssocited with wht usully clled ncestor worship. But even here, while the reptile my be re grded s the receptcle or dwelling plce of the spirits, they in turn re only intercessors or messengers of the Supreme Being to whom the petitions or venertions ultimtely tend.48 It not, then, idoltry, if we confine ourselves to the strict definition of the word, s ws so frequently ssumed by the erly Africn trvellers who cme in contct with it nd only too frequently described it in dtorted terms.47 " A. B. Ell, The Tshi-Speking Peoples of the Gold Cost of West Afric, London, 1887, p. 40 ff. 48 Note : Cfr. C. Stnilnd Wke, Serpent Worship, p. 28 : "The fct tht the serpent ws only symbol, or t most n embodiment of the spirit which it represented, s we see from the belief of severl Africn nd Americn tribes, which probbly preserves the primitive form of th superstition. Serpents rc looked upon by these peoples s embodiments of their deprted ncestors, nd n nlogous notion entertined by vrious Hindu tribes." Also, M. Oldfield Howey, The Encircled Serpent, p. 17 : "The religion of ncient Egypt from the erliest times closely interwoven with the symbolic worship of sun nd ser pent. Not only ws the serpent looked upon s n emblem of Divinity in the bstrct, but it ws connected with the worship of lt the Egyptin gods." And couple of pges lter, p. 19 : "Both serpent nd sun were emblems of the Celestil Fther nd prticipted in the honours tht through them were pid to the Supreme Being." And finlly, J. B. Schlegel, Ewe-Sprche, p. xiv : "Serpents hold prominent plce in the religions of the world, s the incrntions, shrines or symbols of high deities. Such were the rttlesnke's worshipped in the Ntchez temple of the Sun, nd the snke belonging in nme nd figure to the Aztec deity Quetzlcotl ; the snke s worshipped still by the Slve Cost Negro, not for itself but for its indwelling deity." As quoted by Edwrd B. Tylor, Primitive Culture, p Note : In cses where the serpent cult of Afric my ctully imply more thn the invoking of the intercessory power of ncestors with the Supreme Being, nd where seemingly perhps the Deity himself venerted in the rep tile, before scribing the ct of worship to idoltry, it would be well to weigh crefully Fther Hull's explntion of similr phse of Hindu worship in Indi, where not serpents but figures of stone re the object of the cult. Cfr. Ernest R. Hull, Studies in Idoltry, Bomby, 1912, p. 1 ff. He sys: "A Europen just come out to Indi, if sked wht he mens by idoltry, will point t once to some Hindu slming or prostrting himself in front of lump of stone. 'Tht mn,' he sys, ' worshipping stone. He pying to it tht supreme reverence which due to God lone. Idoltry mens worshipping stock or stone s God, nd insted of God.'

41 AFRICAN OPHIOLATRY 21 "Now it difficult to believe tht idoltry of th crude kind exts. Could ny mn short of n idiot believe tht stone s such God? "Those who think tht the uneducted Hindus relly regrd the mteril ob ject s God seem to be mled by the crude wy in which simple Hindus express themselves. They certinly do cll the stone object God. But they must ll know well enough tht before certin ceremonies the stone ws n ordinry stone; nd in one of their festivls they ctully drive the God out of the imge before throwing it into the se. Th clerly shows tht the God rther n inhbitnt of the stone thn the stone itself. In short, ll the fcts we know bout Hindu worship re totlly ginst th view.... "A second explntion current mong the exponents of Hindum, s fol lows : The mn does not believe tht the stone s such God. Wht he be lieves tht stone, when selected, nd set up, nd consecrted in some wy, becomes the dwelling plce of God. In th cse, worship directed, not to the stone s such, but to the God present in the stone, which merely n outwrd nd vible object mrking tht presence.... Hence the mteril stone rev erenced or respected s scred on ccount of its connection with the divine presence. But no Hindu, they sy, drems of pying divine worship to the stone s such.... It true tht the common people do not think metphysiclly on the subject. The divine presence in the mteril object, nd they venerte the object in the rough divine. Still there no difficulty in llowing tht their wor ship fr removed from the utterly preposterous ide tht God the stone s such, or tht the stone s such God. The rel object to which their worship directed, sometimes s it were behind the stone some preternturl being, rel or imginry, whom they believe to be God, whose specil presence hs been induced therein by certin religious rites. "As fr s one cn see, the norml belief of the mss of Hindus, of th kind. A firly educted Hindu lymn nd well educted Hindu priest my be quoted for th. The lymn sid : 'I believe in the divine presence in the imge, nd I suppose three-qurters of my fellow Hindus do the sme.' The priest sid : 'The common people believe tht the imge contins the God, but we educted men do not. Wht we believe tht the object representtion of n vtr, i. e. the form under which God hs mnifested himself on erth ; or, if not representtion of the ctul form, it symbolic representtion of some divine ttribute mnifested to mn.' Th introduces the third view, ccording to which the object mere stone unendowed with ny divine presence; it t most symbol or representtion embodying some divine fct. The imge in th cse respected s scred, being devoted to scred purpose; but worship not directed to it. An educted Hindu prying towrds it relly prying not to it but to h God ; tht to sy, h worship, which outwrdly directed towrds the stone, internlly directed to the God in heven, nd not to the God s specilly present in the stone." In the Africn serpent cult the second explntion holds true in such cses s the serpent itself seems to be venerted. Usully, how ever, the reptile merely the hbittion of some spirit, ncestrl or otherwe, who cts s n intermediry with God nd through whom the venertion ctu lly given to God himself.

42 Chpter II SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH Pere Lbt writing of the yer 1698 in the Islnd of Mrti nique, recounts wht he hd personlly herd from the lips of Pere Brguez, who in turn hd ctully witnessed the serpent cult t Whydh when the King himself ws in ttendnce to con sult the orcle. Th probbly the erliest recorded ccount of n eye-witness, before Europen contcts hd modified the ritul. The nrrtive runs s follows: "The people on their knees nd in silence were withdrwn some dtnce prt; the King lone with the Priest of the country entered the enclosure, where fter prolonged prostrtions, pryers nd ceremonies, the priest drew ner to hole where supposedly he hd serpent. He spoke to him in behlf of the King nd questioned him s regrds the number of vessels tht would rrive the following yer, wr, hrvest nd other topics. According s the serpent replied to question, the priest crried the nswer to the King who ws kneel ing short dtnce wy in n ttitude of suppliction. Th by-ply hving been repeted number of times, it ws finlly nnounced tht the following yer would be prosperous, tht it would hve much trde, nd tht they would tke mny slves. The multitude expressed their joy by loud shouts, dncing nd festing." Pere Brguez further stted tht he hd subsequently interviewed the officiting priest who ssured him : "Tht the cult rendered to the serpent ws only cult in its reltion to the Supreme Being, of whom they were ll cretures. Tht the choice ws not left to themselves, but tht they hd dopted it through obedience to the common Mster's orders, which were lwys founded on sound principles. The Cretor knew perfectly the dpositions of the cretures who hd come from h hnds, nd

43 pprecited SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 23 only too well mn's pride nd vnity, not to tke every mens suitble to humble him ; for which purpose nothing seemed more effective thn to oblige him to bow down before serpent, which the most despicble nd the vilest of ll nimls." 1 Reynud Des Mrch, the French nvigtor, went on h first voyge to Guine in During the next twenty yers, on recurrent vits, he mde close study of the customs nd prctices of the vrious kingdoms. In 1724 he siled on h lst voyge to the Cost nd spent severl months crefully reving h notes nd checking up on h sketches. Shortly before h deth he gve h mnuscript to Pere Lbt who publhed it in In h Prefce Pere Lbt ccentutes the fct tht on the voyge of 1724 Des Mrch hd corrected "the observtions which he hd mde on severl erlier ones." 3 The nrrtive itself shows tht Des Mrch ws n eye-witness of the scenes tht he de scribes concerning the serpent cult t Whydh nd the dtes on h sketches indicte tht he ttended these functions in different yers. Concerning the origin of th worship of the serpent t Whydh he sttes: "The principl divinity of the country the serpent, lthough it not known just when they begn to cknowledge him, to render him cult. They only know s bsolutely certin tht th pretended divinity cme from the Kingdom of Ardr. These Whydhs hving undertken to give bttle to the Ardrs, lrge serpent left the enemy's rmy nd cme to deliver him self to tht of Whydh. But he ppered so gentle, tht insted of biting like the other nimls of h species, he cressed nd embrced everybody. The chief scrificer mde bold to tke hold of him nd re him up on high to bring him in view of the entire rmy, which, stonhed t the prodigy, prostrted themselves before th complint niml, nd rushed on their enemies with such courge tht they completely routed them. They did not fil to ttribute their victory to th serpent. They respectfully crried 1 P. Lbt, Nouveu Voyge ux Isles de I'Amerique, Vol. II, p. 41 f. 2 Cfr. Nouvelle Biogrfhie Generte, Pr, i860, Vol. XXXIII, p P. Lbt, Voyge du Chevlier Des Mrch en Guinie, Isles Voines, et <i Cyenne, fit en 1725, 1726 & 1727, Amsterdm, 1731, Vol. I, Prefce, p. ii.

44 24 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS him long, built him house, brought him sustennce, nd in short time th new god eclipsed ll the others, even the fethes which were the first nd oldest gods of the country." 4 Des Mrch dds: "It of prticulr note tht the most thoughtful Negroes very seriously ssert tht the serpent which they venerte tody relly the identicl one which cme to find their ncestors, nd which enbled them to chieve th fmous victory which freed them from the oppression of the King of Ardr." 5 Th would suggest tht the centre of Ophioltry t Whydh of comprtively recent origin, nd other indictions point strongly in the sme direction. Up to the beginning of the nineteenth century the cpitl of Whydh usully mrked on the mps s Xvier or Sbi, lso spelt Sbe, Sby, Svi, etc., nd presumbly corruption of the word Xvier which lone ppers on the D'Anville mp of Guine dted April, Des Mrch, lso, heds h chpter on the subject merely s "The Town of Xvier." 8 It hrd to believe tht t so erly dte th nme should hve been pplied ny where except to Jesuit Msion. As mtter of fct from bout 1600 to , one or more Jesuits were lbouring continuously long the Guine Cost with hedqurters t Sierr Leone. In 1607 Fr. Blthsr Brreir, S. J. certinly vited Benin nd in 1613 Fr. Emmnuel Alvrez, S. J. built chpel t Lgos.7 Whether or not the Jesuits did ctully estblh msion in Whydh nd nmed it Xvier, th much certin; tht, in connection with their lbours long the Guine Cost, there bsolutely no mention of serpent worship in ny form. And s 4 I.bt, Des Mrch, Vol. II, p. 133 f. 5 Ditto, p Note : For h own prt, Des Mrch seems to be rther scepticl bout the longevity of th serpent. He writes : "If he still live, nd it hs lwys been so believed since he ws given to th people, he should be of prodigious length nd thickness. But it needful to py ttention to wht these people sy of it nd then believe wht one thinks proper. For it only the chief Scrificer who hs the privilege of entering its secret prtments, the King himself cn do so only once when he goes to present h offerings, three months fter h corontion." Des Mrch, 1. c, Vol. II, p Ditto, Vol. II, p Cfr. Antonius Frncus, Synops Annlium S. J. in Lusitni, , Augsburg, 1726.

45 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 25 the Jesuits in their Reltions re proverbilly so detiled in such mtters, we hve strong presumption tht it ws non-extent within their field of ctivity t the beginning of the seventeenth century. Th presumption strengthened by the fct tht Chrles Chulmer in 1661, while describing the feth prctices of Guine does not mention the subject.8 Moreover Dr. O. Dpper who goes into gret detils bout ech of the Guine Kingdoms nd their religions in 1668,9 s well s John Ogilby, two yers lter,10 re both silent on th point of serpent worship. From ll th it sfe to conclude tht in ll probbility the Ophioltry of Whydh hd its origin in the ltter hlf of the seventeenth century s it ws well estblhed there before the century's close. The whole story of the dvent of the serpent, it must be d mitted, if tken by itself svours somewht of mythologicl derivtion of the cult from neighbouring Ardr. But th sugges tion would be scrcely comptible with known fcts, s we find no indiction tht Ophioltry hd ny previous extence there. Actu lly Des Mrch tkes cre to point out tht, in the fethm of Ardr, it the buzzrd tht singled out for venertion, nd tht they show these birds "the sme respect nd the sme tten tion s hd for the good serpents t Whydh." 11 But even if we exclude th mythologicl spect of the story, t lest s fr s Ardr concerned, there still possibility tht it my hve reference to some migrtion from the est tht brought to Whydh, together with Ophioltry, much-needed suc cour in the time of some wr ginst Ardr. Before leving Des Mrch, ttention should be clled to h minute description of the procession held on April 16, 1725, in honour of the serpent fter the corontion of the King of Why dh.12 He lso goes into gret detil bout the recruiting nd 8 Chrles Chulmer, Le Tbleu de I'Afrique, Pr, O. Dpper, Nukeurige Beschrijvinge der Afrikensche Gewesten, Amster dm, John Ogilby, Afric, London, Lbt, Des Mrch, Vol. II, p " Ditto, Vol. II, p. 145 ff.

46 26 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS trining of little girls for the future office of priestesses nd their subsequent mrrige to the serpent.18 We my now tke up chronologiclly the principl ccounts of the serpent worship t Whydh tht hve come down to us. The erliest detiled nrrtive nd ntedting even tht of Des Mrch from the pen of Willim Bosmn, the Chief Fctor for the Dutch t the Cstle of St. George d'elmin. Written originlly in Dutch in 1700, it ws quickly trnslted nd circulted through out Europe. Concerning Whydh, or s he clls it Fid, he de clres: "It certin tht h country-men hve fint ide of the true God, nd scribe to him the ttributes of Almighty nd Omnipotent; they believe tht he creted the universe, nd there fore vstly prefer him before their idol-gods: but yet they do not pry to him, or offer ny scrifices to him ; for which they give the following reson. God, sy they, too high exlted bove us, nd too gret to condescend so much s to trouble himself or think of mnkind : wherefore he commits the govern ment of the world to their idols; to whom, s the second, third nd fourth persons dtnt in degrees from God, nd our p pointed lwful governors, we re obliged to pply ourselves. And in firm belief of th opinion they quietly continue. Their principl gods, which re owned for such throughout the whole country, re of three sorts. First, certin sort of snkes, who possess the chief rnk mongst their gods.... Their second-rte gods re some lofty high trees; in the formtion of which Dme- Nture seems to hve expressed her gretest rt. The third nd menest god or younger brother to the other the se. These three mentioned re the public deities which re worshipped nd pryed to throughout the whole country.14 "They invoke the snke in excessive wet, or brren sesons : on ll occsions relting to the government nd the preservtion of their cttle, or rther in one word, in ll necessities nd difficulties in which they do not pply to their new btch of gods. And for 13 Ditto, Vol. II, p. 144 ff. 14 Willim Bosmn, A New nd Accurte Description of the Cost of Guine, divided into the Gold, the Slve, nd the Ivory Cost, London, 1705, p. 368.

47 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 27 th reson very gret offerings re mde to it, especilly from the King.15 "The snke-house... situted bout two miles from the King's villge, nd built under very beutiful lofty tree, in which, sy they, the chief nd lrgest of ll the snkes resides. He sort of grndfther to ll the rest represented s thick s mn, nd of n unmesurble length. He must lso be very old, for they report tht they found him ; gret number of yers pst; by reson of the wickedness of men, he left nother country to come to them, t which being overjoyed, they welcomed their new-come god with ll expressible signs of reverence nd big venertion nd crried him upon silken crpet to the snkehouse, where he t present." Th slight vrition from 18 the ccount of Des Mrch. Bosmn continues: "The reverence nd respect which the Negroes preserve for the snke so gret tht blck should brely touch one of them with stick, or ny otherwe hurt him, he ded mn, nd certinly condemned to the flmes. A long time pst, when the Englh first begn to trde here, there if hppened very remrkble nd trgicl event. An Englh Cp tin hving lnded some of h men nd prt of h crgo, they found snke in their house, which they immeditely killed with out the lest scruple, nd not doubting but they hd done good work, threw out the ded snke t their door, where being found by the Negroes in the morning, the Englh preventing the ques tion who hd done the fct, scribed the honour to themselves; which so incensed the ntives, tht they furiously fell on the Englh, killed them ll nd burned their house nd goods.17 "In my time n Aqumboen Negro took snke upon h stick, becuse he durst not venture to touch crried it out of the house it without hurting with h hnds, nd it in the lest, which two or three Negroes seeing, set up the sme cry tht on ccount of fire, by which they cn in usul smll time re the 15 Ditto, p Ditto, p Ditto, p. 376-

48 28 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS whole country.... By these instnces we re deterred from meddling with the ccursed gods or devilh serpents, notwith stnding tht we re frequently molested by them, since in hot sunshine wether, s if they were lovers of drkness, they vit us by five nd six together, creeping upon our chirs, benches, tbles, nd even our beds, nd bering us compny in sleep : nd if they get good plce under our beds, nd our servnts out of lziness don't turn up our bedding, they sometimes continue seven or eight dys, where they hve lso cst their young. But when we re wre of these vermin nd do not desire to be troubled with them ny longer, we need only cll ny of the ntives, who gently crries h god out of doors.18 "But wht best of ll, tht these idoltrous snkes don't do the lest mchief in the world to mnkind. For, by chnce in, if the drk one treds upon them, nd they bite or sting him, not more prejudicil thn the sting of the millepedes. Wherefore the Negroes would fin persude us tht it or stung by these snkes, upon the ple tht one it good to be bitten thereby secured nd protected from the sting of ny poonous snke. But here m somewht dubious, nd should be loth to venture on the credit of their ssertions, becuse hve observed tht the gods them I selves re not proof ginst these venomous serpents, much less cn they protect us from their bite. We sometimes bttles betwixt the idol nd venomous ing here.19 "The species of these yellow nd brown; nd the biggest which bout fthom long, nd the thickness of I observe plesnt snkes, which re not wnt idol serpents here re streked with white, I hve seen here mn's rm." 20 "If we re ever tired with the ntives of th country, nd would fin be rid of them, we need only spek ill of the snke, fter which they immeditely stop their ers nd run out of doors. But though th my be tken from Europen tht they like; yet, 18 Ditto, p Ditto, p Ditto, p. 380.

49 . SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 29 if Negro of nother ntion should presume to do he would run no smll rk.21 "In the yer 1697, my brother fctor Mr. Nichols Poll, who then mnged the slve trde for our Compny t Fid, hd the diversion of very plesnt scene. A hog being bitten by snke, in revenge, or out of love to god's flesh, seized nd devoured him in sight of the Negroes, who were not ner enough to prevent him. Upon th the priests ll complined to the King; but the hog could not defend himself, nd hd no dvocte; nd the priests, unresonble enough in their request, begged of the King to publh it, royl order, tht ll the hogs in h kingdom should be forthwith killed, nd the swiny rce extirpted, without so much s deliberting whether innocent with the guilty." 22 it ws resonble to destroy the Twenty yers fter Bosmn wrote h nrrtive, John Atkins, Surgeon in the Royl Nvy, siled from Spithed, Februry 1720, on n expedition in quest of the pirtes tht were infest ing the slve route from the Guine Cost to the West Indies. Under the cption "Whydh" he wrote in h ccount of the voyge :"Th country governed by n bsolute king, who lives in Negrh mjesty t town clled Sbbee, six miles from the se. H plce dirty lrge bmboo building, of mile or two round, wherein he keeps ner thousnd women, nd divides h time in n indolent mnner... He fttened to 5, mon strous bulk, never hs been out since he becme king (nigh twelve yers)." 28 Concerning the religion of the country, Atkins remrks :"The most curious of their customs, nd peculir to th prt, their snke worship, which, ccording to my intelligence, s follows. Th snke, the object of their worship, common in the fields, nd cherhed s fmilir domestick in their houses, clled deyboys; they re yellow, nd mrbled here nd there, hve 21 Ditto, p Ditto, p John Atkins, Voyge to Guine, Brsil, nd the West Indies in H Mj esty's Ships, the Swllow nd Weymouth, London, 1735, 110. A p.

50 30 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS very nrrow swllow, but diltible (s ll of the serpent kind re) to the thickness of your rm on feeding. It the principl deity or feth of the country, nd brought into more regulrity thn others, by the superior cunning of their fethers, who hve one presiding over them, clled the grnd fether, or high priest, who held in equl reverence with the King himself; ny, sometimes more, through gross supersitition nd fer, for they believe n intercourse with the snke, to whom they hve dedicted their service, cpcittes them to stop or promote the plgues tht in fest them. He hth the crft by th mens, to humble the King himself on ll occsions for their service, nd to drin both him nd the people, in supplying their wnts. It deth for ntive to kill one of these snkes, nd severe punhments to Europens. When rins re wnted t seedtime, or dry wether in hrvest, the people do not stir out fter it night, for fer of the ngry snke, which, provoked with their dobedience, they re tught, will certinly kill them t those times, if brod, or render them idiots."24 All th ws written on the eve of the destruction of Whydh s ntion. The Dhomns of the interior were bent on securing n outlet to the se, tht they might eliminte the costl tribes from their position of middle-men in the lucrtive slve trde. After the conquest of Ardr, Whydh lone stood between them nd the consummtion of their pln. Ordinrily stout restnce might hve been expected. But, s Atkins' description hs shown us, the reigning king ws devoid of the most fundmentl qulities for directing ffirs in such cr. Willim Snelgrve who vited the country three weeks fter the event, plces the dte of the destruction of Whydh by the Dhomns s Mrch, In th connection he writes: The King of Dhomey "ws obliged to hlt there by river, which runs bout hlf mile to the northwrd of the principl town of "Ditto, p Willim Snelgrve, A New Account of some Prts of Guine nd the Slve* Trde, London, 1734, p. 2.

51 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 31 the Whidws, clled Sbee, the residence of their King. Here the King of Dhomey encmped for some time, not imgining he could hve found so esy pssge nd conquest s he met with fterwrds. For the pss of the river ws of tht nture, it might hve been defended ginst the whole rmy, by five hundred resolute men : but insted of gurding it, these cowrdly luxurious people, thinking the fme of their numbers sufficient to deter the Dhomns from ttempting it, kept no set gurd. They only went every morning nd evening to the river side, to mke fetiche s they cll tht to offer scrifice to their principl God, which ws it,, prticulr hrmless snke they dore, nd pryed to on th occsion, to keep their enemies from coming over the river. "And s worshipping snke my seem very extrvgnt to such s re uncquinted with the religion of the Negroes, shll in form the reders of the resons given for by the people of Whidw. Th sort of snke peculir to their country, being of very singulr mke ;for they re very big in the middle, round ing on the bck like hog, but very smll t the hed nd til, which renders their motion very slow. Their color yellow nd it if I white, with brown streks; nd so hrmless tht they re c cidentlly trod on (for cpitl crime to do so wilfully) nd they bite, no bd effect ensues ;which one reson they give for their worshipping of them. Moreover, there constnt trdi it tion mongst them, tht whenever ny clmity thretens their country, by imploring the snke's sstnce, they re lwys de livered from it. However th fell out formerly, in no sted it now stood them ;neither were the snkes themselves spred fter the conquest. For they being in gret numbers, nd kind of domestic niml, the conquerors found mny of them in the houses, which they treted in th mnner. They held them up by the middle, nd spoke to them in th mnner: If you re gods, spek nd sve yourselves: Which the poor snkes not being ble to do, the Dhomns cut their heds off, ripped on the cols, nd te them. It them open, broiled them very strnge, the conquerors

52 32 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS should so fr condemn the gods of the country, since they re so brbrous nd svge themselves, s to offer humn scrifices whenever they gin victory over their enemies." 28 Another vluble witness Willim Smith who ws sent out by the Royl Africn Society of Englnd which desired "n exct ccount of ll their settlements on the cost of Guine." 27 He r rived t Whydh Rod, April 7, 1727, tht, immeditely fter the snke incident. He dds mny interesting detils to Cptin Snelgrve's ccount. Thus he tells us :"H Mjesty of Whydh, who the lrgest nd fttest mn ever sw, thinking himself I little too bulky to fight, ws, upon the first lrm, privtely conveyed wy by the min strength of couple of stout lusty Negroes in hmmock, by which mens he sved h life.28 "The city of Sbee ws bove four miles in circumference. The houses netly built, though only mud-wll covered with thtch, hving no stone in ll tht country nor even pebble s big s wlnut." 28 Concerning the serpent worship, Smith sttes "They re ll pgns nd worship... lrge beutiful kind of snke, which inoffensive in its nture. These re kept in fitth-houses, or churches, built for tht purpose in grove, to whom they scrifice gret store of hogs, fowls, nd gots, &c. nd not devoured : if by the snke, re sure to be tken cre of by the fitth-men, or Pgn priests.... The lity ll go in lrge body by night with drums beting, nd trumpets of elephnt's teeth sounding, in order to perform divine worship, nd implore either prosperous journey, fir wether, good crop, or whtsoever else they wnt. To obtin which from the snke, they then present their offer ing, nd fterwrds return home. They re ll so bigoted to th niml tht ny Negro should touch one of them with stick, if 28 Ditto, p. 10 f. 27 Willim Smith, New Voyge to Guine, London, 1745, p Ditto, p Ditto, p Note: According to Robert Norr, Memoirs the Reign Boss Ahdee, King Dhomy, London, 1789, p. 69: "The inftuted Whydhs contented themselves with plcing, with gret ceremony, the feth snke in the pth, to oppose the invding rmy, which not nswering their hopes nd expect tions, they deemed ll other restnce vin, nd fled precipittely before the conqueror." A of of of

53 I or otherwe hurt flmes. SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 33 One dy s it, I he would be immeditely sentenced to the wlked brod with the Englh Governor, spied one of them lying in the middle of the pth before us, which indeed would hve killed hd he not prevented me, for I he rn nd took up in h rms, telling me, tht ws the kind of snke which ws worshipped by the ntives, nd tht hd killed it, it it if I ll the goods in h fort, nd our ship would not be sufficient to rnsom my life, the country being so very populous tht could not stir without being seen by some of the ntives of whom there were severl looking t us tht hppened to be I on their mrch home from their cptivity t Adrh. They cme, nd begged their god, which he redily delivered to them, nd wy to their fitth- they s thnkfully received nd crried house, with very gret tokens of joy." 80 it ; The destruction of Whydh s Kingdom did not put n end to the venertion of the serpent there. According to Willim Dvynes, who ws one of the directors of the Est Indi Com pny nd who hd left the Cost of Afric in 1763 fter hving resided there twelve yers, eleven yers s Governor t Whydh nd the other t Annmboe, "The snke ws the peculir worship of the ncient people of Whydh, nd when th province ws conquered by the King of Dhomey, the worship of the snke ws continued upon motives of policy. Formerly person who killed snke ws put to deth; but now got scrificed s n tonement." 81 The lst sttement must pply to the cse of Europens lone, for s we shll see the deth penlty ginst 80 Ditto, p. 196 Note: Speking of Dhomey nd vicinity he sys, p. 213: "All the ntives of th Cost believe there one true God, the Author of them nd ll things." C. des Brosses, Du Culte des Dieus Fetiches, ou Prllile de I'Ancienne Religion de I'Sgypte vec Religion de Nigritie, Pr, 1760, pp , drwing h informtion principlly from Atkins, Bosmn nd Des Mrch, gives us detiled ccount of the serpent cult t Whydh which he clls by its old nme Juidh. As the title of h book suggests, he would mke Egypt the source of th Ophioltry of West Afric. 31 Note: Cfr. Report the Lords the Committee Council ppointed for the considertion ll mtters relting to trde nd foreign plnttions, London, Prt View the Evidence tht the Committee hd obtined the present stte those prts Afric from whence slves hve been exported. Th lrge folio volume of some twelve hundred pges which re unfor tuntely not numbered, thus mking reference difficult. f. of I, of of of of l of of of

54 34 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS ntives who injured the scred snke continued for some time to come. Concerning the continution of the serpent cult itself, Robert Norr sttes: "By Trudo's mngement (in tolerting h sub jects with the free exerce of their vrious superstitions; nd incorporting them with the Dhomns by intermrrige if it my be so-clled), no dtinctions being mde between the conquerors nd the conquered, who were now become one people, mny of those who hd fled their ntive countries, to void the clmities of wr, were induced to return nd submit quietly to h govern ment." 82 And "The remnnt of the Whydhs who hd escped the edge of Gudj's sword, were bundntly thnkful to him, for permitting them to continue worship." 88 in the enjoyment of their snke Archibld Dlzel went out to Afric s surgeon in the yer 1763, nd resided three yers on the Gold Cost, some little prt of the time s Governor, nd four yers s Governor of Whydh, returning to Englnd in the yer He ws one of the witnesses who testified before the Committee of Council ppointed for the considertion of ll mtters relting to trde nd foreign plnttions. Reference hs lredy been mde to the Report of th Committee which ws publhed in 1789, nd which contins the following sttement: "With respect to the religion of the people t Whydh nd the generl object of their worship, Mr. Dlzel observed tht in no prt of Afric hd he been ble to understnd the religion of the ntives. At Whydh they py kind of venertion to prticulr species of lrge snke, which very gentle. In Dhomey they py the sme kind of venertion to Tigers. Thus venertion does not prevent people from ctch ing nd killing them if they plese, but they must not touch the berd, which considered s gret offence. They hve gret number of men they cll Fetiche men, or pdres. The word fetiche derived from Portuguese word mening witchcrft." Norr, Memoirs of the Reign of Boss Ahdee, King of Dhomey, p. 2. " Ditto, p. 105, Note. 34 Note : Cfr. lso, Archibld Dlzel, Htory of Dhomey, n Inlnd King dom of Afric, London, 1793, Introduction, p. vi : "Most of the svge ntions

55 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 35 For the condition t Whydh in the closing dys of the eighteenth century, when throughout the Brith Empire the slve trde ws coming to n end, we hve the testimony of Dr. John M'Leod formerly of the Brith Nvy who in 1803 served s surgeon on ship, bound from London to the Cost of Afric, in the slve trde. On th occsion he vited the centre of the serpent cult nd tells us: "In Whydh, for some unccountble reson, they worship their Divinity under the form of prticulr specie of snke, clled Dbo, which not sufficiently lrge to be terrible to mn, nd otherwe tmeble nd inoffensive. These Dbohs re tken cre of in the most pious mnner, nd well fed on rt, mice nd birds, in their feth-houses or temples, where the people ttend to py their dortion, nd where those lso who re sick or lme pply to them for sstnce." Tht the Brith bolition of slvery mde little chnge in the serpent worship t Whydh, evidenced by mple testimony. Thus, John Duncn in h journl records t Whydh in the Spring of 1845: "The snke lso feth here; nd houses re built in severl prts of the town for the ccommodtion of the snkes, 85 hve some confused notion of Supreme intellectul Being, the mker of the uni verse; but th ide not being esily understood mong people not much ddicted to metphysicl resoning, vriety of corporel beings hve been selected s objects of devotion, such s the sun, moon, living nimls, trees, nd other substnces. The tiger the feth of Dhomey ; the snke, tht of Whydh." 35 John M'Leod, A Voyge to Afric with some Account of the Mnners nd Customs of the Dhomin People, London, 1820, p. 32. Note : Dr. M'Leod hd previously stted of Dhomey in generl : "Snkes of the bo species re here found of most enormous size ; mny being thirty to thirty-six feet in length, nd of proportionte girth. They ttck like the wild nd domestic bests, nd often the humn kind." 1. c, p. 32. These re certinly not the scred species, s he tells us on the very next pge : "The bulk of the nimls these serpents re cp ble of gorging would stgger belief, were the fct not so fully ttested s to plce it beyond doubt. The stte of torpor in which they re sometimes found in the woods fter stuffing mel of th kind, ffords the Negroes n opportunity of killing them." 1. c, p. 31. If they were of the scred vriety they would not be killed by the Negroes. To th sme period belongs Pierre Lbrthe, who writes, Voyge l Cote de Guinie, Pr, 1893, p. 133 : "They hve here kind of high-priest whom the Negroes cll the Gret Fether or Gret Voodnoo ; he clims to hve descended from heven nd poses s the interpreter of the gods on erth ; under th gue he demnds the sme honours s re shown to the King." And gin : "Despite their superstitions, these people hve confused ide of _ Supreme Being, llpowerful, immense; they seek to plcte Him through their fethers: they re persuded tht God too good to do them hrm : tht why they render Him no worship." 1. c, p. 135.

56 36 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS where they re regulrly fed. These houses re bout seven feet high in the wlls, with conicl roof, bout eight feet in dimeter, nd circulr. The snkes re of the bo-constrictor tribe, nd re considered quite hrmless, lthough I hve my doubts upon it. They generlly leve th house t intervls, nd when found by ny of the ntives, re tken up nd immeditely conveyed bck to the feth-house, where they re plced on the top of the wll, under the thtch. It dgusting to witness the homge pid to these reptiles by the ntives. When one of them picked up by nyone, others will prostrte themselves s it crried pst, throwing dust on their heds, nd begging to be rubbed over the body with the reptile. After tking the snke up, very hevy penlty incurred by lying it down, before it plced in the feth-house. Wherever snke found it must be immeditely crried to the feth-house, whether it hs ever been plced there before or not. Snkes bound bout Whydh ; their verge length four feet nd hlf ; hed flt, nd neck smll in proportion." 88 Another entry in Duncn's Journl of prticulr interest, s it gives us in detil the punhment inflicted on the ntives for even ccidentlly killing scred serpent. Erlier writers merely indicte tht such n individul ws given to the flmes. Here, however, we hve full description. Under dte of My i, 1845, he writes t Whydh : "Punhment ws inflicted for ccidentlly killing two feth snkes, while clering some rubbh in the French fort. Th one of the most bsurd s well s svge customs I ever witnessed or herd of. Still it not so bd s it ws in the reign of the preceding King of Dhomey, when the lw declred the hed of the unfortunte individul forfeited for 36 John Duncn, Trvels in Western Afric in 1845 & 1846, London, 1847, Vol. I, p Note : The Reverend Thoms B. Freemn, who vited Dhomey in 1843, to promote the interests of the Wesleyn Msionry Society under dte of Mrch 14th records in h journl, Journl of vrious Vits to the Kingdoms of Ashnti, Aku, nd Dhomi in Western Afric, London, 1844, p. 265 : "When we hd proceeded bout two miles nd hlf we pssed one of the King's feth-houses ; from whence fethmn cme nd pronounced blessing, begging of the feth sfe journey for us to Abomi. Though I pitied the people on ccount of their superstitions, yet I could not help dmiring their pprent sincerity."

57 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 37 killing one of these reptiles, even by ccident. The present King hs reduced the cpitl punhment to tht described below. On th occsion three individuls were sentenced s guilty of the murder of th feth snke. A smll house thereupon mde for ech individul, composed of dry fggots for wlls, nd it thtched with dry grss. The feth-men then ssemble, nd fully describe the enormity of the crime committed. Ech individul then smered over, or rther hs quntity of plm-oil nd yest poured over them, nd then bushel bsket plced on ech of the heds. In th bsket re plced smll clbshes, filled to the brim, so tht the slightest motion of the body spills both the oil nd the yest, which runs through the bottom of the bsket on to the hed. Ech individul crries dog nd kid, s well s two fowls, ll fstened together, cross h shoulders. The culprits were then mrched slowly round their newly prepred houses, the feth-men hrnguing them ll the time. Ech individul then brought to the door of h house, which not more thn four feet high. He there freed from h burthen, nd compelled to crwl into h house on h belly, for the door only eighteen inches high. He then shut into th smll spce with the dog, kid nd two fowls. The house then fired, nd the poor wretch llowed to mke h escpe through the flmes to the nerest run ning wter. During h journey there he pelted with sticks nd clods by the ssembled mob; but if the culprit hs ny friends, they generlly contrive to get nerest to him, during h rce to the wter, nd sst him, s well s hinder the mob in the en devours to injure him. When they rech the wter they plunge themselves hedlong into it, nd re then considered to be clensed of ll sin or crime of the snke-murder." 87 Mr. Duncn subsequently returned to Whydh in 1849 s Vice Consul to the Kingdom of Dhomey,38 nd ws t h personl request tht Commnder Forbes ws ppointed to ccompny him 37 Ditto, Vol. p Frederick E. Forbes, Dhomey nd the Dhomns: being the Journls two Msions to the King Dhomey, nd Residence t h Cpitl, in the yers 1X49 nd 1850, London, 1851, Vol. p. 43. I, of I, it 0}

58 38 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS to the Court of Dhomey in the interests of the suppression of the slve trde. We my profitbly cull some extrcts from the Jour nl kept by Commnder Forbes on th occsion. Thus he writes : "The religion of Dhomey mystery only known to the initited. There no dily worship, but periods t which the feth-men nd -women dnce. They who re initited hve gret power nd exct much in return. It proverb tht the poor re never initited. The Feth of Abomey the leoprd, tht of Whydh the snke. The humn scrifices t the See-queh-nee re neither to the invincible god 'Seh,' nor to the feth 'Voh-dong,' but to the vitited ppetites of the soldiery. At the Cnnh Customs there re scrifices to the Voh-dong ; nd t the See-que-h-nee there re scrifices to the mnes of their ncestors ; the Dhomns, like the dciples of Confucius, looking to their deprted ncestors for blessing in th life." 89 Mrch 8, 1849, he records: "The lions of Whydh re the snke feth-house nd the mrket. The former temple built round huge cotton tree, in which re t ll times mny snkes of the bo species. These re llowed to rom bout t plesure ; but if found in house or t dtnce, feth-mn or -womn sought, whose duty it to induce the reptile to return, nd to reconduct it to its scred bode, whilst ll tht meet it must bow down nd ks the dust. Morning nd evening, mny re to be seen prostrted before the door, whether worshipping the snke di rectly, or n invible god, which known under the nme of 'Seh,' through these, I m not lerned enough to determine." In supplementry chpter on "Religion," however, he sttes unequivoclly: "The 'Voo-doong,' or feth, represents on erth the supreme god 'Seh,' nd in common with thunder nd light ning, 'Soh.' " 41 Humour t times creeps into the Journl. On Mrch 10th, Com mnder Forbes writes : "Clled on the viceroy, nd hd long converstion with him bout trde.... On leving feth-mn 40 "9 Ditto, Vol. I, p Ditto, Vol. I, p. 108 f. 41 Ditto, Vol. I, p. 171.

59 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 39 ws pssing the gte, with two lrge snkes. Stte officers in most brbrous countries find it more convenient to remin t home, except when duty clls them brod. The burly officer, ws, c cording to custom, seeing me beyond h gte nd th ws n opportunity not to be lost, the feth-mn ddressed him t gret length, in pre of h extrordinry liberlity to the feth, for which he hd no doubt to py hndsomely." 42 And gin, on July 12th he records: "On leving the Brith fort th morning, we lerned tht n extrordinry instnce of the gorging of the feth snke hd tken plce in the night. The reptile ly in the kitchen in dredful pin, trying to force the hind legs nd til of ct into h dtended stomch, now in the shpe of the hlfswllowed victim. A feth-womn rriving, crried the deity to the temple." 43 It not so surpring then, to find Fther Lfitte, who rrived t Dhomey in 1861, nd devoted eight yers to msionry work, reporting tht mong those employed in the service of the scred serpents ws physicin, "chrged especilly to wtch over the welfre of their lborious digestion." 44 Another witness covering th sme period J. Leighton Wil son, who devoted eighteen yers to msionry work in Afric nd subsequently becme Secretry of the Americn Presby terin Bord of Foreign Msions. Of the se-port town of Whydh, he sys : "There no plce where there more intense hethenm ; nd to mention no other feture in their superstitious prctices, the worship of snkes t th plce fully illustrtes th remrk. A house in the middle of the town provided for the exclusive use of these reptiles, nd they my be seen here t ny time in very gret numbers. They re fed, nd more cre tken of them thn of the humn inhbitnts of the plce. If they re seen strying wy they must be brought bck; nd t the sight of them the people prostrte themselves on the ground, nd do them ll possible reverence. To kill or injure one of them to 42 Ditto, Vol. I, p Ditto, Vol. I, p J. Lfitte, Le Dhome, Tours, 1873, p. 101.

60 40 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS incur the penlty of deth. On certin occsions they re tken out by the priests or doctors, nd prded bout the streets, the berers llowing them to coil themselves round their rms, necks, 45 nd bodies." Th brings us to Richrd F. Burton of Arbin Nights fme, who, writing in 1864, more thn century nd qurter fter the event, thus detils the debcle of the over-trustful devotees of the serpent-god t Whydh. "The inftuted Whydhs," he sys, "insted of defending their frontier line, were contented to plce with gret ceremony Dnh, the feth snke, Dn-like, in the pth. Agj hd retired to levy h whole force, leving the field rmy under h generl. The ltter seeing only snke to oppose prog ress ordered 200 resolute fellows to try the ford. They not only crossed it unimpeded, but were ble to penetrte into the cpi tl." 48 He hs lredy sid : "When the Dhomns permitted 48 J. Leighton Wilson, Western Afric, Its Htory, Condition, nd Prospects, London, 1856, p Note: Wilson sys of himself, Prefce, p. iv: "The writer hs spent between eighteen nd twenty yers in the country. He hs hd oppor tunity to vit every plce of importnce long the secost, nd hs mde ex tended excursions in mny of the mritime dtricts. He hs studied nd reduced to writing two of the leding lnguges of the country, nd hs enjoyed, in these vrious wys, more thn ordinry dvntges for mking himself cquinted with the ctul condition of the people. He clims for h book the merit of being fithful nd unpretending record of Africn Society." Of West Afric in generl, he sserts, p. 209: "The belief in one gret Supreme Being, who mde nd upholds ll things universl. Nor th ide imperfectly or obscurely developed in their minds. The impression so deeply engrved upon their morl nd mentl nture, tht ny system of them strikes them s too bsurd nd preposterous to require denil. Everything which trnspires in the nturl world beyond the power of mn, or of spirits, who re supposed to occupy plce somewht higher thn mn, t once spontneously scribed to the gency of God. All of the tribes in the country with which the writer hs become c quinted (nd they re not few) hve nme for God, nd mny of them hve two or more, significnt of h chrcter s Mker, Preserver, nd Benefctor." And gin, p. 218: "On some prts of the Gold Cost the crocodile scred; certin clss of snkes, on the Slve Cost, nd the shrk t Bonny, re ll re grded s scred, nd re worshipped, not on their own ccount, perhps, but becuse they re regrded s the temples, or dwelling-plces, of spirits. Like every other object of the kind, however, in the course of time the thing signified for gotten in the representtive, nd these vrious nimls hve long since been re grded with superstitious venertion, while little thought of the indwelling spirit... The snke t Popo hs become so tme tht it my be crried bout with impunity, nd so fr trined tht it will bite, or refrin from biting, t the plesure of its keeper." 48 Richrd F. Burton, A Msion to Celele, King of Dhome, London, 1864, Vol. I, p. 146.

61 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 41 serpent worship to continue, the Whydhs bundntly thnkful, becme lmost reconciled to the new stern rule.47 The serpent revered s scred in Burton's dy ws clerly of identicl species with tht first described by vitors to Whydh. For he sys : "The reptile brown yellow-nd-white-streked python of moderte dimensions; nd none pper to exceed five feet. The nrrow neck nd hed tpering like the slow-worms, show it to be hrmless; the Negro indeed sys tht its bite good defence ginst the venomous species, nd it tme with constnt hndling. M. Wllon sw 100 in the temple, some 10 feet long, nd he tells h reders tht they re never known to bite, wheres they use their shrp teeth like rts. Of these 'nice gods' I counted seven, including one which ws csting its slough ; ll were reposing upon the thickness of the cly wll where it met the inner thtch. They often wnder t night, nd whilst I ws sketching the plce Negro brought n stry in h rms; before ring he rubbed h right hnd on the ground nd duly dusted h forehed, s grovelling before the king. The ugly brute it, if coiled hrmlessly round h neck, like 'doctored' cobr in Indi or Algeri. Other snkes my be killed nd crried ded through the town, but strngers who meddle with the Dnhgbwe must look out for 'plvers' which, however, will probbly now resolve themselves into fine." 48 Then follows description, differing 47 Ditto, Vol. p. 96. Note: According to Burton, Vol. 61 "The word 'Whydh' compound of blunders. should be written Hwe-dh, nd be p plied to the once prosperous nd populous little kingdom whose cpitl ws Svi. A 'bush town' to the westwrd, supposed to hve been founded nd to be still held by the boriginl Whydhs, who fled from the msscres Dhoine, retins the nme Hwe-dh. The celebrted slve-sttion which we hve dubbed 'Why ; I, ; I, of : It dh' known to the people s Gre-hwe or Gle-hwe, 'Plnttion-house.' " Cfr. lso, Archibld Dlzel, Htory Dhomey, Prefce, p. xii :"Whydh," s pronounced by the ntives who sound the w of strong, like in whip, the French write Juid the Dutch, Fid, &c." Burton lso sserts, Vol. p. 96 "Ophioltry in our prt of Afric mostly confined to the cost regions; the Popos nd Windwrd rces worship blck snke of lrger size nd in the Bight of Bifr the Nimbi or Brss River people re s bigoted in bo-religion s re the Whydhs. The system of old dte: Bosmn t the beginning of the lst century, described lmost s t present. It well suits the gross mterilm of these rces, nd yet here men ought to be tired of it." 48 Burton, c, Vol. 1. I. p. 94. it it I, p. : it it

62 42 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS only slightly in detil from Duncn's ccount of two decdes erlier. Thus : "In older times deth hs been the consequence of killing one of these reptiles, nd if the snke be bused, 'serious people' still stop their ers nd run wy. When under former reigns, ntive killed Dnhgbwe, even ccidentlly, he ws put to deth; now the murderer plced somewht like the Sl mnders of old Vuxhll, in hole under hut of dry fggots thtched with grss which hs been well gresed with plm-oil. Th fired, nd he must rush to the nerest running wter, mercilessly belboured with sticks nd pelted with clods the whole wy by the Dnhgbwe-no, or feth-priests. Mny of course die under the guntlet." 40 Of the "Bo Temple" he observes : "It nothing but smll cylindricl mud hut some feth-houses re squre with thick cly wlls supporting flying thtch roof in extinguher shpe. Two low nrrow doorless entrnces front ech other, leding to red floor of tmped erth, upon which there nothing but broom nd bsket. It roughly whitewshed inside nd out, nd when I sw it lst very lubberly fresco of ship under full sil sprwled on the left side of the doorwy. A little dtnce from the entrnce were three smll pennons, red, white nd blue cotton tied to the top of tll poles." 50 And gin : "On the other side of the rod the devotees of the snke re generlly lolling upon the tree roots in pretended pthy, but crefully wtching over their gods. Here, too, re the feth schools, where ny child touched by the holy reptile must be tken for yer from its pr ents who 'py the piper' nd must be tught the vrious rts of singing nd dncing necessry to the worship. Th prt of the system hs, however, lost much of the excesses tht previled in the lst century when t the plesure of the strong-bcked feth-men, even the king's dughters were not excused from incrcertion nd from its presumble object. The temple still nnully vited by the Viceroy, during the intervl fter the Customs nd before the cmpigning seson. He tkes one bullock, with gots, fowls, 49 Ditto, Vol. I, p Ditto, Vol. I, p. 93.

63 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 43 cloth, rum, mel, nd wter to the priest, who holding bit of kol nut, prys loud for the king, the country, nd the crops." 81 Burton reltes one incident which shows wht hold the fnticm hd on the people t lrge even in h dy. Speking of the Ctholic Msion Sttion t Whydh which ws locted in wht ws known s the Portuguese "Fort" : "In Mrch, 1863, the fort ws struck by the lightning-god, Khevioso, the Shngo of the Egbs; nd they re not wnting who suppose tht the fe thers, hving been worsted in dpute by the Pdres, took the op portunity of storm to commit the rson. As the inmtes impi ously extinguhed the fire, they were hevily fined; nd, on refusing to py, the Fther-Superior ws improned. In June of the sme yer occurred nother dpute, bout scred snke tht ws unceremoniously ejected from the msion premes, nd doubtless th nti-hethenm will bring them to further grief." 52 Pierre Bouche who spent seven yers on the Slve Cost, ws resident t Whydh in 1868, where, s he tells us, he witnessed th scene : "One dy I ws on my wy to vit sick person. The boy who ccompnied me suddenly cried out : 'Fther, fetiche!' I turned quickly, nd sw lrge serpent which hd pssed by me. Before it, blck prostrted himself, plcing h brow in the dust nd bowing low. H pryer deeply dtressed me: 'You re my fther, you re my mother,' sid he to the reptile; m ll yours... my hed belongs to you!... Be propitious to me And he covered himself with dust s mrk of humilition." 83 Writing of the sme period, E. Desribes tells us :"The cult of living serpents 'I in vogue t mny points long the Cost!' ;but no where hve they temples nd regulr scrifices s t Whydh.... At Grnd Popo not fr from Whydh, the serpents hve no tem ple, true, but they receive cult even more revolting. There there species of lrge, very ferocious reptiles; when one of these serpents encounters smll nimls, he mercilessly devours them; nd the more vorcious the more excites the devotion of its it it, it 81 Ditto, Vol. p Ditto, Vol. p Pierre Bouche, L Cote des Esclves et I, I, le Dhomey, Pr, 1885, p. 389.

64 44 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS worshippers. But the gretest honours, the gretest blessings re bestowed on it when, finding young child it mkes mel of it. Then the prents of the poor victim prostrte themselves in the dust, nd give thnks to one so divine s to hve chosen the fruit of their love to mke of it repst." 54 We shll hve occsion to refer to th incident lter. Our next witness J. A. Skertchley who tells us : "In the erly prt of I left Englnd with the object of mking zoologicl collections on the West Cost of Afric." 85 On ccount of locl wrs, he ws unble to penetrte the interior t Assinee nd Accr nd so proceeded to Whydh, where he ws induced to vit King Gelele t Abomey, where he ws detined s "guest" for eight months. Incidentlly he reltes : "Opposite Aguli, hidden from profne eyes by thick grove of fig trees which form but mere undergrowth when compred with severl tll bombxes in their midst, the fr-fmed snke house, or 'Dnh-hweh,' s it usully clled. The nme derived from Dnh, snke, nd Hweh, residence. It sometimes clled Vodun-hweh, i. e. the fetiche house; nd gin, 'dnhgbwe-hweh,' or the big snke (python) house. I ws much dppointed t th renowned fe tiche, for insted of respectble temple, I found nothing but circulr swh hut, with conicl roof ; in fct, n enlrged model of the prin inkstnds to be seen in every toy-shop. There ws nrrow doorwy on the estern side 58 leding to the interior, the floor of which ws red foot bove the street. The wlls nd floors were whitewshed, nd there were few rude ttempts t reliefs in swh. From the roof there depended severl pieces of coloured yrn, nd severl smll pots contining wter were d- 54 E. Desribes, L'&vngtie u Dhomey et l Cote des Esclves, Clermont- Ferrnd, 1877, p. 184 f. Note : Another instnce of exggerted deference to the serpent given by Mry H. Kingsley, West Africn Studies, London, 1899, p. 483, s follows : "The python the Brss ntives' titulr gurdin ngel. So gret ws the venertion of th Ju-ju snke in former times, tht the ntive kings would sign no treties with her Britnnic Mjesty's Government tht did not include cluse subjecting ny Europen to hevy fine for killing or molesting in ny wy th hideous reptile." 55 J. A. Skertchley, Dhomey s it ; being nrrtive of eight months' Resi dence in tht Country, London, 1874, Prefce, p. vii. 58 Note : Th fct my strengthen the supposition tht the cult cme originlly from the est.

65 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 45 tributed bout the floor. The roof ws red bove the circulr wlls by short projecting pieces of bmboo ; nd coiled up on the top of the wll, or twining round the rfters, were twenty-two pythons. The cretures were the ordinry brown nd ple yellow reptiles, whose gretest length bout eight feet. They were the scred Dnhgbwes whose power ws relied upon to sve the king dom from the conquering rmies of Agjh. It ws the tutelry sint of Whydh, nd when tht kingdom ws conquered, ws introduced into the Dhomn pntheon. As recent s the lte King's reign, if ntive hd the mfortune to ccidentlly (for no one would hve hd the temerity to purposely) kill Dnhgbwe, he ws t once scrificed, nd h wives nd property confcted to the church. At the present time the defulter hs to undergo foretste of the sufferings of h portion herefter." 57 Then follows description of the ordel by fire which hs l redy been described. Incidentlly, Skertchley gives indiction of decdence hving 57 Skertchley, 1. c, p. 54. Note : Skertchley lter observes, p. 461 : "The Dho mn religion consts of two prts, totlly dtinct from ech other. First belief in Supreme Being, nd second, the belief in whole host of minor deities. The Su preme Being clled Mu, nd vested with unlimited uthority over every being, both spiritul nd crnl. He supposed to be of so high nture s to cre very little for the circumstnces of men, nd h ttention only directed to them by some specil invoction. He resides in wonderful dwelling bove the sky, nd commits the cre of erthly ffirs to rce of beings, such s leoprds, snkes, locusts, or crocodiles, nd lso to innimte objects, such s stones, rgs, cowries, leves of certin trees, nd, in short, nything nd every thing. Th deity sid to be the sme s the God of civiliztion ; but the white mn hs fr freer ccess to Him thn the Negro, who therefore obliged to resort to meditors. Hence the origin of fethm." Cfr. lso, A. Le Herse, L'Ancien Royume du Dhomey; Meurs, Religion, Htoire, Pr, 191 1, p. 96: "The Dhomn believe in Supreme Being whom they cll Mhou (God) or Se (Beginning, Intelligence). They hve neither sttue nor symbol to represent Him, they dedicte no cult to Him; H nme only pronounced in some exclmtions or invoctions. Mhou hs creted the uni verse; He hs in prticulr creted the fethes, Vodoun, nd hs given them certin forces, certin powers of which they mde use in their own wy to govern humn destinies. These Vodoun moreover, re not, in the strict sense, intermediries of Mhou, but rther h free nd independent gents : 'The feth creture of God' 'Vodoun e gni Mhounou.' Or, gin : 'God possesses the feth' 'Mhou oue do Vodoun.' The Vodoun re innumerble for, to the D homn, every monstrosity or phenomenon which exceeds h imgintion or h intelligence feth, creture of God which demnds cult. The thunder, smll-pox, the se re ll fethes; the telegrph nd our rilwys would most ssuredly lso be so, if " they were not 'mchine of the whites.' M. Le Herse ws writing s Admintrtes des Colonies. He deling with ncient D homey nd consequently independent of the Whydh influence.

66 46 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS set in, t lest s regrds externl dcipline. Tht reverence for the scred serpent, s regrds the populce, becoming subservi ent to greed on the prt of the custodins of the temple, evi denced by the following pssge: "The doorwy being lwys open, the snkes frequently mke excursions fter nightfll. Should n unfortunte person of either sex meet the strolling deity, he obliged to prostrte himself before it tenderly in h rms, crry it it, nd then, tking to the priests. Of course he wrded by these gentlemen for tking cre of the god, sys the reder. No such thing!he fined for meeting the snke, nd im proned until pid to the lst cowrie." 58 Eight yers fter Skertchley, Colonel Ell vited Whydh nd I it thus describes h experience: "While t Whydh French Fctory, nd there the night of my rrivl. It I ws hd I re styed t the rther unplesnt dventure on very close night, nd I ws sleep ing in the grss hmmock slung from the jots of the roof, when ws wkened by something pressing hevily on my chest. put out my hnd nd felt clmmy object. It ws sprung out of the hmmock with more gility thn I snke, I I hve ever exhibited before or since, nd turned up the lmp tht ws burning on the tble. then dcovered tht my vitor ws python, from nine to ten feet in length, who ws mking himself quite t home, I nd curling himself up under the blnket in the hmmock. it I ws the most socible snke I hd ever met, nd I I thought like snkes to be friendly when they re in the sme room with me, becuse then cn kill them the more esily; so French friends to borrow intruder. When I told him wht I went nd clled one of my stick or cutlss with which to sly the I ceedingly lrmed nd sked me nxiously purposed doing he ppered ex if I hd yet injured the reptile in ny wy. replied tht hd not, but ws going to. He seemed very much relieved, nd sid tht ws without doubt one of the feth snkes from the snke-house, nd must on no ccount be hrmed, nd tht he would send nd tell the priests, who would come nd tke wy in the morning. He told me tht short time bck the mster of merchnt vessel hd killed 58 Skertchley, 1. c, p. 56. it it I I I

67 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 47 python tht hd come into h room t night, thinking he ws only doing wht ws nturl, nd knowing nothing of the preju dices of the ntives, nd hd in consequence got into good del of trouble, hving been improned for four or five dys nd mde to py hevy fine. "Next morning I went to see the snke-house. It circulr hut with conicl roof mde of plm brnches,89 nd contined t tht time from 200 to 250 snkes. They were ll pythons, nd of ll sizes nd ges; the jots nd sticks supporting the roof were completely covered with them, nd looking upwrds one sw vst writhing nd undulting mss of serpents. Severl in stte of torpor, digesting their lst mel, were lying on the ground; nd ll seemed perfectly tme, s they permitted the officiting priest to pull them bout with very little ceremony. "Ophioltry tkes precedence of ll other forms of Dhomn religion, nd its priests nd followers re most numerous. The python regrded s the emblem of bls nd prosperity, nd to kill one of these scred bos strictly speking, cpitl offence, though now the full penlty of the crime seldom inflicted, nd the scrilegious culprit llowed to escpe fter being mulcted of h worldly goods, nd hving 'run--muck' through crowd of snke-worshippers rmed with sticks nd fire-brnds." 80 Evi, dently the ordel of the burning huts hs been mitigted, still n other indiction of the decdence in ritul. Ell continues: "Any child who chnces to touch, or to be touched by one of these reptiles, must be kept for spce of one yer t the feth-house under the chrge of the priest, nd t the expense of the prents, to lern the vrious rites of Ophioltry nd the ccompnying dncing nd singing." 81 Abel Hovelcque, writing in 1889, thus depicts the forml nuptil ceremonies with the serpent which the priestess undergoes when she hs ttined the mrrige ge of bout fourteen or fif- Note :59 We must here notice tht the cse of the snke-house, the mud hut hs given wy to one of plm brnches. Th nother indiction tht decdence in the worship hs begun. 60 A. B. Ell, The Lnd Feth, London, 1883, p Ditto, p. 46. of in f.

68 48 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS teen yers: "They re brought to the temple. On the following night they re mde to descend into vulted cellr, where it sid tht they find two or three serpents who espouse them in the nme of the gret serpent. Until the mystery ccomplhed, their compnion nd the other priestesses dnce nd sing with the ccompniment of instruments. They re then known under the nme of wives of the gret serpent, which title they continue to crry ll their lives." 82 During the lst hlf of the nineteenth century rpid decy set in s regrds the venertion of the serpent t Whydh, due no doubt to incresing contcts with the white mn nd consequent Europen influences. Thus fidourd Fo, resident in Dhomey from 1884 to 1890, describes conditions s they exted t the time of the French occuption which ws completed in Remrking the extrordinry prestige which Dngbe enjoyed, he tells us : "One being lone, however, mkes exception to the rule : it the pig. When he meets the god (which hppens t every step in Dhomey nd Popo) without regrd for the venertion of which it the object, kills ets up, or t lest trmples it, under foot when he hs sufficiently gorged himself with the kind." 88 And pprently there re now no retlitory mesures on the prt of the devotees of the serpent. Finlly M. Brunet, who ws the delegte of Dhomey t the World Exposition of 1900, while stting tht no mother would dre rescue her own child if it it seized by one of the scred snkes, sserts lter tht for some yers the cult of the serpent hs been on the decline, killed or injured flogged." 64 nd dds :"Tody, when blck hs ccidentlly reptile, they re content to hve the culprit 62 Abel Hovelcque, Les Nigres de VAfrique Sus- qutorile, Pr, 1889, p Cfr. lso M. Mlte-Brun, Universl Geogrphy, Phildelphi, 1827, Vol. p. 23:Ill, "In Whydh serpent regrded s the god of wr, of trde, of griculture, nd of fertility. It fed in species of temple, nd ttended by n order of priests. Some young women re consecrted to whose business to plese the deity with their wnton dnces, nd who re in fct sort of con cubines of the priests. Every new king brings rich presents to the serpent. (Des Mrch, II, p Oldendorp, p. 328)." 63 fidourd Fo, Le Dhomey, Pr, 1895, p L. Brunet, Dhomey et Dependnces, Pr, 1901, p. 353 f. it, f. it

69 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 49 The evidence dduced in the present chpter shows conclusively tht the Ophioltry s prcticed by the Whydhs ws worship in the strict sense of the word. Its ultimte object superhumn being : we find well orgnized priesthood ; the snke-house or temple described by ll vitors ; scrifices re certinly employed nd there ritul procedure. When we first come in contct with the worship of the serpent t Whydh towrds the end of the seventeenth century, we find it well orgnized nd in full vigour. Still there re indictions tht it hd not been long estblhed there. Certinly, ll trditions point to the fct tht it not indigenous nd tht it hs come presumbly from the est. Th in conformity with the suppo sition tht Ugnd the fountinhed of Africn Ophioltry. After the destruction t Sbee of the originl centre of Whydh Ophioltry, it springs up gin nd extended to other loclities. For the most prt, it follows closely t first the old ritul, but s time goes on nd Europen contcts ssert themselves, modific tions grdully creep in, nd we find t one centre t lest, Grnd Popo, the introduction of decdent vrint. A humn child be comes victim when the scred serpent sees fit to pproprite one for the purpose. Thus while the worship of the serpent ws well regulted nd clerly defined, should child come in contct with one of the scred reptiles, it ws regrded s sign of voction to its service, nd the little one ws immeditely ttched to the school estblhed for the purpose, where the service of the deity ws formlly tught. In the decdent dys, however, s witnessed independently by Desribes nd Brunet, mothers redily yielded up their children not merely to the service of the scred snkes, but s living holocust should one of these reptiles pproprite the little one for the purpose. We must lso notice, tht especilly in the erlier ccounts of the worship t Whydh there no question of idoltry. The ser pent itself not the object of dortion, it merely medium of giving worship to the Supreme Being, whtever concept in the ntive mind th term my represent. In the present work we re excluding ll theologicl considertions nd we must leve to

70 50 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS lter volume the nlys of wht the rel divinity ws tht ws usully honoured by the title of Cretor or Mker. Furthermore, there re indictions, s noted by Forbes, tht the superhumn being to whom the Whydh ddressed himself ws probbly the ncestrl spirits, nd tht these were in some wy connected with the scred pythons. The Reverend Robert Hmmill Nssu, Presbyterin minter, with Doctorte both in Medicine nd in Scred Theology, ws for forty yers msionry in French Congo, nd publhed in 1904 work on fethm in West Afric, wherein he gives us the fruit of h life-study of ntive customs nd superstitions. Mry H. Kingsley gives due credit to Mr. Nssu for much vluble informtion on feth, nd then plyfully tkes him to tsk for not hving thrown open to science the mss of vluble mteril collected in long yers of reserch. Thus she writes: "I m quite wre tht Dr. Nssu ws the first white mn to send home gorill's brins : still I deeply regret he hs not done more for science nd geogrphy. Hd he but hd Livingstone's con scientious devotion of tking notes nd publhing them, we should know fr more thn we do t present bout the hinterlnd from Cmeroons to Ogowe, nd should hve for ethnologicl purposes, n immense mss of thoroughly relible informtion bout the mnners nd religions of the tribes therein, nd Dr. Nssu's fme would be mong the gretest of the few gret Africn ex plorers not tht he would cre row of pins for tht." 85 All unknown to Ms Kingsley, Dr. Nssu hd been tking the neces sry notes nd the publiction of h book repired the other short coming referred to by h critic who hd been so deeply impressed by the Doctor's "immense mss of thoroughly relible inform tion bout the mnners nd religion of the tribes" he hd vited. Dr. Nssu, it true, treting of the Bntu tribes situted for the most prt south of the equtor, but much tht he sys lso pplicble to the Negroes in the strict sense of the word, nmely, those tribes from which the bulk of the slves were drwn, nd which go by the generic term of West Africns. 85 Mry H. Kingsley, Trvels in West Afric, p. 394 f.

71 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 51 Quite possibly, Ms Kingsley, if sked, might not hve given to the finhed book the sme encomium which she extended to the mteril in hnd. Still s she ws like Ell, whose writings crry gret weight with her, to certin extent professed follower of Spencer, her generl pprovl of Dr. Nssu's conscientiousness nd bility in h scientific reserches, should lend considerble support to the fcts dduced s well s to the conclusions drwn. Dr. Nssu unreserved in h ssertion : "I see nothing to justify the theory of Menzies 88 tht primitive mn or the un tutored Africn of tody, in worshipping tree, snke, or n idol, originlly worshipped those very objects themselves, nd tht the suggestion tht they represented, or were even the dwelling-plce of, some spiritul Being n fter-thought up to which we hve grown in the lpse of ges. Rther I see every reson to believe tht the thought of the Being or Beings s n object of worship hs come down by trdition nd from direct originl reveltion of Jehovh Himself. The ssumption of vible tngible object to represent or personify tht Being the fter-thought tht humn ingenuity hs dded. The civilized Romnt clims tht he does not worship the ctul sign of the cross, but the Chrt who ws crucified on it; similrly, the Dhomn in h worship of the snke." 87 Agin Dr. Nssu sserts : "The evil thing tht the slve brought with him ws h religion. You do not need to go to Afric to find the fetich. During the hundred yers tht slvery in our Americ held the Negro crushed, degrded, nd prt, h mster could deprive him of h mnhood, h wife, h child, the fruits of toil, of h life; but there ws one thing of which he could not deprive him, h fith in fetich chrms. Not only did th religion of the fetich endure under slvery it grew. None but Chrtin msters offered the Negro ny other religion ; nd by lw, even they were debrred from giving them ny eduction. So fetichm flourhed. The mster's children were infected by the contgion of supersti- 88 Htory of Religions, p. 129 ff. 87 Robert Hmmill Nssu, Fetichm in West Afric: Forty Yers' Observ tion of Ntive Customs nd Superstitions, London, 1904, p. 48.

72 52 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS tion; they imbibed some of it t the Negro foster-mother's brests. It ws secret religion tht lurked thinly covered in slvery dys, nd tht lurks tody beneth the Negro's Chrtin profession s white rt, nd mong the non-professors s blck rt; mem ory of the revenges of h Africn ncestors; secret frternity mong slves of fr dtnt plnttions, with words nd signs, the lifting of finger, the twitch of n eyelid, tht tele grphed from house to house with mzing rpidity (s tody in Afric) current news in old slve dys nd during the lte Civil Wr ; suspected, but never understood by the white mster ; which, s superstition, hs spred itself mong our ignornt white msses s the 'Hoodoo,' Vudu, or Odom, simply Africn fetichm trnsplnted to Americn soil." 88 Pere Budin, while lbouring s msionry mong the Dhomns, writes : "Their trditions nd religious doctrines sug gest people more civilized thn the blcks of Guine of the pres ent dy. And on the other hnd, mny customs, usges, nd in dustries show clerly tht they re people in decdence. The wrs, prticulrly the civil wrs, which hve lid wste, nd still con tinue to ly wste, these countries, hve cused them to lose wht they hd preserved of their ncient civiliztion, which ws in gret prt Egyptin, s indicted by mny customs nd usges.... "Though scttered over n immense extent of country, these feth-worshippers hve certin uniformity of religious belief; 68 Ditto, p Note : Cfr. lso J. J. Cooksey nd Alexnder McLeh, Re ligion nd Civiliztion in West Afric, London, 1931, p. 82, in reference to D homey : "The ntive feth priests re not the simple, ignornt men, mny in Europe suppose them to be, on the contrry, they belong to the elite of the people nd re of more thn verge intelligence. Actully cunning sge, the feth priest uses uncnny tricks designed to led the common people to believe tht, by virtue of n initition of which he holds the secret, he cn commnd the good or evil powers of the spirit world. On ll sides in Dhomey, whether round Port Novo, the cpitl, or wy in the northern bush country, wyside shrines, snke temples nd scred groves re seen, ll furnhed with fntstic objects of ven ertion. The terrific hold of fethm which ws responsible for the revolting butchery of 'The Annul Customs' still persts in Dhomey, nd the gret obstcle like to civiliztion nd the progress of the Gospel." Then in footnote dded the remrk : "The tremendous hold which th Voodoo worship hs over its votries seen in its perstence in the Republic of Hiti, in which mny people from Dhomey re found."

73 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 53 their divinities re identicl, differing only in nme ; nd the pr ticulr detils which we give of the blcks of the Slve Cost of Yorub, Dhomey, Benin, nd other neighbouring kingdoms pply to ll feth-worshipping ntions." 89 Of "The Religious System of the Negroes of Guine," he s serts : "The religion of the blcks n odd mixture of monothe m, polythem, nd idoltry. In these religious systems the ide of God fundmentl; they believe in the extence of Su preme Primordil Being, the Lord of the Universe, which H work. Monothem recognizes t the sme time numbers of in ferior gods nd subordinte goddesses. Ech element hs its di vinity who s it were incorported erns it, nd in it, who nimtes nd gov the object of dortion. After the gods nd goddesses there re infinite numbers of good nd evil genii ;then comes the worship of heroes nd gret men who were dtin guhed during their lives. The blcks lso worship the ded, nd believe in metempsychos, or the migrtion of souls into other bodies. They believe in the extence of n Olympus, where dwell the gods nd celebrted men who hve become fethes, nd in n inferior world, the sojourn of the ded, nd finlly in stte of punhment for gret criminls. They hve lso their met morphos, their scred nimls, their temples nd their idols, etc. In word, their religion similr in ll things to the old poly them of the ncients; nd notwithstnding the bundnt testi mony of the extence of God, prcticlly only vst pnthe m, prticiption of ll the elements of the divine nture, which s were diffused throughout them ll." 70 He then proceeds to go into detils: "The ide of God Al though deeply imbued with polythem, the blcks hve not lost ide of true God ;the yet their ide of Him very confused nd obscure.... They represent tht God, fter hving com menced the orgniztion of the world, chrged Obtl with the completion nd government of retired nd entered into n eter- it it it, 89 P. Budin, Fetichme et Fiticheurs, Lyon, 1884, p. Ditto, p

74 54 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS nl rest, occupying Himself only with H own hppiness; too gret to interest Himself in the ffirs of th world. He remins like Negro king, in sleep of idleness. "Thus the blck renders no worship whtever to God, com pletely neglecting Him, to occupy themselves with the gods nd goddesses nd the spirits to which they believe themselves in debted for their birth, nd their fte in th life nd the next. However, lthough they seem to expect nothing from God, the Negroes by instinct nturlly ddress themselves to him in sudden dnger or in gret fflictions. When they re victims of injustice, 71 they tke God to witness their innocence." Th lst sttement nullifies in gret prt wht he hs just sid bout God being un concerned bout the ffirs of the blcks, nd their reciprocl neglect of Him. Elsewhere th condition certinly does not ext. As we shll see mong the Ashnti, for exmple, he ctully hs h temple nd h priesthood. As regrds the demi-gods, Pere Budin gives us the following explntion : "A fmily estblhes itself ner river, forest, rock, or mountin ; imgintion ided by the feth-priests soon cretes belief in demi-god, tutelry genius of the plce, nd thus new divinity mkes its ppernce in the Negro pntheon, nd it not long before it hs its legend lso.72 "The worship of the ded hs gretly ided in ugmenting the number of the gods. Joined to the worship of nture tht of humnity. The descendnts from genertion to genertion offer presents nd scrifices on the tomb of their ncestor, nd end by doring him s locl divinity, the origin of which becomes more nd more obscure nd consequently more nd more venerble. Th occurred t Porto-Novo in the cse of the chiefs of fmilies in vrious prts of the city, of whom the inhbitnts re the rel descendnts." 78 Concerning the lesser spirits, Pere Budin writes: "After the gods nd the demi-gods come the spirits or genii. The genii re 71 Ditto, p. 6 f. Ditto, p Ditto, p. 37

75 SERPENT CULT AT WHYDAH 55 very numerous; some re good nd some bd spirits. A certin number serve s messengers to the gods nd demi-gods, some re considered nerly s powerful s the gods themselves nd hve uthority over lesser spirits who re their messengers, nd these in turn commnd others, forming hierrchy which not very defined. The more ordinry spirits dwell in the forests nd deserts." 74 One of these lesser spirits hs its own interest for us. We re told : "Audowido, the rinbow, genius, held in gret venertion t Porto-Novo. In Yorub he clled Ochumre. The temples dedicted to th genius re pinted in ll the colors of the rin bow, nd in the middle of the prm serpent drwn. Th genius lrge serpent ; he only ppers when he wnts to drink, nd then he rests h til on the ground nd thrusts h mouth the wter. He who finds the excrement of th serpent rich for into ever, for with th tlmn he cn chnge grins of corn into shells which pss for money." Ditto, p Ditto, p. 45. Note : Aginst the tendency of those who would exclude from scientific considertion the testimony of msionries, under the pretence tht they must of necessity show b in their views, let us quote_ Sir Jmes George Frzer, who will scrcely be ccused of being prejudiced in their regrd. In connection with the nthropologicl study of still surviving svge or brbrous peoples, he sys, Grnered Sheves, London, 1931, p. 244: "The method neither more nor less thn induction, which fter ll, dgue it s we my under the showy drpery of forml logic, the only method in which men cn nd do cquire knowledge. And the first condition of sound induction exct observ tion. Wht we wnt, therefore, in th brnch of science first nd foremost, full, true, nd prece ccounts of svge nd brbrous peoples bsed on personl observtion. Such ccounts re best given by men who hve lived for mny yers mong the peoples, hve won their confidence, nd cn converse with them f milirly their ntive lnguge; for svges re shy nd secretive towrds strngers, they concel their most cherhed rites nd beliefs from them, ny, they re pt wilfully to mled n inquirer, not so much for the ske of deceiving him s with the mible intention of grtifying him with the nswers which he seems to expect. needs peculir combintion of intelligence, tct, nd good nture to drw out svge on subjects which he regrds s scred; to very few men will he consent to unbosom himself. "Perhps the clss of men whose voction ffords them the best opportunities for observing nd recording the hbits of svge rces re msionries. They re men of eduction nd chrcter they usully live for mny yers mong the people, cquire their lnguge, nd gin their respect nd confidence. Accordingly some of the very best ccounts which we possess of svge nd brbrous peoples hve been written by msionries, Ctholic nd Protestnt, Englh, French, Dutch, Germn nd Spnh." in It ;,

76 Chpter III VOODOO IN HAITI The Report of the Lords of the Committee of Council p pointed for the considertion of ll mtters relting to trde nd foreign plnttions, publhed in London, in 1789, sttes, "Mr. Dlzell supposes tht the number of slves exported from the Dominions of the King of Dhomey mounts to 10,000 or 12,000 in yer. Of these, the Englh my export 700 to 800, the Portu guese bout 3,000, nd the French the reminder." Th will ex plin how the Dhomns with their serpent cult becme so centred in the French lnds of the West Indies, nd especilly in Hiti. Willim Snelgrve who, s we hve seen, ws the first to vit Whydh, fter the conquest by the Dhomns, sys of the slvery there : "And th trde ws so very considerble, tht it com puted, while it ws in flourhing stte, there were bove twenty thousnd Negroes yerly exported thence, nd the neighbouring plces, by the Englh, French, Dutch, nd Portuguese." 1 As he ws in the trde himself, he my be regrded s speking with uthority. It with good reson, then, tht Colonel Ell sttes : "In the southestern portions of the Ewe territory, the python deity 1 Snelgrve, A New Account of some prts of Guine nd the Slve-Trde, p. 2. Note: On p. 159 of the sme book, Snelgrve sttes tht from the entire Guine Cost, the Europens of ll ntions "hve in some yers, exported t lest seventy thousnd." Cfr. lso, W. D. Wetherford, The Negro from Afric to Americ, New York, 1924, p. 33 : "Dhomey, smll kingdom on the Slve Cost, hs sufficient open country, to llow of coopertion nd ggressive militry opertions. It sid tht th stte t one time hd n rmy of 50,000 men nd its terrible fighting Amzons of 3,000 women were no inconsiderble militry force.... Th D homey kingdom flourhed for centuries nd ws one of the most powerful llies of the slve trders during the seventeenth nd eighteenth centuries. It supposed tht th country lone, t the height of the slve trde, delivered n nnul quot of fifteen thousnd slves, most of which were cptured from neighbouring tribes." 56

77 VOODOO IN HAITI 57 worshipped, nd th vodu cult, with its dortion of the snke god ws crried to Hiti by slves from Ardr nd Whydh, where the fith still remins tody. In 1724 the Dhomies in vded Ardr nd subjugted it; three yers lter Whydh ws conquered by the sme foe. Th period beyond question tht in which Hiti first received the vodu of the Africns. Thousnds of Negroes from these serpent-worshipping tribes were t the time sold into slvery, nd were crried cross the Atlntic to the estern lnd. They bore with them their cult of the snke. At the sme period, Ewe-speking slves were tken to Louin." 2 Elsewhere Ell remrks : "Tht the term vodu should survive in Hiti nd Louin, nd not in the Brith West Indi Islnds, will surpre no one who cquinted with the htory of the slve trde. The Tshi-speking slves (the Ashnti nd kindred tribes) clled Coromntees in the slve-deler's jrgon, nd who were exported from the Europen fort on the Gold Cost, were not dmitted into French nd Spnh colonies on ccount of their dpositions to rebel nd consequently they found their wy into the Brith colonies, the only mrket open to them, while the French nd Spnh colonies drew their chief supply from the Ewe-speking slves exported from Whydh nd Bdogry." 8 Richrd F. Burton hd lredy sserted positively : "I my ob serve tht from the Slve-Cost 'Vodun' or Feth we my derive the 'Vudoux' or smll green snke of the Hitin Negroes, so well known by the bominble orgies encted before the (Vu doux King nd Queen) nd the 'King Snke' still revered t S' Leone." 4 He hd previously stted : "Vodun Feth in generl. I hrdly know whether to write it Vodun or Fodun, the sound of the two lbils so similr." 5 2 A. B. Ell, On Vodu-Worship, populr science monthly, Vol. XXXVIII (1891), p. 651 ff. 3 A. B. Ell, The Ewe-Speking Peoples of the Slve Cost of West Afric, London, 1890, p. 29. Note: The body-gurd of Chrtophe ws known s the "Royl Dehomys." Cfr. Blir Niles, Blck Hyti, New York, 1926, p Burton, A Msion to Gelele, King of Dhome, Vol. I, p Ditto, Vol. I, p. 79. Note : In the opening number of the journl of meri cn folk-lore, sued in 1888, Willim W. Newell, under the cption Myths of Voodoo Worship nd Child Scrifice in Hiti, strives to nnihilte the whole ques tion of Voodoo in Hiti. He thus enuncites h purpose, p. 17 f. : "Although ll the

78 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS There extent but one detiled ccount of Hitin Voodoo s it exted in the dys of slvery, but tht description, being by n experienced eye witness invluble for our present purpose. In fct it would be difficult to find mn better qulified thn Moreu de Sint-Mery to plce before us the true picture of the period. H youth in Mrtinique, h yers s legl prctitioner nd lter s Mgtrte in Hiti, h executive nd dmintr tive bility s shown in the most trying dys of the outbrek of the Revolution in Frnce, ll mrk him out s witness of the utmost relibility.8 writers who hve lluded to these superstitions hve ssumed tht they re n inheritnce from Afric, I shll be ble to mke it pper : first, tht the Vudoux, or Voodoo, derived from Europen source; secondly, tht the beliefs which the word denotes re eqully imported from Europe; thirdly tht the lleged sect nd its supposed rites, hve in ll probbility, no rel extence, but re product of populr imgintion." H own conjecture even more fntstic thn the most extreme tenets of h dversries. He would hve us believe tht the word itself s used in Hiti ws derived from the followers of Peter of Lyons who ws condemned by the Council of Veron in 1184, nd who cme to be known s Wldenses or Vudo. Ac cording to h theory, "the word vudo, feminine vudoe, hd in fct come to men witch, s its bstrct vuderie or vuldoverie signified sorcery," nd ws brought to Hiti in the seventeenth century when the rule of the lnd pssed from Spin to Frnce. He continues : "To estblh my second proposition, tht the chrctertic prctices scribed to the lleged Hitin sect, s well s the nme, re of Europen origin, it will only be necessry to compre the chrges now mde ginst the Vudoux of Hiti with those which in the fifteenth cen tury were mde ginst the Vudo of Frnce nd Switzerlnd." And s both ccustions were groundless, ccording to h theory, lthough three centuries prt, the one must be the source of the other. It difficult to see logic in such deductions. In fct in subsequent sue of the journl of mericn folk-lore, Vol. II, 1889, p. 41, Mr. Newell mkes the suggestive confession: "A few dys before the publiction of the rticle in question ppered the third volume of htory of the Inquition of the Middle Ages by Mr. H. C. Lee in which like derivtion of the nme Voodoo incidentlly set forth." "Incidentlly," too, Mr. Newell mkes the further dmsion, p. 45 : "Whtever opinion my be entertined bout the worship, which I consider s probbly imginry, there cn be no doubt concerning the hbitul prctice, even t the present dy in the United Sttes, of sorcery under the nme of Voodoom." Further while quoting Mr. B. F. Whidden, United Sttes Minter to Hiti, s sying tht the tril nd con viction of certin Voodoots t Port-u-Prince in 1864, ws unfir, since the "evidence ws extrcted by torture," p. 41 ; he dds, seemingly with pprovl : "Mr. Whidden of opinion tht, if the truth were scertined, there would be found no more cnniblm in Hiti thn in Jmic. On the other hnd he thinks tht there no doubt concerning the extence of Vudoux worship nd dnce, which ltter he hs frequently seen nd herd." Note : We must crve prdon if we seem dcursive in giving brief outline of the principl events in the life of our witness on the difficult question of Voodoo s it exted in Hiti immeditely before the slve insurrection. Mecleric Lou lie Moreu de Sint-Mery ws West Indin by birth nd through mrrige dtnt reltive of the Empress Josephine of Frnce. Born

79 VOODOO IN HAITI 59 Moreu de Sint-Mery clssified Voodoo mong the vrious dnces of Hiti which he thus describes.7 "Wht enrptures the Negroes, whether they were born in Afric or Americ ws their crdle, the dnce. There no mount of ftigue which cn mke them bndon going to very gret dtnces, nd some times even during the ded of night, to stfy th pssion.8 in Mrtinique, Jnury 13, 1750, he cme to Pr t the ge of nineteen to enlt in the King's Gendrmes. During h three yers of service he continued h stud ies nd qulified s brrter. To recoup finncil losses, he took up the prctice of lw t Le Cp in Hiti bout 1772, nd some eight yers lter he entered the Superior Council of the Islnd. Thenceforth he devoted the hours of leure fforded by h office of mgtrte, to clssify nd rrnge the lws of the French Colonies. In 1780 the fruits of h erlier lbours hd ppered in Pr s five volume work, which immeditely ttrcted much ttention. Lou XVI clled him to Pr to sst in the colonil dmintrtion nd he ws received with cclim by the lerned world nd ws honoured by men of letters. With the outbrek of the French Revolution, Moreu de Sint-Mery took leding prt in the politicl life of Pr. As President of the electors ssembled there, he ws twice clled upon to ddress the King, nd, it sid, it ws he who previled upon h collegues to plce Lfyette t the hed of the Ntionl Gurd. The pprecition of h efforts ws shown when the Assembly unnimously voted him medl. In 1790, he represented Mrtinique in the Constitutionl Convention where he mde the ffirs of the colonies h chief concern, nd in the following yer he ws member of the Judicil Council estblhed by the Minter of Justice. While prtn of liberty, he ws the uncomproming dversry of licence, nd s such he incurred the enmity of Robespierre. A few dys before the ftl August 10th, the ltter's prtns ttcked nd seriously wounded Moreu de Sint-Mery, who ws thus forced to retire to seport town in Normndy. Th ccident probbly sved h life, s on the dsolution of the Constitutionl As sembly, he ws immeditely proscribed, but escped the scffold through the devotion of one of the locl gurd to whom he hd done some fvour in the pst. Mking h escpe to the United Sttes, he remined there until 1799, when he returned to Frnce, nd held severl stte nd diplomtic posts until in 1806 he fell into dfvour with Npoleon. Therefter until h deth t the ge of sixtynine, he scrcely kept body nd soul together, nd even tht ws mde possible solely through the chrity of the Empress Josephine, nd lter through the bounty of Lou XVIII. He died t Pr on Jnury 28, Cfr. Nouvelle Biogrphie Generte, Pr, 1861, Vol. XXVI, p. 498; F. X. de Filler, Dictionire Htorique, Lyon, 1822, Vol. CII, p Note: As the work tht we re quoting extremely rre, we feel justified in giving the entire pssge especilly s the description will enble us lter in the finl nlys, to dtinguh the other dnces tht re tody so often mixed in with Voodoo in most confusing mnner. The full title of the work : Descrip tion topogrphique, physique, civile, politique, et htorique de l prtie Frnge de I'le Sint-Domingue. Avec des observtions genirles sur l popultion, sur le crctere et les mceurs de ses divers hbitnts; sur son climt, s culture, ses pro ductions, son dmintrtion, &c &c. Accompgnees des detils les plus propres fire connitre t'ett de cette Colonie d I'epoque du Octobre 1789; et d'une nou velle crte de l totliti de I'le. Pr M. L. E. Moreu de Sint-Mery, Phildel phi, Our quottion from Vol. I, pges 44 to Cfr. lso Pierre de Vsiere, Sint Domingue: L Sociite et l vie Crioles sous I'Ancien Regime ( ), Pr, 1909, p In reference to the only rest dys of the slves, nmely Sundy nd Fest-dys, he remrks how "some

80 60 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS "One Negro dnce hs come with them from Afric to Sn Domingo, nd for tht very reson it common lso to those who re born in the colony, nd these ltter prctice it lmost from birth, they cll it the Clend. "To dnce the Clend, the Negroes hve two drums mde, when possible from the hollow trunk of tree in single piece. One end open nd they stretch over the other skin of sheep or nnny-got. The shorter of these drums nmed Bmboul, be cuse it sometimes formed out of very thick bmboo. Astride of ech drum Negro who strikes it with wrt nd fingers, but slowly for one nd rpidly for the other. To th monotone nd hollow sound, joined tht of number, more or less gret, of little clbshes hlf-filled with smll stones, or with grins of corn, nd which they shke by striking them on one of the hnds by mens of long hft which crosses them. When they wh to mke the orchestr more complete, they dd the Bnz, kind of Bss viol with four strings which they pluck. The Negresses r rnged in circle regulte the tempo by clpping their hnds, nd they reply in chorus to one or two chnters whose piercing voice repets or improves ditties. For the Negroes possess the tlent of improving, nd it gives them n opportunity for dplying especilly their tendency to bnter. "The dncers mle nd femle, lwys equl in number, come to the middle of circle (which formed on even ground nd in the open ir) nd they begin to dnce. Ech pproprites prtner to cut figure before her. Th dnce which hs its origin on Mt. Atls, nd which offers little vrition, consts in movement where ech foot red nd lowered successively, striking with force, sometimes the toe nd sometimes the heel, on the ground, in wy quite similr to the Englh step. The dncer turns on himself or round h prtner who turns lso, nd chnges plce, wving the two ends of hndkerchief which they hold. The dncer lowers nd res lterntely h rms, while keeping the spent them in complete stupor, stretched out before their doors," while the greter number "pssed their leure in drinking nd dncing, the only dtrction from work with which they were fmilir. The dnce especilly with them rel pssion."

81 VOODOO IN HAITI 61 elbows ner the body, nd the hnd lmost closed. Th dnce in which the ply of the eyes nothing less thn extrordinry, lively nd nimted, nd n exct timing lends it rel grce. The dncers follow one nother with emultion, nd it often neces sry to put n end to the bll, which the Negroes never bndon without regret.9 "Another Negro dnce t Sn Domingo, which lso of Afri cn origin, the Chic, clled simply Clend in the Windwrd Isle, Congo t Cyenne, Fndngo in Spnh, &c. Th dnce hs n ir which especilly consecrted to it nd wherein the mes- 9 Pere Lbt, Nouveu Voyge ux Isles de I'Amerique, Vol. II, p. 51 writing of the yer 1608, devotes lengthy chpter to the West Indin slves. While resi dent in Mrtinique t the time, h remrks re generl. He sys of the Negroes "The dnce their fvourite pssion. don't think tht there people on the fce of the erth who re more ttched to thn they. When the Mster will not llow them to dnce on the Estte, they will trvel three nd four legues, s soon s they knock off work t the sugr-works on Sturdy, nd betke them selves to some plce where they know tht there will be dnce. "The one in which they tke the gretest plesure nd which the usul one the Clend. cme from the Guine Cost nd to ll ppernce from Ardr. The Spnirds hve lerned from the Negroes nd throughout Americ dnce in the sme wy s do the Negroes. "As the postures nd movements of th dnce re most indecent the Msters who live n orderly wy, forbid to theirs, nd tke cre tht they do not dnce ;nd th no smll mtter for so to their liking, tht the very children who re s yet scrcely strong enough to stnd up, strive to imitte their fthers nd mothers whom they see dncing, nd will spend entire dys t th exerce." He then describes the two drums used s ccompniment in the Clend, the lrger to bet the time nd direct the dnce, while the smller it it in It it I it ; it it it it it beten much more rpidly s n undertone with higher pitch. Seemingly the one relly directs the dnce, the other rouses the pssions. The dnce itself thus described by Pere Lbt. "The dncers re drwn up in two lines, one before the other, the men on the one side nd the women on the other. Those who re witing their turns nd the specttors mke circle round the dncers nd the drums. The more dept chnts song which he composes on the spur of the moment, on some subject which he deems pproprite, the refrin of which, chnted by ll the specttors, ccompnied by gret clpping of hnds. As regrds the dncers, they hold their rms little fter the mnner of those who dnce while plying the cstnets. They skip, mke turn right nd left, pproch within two or three feet of ech other, drw bck in cdence until the sound of the drum directs them to drw together, striking the thighs one ginst the other, tht to sy the mn ginst the womn. To ll ppernces seems tht the stomchs re hitting, while s mtter of fct the thighs tht crries the blows. They re tire t once in pirouette, to begin gin the sme movement with ltogether lscivious gestures, s often s the drum gives the signl, s often does severl times in succession. From time to time they interlock rms nd mke two or three turns lwys striking the thighs nd ksing. One esily sees from th bbrevited description how the dnce opposed to decency." will be noticed tht th not the rel Clend but rther modified form of the Chic which s stted by Sint-Mery in the next prgrph of the text, ws clled Clend in Mrtinique s one of the Windwrd Islnds. It f., :

82 62 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS ure strongly mrked. The proficiency in the dnce consts in the perfection with which she cn move her hips nd lower prt of the bck while preserving the rest of the body in kind of immo bility, tht even the slightest movement of the rms which blnce the two ends of hndkerchief or her petticot does not mke her lose. A dncer pproches her, ll of sudden he leps into the ir, nd lnds in mesured time so s lmost to touch her. He drws bck, he jumps gin, nd excites her by the most seductive ply. The dnce becomes enlivened nd soon it presents tbleu, of which the entire ction t first voluptuous fterwrds becomes lscivious. It would be impossible to depict the Chic in its true chrcter, nd I will limit myself to sying tht the impression which it produces so strong, tht the Africn or Creole, it does not mtter of wht shde, who comes to dnce it without emotion, considered to hve lost the lst sprk of vitlity. "The Clend nd the Chic re not the only dnces in the Colony derived from Afric. There lso nother which hs been long known there especilly in the western prt, nd it clled Voodoo. "But it not merely s dnce tht Voodoo deserves con sidertion, or t lest it ccompnied by circumstnces which rnks it mong those institutions where superstition nd bizrre prctices hve considerble prt. "According to the Negro Ards,10 who re the rel devotees of Voodoo in the Colony, nd who keep up its principles nd rules, Voodoo signifies n ll powerful nd supernturl being on whom depends whtever goes on in the world. But th being the nonpoonous serpent, or kind of dder, nd it under its uspices tht ll those ssemble who profess the sme doctrine. Knowledge of the pst, reliztion of the present, foreknowledge of the fu ture, ll pertin to th dder, which, however, grees to communi- 10 Sint-Mery, Vol. I, p. 29, explins tht the word Ard corruption of the pronuncition of Ardr, the nme of kingdom on the Slve Cost, which ws prior to its conquest by the Dhomns locted between Dhomey nd Whydh. The term Ards, then, pplies specificlly to the people of Ardr, but genericlly to ny tribes from the Gold or Slve Costs. Here it seems to signifiy Dhomns, including those from Ardr proper nd Whydh.

83 VOODOO IN HAITI 63 cte its power, nd mke known its whes, only through the medium of high priest whom its devotees select, nd even more so through tht of the Negress, whom the love of the other hs red to the rnk of high priestess. "These two minters who clim themselves inspired by their god, or in whom the gift of inspirtion relly mnifested for the devotees ber the pompous nmes of King nd Queen, or the despotic ones of mster nd mtress, or finlly the touching titles of pp nd mm. They re, for life, the chiefs of the grnd fmily of Voodoo, nd they hve the right to the limitless respect of those who compose it. It they who determine if the dder p proves of the dmsion of cndidte into the society, it they who prescribe the obligtions, the duties which he must fulfil; it they who receive the gifts nd presents which the god expects s just homge; to dobey them, to rest them, to rest God himself, nd expose oneself to the gretest mfortunes. "Th system of domintion on the one side, nd of blind obe dience on the other, once well estblhed, they meet t fixed in tervls t gtherings where King nd Queen Voodoo preside, ccording to those usges which they my hve brought from Afric, nd to which Creole customs hve dded mny vrints nd trits which dclose Europen ides ; for exmple, the scrf or the rich belt which the Queen wers in th ssembly, nd which she sometimes vries. "The reunion for the true Voodoo, tht which hs lest lost its primitive purity, never tkes plce except secretly, when the night csts its shdows, nd in secure plce, nd under cover from every profne eye. There ech initited puts on pir of sndls nd fstens round the body more or less considerble number of red hndkerchiefs or t lest of hndkerchiefs in which th colour strongly predominnt. The Voodoo King hs more beu tiful hndkerchiefs nd in greter numbers nd one which en tirely red nd which he binds round h brow h crown. A girdle, usully blue, puts the finhing touch to dply h striking dignity.

84 64 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS "The Queen cld with simple luxury, shows lso her predilec tion for the colour red, which most frequently tht of her ssh or belt. "The King nd Queen tke their plce t one end of the room ner kind of ltr on which box where the serpent kept nd where ech member cn see it through the brs. "When they hve mde sure tht no busy-body hs gined d msion to the enclosure, they begin the ceremony with the dor tion of the dder, by protesttions to be fithful to its cult nd submsive to whtever it my prescribe. With hnds plced in those of the King nd Queen, they renew the prome of secrecy which the foundtion of the ssocition, nd it ccompnied by everything horrible tht delirium hs been ble to deve to mke it more impressive. "When the devotees of Voodoo re thus dposed to receive the impressions which the King nd Queen desire to mke them feel, they finlly tke the ffectionte tone of compssionte fther nd mother, bosting to them of the good-fortune which ttched to whoever in it, devoted to the Voodoo ; they urge them to confidence nd to give proof of th by following their dvice s to the wy they re to conduct themselves in the most importnt cir cumstnces. "Then the crowd sctters, nd ech ccording to h needs, nd following the order of seniority in the sect, come to implore the Voodoo. For the most prt they sk of tlent to direct the mind of their msters; but th not enough. One sks for more money, nother the gift to plese n unresponsive one; th one whes to recll or fithless mtress it ;tht one desires speedy cure, long life. After these, n old hg comes to conjure the god to end the ddin of him whose hppy youth she whes to cp tivte. A mid solicits eternl love, or she repets the mlediction with which hte inspires her ginst preferred rivl. There no pssion which does not utter vow, nd even crime does not lwys dgue those who hve for object its success. "At ech of these invoctions, the Voodoo King wrpped in thought ;the spirit working in him. All of sudden he tkes the

85 VOODOO IN HAITI 65 box wherein the dder plces on the ground nd mkes the Voodoo Queen stnd upon it. As soon s the scred rk under, it her feet, the new pythoness possessed by the god. She shivers, her entire body in convulsive stte, nd the orcle speks by her lips. At times she fltters nd promes hppiness, gin she inveighs nd breks out in reproches; nd ccording to her hert's desire, or her own interests, or her cprice, she dicttes s obligtory without ppel whtever it pleses her to prescribe, in the nme of the dder, to the imbecile crowd which opposes not even the smllest doubt to the monstrous bsurdity, nd which only knows to obey ll tht despoticlly prescribed. "After ll the questions hve received some sort of n mbigu ous nswer from the orcle, they form circle, nd the dder replced on the ltr. Th the time when they bring to tribute, which ech one hs tried to mke most worthy of nd which they plce in covered ht, tht it, it jelous curiosity my not cuse nyone to blush. The King nd Queen prome to mke th cceptble to it. It by the profits of these offerings tht they py the expenses of the ssembly, tht they obtin help for members bsent or present, who re in need, or from whom the society pects something for its glory or its renown. Suggestions re mde, mesures re determined, ctions re prescribed which the Voo doo Queen lwys declres to be the will of god, nd which hve not s invribly good order nd public trnquillity s n object. A new oth, s execrble s the first, engges ech one to silence s regrds ll tht hs pssed, to give sstnce to whtever hs been determined, nd sometimes vessel wherein the blood of got, still wrm, goes to sel on the lips of the congregtion the prome to suffer deth rther thn revel nything, nd even to inflict on nyone who forgets tht he thus solemnly bound it to secrecy. "After tht, there begins the dnce of the Voodoo. "If there cndidte to be received, it tht the ceremony begins. The Voodoo King trces ex with h dmsion lrge circle with some substnce tht blckens, nd plces therein the one who whes to be initited, nd in h hnds he puts pcket of herbs,

86 66 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS horse-hir, pieces of horn, nd lso other dgusting objects. Tp ping him lightly, then, on the hed with little wooden wnd, he intones n Africn chnt which those who surround the circle re pet in chorus ; then the cndidte begins to tremble nd to dnce ; th wht termed to 'mke Voodoo.' If by mchnce the ex cess of h trnsport mkes him leve the circle, the chnt ceses t once, the Voodoo King nd Queen turn their bcks on him to vert mfortune. The dncer recovers himself, reenters the cir cle, begins new, drinks, nd finlly becomes convulsive. Where upon the Voodoo King orders him to stop by tpping him lightly on the hed with h wnd, or stirring stick, or even with blow of the voodootic whip if he judges it fitting. He conducted to the ltr to tke the oth, nd from tht moment he belongs to the sect. "The ceremonil finhed, the King plces h hnd or h foot on the box wherein the dder, nd soon he becomes gitted. Th condition he communictes to the Queen, nd by her the commotion spred round, nd ech one goes into contortions in which the upper prt of the body, the hed nd the shoulders seem to be dlocted themselves. The Queen bove ll prey to the most violent gittions ; she goes from time to time to seek new frenzy from the Voodoo serpent ; she shkes the box, nd the little bells with which it decorted produce the effect of fool's buble. The delirium increses. It even further roused by the use of spiritous liquors which in the intoxiction of their imgin tion the devotees do not spre, nd which in turn keeps them up. Finting fits, swoonings follow for some, nd kind of mdness for others ; but with them ll there nervous trembling which they seem unble to control. They ceselessly whirl round. And finlly it comes bout tht in th sort of Bcchnli, they ter their clothes nd bite their own flesh ; others who become senseless nd fll to the floor, re crried, without interrupting the dnce, to nerby room, where in the drkness dgusting prostitution holds the most horrible swy. Finlly, weriness puts n end to those demorlizing scenes, but for renewl of which they hve tken good cre to fix time in dvnce.

87 VOODOO IN HAITI 67 "It most nturl to believe tht Voodoo owes its origin to the serpent cult, to which re prticulrly ddicted the inhbitnts of Juid (Whydh), who it sid come originlly from the King dom of Ardr, of the sme Slve Cost, nd when one hs red to wht n extreme these Africns crry the superstition for th niml, it esy to recognize it in wht I m bout to relte. "Wht unquestionbly true, nd t the sme time most re mrkble in Voodoo, tht sort of mgnetm which prompts those who re ssembled to dnce to insensibility. The preposses sion in th regrd so strong tht even the Whites found spying on the mysteries of th sect, nd touched by one of the members who hve dcovered them, re sometimes set to dncing, nd hve greed to py the Queen Voodoo, to put n end to th punh ment. Nevertheless, I cnnot refrin from remrking tht never hs ny mn of the constbulry who hs sworn to fight Voodoo, felt the power which forces one to dnce, nd which hs doubt lessly preserved the dncers themselves from the necessity of tking flight. "Without doubt, to ssuge the fers which th mysterious cult of Voodoo cuses in the Colony, they pretend to dnce it in pub lic, to the sound of drums nd with the clpping of hnds ; they even hve it follow repst where they et nothing but poultry. But I ffirm tht th nothing more nor less thn scheme to escpe the vigilnce of the mgtrtes, nd the better to ssure the success of these drk conventicles which re not plce of musement nd plesure, but rther school where feeble souls go to deliver themselves to domintion which thousnd circum stnces cn render bneful. "One cnnot believe to wht n excess extends the dependence in which the Chiefs of the Voodoo hold the other members of the sect. There not one of these ltter who would not choose ny thing in preference to the mfortune with which he thretened if he does not go regulrly to the ssemblies, if he does not blindly obey whtever the Voodoo commnds him. One hs seen tht the fer of it hs been sufficiently roused to deprive them of the use of reson, nd those who, in fit of frenzy, hve uttered shrieks.

88 68 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS shun the gze of men nd excite pity. In word, nothing more dngerous, by ll ccounts, thn th cult of the Voodoo, founded on th extrvgnt ide ; but of which one cn mke truly ter rible force where the 'minters of being' whom they hve hon oured with the nme, know nd cn do everything. "Who will believe tht Voodoo gives plce to something further, which lso goes by the nme of dnce? In 1768, negro of Petit- Gove, of Spnh origin, busing the credulity of the Negroes, by superstitious prctices, gve them n ide of dnce, nlgous to tht of the Voodoo, but where the movements re more hurried. To mke it even more effective the Negroes plce in the rum, which they drink while dncing, well crushed gun-powder. One hs seen th dnce clled Dnce to Don Pedro, or simply Don Pedro, induce deth on the Negroes; nd the specttors them selves, electrified by the spectcle of th convulsive exerce, shre the drunkenness of the ctors, nd hsten by their chnt nd quickened mesure, cr which in some wy common to them. It hs been necessry to forbid dncing Don Pedro under grve penlty, but sometimes ineffectully." Moreu de Sint-M6ry, 1. c, Vol. I, p, 44 ff. Note : Moreu de Sint-Mery, Loix et Constitutions des Colonies Frncoes de I'Amerique sous le Vent, Pr, 1780, Vol. I, p. 415, shows tht the Code Noir, publhed in Mrch, 1685, by Article II prescribes tht slves must within resonble time be instructed nd bptized s Ctholics. By Article III, Msters who permit their slves to gther for religious purposes other thn Ctholic service re s lible s if they took prt themselves in such gtherings. By Article XVI, Gtherings of slves be longing to different msters re forbidden "either by dy or night, under pretence of weddings or otherwe, either on the premes of one of the msters or else where, nd even more so if on the public highwy or in hidden plces." Corporl punhment prescribed for the first offence, with the deth penlty for repeted infrctions. By the next Article, Msters who permit such gtherings rc lible to fines, etc. Cf r. lso : Vol. V, p. 384 : Officil Orders for the Police of Port-u- Prince, sued My 23, Article II forbids ll kinds of ssemblies nd gth erings of slves under pin of corporl punhment. And Article VI forbids even free Negroes nd persons of color from holding night-dnces or the Clend. Even the dnces tht re llowed to them must stop t 9 p. m. Vol. IV, p. 234 : On August 5, 1758, Sieur Lebrun, mnger of the Crbon Estte t Bo de L'Anse fined 200 pounds "for hving permitted n ssembly of Negroes, nd Clend on the 23rd of July preceding, on the sid Estte." Vol. IV, p. 829 : Order of the Governor Generl dted Jnury 15, 1765, for the formtion of Corps of Light Troops, to be known s the "First Legion of Sn Domingo." It ssigns s one of their duties : "To brek up the ssemblies nd Clends of the Negroes." Tht the Clend ws dnced despite ll legl restrictions, we hve mple evi dence. Thus for exmple, the Bron Wimpffen, who spent two yers in the lnd during the period of unrest tht immeditely preceded the ctul up ring of the slves, records in h diry in August, 1789, tht the dy of the

89 VOODOO IN HAITI 69 According to Moreu de Sint-Mery, then, four kinds of dnces were indulged in by the Hitin slves before the insur rection. The Clend nd the Chic hve ccompniments of drums, etc. nd the Voodoo nd Don Pedro in which there no mention of such instruments. In fct, drums nd the clpping of hnds re ctully introduced t the pretended Voodoo which ws invented s " scheme to escpe the vigilnce of the Mgtrtes nd the better to ssure the success of these drk conventicles which re not plce of musement nd plesure," s we re ex pressly told. Here we hve the first min or bsence of drums. dtinction the presence Don Pedro, being n outgrowth from Voodoo with even the yer of its origin, 1768, clerly defined, my be pssed over for the present with the single remrk tht in plce of the got of Voodoo, the pig becomes the prticulr niml of scrifice. Voodoo itself s described by Moreu de Sint-Mery bers close resemblnce to its prototype of Whydh, mking due llow nce for locl conditions, nd it clerly stfies ll our requites to be clssed s worship in the strict sense of the word, s dtinct from mere cult.12 Furthermore, despite the rnkling controversy rrivl of the French mil ws celebrted s festivl for the Negroes who were dpensed from work, fested nd llowed to dnce Clend. In the sme entry of the diry we red tht bptm ment prcticlly nothing for the Negroes generlly except chnge of nme, which ws frequently therefter ignored the sole motive being to plese the mster nd nothing else. Cfr. Albert Svine, Sint-Domingue l Vexile de l Revolution, Pr, 191 1, p Dr. Price-Mrs, in setting out to prove tht Voodoo religion, ccepts s h definition of the word religion, tht dopted by the "sociologicl school of Durkheim." Ainsi Prl L'Oncle, Compeigne, 1928, p. 30. Then follows quo ttion from J. Bricourt, Oil en est I'Htoire des Religions, Pr, 1912, p. 15, which ultimtely tken from Durkheim's chpter on "Definition of Religions Phenomen nd of Religion" Emile Durkheim, The Elementry Forms of the Religious Life, London, 1926, p. 37. The words quoted relly form no prt of Durkheim's definition which only formulted towrds the end of the chpter, where it runs s follows : "A religion unified system of beliefs nd prctices reltive to scred things, tht to sy, things set prt nd forbidden beliefs, nd prctices which unite into one single morl community clled Church, ll those who dhere to them." p. 47. However the two re perfectly comptible nd Voodoo stfies them both s well s most of the other definitions of religion, enuncited by stndrd uthors. Thus for exmple, "Religion my be defined sub jectively nd objectively. Subjectively, it the knowledge nd consciousness of dependence upon one or more trnscendentl personl Powers, to which mn stnds in reciprocl reltion. Objectively, it the sum of the outwrd ctions in which it expressed nd mde mnifest, s pryer, scrifice, scrments,

90 70 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS concerning modern Voodoo in Hiti, ll dputnts seemingly c cept Moreu de Sint-Mery's ccount, t lest substntilly. We re sfe, then, in mking th our strting point in our study of Hitin Voodoo. It lso generlly greed, tht the slve insurrection ws fos tered nd mde possible by nocturnl ssemblies tht hve been commonly scribed to Voodoo. Th upring of the slves which resulted in the first msscre of the Whites in Hiti, in 1791, thus described by Dr. Dorsinvil : "It ws then tht Boukmn entered on the scene nd de termined to rouse the imgintion nd the senses. Born in J mic, Boukmn ws N'Gn or priest of Voodoo, the principl religion of the Dhomns. H tll sttue, h herculen strength, hd ttrcted the ttention of the Mster of the Plnttion, Turpin, who hd him ppointed successively n overseer nd coch mn. Over ll the slves who cme in contct with him he exer ced n scendncy which becme extrordinry. liturgy, scetic prctices, ethicl prescriptions, nd so on." W. Schmidt, The Origin nd Growth of Religion, New York, 1931, p. 2. Dr. Price-Mrs, Ainsi Prl I'Oncle, p. 32, dvnces h clim s follows : "Voodoo religion becuse ll the depts believe in the extence of spiritul beings who live in prt in the universe in close touch with humn beings whose ctivity they control. These invible beings constitute numerous Olympus of gods, of whom the highest mong them ber the title of Pp or Gret Mster nd hve the right to specil homge. "Voodoo religion becuse the cult developed to its god, demnds hierrchi cl scerdotl body, congregtion of fithful, temples, ltrs, ceremonies, nd in fine, ltogether n orl trdition which certinly hs not come down to us un chnged, but thnks for hs trnsmitted the essentil prt of the cult. it, "Voodoo religion becuse through the medley of legends nd the corrup tion of fbles one cn dentngle theology, system of representtions, thnks to which, primitively, our Africn ncestors hd n explntion for the nturl phenomen nd which in hidden wy lys the foundtion of the nrchtic beliefs on which rests the hybrid Ctholicm of the msses of the people." Then fter considering the other side of Voodoo which consts of mgic or witchcrft, he concludes, p. 37: "And now, we summrize the results of th brief dcussion, we my drw first conclusion, to wit, tht Voodoo very primitive religion, founded prtilly on the beliefs in ll-powerful spiritul beings gods, demons, dincrnted souls prtilly on the beliefs in witchcrft nd mgic. If we evlute th double chrcter we will dclose in proportion to our reserches the stte more or less pure in its country of origin, nd on our soil, if modified by its more thn century of juxtposition to the Ctholic religion, dpted to the conditions of life of our rurl msses, fighting ginst the legl sttute of the ntion which whed to free itself of ll contct with th form of beliefs, from which hs nothing else to expect. And there you hve brief the position which Voodoo occupies in our socil sttus." it in

91 VOODOO IN HAITI 71 "To put n end to ll hesittion nd to rouse complete devo tion, he gthered together on the night of August 14, 1791, lrge number of slves in clering in the Cimn woods, ner Morne-Rouge. All were ssembled when tempest broke. The jgged flshes of lightning illuminting sky of low nd sombre clouds. In few minutes torrentil rin flooded the ground ; t length under the repeted ssults of violent wind, the trees of the forest writhed, moned, nd even their hevy brnches, torn wy, fell with crsh. "In the midst of th impressive setting, the bystnders, mo tionless, seized with holy terror, sw n old Negress re, her body shking with prolonged shivers; she chnts, spins round, nd whirls lrge cutlss bove her hed. Rigid stnce, gsping breth, silence, blzing eyes fixed on the Negress, the udience fs cinted. Then brought in blck pig, whose grunting lost in the upror of the storm. With quick movement, the inspired priestess plunges her cutlss into the throt of the niml. The blood gurgles forth, it collected foming, nd dtributed round bout to the slves, ll drink of ll swer to crry out the orders of Boukmn." 13 it, Since Boukmn ws Jmicn would be resonble to sup pose tht he introduced Jmicn fetures into the cult s he prc- 18 C. Dorsinvil, Mnuel d'htoire d'hditi, Port-u-Prince, 1925, p. 81 Note: Cfr. lso Thoms Mdiou, Htoire d' Hiti, Port-u-Prince, 1922, Vol. p. 102, who sttes briefly: "On the night of August 14, 1791, 200 delegtes from the teliers of the northern province ssembled the Lenormnd plnt tion. There coloured mn hrngued them bout pretended decree whereby the King grnted them three dys of freedom ech week. ws decided then the 22nd of the sme month the insurrection should be generl." Concerning the origintor of the Don Pedro, Dorsinvil sserts, Vodou el Nevrose, Port-u-Prince, 1931, p. 46: "Populr trdition, well fter Independ ence, speks mong others of certin Don Pedro, being of flesh nd bone, who, t certin time, hd come from the Dominicn Republic to tke up h bode in the mountins of the Commune of Petit-Gove. Th Don Pedro ws the introducer of tht violent dnce which by corruption the people cll the P tro. At h deth, Don Pedro did not dely in tking n honourble plce in the Voodootic pntheon, drwing in h trin n entire progeny, such s Jen Philippe Petro, Criminel Petro, etc." Cfr. lso, D. Trouillot, Esquse Ethnogrphique: Le Vudoux, Port-u-Prince, 1885, p. 28: "It ws from the Domini cn Republic, t the time Spnh Colony, tht there cme to Hiti in the lst century, the fmous Don Pedro, n Africn who founded t Petit-Gove the infernl sect, known under the sme nme s its uthor. The Don P6dro dnce of Vudoux where the most unbelievble orgies re perpetrted th sect, diminhing dily, only found in the hills of the plce of origin." I, J. it in It ; : f.

92 72 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS ticed it. In ll probbility he hd been bnhed from Jmic for complicity in previous unrest there. H dmintering of the sol emn feth oth bers resemblnce to the Myltic ceremonil tht will be dcussed in lter chpter. In ny cse the scrificil victim ws pig, the rite strictly speking belonged to the Don Pedro nd not to Voodoo proper. Th fct lone suggests tht Don Pedro, which hd strted only twenty-three yers previously, in its very origin, my hve been deved precely in preprtion for such n upring. Very little notice ws pid to Hitin Voodoo by the outside world until 1884, when there ppered book which hs cused no end of controversy from tht dy to th. ws entitled Hyti or the Blck Republic, nd the uthor ws Sir Spencer St. John. H clim to credibility ws bsed on the following fcts. Before becoming her Mjesty's Envoy Extrordinry nd Minter Plenipotentiry to Mexico, he hd been Englnd's Resident nd Consul-Generl in Hiti for more thn two decdes. Secondly, s he sys himself, he hd personlly known "the Hitin Republic bove twenty-five yers." 14 Agin writing from Mexico, No I vember 13, 1888, in the introduction to h Second Edition, he sys of h originl work: "The most difficult chpter to write ws tht on 'Vudoux-worship It nd Cnniblm.' I hve endev oured to pint them in the lest sombre colours, nd no one who knows the country will think tht I hve exggerted ltened to the testimony of mny experienced residents, hve described rites t which dozens of humn ficed t time. Everything I : in fct, hd I should victims were scri hve relted hs been founded on evidence collected in Hiti, from Hitin officil documents, the press of Port-u-Prince, from trustworthy officers of the Hitin Government, my foreign collegues, nd from residents long es tblhed in the country, principlly, however, from Hitin 18 sources." And :"As my chpter on Vdoux-worship nd Cn niblm excited considerble ttention both in Europe nd the 14 Spencer St. John, Hyti or the Blck Republic, London, 1889, Introduction, p. vii. 15 Ditto, p. xi.

93 VOODOO IN HAITI 73 United Sttes, nd unmitigted buse in Hiti, I decided gin to look into the question with the gretest cre. The result hs been to convince me tht I underrted the ferful mnifesttions; I hve therefore rewritten these chpters, nd introduced mny new fcts which hve come to my knowledge." 18 In view of th lst sttement ll our quottions will be tken from th Second Edition of the work. Let us, then, crefully weigh the testimony of Sir Spencer St. John. At the very outset, he sttes : "I must notice tht there re two sects which follow the Vudoux-worship those who only delight in the flesh nd blood of white cocks nd spotless white gots t their ceremonies, nd those who re not only devoted to these, but on gret occsions cll for the flesh nd blood of 'the got without horns,' or of humn victims. It curious trit of humn nture tht these cnnibls must use euphemtic term when speking of their victims, s the Pcific Islnders hve the expression of 'long pig.' " 17 We must here remrk the creful dtinction between the cults in Hiti, nd while the uthor does not lso dtinguh them by nme, the legitimte cult, if we my so term Voodoo proper, while the cnnibltic element belongs to Don Pedro. Further, it, should be noted tht while the humn scrifice clled the "got without horns" relly substituted, not for the got of Voodoo, it but for the pig of Don Pedro : it just s in those Pcific Islnds tht re referred to, where the term "long pig" used. But to resume St. John's nrrtive :"When Hiti ws still French Colony, Vudoux-worship flourhed, but there no d tinct mention of humn scrifice in the ccounts trnsmitted to us. In Moreu de Sint-Mery's excellent description of the lnd, from whose truthful pges plesure to seek for informtion, he gives us very grphic ccount of fethm s exted in h dy, tht, towrds the close of the lst century." He mens of it course the eighteenth century. Then follows it from the very pssge tht we hve lredy quoted. lengthy cittion 18 Ditto, p. xiii. 17 Ditto, p. 192.

94 74 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS At the close of the quottion, St. John observes: "In studying th ccount, freely tken from Moreu de Sint-Mery, I hve been struck how little chnge, except for the worse, hs tken plce during the lst century. Though the sect continues to meet in se cret, they do not pper to object to the presence of their country men who re not yet initited. In fct, the necessity of so much mystery not recognized, since there re no longer ny French mgtrtes to send these ssssins to the scffold." 18 A few pges further on, we red : "After studying the htory of Hiti, one not stonhed tht the feth worship continues to nourh. The Negroes imported from the west cost of Afric nturlly brought their religion with them, nd the worship of the serpent ws one of its most dtinguhing fetures. Sint-Mery writes of the slves rriving with strnge mixture of Mo hmmednm nd idoltry, to which they soon dded little Ctholicm. Of Mohmmednm I hve not myself observed fintest trce. When the Negroes found the lrge, lmost hrmless serpent in Hiti, they welcomed it s their god, nd their feth priests soon collected their followers round them. The French uthorities tried to put down ll meetings of the Vudoux, prtly becuse they looked upon them s politicl, but they did not suc ceed. Mny of the tribes in Afric re to th dy cnnibls, nd their ncestors no doubt imported th tste into the French colony." 19 Sir Spencer St. John hd lredy remrked, "I hve been in formed on trustworthy testimony tht in 1887 cnniblm ws more rmpnt thn ever," 20 nd now in the body of h work he writes: "There re in Hiti, s I hve before noticed, two sects of Vudoux-worshippers ; one, perhps the lest numerous, tht indulges in humn scrifices ; the other, tht holds such prctices in horror, nd content with the blood of the white got, nd the white cock. the... In the country dtricts the Ctholic priests sy these feth-worshippers cll themselves 'Les Mysteres,' nd "Ditto, p lb Ditto, p Ditto, Introduction, p. xii.

95 VOODOO IN HAITI 75 tht they mix Ctholic nd Vudoux ceremonies in singulr mnner ; the nme probbly refers to the rites they prctice." And, "I hve been informed tht, besides the got nd cock, the Vudoux priests occsionlly scrifice lmb.... It crefully wshed, combed, nd ornmented with bunches of blue ribnds before being scrificed." 22 Let us come now to spectcle tht even more revolting thn ny of those lredy described one, in fct, where we re told tht the rites ctully included humn scrifice. The following letter ppered in the new york world of December 5, The writer of it personlly vouched for by Sir Spencer St. John who quotes the letter in full. "I spent some weeks in Cp Hitien, one of the lrgest nd most importnt cities in Hiti, nd while there I met number of Dominicn gentlemen, who for vrious resons hd been com pelled to spend long time in the ster republic. These gentlemen tlked gret del bout the extence of cnniblm, 21 nd insted tht its extence ws not, s ll Hitins clim, merely in the minds of the writers who desire to publh senstionl stories. I hd shut my eyes nd ers to the customs of the country people, nd moreover I never llowed myself to think it possible tht such horrible prctices, s these gentlemen ssured me were common, exted. Therefore I tried in every wy to dbuse them of the illusions which I thought they entertined. Among these Domini cns ws one who, irritted by my constnt denils, determined to prove to me tht h ssertions were true. In April (1886) the workers on one of the coffee-plnttions ner Le Cp intended to hve some kind of demonstrtion in honour of one of their super stitious observnces, nd my friend lerned tht, incidentl to the Vudoux-worship (which by the wy, unccompnied by humn scrifices no Hitin will deny exts), there would be humn scrifice. In some mnner my friend hd ingrtited himself with certin of the Negro lbourers who were to ttend the scrifices, nd induced them to llow him nd me to be present, lso. On the 21 Ditto, p "Ditto, p. 231.

96 76 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS evening of April 19 he cme to my house, where both of us dressed ourselves in the ordinry country working-mn's costume, nd then hd our hnds nd fces well blcked ws to conduct rode out over the smooth by the Negro who us to the Vudoux temple. To rech the temple we wgon-rod which runs to nd through the plce clled Hut-du-Cp, nd when we hd gotten bout three miles beyond the little tvern on tht plce, where everybody stops for refreshments, our conductor suddenly left the highwy, nd by little winding bridle-pth led us up the big mountin to spot bout hlf-wy up the side. "Here the Negroes hd constructed rude wooden shnty mong the trees nd where it could be hrdly noticed by ny psser-by, if such there might be in tht lonely qurter. Into th merble hut we were ushered by our guide, who to obtin d mittnce, uttered some signl words to the two brwny Negroes who stood gurd t the entrnce, nd who closely interrogted every person who entered. We were pprently little lte. In the single room there ws motley crowd of Negroes, men nd women, congregted round sort of wooden throne erected in the centre of the room. On th throne rrnged in mny coloured long gowns nd dorned with twdry finery, there st on chirs drped with flming red cloth, mn nd womn. They were the Pploi nd Mmnloi, or priest nd priestess, of the order of the Vudoux. At their feet ws the box which contined the 'holy serpent,' which ws being worshipped by th ungodly ssemblge. Behind the throne ws stretched cross from wll to wll red cloth prtition, which divided the room, or rther which mde nother nd smller prtment behind it. As we entered the people were singing chnt low nd monotonous, nd t sign from our mentor, we, my friend nd I, joined it. When th chnt hd been finhed, there succeeded n intervl of dethly quiet during which the worshippers ppered to be engged in pryer. Sud denly the silence ws broken by the priest, who with violent ges tures, nd lmost shrieking h words, hrngued h udience for ten or fifteen minutes. He told them there ws but one thing to do by which they might obtin spiritul s well s temporl

97 VOODOO IN HAITI 77 rewrd, to dore the serpent nd obey implicitly nd without question its slightest order. The ttitude of the people showed tht they comprehended the injunction nd would obey. When he hd wrought the crowd to sufficiently high pitch of en thusm, the priest suddenly dropped h tlk, nd bursting into chnt gin, ws immeditely joined by the others. A weird dnce followed, the people singing s they dnced, nd grdully becoming lmost delirious in their fervour. The plce ws soon in n wful tumult, some of the women, who especilly seemed to hve lost ll control over themselves, even climbing up to the rfters, wriggling their bodies, hsing, nd trying in every wy to imitte the movements of the snke. "Th ghstly dnce ws continued for two hours more, when silence ws gin produced by the ppernce from behind the red curtin of two men leding by the hnd little trembling Negro boy in white robes. The child ws led to the throne, nd mounting it, he prostrted himself twice before the mn nd womn seted there. The Pploi, holding h hnds over the boy's hed, blessed him in the nme of the scred serpent, nd then sked him in pompous lnguge wht he most desired in the world. The little fellow, glncing up into the fces of h two conductors, replied (nd the reply hd evidently been tught him), 'Tht object bove ll other objects in the world which most desire the possession of little virgin.' Hrdly hd he spoken when from the encurtined prtment cme two women leding I Negro girl of four or five yers, lso dressed in the purest white. The second child ws led to the throne nd stood confronting the boy. Agin the boy ws sked wht he most desired, nd when he hd repeted h former nswer, both he nd the girl were t once thrown down on their bcks nd bound hnd nd foot. "A burly Negro, knife in hnd, seprted himself from the crowd, who hd been wtching the proceedings with brethless interest, nd mounted the throne. Reching the boy, he sid something to the men, who with their hnds over h mouth ws trying to stop the little fellow's cries, nd they held their victim

98 78 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS by the feet up in the ir. With single slsh cross the little throt, the brutl executioner killed the child, nd the others held him whilst the life-blood gushed into the receptcle plced below to receive it. "At th moment n involuntry exclmtion of horror escped me, nd immeditely ll eyes were turned towrds me, looking with dtrust nd suspicion. The horrible proceedings on the throne were suspended, nd hsty consulttion ws held mong the people on it. Fering for my life, nd obeying slight signl from our guide, I somehow got out of the door, mounted my horse nd rode s hrd s I could to the town. The worshippers did not suspect tht I ws white mn. They ssumed probbly tht I ws novice nd not yet hrdened to the sight. At ny rte I ws not pursued, nd my friend ws not interfered with. He remined until the end, joined me tht night, or rther morn ing, nd told me tht the little girl hd been killed in the sme mnner s the boy, nd tht then the bodies hd been cut up, cooked, nd eten by the wretches. The whole wful orgy ws ended only when every person present hd become helplessly intoxicted." Ditto, p. 203 ff- Note : St. John further quotes p. 243 from the evening post of New York, for Februry 25, 1888: "Port-u-Prince, Februry, Recently the body of child ws found ner th city ; n rm nd leg hd been eten by the Vudoux. During Chrtms week mn ws cught in the streets here with child cut up in qurters for sle. Cnniblm still previls, despite ll the forced sttements to the contrry. President Slomon, to plese the msses, the Negro element, llows them to dnce Vudoux dnce formerly prohibited." He lso cites mny "fully-uthenticted" cses, some of them flling under h own observtion, of the dmintering of drugs to induce pprent deth. Sub sequently the victims were brought bck to consciousness, not infrequently fter buril nd dinterment, tht they might be murdered nd certin portions of them t lest used in the ungodly scrifices of Don Pedro. He concludes : "It ws by these mens tht the Pplo probbly were enbled to obtin their victims dur ing the French colonil period." 1. c, p The following quottion from St. John, p. 232, should lso be noted : "Moreu de Sint-MeYy, in nming the different tribes imported into Hiti during the lst century, sys: 'Never hd ny dposition more hideous thn the lst (the Mondongoes) whose deprvity hs reched the most execrble of excesses, tht of eting their fellow cretures. They bring lso to Snto Domingo those butchers of humn flesh, for in their country there re slughter-houses where they sell slves s they would clves, nd they re here, s in Afric, the horror of the other Negroes.'" Here we hve dditionl evidence tht whtever cnniblm my hve exted in Hiti in connection with the Don Pedro rites, must not be

99 VOODOO IN HAITI 79 Jmes Anthony Froude, writing in 1888, refers to Sir Spencer St. John's ccount, "Which," he sys, "they cry out ginst with degree of nger which the surest evidence of its truth." 24 Of h own vit to Port-u-Prince, he writes: "Immorlity so universl tht it lmost ceses to be fult, for fult im plies n exception, nd in Hiti it the rule.... So fr they re no worse thn in our own Englh lnds, where the custom eqully generl ; but behind the immorlity, behind the religi osity, there lies ctive nd live the horrible revivl of the West Africn superstitions ; the serpent worship, nd the child scrifice, nd the cnniblm. There no room to doubt it. A msionry ssured me tht n instnce of it occurred only yer go within h own personl knowledge. The fcts re notorious; full c count ws publhed in one of the locl newsppers, nd the only result ws tht the president improned the editor for ex posing h country. A few yers go persons guilty of these in fmies were tried nd punhed, now they re left lone, becuse to prosecute nd convict them would be to cknowledge the truth of the indictment." 25 Two yers lter the ccustion ws renewed by Hesketh Prichrd in the following words: "Vudoux, ccording to its more elect dciples, n ll-powerful deity, but the ide of the msses does not re bove the serpent, which represents to them their god nd which presides, in its box, over ll their services... Vudoux cnniblm in the second stge. In the first instnce svge ets humn flesh s n extreme form of triumph over n enemy; so the ppetite grows until th food preferred to ny other. The next stge follows nturlly. The mn, whing to propitite h god, offers him tht which he himself most prizes. Add to th scrifice the mysteries nd trditions of the ges, nd you hve the Vudoux of tody.... Cnniblm hs been brought s very generl ccustion ginst the Hitins, but scribed to Voodoo, but rther to other gencies, even s it ws noticed in the decdent cult of the serpent t Grnd Popo. 24 Jmes Anthony Froude, The Englh in the West Indies; or, the Bow of Ulysses, London, 1888, p Ditto, p. 344-

100 8o VOODOOS AND OBEAHS lthough there no doubt tht the child scrificed in the worst Vudoux rites fterwrds dmembered, cooked, nd eten, I do not think of recent yers the prctice of cnniblm, uncon nected with scrifice, in ny degree prevlent, lthough it eqully certin tht scttered instnces do still come to light. Hiti the sole country with ny pretence to civiliztion where superstition contminted by such ctive horrors exts." 28 Such scthing ccustions, whether true or flse, could not fil to ttrct the notice of friends of Hiti, nd mny officil nd unofficil nswers or rther refuttions hve been ttempted. Notble mong these defenders of the reputtion of the Blck Re public my be cited J. N. Leger, who, while Envoy Extror dinry nd Minter Plenipotentiry of Hiti to the United Sttes, in 1907 publhed simultneously in French nd Englh work entitled Hyti. Her Htory nd Her Detrctors.27 However, h prtn nd exggerted view betryed by h sttement : "The lnd which now clled Hiti the only one in the West Indies where cnniblm hs never previled." 28 No doubt h ire hs been provoked by the ssertion of Prichrd, "Hiti the sole country with ny pretence to civiliztion where superstition contminted by such ctive horrors exts," which we hve re cently quoted. But in ny cse, the very spersion which he so indignntly repudites in the cse of h ntive lnd, he grtu itously cst ginst ll the rest of the West Indies. Th in itself might well mke us cutious bout ccepting h relibility s witness. And further on the very pge where we find th bld ccustion, he dmits on the uthority of Moreu de Sint-Mery 29 tht of the Blcks imported to the Islnd of Hiti s slves, one tribe t lest ws nthropophgous. Th he terms "the smll tribe of the Mondongues," but seeks to show tht the gentle influence of the Congo Negroes entirely tmed th unnturl instinct nd 20 Hesketh Prichrd, Where Blck Rules White: A Journey cross nd bout JIyti, Westminster, 1900, p. 76 ff. 27 French Edition ; Hiti. Son Hloire et ses Detrcteurs, New York, Englh Edition, p. 346 ; French Edition, p Moreu de Sint-Mery, Description de l Prtie Frnce de Sint- Domingue, Vol. I, p. 33.

101 VOODOO IN HAITI 81 blotted out the prctice. But where hs it been recorded of svges, tht those of gentler trits previled over the wrlike nd the blood-thirsty? To Sir Hrry H. Johnston more ttention must be pid when he comes forwrd s defender of Hiti's fir nme nd reput tion. He writes : "At lest two out of the three millions of Hitin Negroes re only Chrtins in the loose stttics of geogrphers. They re still Africn pgns, with vgue recognition of the Cross s n unexplined but potent symbol. They believe in fr off scrcely heeding Deity nd multitude of spirits, ncestrl nd demiurgic. Mgic or empiricl medicine ('Wng'), of course, believed in; nd rnges in scope from genuine therpeutics to sorcery, mesmerm, nd poonings. As to Vudum, much ex ggertion nd untruth hve been committed to pper on th sub ject, so fr s it ffects Hiti. Snke worship of doubtful occur rence, owing to the rrity of snkes in Hiti.30 Such hrmless snkes s do ext re tolerted in some villges or feth temples for their rt-killing propensities. The ide hs therefore got brod tht they re 'kept' s scred nimls by the Vudu priests or priestesses. Scrifices of eggs, rum, fowls, possibly gots (white fowls or white gots preferred) re offered to ncestors or minor deities presiding over the fertility of crops, rinfll (nture forces in fct), nd vrious smll nimls (perhps even humn remins) re deemed useful in sorcery.... Isolted instnces bout four or five of cnniblm (the killing nd eting of children) *o Note : Wilfrid D. Hmbly here tkes exception s follows, Serpent Wor ship in Afric, p. 59: "Johnston (1910) sys tht snke worship in Hiti of doubtful occurrence owing to the rrity of the snkes there. Such hrmless snkes s do ext re tolerted in some villges nd feth temples for their rt-killing propensities. The ide hs therefore got brod tht they re kept s scred nimls by the voodoo priests nd priestesses. Those seeking scientific truth on voodoom should doubt much of wht hs been written on th subject. Johnston rther negtives h own cutionry remrks by stting tht the python worship of Afric ws no doubt introduced by slves into Hiti, Cub, Louin, Crolin, Jmic, the Guins, nd Brzil. If th dmsible, it difficult to under stnd why the evidences of St. John respecting the survivl of snke cults in Hiti (1889) should be dcountennced. Furthermore, Johnston's ide tht snkes re rre in Hiti mconception, s snkes re both bundnt nd conspicuous on the lnd, though there re only few species, nd Hiti, like the rest of the Greter Antilles, hs no poonous snkes. There re bos, blind snkes, nd lso some Colubrine snkes,"

102 82 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS hve occurred in the criminl records of Hiti during the lst twenty yers, but the convicted were, in nerly ll cses, punhed with deth; the one or two not executed hd been proved to be md, nd were confined in pron or sylum. These cts of cnni blm were mostly exmples of md religious exlttion. Hiti 'Vudum' hs bsorbed elements of Freemsonry nd Chrtinity. It predicts the future, investigtes crime, rrnges love ffirs.... The 2,500,000 Hitin pesnts re pssiontely fond of dncing, will even sometimes dnce lmost or quite nked. And following on th choreogrphic exerce much immorlity. It for these dnces nd not for mystic 'Vudu' purposes tht the drums my be herd tpping, tpping, booming, rttling t night. No secret mde, nor ny shme felt bout these villge dnces, in which mny young people tke prt." 81 Of the neighboring lnd of Cub, Johnston writes : "The white Cubns chrge the Negroes with still mintining in their midst the drk Vudu or Hudu mysteries of West Afric. There seems to be no doubt tht the blck people of Cub (not the multtoes) do belong to number of secret or Msonic societies, the most widely-herd-of being the nvnnego ; nd it possible tht these confrternities or clubs re ssocited with immorl purposes. They originted in legue of defence ginst the tyrnny of the msters in the old slvery dys. Severl of them (s described to me) sounded s hrmless s our United Order of Buffloes. But those seeking fter scientific truth should dcount much tht my be red on Vudum. Th supposed Dhomen or Niger cult of the python or big serpent (Monitor, lizrd, crocodile or leoprd), with which re ssocited frenzied dncing, mesmerm, gross immorlity, cnniblm or corpse et ing, relly exts (or exted) ll over West Afric, from Sierr Leone to Tngnyik, nd no doubt ws introduced by Inner 11 Hrry H. Johnston, The Negro in the New World, London, 1910, p. 193 f. Note : He giving the "officil" explntion for the sound of the drums. As we hve noted there should be no drumming t rel Voodoo or Don Pedro rites, l though in prctice dnce usully precedes the Voodoo function to "dgue" the purpose of the gthering, s n libi for the locl uthorities who my hve given tcit permsion for the meeting which officilly they should contrvene. Cfr. Sebrook, Mgic Islnd, p. 54: "There ws no reson to suppose tht we might be dturbed, but s n extr precution gy dnse Congo ws immedi tely orgnized to cover the rel purpose of our congregtion."

103 VOODOO IN HAITI 83 Congo, Niger Delt or Dhomey slves into Hiti, Cub, Louin, South Crolin, Jmic, the Guins nd Brzil. Where Chr tinity of modern type hs obtined little or no influence over the Negro slves nd ex-slves, these wild dnces nd witchcrft perst.32 They re fst becoming pst phse in the life-condition of the Americn Negro, nd much of the evidence to the contrry out of dte, or mnufctured by senstion-mongers for the compiltion of mgzine rticles." 88 Of the kindred cult in Cub, Johnston further sttes : "The lst vestige of noxious witchcrft lingering mong the Cubn Negroes (sid to be) the belief tht the hert's blood of the hert of white child will cure certin terrible deses if consumed by the sufferer. The blck prctitioners who endevour to procure th wonderful remedy re known s 'Brujos' or 'Brujs' (i. e. mle or femle sorcerers). At the time ws in Cub (December, 1908), there were four or five Negroes witing tril on th chrge t Hvn. Other cses sid to hve been proved beyond doubt hve occurred I in Estern Cub within the lst two or three yers. But ll these stories nd chrges re vgue hersy, short time t my dposl I nd during the ws not ble to get proof of one. There little doubt tht occsionlly in the low qurters of the old Spnh towns little sumed tht the Negro white girls do dpper. t fult." 84 It too redily s Scrcely hd these words of Johnston in defence of Hiti been written before new ttck ws lunched. Stephen Bonsl sserts without hesittion: "The truth tht while you need hve no, fer whtever of eting humn flesh in Hiti dgued s rost or s could so esily "Voodoo presides round of beef, publicly, there no plce in the world where you stfy cnnibltic crving s in th lnd.... not written creed over which house of bhops fct which should ccount for the mny nd Note :82 Is not th condition verified, then, in Hiti, where Johnston's own estimte ws, s noted bove, The Negro in the New World, p. 193: "At lest two out of the three millions of Hitin Negroes re only Chrtins in the loose stttics of geogrphers. They re still Africn pgns, etc." It relly looks s Johnston hd done more hrm thn good to Hiti's cuse. 83 Johnston, c, p. 64! 84 Ditto, 66 if p. 1. f.

104 84 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS extremely vried versions of its prctices which re in circultion through the world. It certinly not mere veneer or n old gr ment from the Congo dys of the blck rce which hs not yet been cst wy. But it substntil edifice of West Africn superstition, serpent worship, nd child scrifice which exts in Hiti tody, nd which undoubtedly would become rmpnt throughout the lnd were it not for the check nd control upon ntive prctices which the foreign residents exerce. "Severl Romn Ctholic priests, who hve long resided in the hert of Hiti, told me tht one of the hrdships nd difficulties of the combt ginst Africn drkness upon which they re engged, the extreme reticence not only of the ctive Voodoots them selves, but of ll blcks in regrd to the feth-worshipping rites. "A Hitin often bsolutely lcking in tnt form of selfrespect which the lst to deprt from the most ignoble white. 'All will confess the most despicble crimes,' sid my priestly inform nt, 'nd dmit hving sunk to the lowest form of humn degr dtion, but even should you see him t the dnce under the sblier tree t night, ll smered with the blood which my hve flowed in the veins of cock, or got, or even humn child, he will deny hving nything in common with the Voodoo sectries." 85 Agin: "Of course, the rel chrge ginst Hitin civiliztion not tht children re frequently stolen from their prents nd re often put to deth with torture, nd subsequently eten with pomp t Voodoo ceremony, but tht Hitins officils, often the highest in the lnd, not only protect the kidnppers, but frequently tke prt in the cnnibltic rites which they mke possible. Th the chrge which I bring nd which I m prepred to substntite in every prticulr upon evidence which ppers to me, nd to mny others to whom I hve submitted 89 it, to be bsolutely un impechble." Finlly "Every moonlight night in Hiti you her in the woods : the tom-toming of the Voodoo drums nd you know tht the devil's priests re stir. On the horizon burns gret cmpfire, nd round 35 Stephen Bons1, The Americn Mediterrnen, New York, 1912, p Ditto, p. 90. f.

105 VOODOO IN HAITI 85 it dnce weird nd shdowy forms. Now nd gin piercing shriek rends the ir, whether of joy or pin or uttered t the sight of deth, you know not, nd your friend nd mentor, cclimted by twenty yers of residence nd sophticted by much study of th strnge people, tkes you by the hnd nd sys, t lest so did mine; 'It time, high time, to go now.' "So I never sw the drk frenzy of the Africn rites descend to the level of the cnnibltic fest which, t lest in the lst genertion, becme so frequently mtter of court record, nd I believe tht tody there only one white mn in Hiti, French priest, who hs seen the Voodoo rites crried out to their ghstly conclusion. The little green serpent, the ruling spirit of the bject Guine cost sect, often worshipped nd the fest termintes in scenes of the most vile debuchery, the 'got without horns,' how ever, not lwys being scrificed. "The cnnibltic feed only indulged in on rre occsions nd t long intervls, nd lwys shrouded in mystery, nd hedged bout with every precution ginst interlopers; for, be their Africn ignornce ever so dense, their crnl fury ever so un bridled, the pplo nd mmlo, the hed men nd hed women of the serpent worshippers never seem to forget tht in these vile excesses there should perhps be found excuse enough for the interference of the civilized world to sve the people of the Blck- Republic from the further degrdtion which wits them. "Within the lst fifteen yers humn victims hve been scri ficed to the gret god Voodoo in the ntionl plce of Hiti. Lst Februry there ws ssembled in the ntionl plce wht might justly be clled congress of serpent worshippers. During the life of Mme. Nord, which cme to n end in October, 1908, not week pssed but wht meeting of the Voodoo prctitioners ws held in the executive mnsion, nd her dethbed ws surrounded by t lest score of these witch doctors. "Generl Antoine Simon, who recently chieved the presidency, my be the intelligent mn he represented to be by not few white residents who hve come in close contct with him during the yers of h government of the southern rrondsements of the

106 86 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS lnd. But one thing quite sure : if he whes to remin in the Blck House nd rule, he must shre h sovereignty with the Voodoo priests. If he should exclude them from power nd bnh them from h presence, h term of office will be of short dur tion." Th prophecy ws only too well verified. President Simon ruled bout two yers nd hlf, from December 17, 1908 to August 2, 191 1, when he mde h escpe to Jmic. Bonsl continues : "There generlly, in fct invribly, much diversity of opinion in Hiti bout things Hitin nd host of contrdictory counsellors, but upon th point there prcticl unnimity. No government cn stnd in Hiti unless it upheld by the Voodoo priests or by foreign byonets. At lest two govern ments in the lst fifty yers, tht of Geffrrd nd tht of Borond- Cnl, hve tried to dpense with the priestly pooners of men's minds nd bodies without t the sme time inviting the ctive sup port of the civilized world, nd in ech instnce these governments ended in dster nd in bloodshed which lsted for yers. "But while few, if ny, of the white men who re t present residents of the lnd hve witnessed the scrifice of the 'got without horns,' it the esiest thing in the world to sst t the preliminries t lest of Voodoo fest. While my two vits to Hiti, tken ltogether, do not cover quite month, I hve with out gret difficulty ttended Voodoo fests in town nd country, in the open ir under the moonlit hevens, nd in the slums of the cpitl under the pllid glre of the electric light." 87 Th would lmost indicte tht even s vitors to Chintown re sid t times to be llowed to vit some stge-set opium dive, where the ctors for the occsion ply up to the prt with grewsome relity, so too, perchnce the Hitin brethren of the cult my not be verse to turn n honest penny by stging, in the hopes of smll considertion, Voodoo spectcle to stfy the demnds of tourts who in ll good fith fncy tht they hve been dmitted to the most secret mysteries. Th would explin much tht Sebrook hs reported. Bruce W. Merwin, Asstnt Curtor t the University of 87 Ditto, p. ioif.

107 VOODOO IN HAITI 87 Pennsylvni Museum, writes in the museum journl,88 under the cption "A Voodoo Drum from Hyti" s follows : "During the first three centuries of coloniztion of the New World mny of the ntive customs nd beliefs of West Afric were introduced nd retined by the slves. Of these feth worship with consider ble development or modifiction survives even to the present time. In Hiti, s the Voodoo cult with its humn scrifices, th worship the most primitive nd degrded in the two Americs. Attention ws drwn to the cult recently by Voodoo priest's drum presented to the University Museum by Mr. J. Mxwell Bullock, who hd received it from Mjor Alexnder Willims of the United Sttes Mrines. During the insurrection in 1916 in Hiti it hd been confcted nd its hed punctured becuse the beting of drum ws the signl to ssemble the Voodoo devotees nd to incite them to religious rce wr." Th sttement must be ccepted with restrictions. The term Voodoo here employed not techniclly but in its brodest possible sense. Moreover, nyone fmilir with the fmous tlking drums of Afric might suspect here tht during the Hitin troubles messges were ctully trnsmitted through the lnd by drum lnguge. While I hve never found mong West Indies the slightest vestige of wht must now be lost rt mong them, certinly their ncestors were most proficient in th regrd nd it still ctively prcticed in Afric. Th much, how ever, certin ; tht the verge drummer of the West Indies s proficient s ny rmy bugler in the conveying of conventionl clls nd commnds. Merwin further sttes : "The incessnt booming of the drum, the sight nd tste of blood, nd the gret mount of rum drunk cuse religious form of hysteri to sweep over the udience. At the close of the scrificil ceremony the worshippers begin dnce clled the 'loiloichi,' or stomch dnce, which well known in West Afric. The dnce gets wilder nd wilder nd more degrded until it ends in n orgy of the worst description dylight. which lsts until... In Hiti the bs of Voodoom the frnk wor- 3» Vol. VIII (1917), p. 123 f.

108 88 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS ship of the scred green snke tht must be propitited in order 89 keep off the evil duppies." We hve here to ll ppernces the Chic dnce of slve dys with title tht combines the old nme with the Voodoo "loi." Hence we my conclude tht it ws presumbly Voodoo fest t which the Chic ws dnced. George Mnnington, in 1925 publhed work on the West Indies in which he tries to sum up the whole question dpssion tely. H book bosts Foreword by the Rt. Hon. Bron Olivier, former Governor of Jmic. The following sttement of interest : "Voodoom or serpent worship, degrded form of religion commonly prcticed by the ncestors of the present Negroes in the forests of Afric, nd ws the only religion known to the slves in the erly dys. It sid to be followed still in the remoter prts of some of the lnds especilly Hiti. It only fir to sy, however, tht the more self-respecting of the people indig nntly deny tht such prctices re now followed even mong the most bckwrd of the rce. But reports to the contrry still perst. It certin tht the Hitin Negroes still ssemble in groves or clering in the forests nd dnce until they re exhusted to the ccompniment of tom-toms nd wild chntings ; rum-drinking dds zest to the proceedings. These scenes re occsionlly wit nessed by specttors conceled from view ; it would not be sfe to show themselves openly. Whether or not the more degrded forms of Voodoom re ssocited with these gtherings cnnot be positively stted, though such n ssertion mde by mny. The belief of the Voodoo (or Vudoux) votries ppers to be tht n ll-powerful non-venomous serpent controls ll humn events, knows ll things pst, present nd future, nd communictes h power nd will to the priest nd priestess who dminter the rites, nd who re clled Pploi nd Mn1loi, loi being the equivlent of the French roi nd stnds in the Negro terminology which without gender for both king nd queen. Th 'deity' to supposed to require the scrifice of ' got without horns.' Accordingly the scrifice of gots ccompnied by incnttions ws the common 89 Ditto, p. 125.

109 VOODOO IN HAITI 89 prctice, the nimls being fterwrds cooked nd eten. It lleged tht the phrse 'got without horns' ws lso interpreted to men child, tht smll children were killed nd eten in secret groves, nd tht the mothers were proud tht their children should be chosen for scrifice. The victim's blood ws mixed with rum nd drunk." 40 Dr. Price-Mrs, whom we quoted t length when considering Sebrook's Mgic Islnd, gives us n extended view of Voodoo s he sees it. Being devoted nd loyl son of the little le tht ws once so glorious s the proudest bost of Colonil Frnce, he my be prtil in h views t times, but h sincerity cnnot be ques tioned. Of the re of the Hitin community, he tells us : "We know, it true, wht elements hve mde up the Hitin community. We know tht drove of slves, imported to Sn Domingo from the fr-stretched western cost of Afric, presented in its entirety microcosm of ll the blck rces of the continent. We know how from the promcuous intercourse of the white with h blck concubine, nd from the rtificil conditions of society governed by the lw of cstes, there developed group intermedite between the mster nd the body of slves. We know further how the clsh of interests nd pssions, how the confronting of egoms, nd how the principles evoked by the strnge revolution, ll brought bout the insurrection which led the erstwhile Such in few words the origin of our people." 41 slves to found ntion. Concerning the dys tht preceded the slve upring, Dr. Price- Mrs writes : "We hve t hnd two documents whence we my gther vluble informtion. The first entitled L'Essi sur I'Esclvge et Observtions sur I'Ett Present des Colonies. It trets of the nxiety which ws roused mong the whites by the frequent nocturnl gtherings of the slves, where they fomented their plots ginst the colonil regime. In th connection, the uthor mkes the following remrk : 'Their designs would hve 40 George Mnnington, The West Indies with Brith Guin nd Brith Hondurs, New York, 1925, p. 267 f. 41 Dr. Price-Mrs, Ainsi Port I'Oncle, p. 107.

110 g0 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS been undcoverble if they hd not been betryed by the women concubines of the whites to whom they were generlly very much ttched. The dnce clled t Surinn, Wter Mm, nd in our Colony the Mere de I'eu, rigidly forbidden. They mke it gret mystery nd ll tht cn be sid of it th, tht it gretly excites the imgintion. They work themselves up to debuchery when they keep the mind fixed on evil purposes. The leder of the con spircy goes into n ecstsy so s to lose ll consciousness ; on re turning to h senses, he pretends tht h god hs spoken to him nd hs commnded some undertking, but, s they do not dore the sme god, they hte him nd they spy one on nother, nd their projects re nerly lwys denounced.' "From th curious document my be drwn n importnt con clusion. It tht t the period to which it mkes reference, prob bly bout 1760, the religion of the slves hd not yet been unified, nd without questioning the fct, the uthor of the Essy gives the reson when he informs us tht the Negroes do not dore the sme god." 42 Dr. Price-Mrs goes on to stte tht while t th time, prob bly bout 1760, there could hve been no uniformity of religious cult mong the Negro slves, yet "less thn thirty yers lter, we find under the nme of 'Voodoo' religious estblhment of which Moreu de Sint-Mery ws the first to give detiled nlys nd which hs remined fmous, nd hs become the theme, enlrged nd borrowed, of most of the ccounts which hve been given of the culturl ceremonies of Voodoo by writers who hve not them selves hd the occsion of observing them." 48 Dr. Price-Mrs remrks elsewhere : "The gret mss of Negroes gthered from different prts of Afric nd brought to Sn Domingo were from pious rces ttched to Mohmmednm, Dhomn religion, nd few Ctholics." 44 However, "With mny of the slves Chrtinity ws little more thn n externl formlity to be observed during the hours of the "Ditto, p. 1i3f. " Ditto, p Dr. Price-Mrs, Unt Etpe de I'Evolution Hitienne, p. 127.

111 VOODOO IN HAITI 91 dy. By night they met in smll groups to prctice surreptitiously their old tribl customs." 45 Grdully "These nocturnl meetings becme regulr occurrences under the indomitble influence of the Ards, the Ibos nd the Dhomns." 48 Showing tht during the long formtion period there stedily developed composite religious cult by process of ssimilting the vrious nimtic beliefs of Afric, Islmm included, he ob serves: "But there ws only one religion which retined solid frmework of dciplinry trditions, scredotl hierrchy, cpble of imposing some of its rites upon the composite beliefs, nd th ws the Dhomn." 47 In connection with h criticm of Sebrook's Mgic Islnd, Dr. Price-Mrs sks question nd then nswers it : "Is there Voodoo initition whereby neophyte, it mtters not who he, thnks to the good will of the hougn,48 my be dmitted to the congregtion? It seems not. Lten, however. If nyone believes in the rites of Voodoo nd he desires ctully to tke prt in some ceremony, rites of exorcm, of nnul commemortion, expitory rites, etc., be he white or blck, he hs only to ddress himself to the first hougn met, who will give him the mode of procedure. As generl rule, the one officiting will not trouble himself to find out how fr the pplicnt sincere. H mere ppliction 45 Ditto, p Ditto, p Ditto, p. 142 f. Note: After observing tht the Dhomn rites hve under gone gret chnges nd dpttions in the process of bsorption, he dds, p. 144 : "One my remrk in pssing the ritul gesture of the Mohmmedn in the hbitul slm of the officil who holds h hnds towrds the est before beginning ech Voodoo ceremony. One finds there, too, tboo of the forbidden foods nd the unlucky dys." And he sums it ll up on the next pge, p. 145 : "It nothing less thn syncretm of beliefs." Cfr. lso, D. Trouillot, Esquse Ethnogrphique : Le Vudoux, p. 28: "The Creole Vudoux syncretm of the different sects of the primordil Vudoux nd of the superstitions s well Africn s Aryn mingled together by slvery. It certin tht if n old Guinen ws to return, he would not know wht to do in the midst of the dnce nd Vudoux ceremonies of tody." 48 Note : Dr. Price- Mrs tells us tht the word Hougn signifies fire or the wrmth of fire, p It derived from the Hbbes of the Centrl Nigerin Plteu so well described by Lou Desplgnes. Cfr. L Plteu Centrl Nigerien, Pr, Referring to the Hougns s "mgico-religious leders of our rurl popultion of the north nd southwest," he continues : "These leders re constrined by the ceremonies of initition to life of usterity which be speks the gret morl uthority which they enjoy." Cfr. Dr. Price-Mrs, L c., p. 130.

112 92 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS sufficient gurntee of good fith. Sebrook ws in position to mke such n ppliction, nd I believe tht nothing more unusul ws done for the ske of mking sport. "On the contrry, the individul menil who ignornt of h own prerogtives? I men to sy supposing tht he n indi vidul, who thus fr hs been shut out from ll prticiption in the ritul obligtions of the Voodoo, nd who hs suddenly become wre of them, nd hs been inspired by 'the mysteries.' He my wh 'to renounce,' to wit, to mke up the rrers due to the gods, nd tke more intimte prt in the congregtion. Then the hougn proceeds to those ceremonies which re more or less the rites of initition bptm of 'loi bossles,' nd of the 'houns' nd of the 'houginikons.' "But these inititions re ll esoteric. They re ccomplhed only by degrees. In the cse suggested, the first order of the hougn to the neophyte, severe pennce, sexul nd dietry bstinence, pennce s regrds clothing ; then there the rigorous retret nd the fst, followed by the ceremony of initition nd finlly the trils. "As regrds th prt of the rite, the initition in every wy secret. Moreover the ceremony llows vritions. Sometimes the hougn keeps himself in drkened room where he hs pool, the cndidtes, clothed in white, re stretched on couches in the djcent room, hving ech wide-mouthed pitcher full of wter which supposedly redy to receive the 'Mystery' with which the hougn going to converse. In fct, the congregtion outside the enclosure cn her t given moment kind of converstion between the one officiting nd the pretended 'Mystery' which, hving come t h cll, my converse with the subject whom he hs honoured with fellow-feeling towrds him, the 'Mystery.' To my mind, th converstion probble effect of ventriloqum the boldest of trickeries nd it on tht ccount tht there so much need of obscurity nd of solitude s climed by the hou gn. When, t lst, the 'Mysteries' hve tken possession of the elect, these come forth from the enclosure in procession, crrying their pitchers on hed nd shoulder, mke the round of the rbour

113 VOODOO IN HAITI 93 where the bulk of the congregtion gthered, tking prt in the feverh ecstsy of the dnces nd submitting to the ordel of the 'Cnzo' which consts in plunging the hnd into boiling pot of mess intended for the cult mel. The roused congregtion cries out t th moment : 'Aie Bobo! Aie Bobo!' "At other times, it t spring, or occsionlly on the bnk of river, or, if in loclity where there neither wter course nor spring, it beside lrge ctern, or even hlf -csk tht the hougn estblhes shrine,' mde of trell of reed, on which re spred lrge white cloths. There the gods re thought to es tblh their temporry domicile. The one officiting enters lone. By h interprettion, the gods, whom certin ones who hve died 'serve,' constrin the voice of the ded to converse with their kindred, their friends mong the congregtion which kept t respectful dtnce. In th vrint, the rite ssumes chrcter, hlf -expitory, hlf -inititory, s it ssumed tht the hougn cn trnsfer to the living 'the Mystery' of h deprted prent." 49 Throughout these initition functions, we notice in clothing nd drperies the entire bsence of red, which the chrctertic colour of Voodoo. If the rites described relly belong to present-dy Voodoo, then mrked chnge hs been effected in the whole culturl ritul. As mtter of fct, the entire ceremony s described by Dr. Price-Mrs suggests Ashnti origin rther thn Dhomn or Whydh. After lengthy quottion from Moreu de Sint-Mery, Dr. Price-Mrs observed in h erlier book : "Th pge of Moreu de Sint-Mery ssumes in our eyes n importnce of the very first order, not only becuse it the only uthentic document which con tins serious fcts on the religious mnifesttions of the Negroes of Sn Domingo, but on ccount of the fulness of detils, the pre cion of delinetion, the chrcter of the whole work, one recog nes t once the evidence of the truth. Well does the uthor tell us tht the sect ws secret nd it still so in our dy h reltion ctully gives us the impression of deposition of n eye-witness. However, if s we believe, nd s we shll prove lter, the ritul of 49 Dr. Price-Mrs, L c, p. 172 f.

114 94 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS cult sensibly modified since the colonil epoch, mny of the dtinctive detils in the celebrted description hve remined un chnged even tody. They help us to estblh the primordil ele ments of Voodoo." 80 Dr. Price-Mrs now mkes very serious mtke by ssuming tht Voodoo, s he sees fit to portry it t the present dy, sub stntilly unchnged in one hundred nd fifty yers, nd tht it specificlly the sme rite s it ws in slve times. Rther, since he dmits tht Moreu de Sint-Mery hs described ccurtely the rel Voodoo of Colonil times, it would be more profitble to us if he hd simply pointed out the present vrints; perhps, how ever, it would be more ccurte to sy tht it hs been so rdiclly chnged tht the term Voodoo cn be pplied to it only by n ex tension, if not dtortion, of its mening. Tht, of course, pro viding tht Dr. Price-Mrs ctully describing present-dy Voodoo to us nd not some kindred rite, when he sys : "Of these trits the most chrctertic the stte of trnce in which the individul possessed by the god finds himself enthrlled." Th certinly more like n Ashnti function thn one from Whydh s noted previously. "The second trit," we re told, "which gives its tone to the ceremony the dnce, rhythmic dnce, to the sound of trio of long drums to the cdence of the 'ssons,' executed on the syncopted irs which leder improves, h voice being echoed multifold by the enthustic congregtion." Drums t Voodoo ceremony! And wht of h ssertion tht "the initition in every wy secret." And : "Well does the uthor tell us tht the sect ws secret nd it still so in our dy." Wht secrecy, or even privcy cn be hd with the bltnt summoning of the drums? "As regrds the rest," he continues, "wht seems to be the es sentil of the belief we spek of the dortion of the dder th prt of the rite hs been eliminted from Voodoo or relegted ltogether to the bckground of the ceremonil. We believe it lmost bolhed. On th point we my be permitted to give our personl testimony. In the course of our investigtions, we hve hd occsion to sst t numerous 50 Dr. Price-Mrs, Ainsi Prl VOncle, p. 117 f. Voodoo ceremonies hundred

115 VOODOO IN HAITI 95 t lest of which some were celebrted in the most remote d tricts, we hve never seen, not even once, homge rendered to the dder. And, remrkble coincidence, the writers either Hitins or foreigners, who hve seriously devoted themselves to the question, re unnimous in remrking the sme, whether they sy it explicitly 81 or they fil to mke mention of such ceremony." With ll due respect to the experience of Dr. Price-Mrs, one cnnot refrin from mking the reflection : Either he ws fully initited into the cult, or he ws not. If he ws, then he hs tken the oth to concel the true fcts ; if he ws not, then from h own sttements, being n uninitited, he would never be dmitted to the full cere monies.82 s Furthermore, if the present stte of Voodoo in Hiti, precely Dr. Price-Mrs describes it, with the serpent eliminted, there must hve been very rdicl chnge quite recently. Some twenty yers go, ws ssured personlly by Hitins in Jmic, whom certinly considered worthy of credence, tht to their own knowl I I edge, the mixture of Voodoo nd Ctholicm in Hiti hd given re to mny ltrs with regulr tberncles, such s re commonly found in Ctholic churches, but in ech cse the tberncle ws reserved by the owner for the use of the serpent. Th view further confirmed by the personl experience of one 111 Ditto, p. 118f. Note :82 Prichrd not fr wrong in h conclusions, Where Blck Rules White, p. 81 "Vudoux so inextricbly woven in with every side of the Hitin's life, h politics, h religion, h outlook upon the world, h socil nd fmily reltions, h prejudices nd peculirities tht he cnnot be judged prt from them." Arthur W. Holly, Les Dimons du Culte Voudu, Port-u-Prince, 1918, strts h Prefce with bltnt profession of fith "Without vnity or flse shme, or cowrdice, declre tht m n esotert tht to sy one initited to the sciences whose roots re deep set in Ethiopic-Egyptin ntiquity sciences which llow one to recognize in the priestly writings the cosmogonic beginnings, to dengge from symbol, sign, given letter the vlue of the ide, its met physicl sense or its true scientific chrcter." The work itself merely n esoteric pretence of the most mteur type nd of prcticlly no rel vlue. However, Dr. Holly stresses one point tht my be significnt, Prefce, p. x "Definitively hve good reson for sserting tht the Negro initited in the true Voodoo cult, in comformity with pure trditions, enters into no reltions whtever with Stn. The demons to whom they ccuse him of scrificing re not the spirits of drkness, nd therefore mlevolent. They re rther the Dimons ccording to the Greek concept, tht to sy 'bright spirits.' Witchcrft, sordid mgic, incomptible with the gret principles preconized by Voodoo morle." : I I I : :

116 96 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS who spent mny yers in Hiti nd Jmic. While not free to dclose the nme of the prty in question, whom we my refer to s Mdm X., the writer cn unreservedly ttest her honesty nd sincerity. She ws ldy of eduction nd refinement, nd the exemplry mother of fmily. Of her sty in Hiti she subse quently told msionry in Jmic : "When I first moved there, I ws told tht I must be very creful bout my bby, becuse the ntives often stole bbies, white bbies especilly, to use them in their obi rites or services." By obi here ment witchcrft in its generic form ; though, of course, Voodoom would be specificlly more correct. Mdm X. continues : "Soon fter I rrived, womn living next door, whose husbnd hd been notorious Obeh mn nd hd died just short time before, cme to vit me. She ws very friendly, nd when she sw my chpel, she sid ; 'You know I hve chpel, you must come over nd see me nd see my chpel which I hve for my services; my husbnd ws gret Obeh mn nd ll the gret people cme to him.' When I went to see her, she showed me room generously fixed up like chpel ; there ws box corresponding to our tberncle, n ltr nd two sttues.... There ws white got there which ws used in Obeh rites, she used to dress up th got in the most costly robes ; there ws brrel in which ws lrge snke which ws dressed in ribbons. She showed me lots of costly presents which hd been given her by rich people, costly robes for the got, wine, jewels, etc. After her husbnd's deth she hd kept up h work. She sid tht ll the people from the president down, even prcticl Ctholics, went to the ignornt Obeh men nd women. She dded, tht in order to get scred prticles the Obeh men nd women used to go to communion, keep the Hosts dry in their mouth, nd bring them home to their Obeh chpel nd keep them in their tberncles." Despite h perfervid descriptions, Sebrook hs much of rel vlue nd prticulrly s lredy noted in the second portion of h book. Thus for exmple: "Voodoo in Hiti profound nd vitlly live religion.... Voodoo primrily nd bsiclly form of worship, nd... its mgic, its sorcery, its witchcrft 53 A. J. Emerick, Obeh nd Duppym in Jmic, Woodstock, 1915, p. 192 f. 53

117 VOODOO IN HAITI 97 (I m speking techniclly now), only secondry, collterl, sometimes sinterly twted by-product of Voodoo s fith." 54 And "Voodoo not secret cult or society in the sense tht Free msonry or the Rosicrucin cult secret ; it religion, nd secret only s Chrtinity ws secret in the ctcombs, through fer of persecution. Like every living religion it hs its inner mysteries, but tht secretness in different sense. It religion towrd which whites generlly hve been either scoffers, spyers, or ctive enemies, nd whose dherents, therefore, hve been forced to prctice secrecy, bove ll where whites were concerned. But there no fixed rule of their religion pledging them to secrecy, nd Mmn Celie ws brogting nothing more thn protective custom when she gve me her confidence." Agin he sys: "Although Dmbll, the ncient Africn ser pent god remins enthroned s its centrl figure, th Voodoo cere mony not the old trditionl ritul brought over from Afric, but rther grdully formlized new ritul which sprng from the merging in erliest 85 slve dys of the Africn trdition with the Romn Ctholic ritul, into which the slves were ll bptized lw, nd whose techings nd ceremonils they willingly embrced, without ny element of intended blsphemy or dibolm, incor porting modified prts of Ctholic ritul s for instnce the vest ments nd the processionl into their Voodoo ceremonils, by just s they incorported its Fther, Son, Virgin, nd sints in their pn thetic theology." Sebrook, Mgic Islnd, p Ditto, p Ditto, p. 34. Note: Cfr. lso Sebrook, p. 89: "In Americ the word Voodoo hs come to men indcrimintely ny Negro sorcery, secret ceremony, or old Africn witch-doctor prctice. In Hiti the word similrly loosely used sometimes even by ntives, so tht when they wh to dtinguh shrply they re likely to use the word Rd s the nme of their religion, nd Service Petro, or Service Legb for their ceremonil religious rites." P. 295 : "Petro or Service Petro the nme given to the blood-scrificil Voodoo ceremony. It derives from the nme of slve who ws fmous pploi in colonil times." P. 308: The following literlly trnslted, one of the formuls pronounced by the sorceror over deth oung before hiding it in the secret plce where it to lie rotting : "Old mster, now the time to keep the prome you mde. Curse him s I curse him nd spoil him s I spoil him. By the fire t night, by the ded blck hen, by the bloody throt, by the got, by the rum on the ground, th oung be upon him. My he hve no pece in bed, nor t h food, nor cn he hide. Wste

118 . 98 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS We rther suspect tht the following pssge, prtilly lest, scribble to Dr. Price-Mrs from whom much of Sebrook's technicl informtion ws gthered. "The worship of the snke in Hiti," he declres, " by no mens so literl s commenttors hve supposed. It true tht on every Petro ltr in Hiti there serpent symbol, sometimes pinted on the wll, sometimes crved of wood nd elevted on stff. It t true lso tht living snkes re regrded s scred objects, not to be injured or mo lested. One of the commonest nd hndsomest hrmless green tree snke which grows to three or four feet in length, but ll snkes re held scred. But the serpent worshipped symboliclly, nd not becuse they believe he hs ny power of h own ;he repre sents the gret god Dmbll.... So fr s m wre no living serpent kept 'in box' or otherwe on ny Voodoo ltr to-dy in Hiti. A negro friend hs told me, however, of n Obeh cere mony which he hd seen in Cub in which centrl object. He sid tht lrge, I living snke ws the non-poonous snke ws kept in big erthern jr on n ltr, tht some ten or fifteen negroes mde sort of circulr endless chin beginning nd ending t the rim of the jr by lcing their rms round ech others tht the snke ws then drwn from the jr nd induced shoulders : to crwl over their shoulders, mking the circuit nd returning to the jr." " Finlly Sebrook tells us :"It not my intention to gloss over the fct tht ctul humn scrifice lso n occsionl integrl prt of the Voodoo ritul in Hiti... Tht humn scrifice in Voodoo tody my seem strnge nd to mny persons horrible, I but only, I think, becuse they consider it in terms of 'time.'... hve described no humn scrifices on the pges of th book solely for the reson tht I never sw one. I fi hd lived for mny yers insted of months with Mmn Celie in the mountins, it probble tht should hve seen one. Such scrifices, however, Mmn Celie tells me, re rre nd performed only under stress of I him nd wer him nd rot him s these rot." But th witchcrft. 'Ditto, 3ii, p. not Voodoo, it undiluted

119 VOODOO IN HAITI 99 seeming necessity. Tht they never rech the courts or public notice due to the fct tht when they re pure uthentic Voodoo, the scrificil victim never kidnpped, stolen, or procured by other criminl mens, but lwys voluntrily offered from within the religious group. Occsionlly lso, however, occurs some ex trordinry criminl buse of th prctice, followed by denunci tion nd prosecution. In th ctegory ws the cse of Cdeus Bellegrde which occurred in He ws pploi turned crimi nl, pthologicl monster." 88 Dr. J. C. Dorsinvil, Hitin physicin of stnding, in n ddress to the Htoricl nd Geogrphicl Society of Hiti stted in 1924 : "Ten yers go, in study publhed by the review hiti medicle, we sserted tht Voodoo in its psycho-physiologicl effects consts in th, it rcil psycho-nervous dorder, of religious chrcter bordering on prnoi. Our opinion hs in no wy chnged. But s you see the question ws then viewed from medicl stndpoint.89 "We re permitted tody to present to you the sme question under nother spect, the philologicl viewpoint. Th will be noth ing else but study chpter wherein we trce our origins. "As much if not more thn our revolution, Voodoo hs tended to destroy the reputtion of our country. The imgintion of wellmening chroniclers, such s St. John our ltest vitor, to pss over Alux, Texier nd others, who does h utmost to dcover in the frequently inoffensive ceremonies of th cult, the most re- 58 Ditto, p. 319 f. 59 Cfr. lso, J. C. Dorsinvil, Vodou et Nevrose, p. 48 : "We ffirm tht Voodoom stfies nervous rcil hbit firmly estblhed by the belief in seculr prctices mong mny Hitin fmilies. The proofs of such condition re plen tiful, if one will only tke the trouble to observe well the fcts." However, we cnnot endorse Dr. Dorsinvil's explntion of "dul personlity" even in the brod sense in which he uses the term. Trouillot, Esquse Ethnogrphique : Le Vudoux, p. 10, thinks tht excessive lcoholm nd feverh excitement induces sort of hypnotic effect t the Voodoo dnces so tht it mkes the prticipnt insensible to pin s when he plunges h hnd into the boiling cldron. He further observes, p. 10 f. : "It fct tht the finncil return of dnce nd the orgtic plesures which it furnhes to dncers nd specttors re the only nd rel perpetution of Vudoux. It no longer religion with its dogms nd rites, it only gross indulgence hving preserved the empty form of vnhed belief." And it ws s fr bck s 1885 tht these words were written I

120 IOO VOODOOS AND OBEAHS pugnnt scenes of cnniblm nd orgies. Some of our journlts even spek of it with tht inconsidertion nd bsence of study, with which one cn too frequently reproch them. "We hve then deep interest in shedding the clerest light on the origins of th mysterious cult. Th work esy tody, for the ctivity of investigtors hs left unturned no corner of the vst morl world of humnity." 80 Tking up the mening of the word, Dr. Dorsinvil sserts: "Voodoo... simply generic term of the fongbe dilect.... It the most importnt word of the dilect since it includes nerly the whole morl nd religious life of the Fons nd the origin, or rther it the invrible root, of n entire fmily of words. Wht the prece mening of the world in fongbe? It designtes the spirits, good or evil, subordinte to Mwu nd, by extension, the sttue of one of these spirits, or every object tht symbolizes their cult or their power, protective or mlevolent." 81 Agin, "The most celebrted expression of the religion of the Voodoo the cult of the serpent or of the dder D, pronounced Dn, incrnting the spirit Dgbe, pronounced Dngbe." He writing s Frenchmn. "The two principl sncturies of th cult were found in the scred woods of Somorne ner Alld nd t Whydh. Among us by contrction, the Dhomn expression Dngbe Alld hs be come the lo ( Congo word) Dmbllh, of which the symbol still remins n dder." 8 Of the estblhment of the cult in Hiti, Dr. Dorsinvil hs th to sy: "By compron with other Africn tribes, the Ards, Congos, Ngos, etc. the Fons hve been very much in the minority in Sn Domingo. How, then, explin the strong religious impress with which they hve mrked the people? It here tht shows forth ll the importnce of the Voodoo cult in Sn Domingo. Whether it plesing or not, Voodoo gret socil fctor in our htory. The colonils tolerted ll the noy dnces of the slves, but fered the Voodootic ceremonies. They instinctively 60 J. C. Dorsinvil, Une Expliction Philologique du Vbdu, Port-u-Prince, 1924, p. 14 f. 61 Ditto, p. 18 f. 62 Ditto, p. 20.

121 VOODOO IN HAITI IOI dreded th cult with its mysticl movements, nd felt in con fused wy tht it could become powerful element of cohesion for the slves. They were not mtken, for it ws from the hert of these Voodootic ceremonies tht the gret revolt of the slves of Sn Domingo developed. Toussint himself knew th so well tht when he becme the first uthority of the colony, he no longer tolerted th kind of cult." 83 He dds lter: "Religion so hierrchic, so enshrouded in mystery, should, it cler, exerce powerful ttrction in the other Africn tribes represented in Sn Domingo. It offered them body of religious beliefs which were not in the lest to be found in the superstitions prcticed by them selves. But in brnching out, Voodoo divested itself of its originl chrctertics. It overburdened itself with prsitic beliefs, Arden, Congoleon, etc." 84 Dr. Prsons thus begins her rticle on the Spirit Cult of Hiti, "During recent folk-tle collecting tour to the south cost of Hiti, I hd opportunities to observe combintions in cult of Africn pgnm nd French Ctholicm of much interest to the student of cculturtion, s well s to West Indin folklort or htorin. Tht th cult hs heretofore pssed undescribed in Hiti prob bly due to the diversion of interest to one of its reputed fetures, ritul cnniblm or, in journltic term, voodoo humn scrifice, the folklore of which wide-spred mong ll foreigners, white nd coloured, in Hiti, s well s mong Cribben neighbours. Some St. Luci boys shipwrecked in Sn Domingo told me there tht they hd become frid of going on to Hiti, s they once thought of doing, since they hd herd how they killed nd te people in Hiti. It ws the sme story I hd herd fifteen yers before from the French wife of Syrin merchnt t the Hitin town of Gnives. Th ldy felt outrged ginst the Islnd 'suvges.'... If humn scrifice occur or hs ever occurred in Hiti, it in connection with the Tureu Criminel, the Criminl Bull, one of the spirits or loi of which there lrge number, both Ctholic nd Africn. Between ptron sint nd West Indin feth 83 Ditto, p Ditto, o. 37.

122 102 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS no dtinction mde in the cult which my be described s theory nd prctice of possession by spirits. There little or no philosophic or religious expression of the theory to be herd in Hiti, but descriptive detils of the prctice bound." 85 Perhps the most dpssioned ccount of Voodoo comes from the pen of one who hd lived for yers in Hiti towrds the close of the lst century nd hd sought to study the question scientifi clly. Eugene Aubin, in giving the results of h reserches, d socites himself from the prtns of every phse of sentiment. H nrrtive simple nd to the point.88 Thus: "In the settle ment s in the home, Negro life dominted by old Africn super stitions, tht to sy by the Voodoo cult. Although they point out mny trces of it in the United Sttes nd in certin lnds of the Antilles, it nowhere more prevlent thn in Hiti where its development remins unimpeded. Elsewhere it restricts itself to the exploittion of witchcrft for the profit of some shrewd indi viduls, which they cll Obeh in the Englh colonies. The htoric development of Sn Domingo sole cuse for the difference in Hiti. Wheres in the other lnds fethm tends, if not to d pper, t lest to dgue itself under the influence of Chrtin ity, supported by externl force; the independence of Hiti encourges prllel progress, even the confusion of the two beliefs.... "The study of Hitin fethm not esy. Those who tret of the subject do so with prejudice or inccurtely. The Fthers Du Terte nd Lbt scrcely touch on it. The ltter restricts himself to mere expression of dtrust. 'The Negroes,' he writes, 'do with out scruple wht the Philtines ttempted ; they ssocite the rk with Dgon nd secretly preserve ll their old idoltrous worship, 65 Elsie Clews Prsons, Spirit Cult in Hyti, Pr, 1028, p Note : Cfr. Sebrook, The Mgic Islnd, p. 316 f. : "Eugene Aubin, French writer who lived in Hiti for number of yers prior to 1898, interested himself in the study of Voodoo without ever pprently hving whed to witness or prticipte in its scrificil ceremonies. It possible tht he ws restrined by morl scruples. He wrote, however, n excellent book clled En Hiti, pub lhed in Pr in 1910, which shows he ws on the friendliest terms with the leding pplo nd hougns of tht period. He dcussed symptheticlly nd t length with the more intelligent ones the nture of their creed nd ws dmitted to number of their temples."

123 VOODOO IN HAITI 103 with the ceremonies of the Chrtin religion.' A 'trusty nd intelligent Negress' understood little of nything t Descourtelz. As ever Moreu de Sint-Mery ws the best informed of colonil writers. The educted creoles pretend complete ignornce of things so gross ; unconsciously there survives in them the old prejudices of times when the plnter felt himself insecure in h oltion mong the Negroes, dreded their mysterious cult, their secret meetings, their witchcrft nd their poons. For h prt, the Negro remins ttched to h prctices, observnt of h inititions. Z'ffe mouton ps z'ffe cbrite. The ffirs of the sheep re not those of the nnny-got, sys the creole proverb ; the things of the blcks do not concern the whites. "However uncouth my seem the cult sprung from Hitin fethm the fult in no wy due to the fundmentl principle of their beliefs, which restrict themselves to seeking out the mni festtions of the Divinity in the forces of nture. It pnthem, s ny other, clssified by the sme stndrd s ncient pgnm or the religions of Indi. The gret wrong of the Negroes ws to overindulge life, in exggerting the evil chrcter of the super nturl world nd in conceiving the universe s peopled with predominntly evil spirits, mong which the lo nd the ncestors freely enjoyed n ggressive role s regrds suffering humnity. They cme to the conclusion tht it ws necessry to conjure these evil influences by witchcrft, gifts nd scrifices ; to the pplo or sorcerers, people well versed in the mysteries, fell the chrge nd the profit of these conjurtions.... "According to the tribe, the rites nd the trditions differ. Just s the Negroes of Sn Domingo cme in gret numbers from ll costs of Afric, Hitin Voodoo results from the confusion of ll the Africn beliefs. However, there stnds out two principl rites, ech constituting dtinct cult, the rite of Guine nd the 'Congo rite.' Although the blcks of th colony cme in greter numbers from Congo thn from Guine, the followers re divided bout eqully, ccording to the origin or the convenience of the fmilies. But, nevertheless, the superstitions of Guine exerce prepondering influence on the ctul doctrines of Voodoo. In ech

124 104 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS of the two rites, experts remrk series of subdivions, corre sponding to the different tribes of the north nd of the middle cost of Afric. Ard, Ngo, Ibo belong to the rite of Guine; it seems tht the north cost hs hd more greeble fethm nd freely dmits good spirits. The Ard would be the simplest nd purest cult of ll, knowing nothing whtever of witchcrft. The spirits venerted on the southern cost re more frequently wicked : these ltter frequent the subdivion of the Congo rite, the Congo Frnc, the Petro, nd the Cplou. "The scenes of cnniblm which occur even now t times (n exmple of th kind ws tried in 1904 by the criminl court of Port-u-Prince) would be the work of the dherents, fortuntely few in number, of the prticulr divions of the Petro nd the Cplou ; some my be scribed to the Mondongue, of which the chrcter little out of the ordinry, lthough belonging to the Congo rite. "The prphernli of ll these rites hve creted veritble mythology in Hitin Voodoo. The lo, sints, the mysteries found in nture, hve received the nmes of ncient Africn kings or indeed of the loclities where they hve been deified. They dd the title of Mster, Pp or Mter. Legb, Dmbl, Aguy, Guede, derived from the rite of Guine, re the object of n lmost uni versl cult; Mster Ogoun, Loco, Sugo, Pp Bdere... nd they hve lso no end of others. The King of Engole (Angol) nd the King Lounge (Longo) belong to the Congo rite.... "All the lo wh to be 'served' ; nd their service belongs to the pplo. Do these minters restrict themselves to the good lo, nmely to the rite of Guine nd to those elements of the Congo, s they sy 'who serve with one hnd lone'? 'To serve with two hnds' implies no less the cult of the evil lo, pitiless deities, crv ing for blood nd vengence. The houm forts, sncturies of these multiple spirits, re on every hnd in the plins, where the people, better circumstnced, tke cre to surround their fethm with elborte ceremonies, unknown in the uplnds. "The pploi mn versed in the rites, by heredity or study, who hs grdully ren in the Voodoo hierrchy. He hs some

125 VOODOO IN HAITI 105 times ttended the fmous houmforts of the plins of Leogne nd Archye, received the most secret inititions nd undergone the ordel of n ordintion. When these finl ceremonies re con cluded, the new pploi presents himself to the fithful, nd pos sessed by the spirit, he intones the chnt proper to the loi who, during h life, will be the Mitre-cye, the Mitre-tete, nd to whom will be consecrted the houmfort which he bout to enter. "The foundtion of the Voodoo cult found in the fmily. Ech fmilyhed, clothed with fmily priesthood, honors the spirit of the ncestors nd their protecting lo." 87 To our wy of thinking, then, Voodoo s first found in Hiti ws substntilly the serpent worship of Whydh; nd in the beginning t lest, it ws but slightly modified by locl conditions. As the children of the Africn "bush" were ruthlessly torn wy from their ntive hunts, they nturlly crried with them the prctices nd superstitions tht served s cherhed memories of the pst, nd thus introduced to their new surroundings the diverse forms of perverted worship or sorcery, s the cse might be, nd for time t lest clung to their own peculir customs. Those who hd prcticed Ophioltry in Afric, hd gret d vntge over the rest. Seemingly they hd not lost their deity fter ll. For the non-poonous python ws witing their rrivl in Hiti. It ws the one fmilir object to meet their gze. It ws the one connection with the pst. Nturlly ny of the priests nd priestesses who were mong them would not be slow to put the incident to good ccount. In ny cse, Voodoo quickly becme the dominnt form of worship mong the slves, but s ws to be expected it grdully suffered modifictions nd even split up into vrious sects ccord ing to the whim nd fncy of some new leder who gined in fluence mong the generl body of the slves. Thus in 1768, Don Pedro cme into being, s seems probble, directly s mens of stirring up the slves to insurrection. At Whydh the serpent ws consulted bout the undertking of wr, nd in sense represented the god of wr. But now something 67 Eugene Aubin, En Hiti, Pr, 1910, pp

126 i06 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS more ggressive nd emotionl ws required. The serpent ntu rlly ws retined, but in the ritul not only were the dnces quickened in their tempo, but the pig ws substituted for the got s the scrificil niml. With the rrivl of Broukmn from Jmic, the Don Pedro cult in Hiti developed further, s it begn to tke on more nd more the form of sorcery. Its religious element grdully trnsferred from the service of the good spirits to tht of evil spirits, nd in course of time it becomes the cult of blood pr excellence nd finds its climx, t lest on rre occsions, in humn scrifice nd cnni bltic orgies. As regrds Voodoo proper, the ccount of Moreu de Sint- Mery, it must be dmitted, might seem to indicte tht the cult hd become forml idoltry. But we should remember tht the thetic tendencies of tht dy would probbly influence the point of view of one who subsequently ws to tke such n ctive prt in the events tht led up to the French Revolution. There re eqully strong indictions from the testimony of lter observers, tht Voodoo in the nineteenth century could still be clssed s forml worship, substntilly unchnged though modified in mny detils. However, it ppers tht the religious element in the cult ws grdully yielding to socil influences. Voodoo fests re intro duced, probbly t first s dgue for the secret session tht will follow lter. But in time, more nd more mde of the c compnying dnce, with the consequences tht Voodoo in the strict sense of the word begins to wne. And unless Dr. Price- Mrs entirely wrong in h estimte of conditions, the present century finds the cult so modified nd chnged tht it now Voodoo in nme only. Menwhile we hve generl conglomertion of ll the old cults, combined with dnces of every description, ll imbued with every form of witchcrft nd sorcery, posing under the generic term of Voodoo. The religion of the Whydhs hs become the witchcrft of the Hitins! As regrds the much resented ccustion of humn scrifice

127 VOODOO IN HAITI 107 nd cnniblm, the weight of evidence would indicte tht while these buses re by no mens common in Hiti, nevertheless, t times there re spordic outbreks. And it would be strnge if the orgies of nerve-rcking debuchery nd dsiption so peculir to tropicl dnces when the strong rm of the lw does not intervene, did not t times evolve prnoic stte of irrtionl crving, nd subsequent surreptitious grtifiction of the lowest instincts in degrded humn nture the niml-like grtifiction of the "got without horns" in Hiti nd the "long pig" in the dtnt Pcific Islnds. It must not be supposed, however, tht these dgusting orgies re countennced by the present Government uthorities, or tht they re of frequent occurrence. Certinly within the costl d tricts which re wtched over by the Americn Mrines, public Voodoo non-extent. But bck in the hills there must still be mny secret gthering s in the dys of slvery, where Voodoo nd even Don Pedro t times find outlets for pent-up energy nd orgtic excesses. Nor on the other hnd must th bnormlity on the prt of few be held s reflection on the Hitins s people. The chpters of recent crimes in our own country, which my bespek degenercy nd moronm on the prt of individuls, would not scribe these reproches to the entire ntion.

128 Chpter IV ORIGIN OF OBEAH Just s in the cse of Voodoo there fundmentl document tht hs served s strting point for ll writers on the subject, so we hve similr source of informtion s regrds Obeh. Th the Report of the Lords of the Committee of tlie Council ppointed for the considertion of il mtters relting to Trde nd Foreign Plnttion, London, Prt III entitled: 1 Note : As mentioned before, th lrge folio volume of over twelve hundred unnumbered pges. As it difficult of ccess, lthough copy my be found in the Boston College Librry, somewht lengthy cittion my be per msible. Bryn Edwrds sys of th Report: "It ws trnsmitted by the Agent of Jmic to the Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council, nd by them subjoined to their report on the slve trde ; nd, if I mtke not, the public re chiefly indebted for it to the diligent reserches, nd ccurte pen, of Mr. Long." Bryn Edwrds, The Htory, Civil nd Commercil, of the Brith Colonies in the West Indies, London, 1793, Vol. II, p. 88. As Edwrds ws writing less thn four yers fter the publiction of the Report, h sttement my be relied upon s ccurte. The Long referred to, ws Edwrd Long, the htorin. He ws the gret-grndfther of Sir Esme Howrd, recently the Brith Ambssdor to the United Sttes. H own gret-grndfther in turn, ws t the ge of sixteen ttched s Lieutennt to the regiment of h kinsmn Col. Edwrd Doyley when he set out on the originl Cromwellin Expedition tht seized Jmic in The Secretry of the Commsioners dying, young Long suc ceeded him. Th strted him on creer tht found him Speker of the House of Assembly of Jmic t the ge of thirty-three nd Chief Justice of Jmic t thirty-eight. In the fmily tree with ll its rmifictions we find the nmes of nerly ll the leding gentry of the lnd, nd if we trce it bck fr enough it hs common origin with tht of Generl Wshington, the Americn ptriot. Even Sir Henry Morgn, the notorious buccneer, who on three seprte oc csions cted s Governor of Jmic, ws connected with the Long fmily by mrrige. Edwrd Long, the htorin, ws born in Englnd, but went to Jmic in 1757 t the ge of twenty-three. He ws member of the Jmic Assembly from 1761 to 1768, nd its_ Speker for time. Shortly fterwrds he returned to Englnd nd died there in Cfr. Robert Mobry Howrd, Records nd Letters of the Fmily of the Longs of Longville, Jmic, nd Hmpton Lodge, Surrey, London, 1925, Vol. I, p ff. Bryn Edwrds' supposition tht the Report ws chiefly the work of Edwrd Long strengthened by letter written by h dughter Jne Ctherine Long to her brother Edwrd Beeston Long, under dte of Mrch 6, 1785, where we red in the postscript: "You must not expect to her from my Fther. He obliged every dy either to ttend Mr. Pitt or West Indi Committee."!, c, Vol. I, p. 178.

129 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 109 Tretment of slves in the West Indies, nd ll circumstnces re lting thereto, digested under certin heds, nd begins with considertion of Jmic, nd s noted, the informtion fur nhed by "Stephen Fuller, Agent for Jmic, nd ssted by Mr. Long nd Mr. Chholm." Questions 22 to 26 re s fol lows : "Whether Negroes clled Obeh men, or under ny other denomintion, prcticing Witchcrft, ext in the Islnd of Jmic? "By wht rts or by wht mens, do these Obeh men cuse the deths, or otherwe injure those who re supposed to be influenced thereby; nd wht re the symptons nd effects tht hve been observed to be produced in people, who re supposed to be under the influence of their prctice? "Are the instnces of deth nd deses produced by these rts or mens frequent? "Are these rts or mens brought by the Obeh men from Afric, or re they inventions which hve been originted in the lnds? "Whether ny or wht lws ext in the lnd of Jmic for the punhment, nd wht evidence generlly required for their conviction?" The nswer to th questionnire follows. "The term Obeh, Obih, or Obi (for it vriously written), we conceive to be the djective, nd the Obe or Obi the noun sub stntive ; nd tht by the words Obih-men nd women, re ment those who prctice Obi. The origin of the term we should con sider of no importnce in our nswer to the questions proposed, in serch of we were not led to dquitions tht re highly grtifying to curiosity. From the lerned Mr. Brynt's Com if, it, mentry on the word Oph, we obtin very probble etymology of the term 'A serpent, in the Egyptin lnguge, ws clled Ob or Aub.' 'Obion still the Egyptin nme for serpent.' : 'Moses, in the Nme of God, forbids the Isrelites even to enquire of the demon Ob, which trnslted in our Bible, chrmer or wizrd, divintor ut sortilegus.' 'The womn t Endor clled 2 Mythology, Vol. I, p. 48, 475, nd

130 n0 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Oub or Ob, trnslted pythons, nd Oubios (he cites from Horus Apollo) ws the nme of the bsilk or royl serpent, emblem of the sun, nd n ncient orculr deity of Afric.' 8 "Th derivtion which pplies to one prticulr sect, the remnnt probbly of very celebrted religious order in remote ges, now become in Jmic the generl term to denote those Africns who in the lnd prctice witchcrft or sorcery, comprehending lso the clss of wht re clled Myl men, or those who by mens of nrcotic potion mde with the juice of herb (sid to be the brnched cllue or species of solnum) which occsions trnce or profound sleep of certin durtion, endevour to convince the deluded specttors of their power to renimte ded bodies. "As fr s we re ble to decide from our own experience nd informtion when we lived in the lnd, nd from concurrent testimony of ll the Negroes we hve ever conversed with on the subject, the professors of Obi re, nd lwys were, ntives of Afric, nd none other, nd they hve brought the science with "Note: Cfr. lso, The Dcoverie of Witchcrft; proving tht the compcts nd contrcts of witches with devils nd ll infernl spirits or fmilirs re but erroneous novelties nd imginry conceptions.... By Reginld Scot Esquire. Whereunto dded n excellent dcourse of the nture nd substnce of devils nd spirits, in two books.... London, p. 71 : "Book VII. Chpter I. Of the Hebrew word Ob, wht it signifieth, where it found : Of Pythonses clled Ventriloque, who they be, nd wht their prctices re ; experience nd exmples thereof shewed. Th word Ob, trnslted Python, or Pythonicus spiritus; sometimes, though unproperly, Mgus.... But Ob signifieth most properly Bottle, nd used in th plce, becuse the Pythonts spoke hollow, s in the bottom of their bellies; whereby they re ptly in Ltin clled Ventriloqui;... These re such s tke upon them to give orcles, etc." Reginld Scot's work first ppered in 1584, nd provoked reply from no less personge thn King Jmes I of Englnd, whose trete Demonologie, in forme of Dilogue, Divided into three Bookes, Edinburgh, 1587, expressly declred itself "ginst the dmnble opinions of two principlly in n ge, whereof the one clled Scot n Englhmn, not shmed in public print to deny tht there cn be such thing s Witchcrft : nd so mintins the old error of the Sdducees, in denying of spirits, etc." Montgue Summers, who edited new edition of Scot in 1930, sys in h introduction, p. xxviii : "Tht Reginld Scot's The Dcoverie of Witchcrft both htoriclly nd s literry curiosity book of the gretest vlue nd interest, no one, I suppose, would dpute or deny." While not quoted s such, Scot in ll probbility ws the source from which drwn the entire theory of the Egyptin Ob being the origin of the term Obeh. However, s shown elsewhere, Hebrnvms of West Afric, p. 43 ff., the word Ob did not originte with the Egyptins but my be trced bck to the Cnnites from whom the Egyptins s well s the Hebrews derived it nd if there ny vlue t ll in th suggested derivtion, it would be t most the indiction of n Hebric influence on the prent stock of the Ashnti from whom, s we shll see shortly, West Indi Obeh directly derived.

131 ORIGIN OF OBEAH in them from thence to Jmic, where it so universlly prcticed, tht we believe there re few of the lrger Esttes possessing tive Africns, which hve not one or more of them. The oldest nd most crfty re those who usully ttrct the gretest devotion nd confidence, those whose hory heds, nd something peculirly hrsh nd dibolic in their spect, together with some skill in plnts of the medicinl nd poonous species, hve qulified them for successful imposition upon the wek nd credulous. The' Negroes in generl, whether Africns or Creoles, revere, consult,, nd bhor them ; to these n orcles they resort nd with the most imw plicit fith, upon ll occsions, whether for the cure of dorders/ the obtining of revenge for injuries or insults, the conciliting of fvour, the dcovery nd punhment of the thief or the dul terer, nd the predicting of future events. The trde which these wretches crry on extremely lucrtive; they mnufcture nd sell their Obies dpted to different cses nd t different prices. A veil of mystery studiously thrown over their incnttions, to which the midnight hours re llotted, nd every precution tken to concel them from the knowledge nd dcovery of the white people. The deluded Negroes, who thoroughly believe in their supernturl power, become the willing ccomplices in th concelment, nd the stoutest mong them tremble t the very sight of the rgged bundle, the bottle or the eggshells, which re stuck to the thtch or hung over the door of the hut, or upon the brnch of plntin tree, to deter mruders. In cse of poon, the nturl effects of it re by the ignornt Negroes scribed entirely to the potent workings of Obi. The wer Negroes hesitte to revel their suspicions, through dred of incurring the terrible vengence which fulminted by the Obeh men ginst ny who should betry them; it very difficult therefore for the white proprietor to dtinguh the Obi professor from ny other Negro upon h plnttion ; nd so inftuted re the blcks in generl, tht but few instnces occur of their hving ssumed courge enough to impech these mcrents. With minds so firmly prepossessed, they no sooner find Obi set for them ner the door of their house, or in the pth which leds to it, thn

132 112 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS they give themselves up for lost. When negro robbed of fowl or hog, he pplies directly to the Obih-mn or womn; it then mde known mong h fellow Blcks, tht Obi set for the thief ; nd s soon s the ltter hers the dredful news, h terrified imgintion begins to work, no resource left but to the superior skill of some more eminent Obih-mn of the neighbour hood, who my counterct the mgicl opertions of the other ; but if no one cn be found of higher rnk nd bility, or if fter gining such n lly he should still fncy himself ffected, he presently flls into decline, under the incessnt horror of im pending clmities. The slightest pinful senstion in the hed, the bowels, or ny other prt, ny csul loss or hurt, confirms h pprehensions, nd he believes himself the devoted victim of n invible nd irrestible gency. Sleep, ppetite, nd cheerfulness, forske him, h strength decys, h dturbed imgintion hunted without respite, h fetures wer the settled gloom of despondency; dirt, or ny other unwholesome substnce, becomes h only food, he contrcts morbid hbit of body, nd grdully sinks into the grve. A Negro who ill, enquires of the Obihmn the cuse of the sickness, whether it will prove mortl or not, nd within wht time he shll die or recover? The orcle generlly scribes the dtemper to the mlice of some prticulr person by nme, nd dves to set Obi for tht person ; but if no hopes re given for recovery, immedite despir tkes plce, which no medicine cn remove, nd deth the certin consequence. Those nomlous symptoms, which originte from cuses deeply rooted in the mind, such s terrors of Obi, or from poons whose opertion slow nd intricte, will bffle the skill of the blest physicin. "Considering the multitude of occsions which my provoke the Negroes to exerce the powers of Obi ginst ech other, nd the stonhing influence of th superstition upon their minds, we cnnot but ttribute very considerble portion of the n nul mortlity mong the Negroes of Jmic to th fscinting mchief. "The Obi usully composed of frrgo of mterils most of

133 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 113 which re enumerted in the Jmic Lw (Act 24, Sect, i0, pssed 1760), viz. 'Blood, fethers, prrots beks, dogs teeth, l ligtors teeth, broken bottles, grve dirt, rum, nd eggshells.'... "It my seem extrordinry, tht prctice lleged to be so frequent in Jmic should not hve received n erlier check from the Leglture. The truth tht the skill of some Negroes in the rt of pooning hs been noticed ever since the colonts becme much cquinted with them. Slone nd Brhm, who prcticed physic in Jmic in the lst century, hve mentioned prticulr instnces of it. The secret nd insidious mnner in which th crime generlly perpetrted, mkes the legl proof extremely difficult. Suspicions therefore hve been frequent, but detections rre. These murderers hve sometimes been brought to justice, but it resonble to believe tht fr greter number hve escped with impunity. In regrd to the other nd more com mon tricks of Obi, such s hnging up fethers, bottles, eggshells, &c. &c. in order to intimidte Negroes of thievh dposition from plundering huts, hog-styes, or provion grounds, these were lughed t by the white inhbitnts s hrmless strtgems, contrived by the more sgcious for deterring the more simple nd superstitious Blcks, nd serving for much the sme purpose s the screcrows which re in generl use mong our Englh frmers nd grdeners. But in the yer 1 760, when very formi dble insurrection of the Koromntin or Gold Cost Negroes broke out in the prh of St. Mry, nd spred through lmost every other dtrict of the Islnd; n old Koromntin Negro, the chief instigtor nd orcle of the insurgents in tht Prh, who hd d mintered the feth or solemn oth to the conspirtors, nd furnhed them with mgicl preprtion which ws to render them invulnerble, ws fortuntely pprehended, convicted, nd hung up with ll h fethers nd trumperies bout him ; nd th execution struck the insurgents with generl pnic, from which they never fterwrds recovered. The exmintions which were tken t tht period first opened the eyes of the public to the very dngerous tendency of the Obih prctices, nd gve birth to the lw which ws then encted for their suppression nd punhment.

134 ii4 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS But neither the terror of the Lw, the strict investigtion which hs ever since been mde fter the professors of Obi, nor the mny exmples of those who from time to time hve been hnged or trnsported, hve hitherto produced the desired effect. We con clude, therefore, tht either th sect, like others in the world, hs flourhed under persecution, or tht fresh supplies re n nully introduced from the Africn seminries.... "We hve the following nrrtives from plnter in Jmic, gentlemn of the strictest vercity, who now in London, nd redy to ttest the truth of them. "Upon returning to Jmic in the yer 1775, he found gret mny of h Negroes hd died during h bsence; nd tht of such s remined live, lest one-hlf were debilitted, bloted, nd in very deplorble condition. The mortlity continued fter h rrivl, nd two or three were frequently buried in one dy, others were tken ill, nd begn to decline under the sme symptoms. Every mens were tried by medicines, nd the most creful nursing, to preserve the lives of the feeblest; but in spite of ll h endevours, the depopultion went on for bove twelve month longer, with more or less intermsion, nd without h be ing ble to scertin the rel cuse, though the Obih prctice ws strongly suspected, s well by himself s by the doctor nd other white persons upon the plnttion, s it ws known to hve been very common in tht prt of the lnd. Still he ws unble to verify h suspicions, becuse the ptients constntly denied hving nything to do with persons of tht order, or ny knowledge of them. At length Negress who hd been ill for some time, cme one dy nd informed him, tht feeling tht it ws impossible for her to live much longer, she thought herself bound in duty before she died, to imprt very gret secret, nd cquint him with the true cuse of her dorder, in hopes tht the dclosure might prove the mens of stopping tht mchief which hd lredy swept wy such number of her fellow-slves. She proceeded to sy, tht her step-mother ( womn of the Popo 4 country, bove 4 Note : As th womn cme from the Popo country, one would immeditely clssify her s Dhomn, but there every possibility tht she my hve been

135 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 115 eighty yers old, but still hle nd ctive) hd put Obi upon her, s she hd lso done upon those who hd ltely died, nd tht the old womn hd prcticed Obi for s mny yers pst s she could remember. "The other Negroes of the plnttion no sooner herd of th impechment, thn they rn in body to their mster, nd con firmed the truth of dding tht she hd crried on th business it, since her rrivl from Afric nd ws the terror of the whole neighborhood. Upon th he repired directly with six white servnts to the old womn's house, nd forcing open the door, observed the whole inside of the roof (which ws of thtch), nd every crevice of the wlls stuck with the implements of her trde, consting of rgs, fethers, bones of cts, nd thousnd other rticles. Exmining further, lrge erthen pot or jr, close covered, ws found conceled under her bed. contined prodigious quntity of round blls of erth or cly of vrious dimensions, lrge nd smll, whitened on the outside, nd vri ously compounded, some with hir nd rgs nd fethers of ll sorts, nd strongly bound with twine; others blended with the upper section of the skulls of cts, or stuck round with cts teeth nd clws, or with humn or dogs teeth, nd some glss beds of different colours; there were lso It gret mny eggshells filled with vcous or gummy substnce, the qulities of which he neglected to exmine, nd mny little bgs stuffed with vriety of rticles the prticulrs of which cnnot t th dtnce of time be recollected. The house ws instntly pulled down, nd with the whole of its contents committed to the flmes, midst the generl cclmtion of ll the other Negroes. In regrd to the old womn, he declined bringing her to tril under the Lw of the lnd, which would hve punhed her with deth ;but from principle of humnity, delivered her into the hnds of prty of Spnirds, who (s she ws thought not incpble of doing some trifling kind of work) were very gld to ccept nd crry her with them to n Ashnti or from some other tribe, brought from the interior fter cpture. A slve ws generlly spoken of, not by the nme of the tribe from which he hd originlly come, but from the dtrict of the Africn cost-line whence he hd been shipped.

136 n6 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Cub. From the moment of her deprture, h Negroes seemed ll to be nimted with new spirits, nd the mldy spred no further mong them. The totl of h losses in the course of bout fifteen yers preceding the dcovery, nd imputble solely to the Obih prctice, he estimtes, t the lest, t one hundred Negroes.... "The following pper relting to the Obeh mn in Jmic, ws delivered by Mr. Rheder. "Obeh men re the oldest nd most rtful Negroes ; peculir ity mrks them, nd every Negro pys the gretest respect to them, they re perfectly well cquinted with medicinl herbs, nd know the poonous ones, which they often use. To prepossess the strnger in fvor of their skill, he told tht they cn restore the ded to life; for th purpose he shown Negro pprently ded, who, by dint of their rt, soon recovers ; th produced by dmintering the nrcotic juice of vegetbles. On serching one of the Obeh men's houses, ws found mny bgs filled with prts of nimls, vegetbles, nd erth, which the Negroes who ttended t the sight of, were struck with terror, nd begged tht they might be chrtened, which ws done, nd the impression ws done wy. In consequence of the rebellion of the Negroes in the yer 1760, Lw ws encted tht yer to render the prctice of Obih, deth. "The influence of the Professors of tht rt ws such s to in duce mny to enter into tht rebellion on the ssurnce tht they were invulnerble, nd to render them so, the Obeh mn gve them powder with which they were to rub themselves. "On the first enggement with the rebels nine of them were killed, nd mny proners tken ; mong the proners ws very sensible fellow, who offered to dcover mny importnt mtters, on condition tht h life should be spred, which ws promed. He then relted the prt the Obeh mn hd tken, one of whom ws cpitlly convicted nd sentenced to deth. At the plce of execution he bid defince to h executioner, telling him tht it ws not in the power of white people to kill him; nd the Negro specttors were stonhed when they sw

137 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 117 him expire. On the other Obeh men, vrious experiments were mde with electricl mchines nd mgic lnterns, which produced very little effect ; except on one who, fter receiving mny severe shocks, cknowledged h mster's Obeh exceeded h own. "I remember sitting twice on trils of Obeh men, who were convicted of selling their nostrums, which hd produced deth. To prove the fct, two witnesses re necessry, with corroborting circumstnces." As regrds Brbdos in th sme Report, Mr. Brithwite, Agent for the Assembly of the Islnd, stted : "Negroes formerly clled Obeh men, but now more commonly clled Doctors, do ext in Brbdos, but I understnd tht they re not so mny t present s formerly, nd tht the number hs diminhed gretly in the course of the lst twenty yers." The Council of the Islnd nswered the sme question: "There hrdly ny estte in the lnd in which there not some old mn or womn who ffects to possess some supernturl power. These re clled Obeh Negroes, nd by the superstitious Negroes much fered." As regrds the origin of Obeh, Mr. Brithwite nswered : "Most undoubtedly imported with them from Afric." The Council replied : "It hs been so long known here, tht the origin difficult to trce, but the professors re s often ntives s Africns." The investigtion concerning Antigu elicited the informtion tht few Obeh men were still to be found there though in de cresing numbers. Also tht "the rts nd mens they use seem to operte on the mind rther thn on the body ; for though it hs been supposed tht they hve occsionlly been guilty of dmin tering poon, Dr. Adir hs never hd just ground for believing tht ny dese could be trced to th cuse, though he does not deny the probbility of it." Mr. Spooner, the Agent for the Islnds of Grend nd St. Chrtopher, testified : "Obeh mong the Negroes must be con sidered in the sme light s witchcrft, second-sight, nd other pretended supernturl gifts nd communiction mong white men, with th difference only, tht in proportion s the under stnding of the Negroes re less cultivted nd informed, nd

138 n8 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS consequently weker thn those of white men, the impressions mde on their minds by Obeh re much stronger, more lsting, nd ttended with more extrordinry effects." And further: "Obeh hs its origin in Afric, nd prcticed entirely by n tives from thence : the creole Negroes seldom, if ever, lying ny pretensions to it." Strnge s it my seem, even t the dte of th Report, 1789, prcticlly nothing ws known of Obeh which hd lredy begun to threten the white rule in Jmic. They were stfied to c cept it s the remnnt of " very celebrted religious order in remote ges." It ws reflection of the dtnt Egyptin Ob of ntiquity, etc. The Council of Brbdos lone ws wke to the fct tht Obeh itself vitl, living force; tht it self perpetuting. Elsewhere it tken for grnted tht Obeh men re to be found solely mong "slt-wter" Negroes; tht with the bolition of the slve trde, Obeh must of necessity die nturl deth, s the rce of imported Obeh men become extinct. Even in Jmic, up to the rebellion of 1 760, Obeh occsioned nothing more thn scornful mirth t the bsurd superstitions of the blcks, nd yet for more thn century, terrible mence hd been gthering force nd thretening to obliterte the civiliztion nd the morlity of the lnd. Mry H. Kingsley, in reference to tht prt of West Afric which hd been described by Colonel Ell, remrks : "From th one dtrict we hve two dtinct cults of feth in the West Indies, Voudou nd Obeh (Tchng nd Wng). Voudou itself divided into two sects, the white nd the red the first compr tively hrmless one, requiring only the scrifice of, t the most, white cock or white got, wheres the red cult only uses the humn scrifice the got, without horns. Obeh on the other hnd kills only by poon does not show the blood t ll. And there n other importnt difference between Voudou nd Obeh, nd tht tht Voudou requires for the celebrtion of its rites priestess nd priest. Obeh cn be worked by either lone, nd not tied to the presence of the snke. Both these cults hve sprung

139 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 119 from slves imported from Ell's dtrict, Obeh from slves bought t Koromntin minly, nd Voudou from those bought t Dhomey. Nevertheless it seems to me these good people hve differentited their religion in the West Indies considerbly; for exmple, in Obeh the spider (nnsi) hs position given it equl to tht of the snke in Voudou. Now the spider ll very well in West Afric ; round him there hs grown series of most musing stories, lwys to be told through the nose, nd while you crwl bout ; but to put him on plne with the snke in Dhomey bsurd, h equivlent there the turtle, lso focus for mny tles, only more improper tles, nd not hlf so musing." 8 Here Ms Kingsley s much in error when she ssocites Obeh with serpent worship, s she when she scribes to the Annsi of Jmic ny role t vrince with h estblhed plce in Ashnti folklore.9 W. P. Livingston hs well sid "Obehm runs like blck thred of mchief through the known htory of the rce. It the result of two conditions, n ignornt nd superstitious re ceptivity on the one hnd, nd on the other, sufficient intelligence nd cunning to tke dvntge of th qulity. The Obeh mn ny Negro who guges the sitution nd mkes it h business to work on the fers of h fellows. He clims the possession of occult uthority, nd professes to hve the power of tking or sving life, of cusing or curing dese, of bringing ruin or creting prosperity, of dcovering evil-doers or vindicting the innocent. H implements re few odd scrps, such s cock's 5 Mry H. Kingsley, West Africn Studies, London, 1899, p "Note: Cptin Rttry, Ashnti, p. 162, shows tht Ms Kingsley ws not fmilir with the Ashnti lnguge nd ttributes much to fethm tht hs nothing whtever to do with the subject. In one plce he nively remrks tht it fortunte tht she could not understnd wht seemed to interest her very much. As to the informtion which she honestly thought tht she ws picking up from her West Indin informnts, it well to remember tht the Jmicn, like our Southern Negroes, or I suppose ny other child of Afric, only too redy to furnh just the informtion tht most desired, especilly if he being pid for results. As Resident Mgtrte in Jmic once sid : "The rel Jmicn in Court of Lw essentilly frid of the truth, nd seems to prefer to lose cse thn bide by fcts." When it comes to Obeh nd the like he even more reticent nd deceptive with the "bockrh Msser" white Mster nd the rel child of the "bush" will either ssure you : "Me no belieb Obi, Sh I" or else will greet you with the lconic : "Me no no, Sh!" I don't know.

140 120 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS fethers, rgs, bones, bits of erth from grves, nd so on. The incnttions with which he ccompnies h opertions re merely mumble of improved jrgon. H rel dvntge in the dys of slvery ly in h knowledge nd use of poonous plnts. Pooning does not now enter h prctices to ny extent, but the fer he inspires mong the ignornt intense, nd the fct tht he hs turned h ttention to prticulr persons often sufficient to deprive them of reson. Obehm superstition t once simple, foolh, nd terrible, still vigorous, but in former times s powerful n gent s slvery itself in keeping the n ture debsed." 7 The Jmic term Obeh unquestionbly derived from the Ashnti word Obyifo, which ccording to Cptin Rttry signifies " wizrd, or more generlly witch." 8 As noted else where : 9 "An Ashnti legend runs s follows. When Big Mss ws busy with the work of cretion, it hppened tht the little monkey Efo ws mking himself generlly useful, nd when the tsk ws ccomplhed, he sked Big Mss tht, in return for the help rendered, ll cretures should ber h nme. To th Big Mss cceded to such n extent tht henceforth certin clsses of cretures dded to their proper nmes the suffix FO, in cknowl edgment of the little monkey's prt in the work.10 Such the Ashnti fble, nd hence we find the suffix FO in the nmes of 7 W. P. Livingston, Blck Jmic, London, 1899, p. 19 f. Note : The power of fer well illustrted by n exmple given by Lillin Eichler, The Customs of Mnkind, London, 1925, p. 631: "Superstition cused Ferdinnd IV to die of fright. The story tht in 1312 Peter nd John Crvjl were condemned to deth for murder on circumstntil evidence. They were sentenced to be thrown from the summit to jgged rocks below. Ferdinnd IV, then King of Spin, rested obstintely every ttempt to induce him to grnt prdon. Stnding upon the spot from which they were to be thrown, the two men clled upon God to witness their innocence, ppeling to H high tribunl to prove it. They summoned the King to pper before th tribunl in thirty dys. H Mjesty lughed t the summons nd gve the sign to proceed with the execution. In few dys the King fell ill. He retired to h country residence, ostensibly to rest, but relly to shke off remembrnce of the summons which somehow per sted. He could not be diverted. He becme more nd more ill, nd on the thirtieth dy he ws found ded in bed victim to the mysterious dred which hd gripped h hert from the moment the summons hd been uttered." Some such fer works its effect in Obeh. 8 R. S. Rttry, Ashnti Proverbs, Oxford, 1916, p Willims, Hebrewms of West Afric, p. Vj f. 10 Cfr. Rttry, Ashnti Proverbs, p. 54.

141 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 121 peoples, ntion nd occuptions. Dropping the suffix, then, from Obyifo, the resulting Obyi, s herd from the lips of the Koromntin slves (shown to be Ashnti, t lest s regrds their leding spirits), ws vriously rendered by the Jmicn whites s obeh, obi, etc. For even now there no greement s to the correct spelling of the word.... Both with the Ashnti them selves nd their descendnts in Jmic the word commonly shortened into Obi. Thus we find the Obi country referred to in the htory of the Ashnti Feth Priest, Okomfo-Anotchi, tht Anotchi the priest. About the yer 1700 fter committing cpitl offence, s Cptin Rttry tells us, he 'fled for h life to the Obi country. Here he hd mde study of feth medicine nd becme the gretest feth-mn the Ashnti hve ever hd.' Referring to the Obi country, Rttry notes : T hve so fr been unble to trce th plce, but to th dy in Ashnti ny big feth priest clled Obi Okomfo, tht Obi Priest.' So lso in Jmic, in, the prctice of Obeh, the ntives 'mke obi' even tody." Cptin Rttry, whose scholrly works on the Ashnti relly led the wy to complete revolution in the study nd evlution of West Afric customs, ferlessly bndoned the trodden pth of nrrow prejudice nd priori resoning of the Spencerin School, nd literlly reconstructed the entire system of scientific reserch mong the Negro tribes. We cnnot do better then, thn to study in some detil the Ashnti prototype of the Jmic Obeh s described by so dcriminting scholr, who knows nothing of the berings h observtions will hve on Jmic witchcrft, but conscientiously setting down the fcts s he sees them in h own chosen field where he the undputed mster.11 Note : Previously, Ell, Dennett nd Ms Kingsley held complete swy, despite the fct tht they were utterly unqulified for the tsk tht they hd undertken. Stephen Septimus Frrow well djudges their clims to credibility in h thes for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, in Th Essy drew from Dr. R. R. Mrett, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, the encomium :"Dr. Frrow, think, hs dposed of the lltoo-fcile explntions of erlier investigtors." Fith, Fncies nd Feth, or Yorub Pgnm, p. vii. Of Col. Ell, Frrow sserts, p. ntely, not possible to exonerte the gllnt colonel from mesure of nti- Chrtin b, which t times leds him to jump to conclusions which re scientificlly untrue." Concerning Dennett nd Ms Kingsley, he writes, p. "Mr. Dennett ws intimtely known to the writer, whose wife ws first cousin 1 1 I 5 :"It, unfortu 5:

142 122 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Cptin Rttry unequivoclly of the opinion tht the Ashnti worship Supreme Being, Onyme.12 Furthermore he sttes: "I m convinced tht the conception in the Ashnti mind, of Supreme Being, hs nothing whtever to do with msionry in fluence, nor it to be scribed to contct with Chrtins or even, I believe, with Mohmmedns." 18 Bosn1n hd noticed t the beginning of the eighteenth century s regrds certin West Africn tribes : "By reson God in vible, they sy it would be bsurd to mke ny corporel repre senttion of him... wherefore they hve such multitudes of imges of their idol gods, which they tke to be subordinte deities to th gentlemn. Mr. Dennett never lerned to spek the lnguge, but wrote down Yorub words s given to him by others ; but, s he went openly to priests nd keepers of shrines nd sked direct questions, th thoroughly Brith nd un-africn method of inquiry ws very likely, indeed certin, t times to led to imperfect, nd, not seldom untrue nswers. Mr. Dennett's interprettions, deductions nd conclusions re often t fult, owing to h poor cquintnce with the lnguge, nd lso to the very free ply he gve to h imgintion. Th very prominent in h pmphlet, My Yorub Alphbet.... It lso to be remembered tht Dennett nd Ms Kingsley like borrow from Ell nd re influenced to some extent by h ides." Despite the fct tht Ell publhed grmmrs of more thn one West Africn lnguge, he ws forced to do h work through n interpreter s he never cquired converstionl knowledge of ny one of the lnguges bout which he wrote. 12 Rttry, Ashnti Proverbs, p. 18. Also, R. S. Rttry, Ashnti, Oxford, 1923, P Rttry, Ashnti, p Note: Rttry hd previously wr1tten, Ashntt Proverbs, p. 19 f. : "In Ashnti, in remote bush villges, buried wy in im penetrble forest, nd s yet even untouched by Europen nd msionry in fluence, it would seem incredible tht the Chrtin ide of one nd Supreme Being should, if foreign element of only some two or three hundred yers' growth, hve tken such deep root s to effect their folklore, trditions, customs, nd the very syings nd proverbs with which their lnguge bounds. These proverbs nd trditions, moreover, which spek of nd contin references to Supreme Being, re fr more commonly known mong the greyberds, elders, nd the feth priestly clss themselves thn mong the ring younger gener tion, grown up mong the new influences nd often trined in the very pre cincts of msion. Fethm nd monothem would t first sight pper the very ntithes of ech other, but creful investigtion of fcts will show tht here in Ashnti it not so." Of the Ashnti Proverbs given by Rttry we need quote only the following: Proverbs #1, io, 15: p. 17 ff. : "Of ll the wide erth, Onyme the elder." "The words tht Onyme hd beforehnd ordined, humn being does not lter." "All men re the children of Onyme, no one child of erth." Rttry further shows tht th Supreme Being hs temple nd regulr priesthood, Ashnti, p. 144, for which three yers novitite required, Re ligion nd Art in Ashnti, Oxford, 1927, p. 45, nd the pryer of consecrtion uttered by the priest begins with the words, 1. C, p. 45: "Supreme Being, who lone gret, it you who begt me, etc."

143 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 123 to the Supreme God,... nd only believe these re meditors betwixt God nd men, which they tke to be their idols." 14 Th condition verified by Rttry in regrd to the Ashnti. He tells us : "In sense, therefore, it true tht th gret Su preme Being, the conception of whom hs been innte in the minds of the Ashnti, the Jehovh of the Isrelites. As will be seen presently, every Ashnti temple pntheon in which repose the shrines of the gods, but the power or spirit, tht on occsions en ters into these shrines, directly or indirectly derived from the one God of the Sky, whose intermediries they re. Hence we hve in Ashnti exctly tht 'mixed religion' which we find mong the Isrelites of old. They worshipped Jehovh, but they wor shipped other Gods s well." 15 These intermediry deities engross the chief ttention of the Ashnti nd their religious system consts principlly in their service nd venertion. One by one they come into fshion nd then pss out of vogue, only perhps to bob up gin if the right individul found to espouse their cuse. Lten to Cptin Rt try's description of the origin of one such spiritul entity: "The word shrine used in th prticulr context, to designte the potentil bode of superhumn spirit. It consts (generlly) of brss pn or bowl, which contins vrious ingredients. Th pn upon certin definite occsions, becomes the temporry dwelling, or resting-plce of non-humn spirit or spirits.... "The following n ccount, from relible source, checked nd rechecked from mny independent witnesses, of the mking nd consecrtion of shrine for one of the Tno gods.... "A spirit my tke possession of mn nd he my pper to hve gone md, nd th stte my lst sometimes even for yer. Then the priest or some powerful god my be consulted nd he my dcover, through h god, tht it some spirit which hs come upon the mn (or womn). The one upon whom the spirit hs come now bidden to prepre brss pn, nd collect wter, leves, nd 'medicine' of specific kinds. The possessed one will 14 Bosnin, New nd Accurte Description of the Cost of Guine, p. 179 f. 18 Rttry, Ashnti, p. 141.

144 , 124 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS dnce, for sometimes two dys, with short intervls for rest, to the ccompniment of drums nd singing. Quite suddenly he will lep into the ir nd ctch something in both h hnds ( or he my plunge into the river nd emerge holding something he hs brought up). He will in either cse hold th thing to h brest, nd wter will be t once sprinkled upon it to cool when will be thrust into the brss pn nd quickly covered up. The following in gredients re now prepred cly from one of the more scred rivers, like the Tno, nd the following medicinl plnts nd other : objects; fem (Justici flvi), Dmbo (Abrs prectorhts) the brk of the odum, creeper clled hmkyerehene, ny root tht crosses pth, projecting stump from under wter, the leves of tree clled y these re chosen which re seen to be quivering on the tree even though no wind shking them the leves, brk nd roots of tree clled Bonsm du (lit. the wizrd's tree), nugget of virgin gold use or circultion must not be used), bed), nd long white bed clled gynie. it, ( it gold tht hs been in bodom (so-clled ggrey The whole of these re pounded nd plced in the pn, long with the originl object redy inside, while the following incnttion or pryer l repeted 'Supreme Being, upon whom men len nd do not fll, (whose dy of observnce Sturdy), Erth Goddess (whose dy of worship Thursdy), Leoprd, nd ll bests nd plnts of the forest, tody scred Fridy; nd you, T Kwesi (the pr ticulr god for whom in th cse the shrine ws being prepred), we re instlling you, we re setting you (here), tht we my hve long life ;do not let us get "Deth" ;do not let us become impotent life to the hed of the villge; life to the young men of th vil lge; life to those who ber children, nd life to the children of th villge. tree, we cll Odum Aben (to whom belongs the silk-cotton tree), we re clling upon you tht you my come, one O nd ll, just now, tht we my plce in th shrine the thoughts tht re in our heds. When we cll upon you in the drkness, when we cll upon you in sunlight, nd sy, "Do such : ; thing for us" you will do so. And the lws tht we re decreeing for you, th god of ours, re these in our time, or in our children's if

145 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 125 nd our grndchildren's time king should re from somewhere, nd come to us, nd sy he going to wr, when he tells you, nd you well know tht should he go to fight he will not gin the victory, you must tell us so ; nd should you know tht he will go nd conquer, then lso stte tht truth. And yet gin, if mn be ill in the night, or in the dytime, nd we re you loft nd plce you upon the hed, nd we inquire of you sying, "Is So-ndso bout to die?" let the cuse of the mfortune which you tell him hs come upon him be the rel cuse of the evil nd not lies. To dy, we ll in th town, ll our elders, nd ll our children, hve consulted together nd greed without dsent mong us, we hve ll united nd with one ccord decided to estblh your shrine, you, T Kwesi, upon th scred Fridy. We hve tken sheep, nd fowl, we hve tken wine, we re bout to give them to you tht you my reside in th town nd preserve its life. From th dy, nd so on to ny future dy, you must not fly nd leve us. From th dy, to ny future dy, you, O Tno's fire, in nything tht you tell us, do not let it be lie. Do not put wter in your mouth nd spek to us. Tody you become god for the chief, tody you hve become god for our spirit ncestors. Perhps upon some tomorrow the Ashnti King my come nd sy, "My child So-nd-so (or it my be n elder) sick," nd sk you to go with him, or mybe he will send messenger here for you; in such cse you my go nd we will not think tht you re fleeing from us. And these words re voice from the mouth of us ll.' "The vrious scrifices re then mde, nd in ech cse the blood llowed to fll upon the contents in the brss pn. "I hve hd mny similr ccounts of the consecrtion of new shrine s the temporry home of new mnifesttion of spirit universl nd lwys present, but not subject to control. "It will be noted tht other minor spirits or powers of nture re not wholly ignored or neglected, nd tht ll re considered ble in some mnner to help the greter spirit tht clled upon to guide nd sst mnkind. "The priests tell me tht t times, when the greter emntion of God not present, tht the spirits of some of the lesser ones s

146 126 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS will flsh forth for moment nd dclose their presence. For ex mple, priest will suddenly burst forth, singing, odome, die odo me omer ('I m the odom tree, let him who loves me come hither'). It seems tht the priest nd priestess, when in the ecsttic condition, re subject to mny spirit influences. I hve herd priestess begin to tlk in different dilect from her own. Th did not t ll surpre the onlookers, who merely sid, 'Oh tht the spirit of So-nd-so' ded priestess of the sme god, who hd come from nother dtrict, nd hd used tht dilect.... "Once the ingredients described hve been put into the shrine, tht pprently n end of them. They re not directly men tioned, nd it only when the spirit of one of the ingredients of the shrine tkes chrge, s it were, for moment, tht they re 18 even considered." In connection with the Ashnti religious prctices there strong venertion for ncestors s shown especilly in the func tions connected with the stools which re supposed to be closely ssocited with the vitl spirit of these forebers. So lso we encounter nimm in its brodest sense. Th well illustrted in the use of the protective chrm or sumn which relly forms n integrl prt of the Ashnti religious prctice. In describing some "proverb" weights, Rttry clls ttention to the fct tht they relly represent medicine mn scrificing fowl to one of the best known chrms in Ashnti, the "nkbere chrm" nd dds, "I once witnessed the mking of one of these chrms, nd the following short ccount my be of interest. Tht th 16 Rttry, Ashnti, p. 145 ff. Note : Cfr. lso Rttry, 1. c, p. 182 : "Grouped round the wlls of the temple nd red little from the floor upon their stools were severl shrines ll but two of these, I ws informed, were now mere empty receptcles. The priests who hd formerly tended them when they were ctive shrines hd died, nd since then the spirit tht hd formerly mni fested itself within them hd cesed to do so. 'Some dy th spirit might descend upon someone who would then become their priest.' "Severl priests nd priestesses I hd spoken to told me tht th ws how they hd first become priests. They hd been seized with spirit nd hd either lost ll consciousness or seemingly hd become md. A god would be consulted, nd he might sy it ws n effect of n outpouring of such nd such spirit, in which cse, if there were shrine lredy, such s hd been described, its cult would be once gin revived. If no shrine exted, then new bode would be prepred."

147 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 127 chrm should hve been represented shows how generlly the rite seen. "The object upon the ground, over which the offering being held... known throughout the Ashnti s chrm (sumn) clled nkbere, nd the ceremony the medicine mn here seen performing the scrifice of fowl preprtory to or fter the ceremony known s Kyekyere nkbere, lit. to tie or bind the nkbere. The nkbere consts of three sticks: () A stick from the tree clled bonsm du, lit. the wizrd's tree, (b) A piece of the root of tree clled kwme, tken where it crosses pth, (c) A stick from the tree clled dwin. "These three sticks re plced upon the ground, or sometimes upon n inverted pot, long with some pieces out of sweeping broom. A piece of string plced on top of ll. "The medicine mn or priest now retires few pces nd then dvnces towrds the chrm with h hnds behind h bck, crossing one leg over the other s he wlks. When he reches the chrm he stnds with legs crossed, with h hnds still behind h bck, nd stooping down sprys pepper nd guine grin which he hs in h mouth over the chrm, sying: 'My entwining chrm Nkdomko (Note: "A title of Tno. The priest whom I sw performing th rite informed me tht he gve h sumn ll these high-sounding titles to plese nd fltter s were relly god."), who seizes strong men, mosquito tht trips up it, if it (Note: "The word used literlly signifies to trip in wrestling.") the gret silk-cotton tree, shooting strs tht live with the Supreme I Being, I hve to tell you tht So-nd-so re coming here bout some mtter.' Here he tkes h hnds from behind h bck nd, stooping down, picks up the sticks nd twine. Mking little bundle of the sticks, sying s he does so bind up their mouths. bind up their souls, nd their gods. begin with Sundy, Mon I : T dy, Tuesdy, Wednesdy, Thursdy, Fridy, Sturdy.' As he repets ech dy he gives twt of the string round the sticks till he hs bound them ll together, when he knots the string to keep it from unrvelling, ending by sying : 'Whoever comes my

148 128 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS th be mtch for them.' From time to time fowl will be of fered to th sumn. The medicine mn or priest will dvnce upon it with crossed legs nd hnds held behind the bck nd perhps with whtle in h mouth, to cll up the spirits, nd will stnd over the chrm with legs crossed. He then holds the fowl by the neck nd blows the whtle. Th wht shown in the weight." 17 Thus fr we hve briefly outlined wht might be clled the reli gious tmosphere of the Ashnti. Concomitnt with th nd es sentilly ntgontic to we hve nother condition of ffirs which my be summed up s witchcrft. Of th phse of life, Rttry sys :"Witchcrft ws essentilly the employment of nti it, socil mgic. The belief in its generl prevlence ws lrgely due to the fct tht certin forms of illness resulting in deth could not otherwe be ccounted for. There ppers to be considerble logic in regrding killing by witchcrft s kin to murder, even its clssifiction cknowledgment if s such by the Ashnti ws not directly due to n of fct which ws in mny cses true, e. tht poon in some form or other ws often n importnt stockin-trde of the professed witch." 18 As lredy stted, the Ashnti word for witch ws Obyifo, nd they hve the proverb, "Obyifo oreko e! obyifo oreko e! n wonye obyifo, wuntw wo ni. A witch pssing! i. witch pssing! (someone cries), but you re not witch you do not turn your eyes to look." 19 Th mysterious being thus described if by Rttry: "Obyifo, Deriv. byi, sorcery (synonymous term yen), wizrd, or more generlly witch. A kind of humn vm- 17 Rttry, Ashnti, p Rttry, Ashnti Lw nd Constitution, Oxford, 1929, p Note: The ssocition of poon with witchcrft not peculir to the Ashnti. recur It rent throughout the htory of mgic. Thus Theocritus, writing in the third century b. c, describes scene t Cos where fire spell lid ginst neglect ful lover by mid whose ffections hve been spurned. Before sttue of Hecte, brley-mel, by-leves, wxen puppet, nd some brn re successively burned with pproprite incnttions. Then follows libtion nd the burning of herbs nd piece of the fringe of her lover's clok. The shes re to be rubbed by n ttendnt on the lintel of the lover. The mid's soliloquy shows tht should her incnttions fil to win bck the fithless one, she hs poons in reserve to prevent h ffections being bestowed elsewhere. Cfr. M. Ed monds, The Greek Bucolic Poets, London, 1916, p. 24 ff. ;Theocritus, The Spell. 19 Rttry, Ashnti Proverbs, p. 53. J.

149 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 129 pire, whose chief delight to suck the blood of children whereby the ltter pine nd die. "Men nd women possessed of th blck mgic re credited with volitnt powers, being ble to quit their bodies nd trvel gret dtnces in the night. Besides sucking the blood of victims, they re supposed to be ble to extrct the sp nd juices of crops. (Cses of coco blight re scribed to the work of the obyifo.) These witches re supposed to be very common nd mn never knows but tht h friend or even h wife my be one. When prowling t night they re supposed to emit pho$phorescent light from the rmpits nd nus. An obyifo in everydy life sup posed to be known by hving shrp shifty eyes, tht re never t rest, lso by showing n undue interest in food, nd lwys tlk ing bout it, especilly met, nd hnging bout when cooking going on, ll of which hbits re therefore purposely voided. A mn will seldom deny nother, even strnger, morsel of wht he my be eting, or hunter little bit of rw met to nyone sking hoping thereby to void the dplesure of nyone who, for ll he cn tell, witch or wizrd. "The obyifo cn lso enter nimls, etc., e. g. bufflo, elephnt, it, snkes, nd cuse them to kill people. The obyifo dcovered by process nlogous to the 'smelling out' of witches mong the Zulu, e. the 'crrying of the corpse'. Witches nd wizrds re i, gurded ginst by sumn, nd little rw met or other food frequently plced t the entrnce to villge for them to prtke of. Th offering lso frequently tkes the form of bunch of plm nuts pinned down to the ground with stick." 20 Hence the proverb :"Obyifo kum wdi-wmm-me, n onkum wm me-n-esu. The sorcerer kills (by mgic) the one who ets nd gives him nothing, but he does not kill him who ets nd gives him (even) little piece." 21 Another Ashnti proverb runs: "Ssbonsm ko yi, osoe obyifo he lodges t fi. When ssbonsm (devil) goes to ttend funerl, witch's house." 22 Th Ssbonsm will be met with 20 Rttry, Ashnti Proverbs, p Ditto, p Ditto, p. 47.

150 130 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS gin in Jmic. Rttry here remrks well to our purpose : "Ssbonsm, Deriv. bonsm, devil, or evil spirit (not the d embodied soul of ny prticulr person, just s the feth not humn spirit). Its power purely for evil nd witchcrft. The obyifo perhps its servnt s the terms re sometimes syn onymous. Ss or ses the word used for person being pos sessed of spirit or devil (oye no ses)." 28 And gin: "The Ssbonsm of the Gold Cost nd Ashnti monster which sid to inhbit prts of the dense virgin forests. It covered with long hir, hs lrge blood-shot eyes, long legs, nd feet pointing both wys. It sits on high brnches of n odum or onyin tree nd dngles its legs, with which t times it hooks up the unwry hun ter. It hostile to mn, nd supposed to be essentilly t enmity with the rel priestly clss. Hunters who go to the forest nd re never herd of gin s sometimes hppens re supposed to hve been cught by Ssbonsm. All of them re in legue with byifo (witches), nd with the mmoti, in other words, with the workers in blck mgic. As we hve seen, however, nd will see gin frther on, their power sometimes solicited to dd power to the sumn (feth), not necessrily with view to em ploying tht power for purposes of witchcrft, but rther the re verse. I cnnot help thinking tht the originl Ssbonsm my possibly hve been gorill. Under the heding of Witchcrft we shll see how the Ssbonsm's id solicited to defet nd to de tect the very evil with which he thought to be ssocited in directly." 24 Tht the Ashnti clerly dtinguhed between religious prc tices nd witchcrft evidenced by the following observtion of Rttry: "From the informtion t our dposl, we now know tht the Ashnti mkes dtinction between the following: the okomfo (priest) the sumnkwfo or dunseni (the medicine mn) ; nd the Bonsm komfo (witch doctor). The word okomfo, without ny further qulifiction, refers to priest of one of the orthodox bosom (gods). We see, however, tht witch doctor 23 Ditto, p Rttry, Religion nd Art in Ashnti, p. 28.

151 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 131 llowed the sme nme s kind of honorry title or degree, being known s Byi komfo ( priest of witchcrft). Agin, the ordinry medicl prctitioners re never termed okomf o ; they re sumnkwfo, delers in sumn ; or dunsefo, workers in roots ; or odu'yefo, workers in medicine." 25 Clerly defined Ashnti witchcrft, then, s prctice of blck 25 Rttry, Religion nd Art in Ashnti, p. 39. Note : Despite the fct, then, tht in theory witchcrft ntgontic to their religion, the Ashnti, s so common elsewhere, in prcticl life blend the two without qulm or scruple. A further instnce of th found in the cse of the tlking drums. The first time drummer uses them on prticulr dy, he begins by pouring few drops of wine on the edges s he invokes the vrious prts of the drums nd invites them to drink nd concludes : Rttry, Ashnti, p. 264 f. : "Obyifo, gye ns nom (Witch ccept wine nd drink). Asse, gye ns nom (Erth deity ccept wine nd drink). Onynkopon Twedumpon Bonyme, gye ns nom (Supreme Being Nynkopon, Twedumpon Cretor, ccept wine nd drink)." Then in connection with the drum htory of the Mmpon divion of Ashnti, Rttry tells us, 1. c. : "Before the serious business of drumming the nme of the chiefs begins, the spirits of the vrious mterils, which hve gone towrds the mking of the composite drum, re ech propitited in turn, nd these spirits re summoned to enter for while tht mteril which ws once portion of their hbittion. The drums thus, for time, become the bode of the spirits of forest trees nd of the 'mighty elephnt.' The deities of Erth nd Sky re clled upon in like mnner. Even the hted nd dreded witches (byifo), who prey upon the humn body nd gnw the vitls nd herts of men (just s humns prtke of met nd other food ), re not forgotten, lest in nger they might seize upon the drummer's wrts nd cuse him to mke mtkes. A drummer who flters nd 'speks' wrong word lible to fine of sheep, nd if perstently t fult he might, in the pst, hve hd n er cut off." The prelude referred to bove precedes every drum "piece," nd closes with the invoction of the witches which thus trnslted by Rttry, Ashnti, p. 280: "Oh Witch, do not sly me, Adwo,* Spre me, Adwo, The divine drummer declres tht, When he res from the dwn, He will sound (h drums) for you in the morning, Very erly, Very erly, Very erly, Verly erly, Oh Witch tht slys the children of men before they rc fully mtured, Oh Witch tht slys the children of men before they re fully mtured, The divine drummer declres tht, When he res with the dwn, He will sound h drums for you in the morning, We re ddressing you, And you will understnd." * Note : "A title of respect given to chiefs, by women to their husbnds, nd children to their elders." Th sme introduction of n evil influence into good or "lucky" chrm indicted in the following news item tken from the Phildelphi evening telecrm for August 7, 1884: "The left hind foot of grveyrd rbbit, which hs potent influence mong the Southern Negroes hs been presented to Governor Clevelnd s tlmn in the cmpign. The rbbit from which the foot ws tken ws shot on the grve of Jesse Jmes."

152 132 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS mgic, in theory t lest essentilly ntgontic to religion in ny form, nd s clerly dsocited from the mking of sumn, which my be regrded s white mgic, s its prctitioner, the Obyifo, dtinguhed from the medicine mn Sumnkwfo. Nevertheless, the title Byi komfo, priest of witchcrft, would indicte tht even in Ashnti, there hs developed phse of wht might be clled devil-worship in s much s the Ssbonsm, or devil, so closely ssocited with witches.28 In ll th, however, we do not find ny rel evidence of Ophiol try, either s regrds the religion or the witchcrft of the Ashnti.27 No doubt the Obyifo ffected t times the role of medicine mn. He might remin respectble before the community t lrge s Sumnkwfo, while in secret he plied h trde s wizrd. So, too, he must nturlly hve borrowed occsionlly from the sumn-mker's technique to effectully dgue h own incnt tions. If in the mking of sumn the rel Sumnkwfo ctully invded h relm by soliciting the id of Ssbonsm, why should he not return the compliment in kind? Prcticlly, in generl wy, the differentition ws in the specific object of the rite which determined whether the mgic ws to be regrded s white or blck.28 But over nd bove ll th, 28 Note : Th would explin the sttement of J. Leighton Wilson who when writing of the dtrict of West Afric, between Cpe Verde nd the Cmeroons, sys : "Fethm nd demonology re undoubtedly the leding nd prominent forms of religion mong the pgn tribes of Afric. They re entirely dtinct from ech other, but they run together t so mny points, nd hve been so much mixed up by those who hve ttempted to write on the subject, tht it no esy mtter to keep them seprted." Cfr. Wilson, Western Afric, Its Htory, Condition nd Prospects, p. n. 27 Note : Among the Ashnti, it true, the python totem of the Bosommuru, the most importnt of ll the ntoro exogmous divions on ptrilinel bs. Cfr. Rttry, Ashnti, p. 47. In th connection Hmbly remrks: "Rt try's description of reverence for the python in Ashnti includes sttements which might resonbly be regrded s evidence of decdent python cult. But the informtion more correctly clssified under totemm." Hmbly, Serpent Worship in Afric, p. 13. Furthermore, complete bsence of serpent cult seems to be implied by the Ashnti Proverb : "Wonho owo to, wommo ho b. Unless you see snke's hed, you do not strike t it." Rttry, Ashnti Proverbs, p Note : W. G. Browne, Trvels in Afric, Egypt nd Syri, from the Yer 1792 to 1798, London, 1806, p. 90, notices t Khir similr dtinction in con nection with Egyptin mgic which divided into "hll, lwful, nd hrm, unlwful." Th divion of Mgic into White nd Blck, s determined by its lwfulness or unlwfulness hs since come to be generlly recognized.

153 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 133 there ws lso wide divergence in the ingredients employed, just s the knowledge of vegetble qulities, good nd evil, ws used for curtive or destructive purposes, ccording to the profession of the herblt. In fct, it would be nturl to suspect tht the relly skilful Obyifo would ply the double role from motives of selfprotection if not from ny mercenry resons.29 D. Amury Tlbot, wife of the Dtrict Commsioner of the Nigerin Politicl Service, in her book, Womn's Mysteries of Primitive People, devotes chpter to "Love Philtres nd Mgic" wherein she tells us : "The principl ingredients in these philtres re the herts of chickens pounded up to smooth pste, together with leves thought to contin mgicl qulities. It not without significnce, tht mong the Ibibios, sve when dmin tered in 'medicine,' intended to weken the will nd destroy the courge of the recipient, the herts nd livers of chickens re cre fully voided s food, since it thought tht those who prtke will become 'chicken-herted' in consequence. In order to render the chrm efficcious it necessry to drw forth the soul of some person nd impron it mid fresh-plucked herbs in n erthen pot never before used. The vessel then hung bove slow fire, nd, s the leves dry up, the body of the mn or womn chosen for the purpose sid to wither wy." 80 Of course little poon judiciously dmintered will supplement the efficcy of th sympthetic mgic. Pere Budin, in turn, speking of feth beliefs in generl, 29 Note : Anyone who hs lived for some time in Jmic hs come in contct with relly mrvellous "Bush remedies." For exmple, throbbing hedche quickly relieved by the ppliction of prticulr cctus which split nd bound on the forehed ; nd severe fever broken effectively by "bush te" mde from certin leves nd twigs known only to the old womn who gthers them, nd whose only explntion "Jes seben bush, Sh, me pick dem one one." Too frequently, the Obeh mn mkes use of th knowledge of herbls in connection with h rt. In prticulr cse of Obeh pooning tht cme under my personl notice, just s the victim ws on the point of losing consciousness, the very indi vidul who ws for good resons suspected of being the cuse of the trouble, suddenly entered the sick room unnnounced nd dmintered the ntidote. A chnge of hert or more probbly fer of the consequences, hd probbly sved the victim's life.,0 D. Amury Tlbot, IVotnn's Mysteries of Primitive People, London, 1SM5, P- 138-

154 134 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS tells us : "The gret or chief feth priests hve secret doctrine which differs gretly from the populr doctrine. In th secret doc trine they grdully initite the priests of the lower rnks." Among these secrets he includes : "the medicinl receipts, especilly those for poons," nd immeditely dds : "I do not believe tht there exts in the world more skilful pooners. They preserve these receipts with gret cre." 81 Moreu de Sint-Mery ssures us : "It unfortuntely too cer tin tht some of the old Africns profess t Sn Domingo the odious rt of pooning. I sy profess, for there re those who hve school where hte nd vengence hs sent more thn one d ciple." 82 Lou P. Bowler, who urges s h credentils for presenting h little volume : "Eight yers' experience in the Jungle of the Gold Cost Colony," 88 recounts number of cses of pooning which cme under h personl observtion. From h nrrtive we my quote the following instnces : "Another cse ws brought to my notice where Europen un wely prted with money to chief for considertion on con cession. After obtining the chief's prome to ccompny him to the cost town to sign the usul declrtions before Dtrict Commsioner, it ppered tht he hd previously sold the sme concession nd obtined money thereon. The Europen dies mysteriously the night before h projected deprture. He ws fond of pinepples, nd the chief sent him couple s present, which he unfortuntely prtook of. It seems tht the chief, or h medicine mn, hd inserted dedly poon into the pinepple with piece of thin wire." 84 It my be objected tht th not Obeh, but cold-blooded mur der. Yes, nd the sme my be sid of Obeh wherever the end produced in th wy. No doubt the ntives scribed the untimely 31 Budin, Fetichme et Feticheurs, p Moreu de Sint-Mery, Description de l Prtie Frnce de Sint Dominigue, Vol. I, p Lou P. Bowler, Gold Cost Plv: Life on the Gold Cost, London, 191 1, p Ditto, p. 136 f.

155 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 135 deth to the workings of Obeh, nd it eqully probble tht the gent employed ws himself n Obeh mn. The second instnce which we re bout to relte in wy, even more chrctertic. Bowler writes :"I remember n instnce of very fine powdered glss being plced in some soup on the tble of Europen, which fortuntely ws dcovered in time. Powdered glss fvourite Fntee 85 mens of injuring or killing those they hve grudge ginst. broken up firly fine, put into knkee or fufu (ntive food), nd when swllowed lcertes It the bowels, setting up internl hemorrhge. Another of their methods to rub the sticky ltex of the rubber vine on the ltch of the doors, rils of beds, on the loin cloths, or nything their victim likely to touch. They then shke the pooned broken glss on the sticky rubber, nd ny person tking hold of these things nd receiving prick in the hnds inoculted with the poon. There re mny deths of Europens in West Afric tht re put down to fever, blck-wter, typhoid, nd stomch complints, tht their true cuse were investigted, would be found to re from irritnts nd other poons tht the ntives if re depts t using." 38 with good reson, then, tht Normn Eustce Cmeron, Principl of the Guinese Acdemy, insts :"I believe tht Africn medicines should be tken more seriously, even though we in Brit h Guin nd the West Indies re ccustomed to think of Africn medicine in terms of Obeh prctice. true tht the It It ntive doctors (clled medicine men or witch doctors by those who will not regrd them with dignity) were cquinted with mny dedly poons ;s, for instnce, those which were used for poon ing their rrows in wr; nd lso true tht the Kings of it Benin nd Zimbbwe took precutions ginst deth by pooning. But we ought to ber in mind tht pooning ny member of n :8 Note eqully common in Ashnti, nd lso found in Jmic tody. never met with ny cse where ws dmintered to humn beings, but hve known live stock to be destroyed in th wy. lost horse myself on one occsion through th very mens. The technicl term "obi-wter" nd produces dysentery nd slow-wsting deth. 36 Bowler, c, p. 137 I It 1. f. it I, I it

156 136 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Africn community ws nd considered by the community s murder, nd if person ws suspected of hving been killed by poon, elborte inquiries were mde to detect the murderer who would be tried nd executed, sometimes cruelly, if found guilty." 87 Th in keeping with the prctice of the Jmic Mylt to "dig up Obeh." And s we shll see in the next chpter, it ws precely with the suppression of the Myl dnce in Jmic tht Obeh begn to gin n scendncy nd develop into qusireligion with htred of the white mn nd the ultimte overthrow of the white msters s n object. In view of ll th, it hrd to understnd how Sir Hrry Johnston could hve written: "Obi (mspelt Obeh) seems to be vrint or corruption of n Efik or Ibo word from the northest or est of the Niger delt, which simply mens 'Doctor.'... Obi like Hudu or Vudu prt of the fethtic belief which previls over nerly ll Afric, much of Asi, nd good del of Americ.... In its 'well-mening' forms, it medicl tretment by drugs or suggestion combined with wor ship of the powers of Nture nd propitition of evil spirits ; in its bd types it n ttempt to frighten, obsess, nd hypnotize, nd filing the production of results by th hocus-pocus, by poon." 88 Fr more ccurte the definition of The Encyclopedic Dic tionry:39 "Obi (Obeh), A system of sorcery prevlent, though not to so gret n extent s formerly mong the Negro popultion of the West Indin Colonies. It ppers to hve been brought from Afric by Negroes who hd been enslved, nd to these obeh-men (or women) the blcks used to resort for the cure of dorders, obtining revenge, conciliting fvour, the dcovery of thief or n dulterer, nd the prediction of future events. The prctice of Obi hd become generl towrds the close of the lst century, both in the West Indies nd the United Sttes, nd there 87 Eustce Cmeron, The Evolution of the Negro, Georgetown, Demerr, 1929, Vol. I, p Johnston, The Negro in the New World, p. 253, Note Phildelphi, 1894.

157 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 137 little doubt tht the Obeh mn exerced vst influence, nd tht they crried on system of secret slow poonings, the effects of which were ttributed by their more ignornt fellows to Obi. The system resembles other superstitions of svge peoples. It my hve originted in ncient religious prctices, in which sor cery bore lrge prt." Hesketh J. Bell who spent mny yers in the Brith Colonil Service in the West Indies nd ws subsequently Governor of the Islnd Muritius, hs written t length on the subject of Obeh nd incidentlly contributed vluble dt gthered either from personl observtion or through relible eye-witnesses. Writing of Grnd, n Englh lnd in the Windwrd Group, Bell sys: "Before the emnciption, the prctice of Obeh ws rmpnt in ll the West Indin colonies, nd lws nd ordinnces hd to be frmed to put it down, nd combt its bneful influences. There were few of the lrge esttes hving Africn slves, which hd not one or more Obeh men in the number. They were usully the oldest nd most crfty of the blcks, those whose hory heds nd somewht hrsh nd forbidding spect, together with some skill in plnts of the medicinl nd poonous species, qulified them for successful imposition on the wek nd credulous. In these dys, n Obeh mn would be hrd to dtinguh from other blcks, nd might only be known by wering h hir long, or some other peculirity, or else by possessing good substntil house, built out of the money obtined from h credulous coun trymen, in exchnge for rubbhing simples or worthless lovespells. The trde which these impostors crry on extremely lucrtive. A Negro would not hesitte to give n Obeh mn four or five dollrs for love-spell, when he would grudge three shillings for bottle of medicine, to relieve some pinful sickness. A veil of mystery cst over their incnttions which generlly tke plce t the midnight hour, nd every precution tken to concel these ceremonies from the knowledge of the whites. The deluded Negroes who thoroughly believe in the supernturl power of these sorcerers, screen them s much s possible nd the

158 138 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS brvest mong them tremble t the very sight of the rgged bun dle, the eggshells or Obeh bottle stuck in the thtch of hut, or in the brnches of plntin tree to deter thieves. "The drker nd more dngerous side of Obeh tht portion under cover of which poon used to ferful extent, nd the dngerous nd often ftl effects of mny mgic drught re simply set down, by the superstitious blck, to the workings of the spells of Obeh, nd never to the more simple effects of the scores of poonous herbs growing in every psture, nd which my hve formed the ingredients of the Obeh mixture. Owing to the defective stte of the lws relting to declrtion of deths nd inquests, it to be fered tht very mny deths occur from pooning, which re set down to cold or other simple mldy." 40 Bell recounts the following nrrtive s he received it from the lips of French priest in Grnd : "I ws riding to see sick person living on the other side of the prh, when I hppened to pss smll wooden house, before which number of people were congregted, ll tlking together nd evidently much exerced in their minds bout something inexplicble. On sking wht ws the mtter, I ws told tht the owner of the house ws lying ded, nd tht he ws n Obeh mn who hd lived quite lone in the plce for mny yers, nd tht there ws consequently no one willing to undertke the job of looking fter the corpse nd bury ing it. In fct no one would go inside the hut t ll, s it ws ffirmed tht h Stnic Mjesty ws there in person looking fter the body of the Obeh mn, which now undoubtedly be longed to him. To lly their lrms, I got off my horse, nd with the sstnce of couple of men broke open the door nd entered the hut. Lying on wooden stretcher ws the body of the un fortunte individul, whose deth must hve occurred good mny hours before, nd the body ws in urgent need of buril, so fter scolding the people for their cowrdice I previled on them to see bout coffin nd other detils s quickly s possible. It ws, however, only in evident fer nd trembling tht ny of them would enter the room, nd the slightest noe would mke «ohesketh J. Bell, Obeh; Witchcrft in the West Indies, London, 1889, p. of.

159 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 139 them strt nd look towrds the door, in the expecttion of seeing le dible en personne coming to clim h property. "The dirty little room ws littered with the Obeh mn's stock-in-trde." Then fter the ctlogue of gruesome finds, he continues : "In little tin cnter I found the most vluble of the sorcerer's stock, nmely, seven bones belonging to rttle snke's til these I hve known sell for five dollrs ech, so highly vlued re they s mulets or chrms in the sme box ws bout yrd of rope, no doubt intended to be sold for hng mn's cord, which highly prized by the Negroes, the owner of piece being supposed to be ble to defy bd luck. "Rummging further, I pulled out from under the thtch of the roof n old preserved-slmon tin, the contents of which showed how profitble ws the trde of Obeh. It ws stuffed full of fivedollr bnk-notes, besides number of hndsome twenty-dollr gold pieces, the whole mounting to considerble sum, which I confess I felt very reluctnt to sel up nd hnd over to the Gov ernment, the Obeh mn not being known to hve heirs. I then ordered the people to gther up ll the rubbh, which ws soon kindled nd blzing wy merrily in front of the hut, to the evi dent stfction of the bystnders, who could hrdly be persuded to hndle the mysterious tools of Obeh. The mn, I herd, hd gret reputtion for sorcery, nd I ws ssured tht even per sons who would never be suspected of encourging witchcrft hd been known to consult him or purchse some love-spell." 41 Another incident relted by the sme French priest in Grnd to Mr. Bell, must close th chpter. The incident runs s follows : "I will give you n instnce which hppened to me, nd which I hve never been ble to explin stfctorily. "Some yers go I ws in Trinidd nd hd been sent by the Archbhop to tke chrge of prh fr in the interior of the lnd, nd t tht time but very little known nd developed. There being no presbytery, I hd to mke shift, until I could build one, with prt of smll wooden house, of which one room ws occupied by n old coloured womn, who lived there with little girl. Th 11 Ditto, p. 14 f.

160 140 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS womn ws looked on with good del of dred by the people, being supposed to possess knowledge of good mny unholy tricks, nd it ws confidently hoped tht my ner neighbourhood would do her good, nd t ll events induce her to be seen now nd then t church, which here gret sign of respectbility. When tking possession of my prt of the house, I ws shown her room, nd noticed prticulrly tht it contined some relly hndsome pieces of the mssive furniture so much esteemed by Creoles. A tremendous fmily four-poster, with hevy, hnd somely turned pillrs, stood in one corner ner ponderous m hogny wrdrobe, nd vrious other bits of furniture pretty well filled the little room. The door of her prtment opened on to my room, which she hd to pss through every time she went out of the house. Th ws n unplesnt rrngement, but ws shortly to be remedied by hving nother door mde in her room leding outside. However, the night fter my tking possession, I herd monotonous sound through the prtition, s if someone croon ing sing-song chnt. Th continued for over n hour, nd more thn once I felt inclined to rp t the prtition nd beg the old dme to shut up her incnttions, but it finlly cted s lullby nd I soon dropped sleep. The next morning hving got up nd dressed, I noticed tht ll ws perfectly silent next door, nd on ltening ttentively filed to her sound. I fered something hd gone wrong, but noticed tht the door leding outside hd not been opened, s chir I hd plced ginst it ws in precely the sme position s I hd left it. I then knocked t her door severl times, but obtined no nswer ; fering n ccident hd hppened, I opened the door, nd s it swung bck on its hinges I ws stonhed to see the room perfectly empty nd evidently swept clen. On exmining the room crefully I found it only hd two smll windows besides the door leding into my room. From tht dy to th neither I nor nyone living in tht dtrict hve ever seen or herd nything of tht womn or of her little girl. How she moved ll her hevy furniture out of tht little room, hs ever remined n inexplicble mystery. I would hve defied ny mn to move the wrdrobe lone, nd even if the old womn hd

161 ORIGIN OF OBEAH 141 hd strength enough to crry the furniture wy, she never could hve drgged it through my room without dturbing me. How ever, these re the fcts of the cse, nd I hve never been ble to explin them." Ditto, p. 17.

162 Chpter V DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA As shown elsewhere it ws the Ashnti in Jmic who, during the dys of slvery, mintined commnding influence over ll the other types of slves, even imposing on them their peculir superstitions nd religious prctices, nd who hve left their im press on the generl popultion of the Islnd to such n extent tht they my undoubtedly be declred the dominnt influence in evolving our Jmic pesnt of the present dy.1 Thus, to briefly summrize few of the principl fcts, in Jmic folklore, or Anncy stories, we find the spider, nncy, s the centrl figure nd h son Tcom s next in importnce, with both nmes nd chrcters derived directly from the Ashnti. Here lso the Ashnti nme of Odum perserved for the silk-cotton tree. These stories re pssed long by the Nn or Grnny, nd gin the function nd title re both Ashnti. The funerl custom of ring nd lowering the coffin three times, seemingly s courtesy to the Erth Goddess before strting for the grve, while peculir to the Ashnti in West Afric, still prevlent in the Jmic "bush" where they know nothing of its origin or significnce, nd where they give s the sole reson for doing so, tht it lwys done tht wy. Agin, the fowl with ruffled fethers, nd hlfnked neck nd which the Jmic "picknies" cll pel-neck, i. e. bld-neck, techniclly known s sensey fowl in Jmic nd sense in Ashnti. So, too, the stple food of the Ashnti fufu, consting usully of mshed ym, nd sometimes of mshed plntin. The term the reduplicted form of fu, mening white. In the Jmic "bush" there prticulrly fine grde of white ym tht known s fufu ym, nd it hs ltely been 1 Willims, Hebrezvms of West Afric, Introduction. 142 brought to

163 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 143 my ttention tht mshed ym in Jmic still goes by the nme of fufu. Mny other detils of identity in words nd customs might be dduced but these must suffice for the present. True it the Ashnti re not lwys expressly nmed s such, in the role they occupied in Jmic. s Koromntins tht they figure so prominently in the htory of the lnd, especilly s regrds the vrious slve-uprings tht so often thretened the white supremcy. But, s hs been shown, the Koromntin, while genericlly Gold Cost slves, were specificlly, t lest s pplies to their leding spirits, Ashnti.2 Grdner declres :"Little cn be sid with confidence s to the religious beliefs of these people. The influence of the Koromntins seemed to hve modified, if It not entirely obliterted, whtever ws introduced by other tribes. They recognized, in being clled Accompong, the cretor nd preserver of mnkind ;to him pre, but never scrifice, ws offered.... The tutelry deities in cluded the deprted heds of fmilies, nd the worship of such ws lmost the only one observed to ny gret extent by Africns or their descendnts in Jmic." The Supreme Being mong the Ashnti, s we hve seen, ws Nyme, nd h primry title ws Nynkopon, mening Nyme, lone, gret one. Accompong, then, ws the white mn's ttempt to trnsliterte the Nynkopon which he so often herd on the lips of the exptrited Ashnti. As previously noted: Bryn Edwrds, in h brief outline of the religious beliefs of the Koromntin slves, sserts "They believe tht Accompong, the God of hevens, the cretor of ll things tody, ; 8 Deity of Infinite goodness. In fct we hve in Jmic in the prh of St. Elizbeth, Mroon town clled Ac compong, which ccording to Cundll, the Islnd Htorin, ws so clled fter n Ashnti chief who figured in one of the erly : Ditto, p. Grdner, Htory Jmic, p Note :-33rdner further observes p. 184: "It nd ever hs been very difficult to extrct from n old Negro wht h religious belief relly ws, but seems probble tht there ws some ide tht deprted prents hd influence with the supposed rulers of the world beyond the grve, nd tht pryers were offered to them in some such spirit s tht of the Romn Ctholic who ppels to the sints h clendr." of it in

164 144 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS rebellions of the Islnd. One's first impression would be tht th chief hd brogted to himself the title of Deity. But we re s sured by J. G. Chrtller tht mong the Ashnti the Divine Nme ws frequently given to slve in cknowledgment of the help of God enbling the owner to buy the slve." 4 Herbert G. De Lser, ntive Jmicn whose fcile pen hs won for him well-merited dtinction, writes : "The West Africn ntives nd prticulrly those from the Gold Cost (from which j the lrger number of Jmic slves were brought) believe in number of gods of different clsses nd unequl power. All these gods hve their priest nd priestesses, but there one prticulr mlignnt spirit, which on the Gold Cost hs no priesthood. He clled Ssbonsum, nd ny individul my put himself in com muniction with him. Ssbonsum's fvorite residence the ceib, the gint silk-cotton tree. He resorted to in the ded of night, h votry going to the spot where he supposed to live, nd collecting there little erth, or few twigs, or stone, he prys to the god tht h power my enter th receptcle. I f he believes tht h pryer hs been herd he returns home with h shumn, s the thing now nmed, nd henceforth, he hs power which formidble for injurious purposes, to which he offers scrifice, nd to the worship of which he dedictes specil dy in the week. By the id of th shumn he cn bewitch mn to deth. He cn lso sell chrms tht will cuse deth or bodily injury. H chrms my lso be put to other nd less pernicious uses. Thus the shumn chrm in the shpe of bundle of twigs, if hung up where it cn be seen, very efficcious for keeping thieves wy from house or provion-ground. Anyone my go out nd get shumn if he likes, but few there re who dre to do so, through fer of Ssbonsum, the witch's god, nd public opinion which looks down upon mn with shumn. The legitimte priests whose office it to pproch the gods lso sell chrms both for good nd injurious purposes, but the min functions re to propitite the gods nd bewitch the people. They were clled upon to undo the injury cused by the wizrd nd h shumn. Both 4 Willims, Hebrewm* of West Afric, p. 16.

165 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 145 witches nd wizrds, priests nd priestesses were brought to Jmic in the dys of the slve trde, nd the slves recognized the dtinction between the former nd the ltter. Even the msters sw tht the two clsses were not identicl, nd so they clled the ltter 'Myl men' nd 'Myl women' the people who cured those whom the Obeh mn hd injured. Of the present-dy descendnts of these priests or Myl men more will be sid lter on. It prob ble tht mny of the Africn priests becme simple Obeh men fter coming to Jmic, for the simple reson tht they could not openly prctice their legitimte profession. But when known s Obeh men, however much they might be treted with respect, they still were hted nd fered. The very nme of them spred dred." 5 Every evil ws ttributed to them. Mylm, then, ws the old tribl religion of the Ashnti which we hve studied in detil in the preceding chpter, with some modifictions due to conditions nd circumstnces. It drew its nme from the Myl dnce tht fetured prticulrly in the venertion of the minor deities who were subordinte to Accompong, nd in the commemortion or intercession of ncestors. The old ntgonm to Obeh or witchcrft on the prt of the priesthood becomes ccentuted, nd grdully tkes on role of mjor importnce, so tht it ctully forms it, prt of the religious prctice. In Ashnti, the Okomfo openly combted the Obyifo s mtter of principle, nd he hd the whole force of Ashnti religious trditions nd public sentiment to support him, until he eventully looked down with more or less ddin on the benighted dciple of Ssbonsm. In Jmic, on the other hnd, ntive religious ssemblies were proscribed lw, s we shll see shortly, which gretly hmpered the Okomfo in h sphere of influence, even h title being chnged to Myl mn, while the Obyifo or Obeh mn, who hd lwys worked in secret, flourhed in h trde. For the very sttus nd restrictions of slve life put h fellows more nd more t h mercy nd filled them with grow ing fer of h spiteful incnttions, bcked up s they were with ctive poonings. Their gods hd bndoned them; why not by 8 Herbert G. De Lser, Twentieth Century Jmic, Kingston, 1913, p. 11of.

166 146 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS cultivte the fvour of the triumphnt Ssbonsm, or t lest s suge h enmity nd plcte h vengence? It ws nturl, too, for the Okomfo to dpt h prctice to the new stte of ffirs. H hted rivl, the Obyifo, must be con quered t ny price. Personl interests demnded th s strongly s religious zel. Since public service of the deities ws no longer possible, he in turn ws forced to work in secret, nd it not surpring tht he met fire with fire, incnttion with incnttion. H religion hd imed primrily t the welfre of the community, even s the object in life of the Obyifo ws the hrm of the in dividul. Open intercession for tribl success nd prosperity neces srily gives wy to secret mchintions to brek the chins of bondge. A fntic zel tkes hold of the Mylt Okomfo nd he deves the most impressive ritul he cn, to rouse the dormnt spirits of h fellow-slves. Thus it cme to pss tht it ws the Okomfo nd not the Obyifo, s generlly ssumed, who dmintered the terrible feth oth. It ws he who mixed the gunpowder with the rum nd dded grve dirt nd humn blood to the concoction tht ws to sel upon the conspirtors' lips the wful nture of the plot for liberty, nd steel their herts for the dngerous undertking. It ws he, no less, who deved the mystic powder tht ws to mke their bodies invulnerble, nd enble them to meet unscthed the white mn's bullets. Finlly, it ws the Okomfo nd not the Obyifo who, tking dvntge of herbl knowledge, induced stte of torpor on subservient tools, tht he might seem to re the ded to life. Yet, through it ll, while he frequently substitutes for h own religious ceremonil the drk nd secret rites of h rivl prc titioner, h im t lest still within the tribl lw, s he works white mgic for the welfre of the community, no less thn he continues to combt the blck mgic of h dversry. It not surpring, then, tht the role of the Mylt Okomfo hs been so little understood, nd tht h most effective work ws scribed by the whites of Jmic to the gency of Obeh nd tht Mylm itself should become confused with witchcrft nd

167 even regrded DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 147 by some s n offshoot of Obeh nd nothing more. Grdner only prtilly correct when he sttes: "Of lte yers Mylm hs generlly been regrded s n rt by which tht of the Obeh mn could be countercted. Its first mode of develop ment ws s brnch of Obeh prctice. The Obeh mn intro duced dnce clled Myl dnce, nd formed secret society, members of which were to be mde invulnerble, or if they died, life ws to be restored. Belief in th mircle ws secured by trick. A mixture ws given in rum, of chrcter which presently induced sleep so profound, s, by the uninitited nd lrmed, to be mtken for deth. After th hd been dmintered to some one chosen for the purpose, the Myl dnce begn, nd presently the victim stggered nd fell, to ll ppernce ded. Mystic chrms were then used ; the body ws rubbed with some infusion ; nd in process of time, the nrcotic hving lost its power, the sub ject of the experiment rose up s one restored to life, fct for which the Obeh mn climed ll the merit. The plnt sid to be used ws the brnched cllue, or solnum. If so, it cn only be the cold infusion which hs the nrcotic power, nd which stted to belong to the Europen vriety ; for when boiled it hrmless. It commonly used in Jmic s substitute for spinch, nd enters lrgely into the composition of the fmous pepper-pot." Mtthew Gregory Lew records in h diry under dte of Februry 25, 1817: "The Obeh ceremonies lwys commence with wht clled, by the Negroes, 'the Myl dnce.' 7 Th intended to remove ny doubt of the chief Obeh mn's super- 8 Grdner, Htory of Jmic, p. 19. Note : In th connection it inter esting to find A. W. Crdinll, In Ashnti nd Beyond, London, 1927, p. 238, who hd spent mny yers s Dtrict Commsioner of the Gold Cost, when describing the initition to Bimod secret society, observing : "If Kussssi youth whes to become member he hs to undergo rther frightening ordel. He cut with knife nd medicine inserted in the wounds : thereby he reduced to unconsciousness for long time. 'He dies for five dys' the ex pression used. They then noint him with medicine, nd he returns to conscious ness." 7 Note : Lew evidently describing Myl rite in the strict sense of the word. H reference to it s the opening of n Obeh ceremony due to the common error of h dy on the prt of the whites who hd not yet lerned to dtinguh between the functions of the Mylt Okomfo nd the Obeh mn, lthough it clerly implied in the present instnce by the subsequent reference to the officiting functionry whom he clls by h proper title "the chief Myl mn" to whom he hd previously mpplied the term chief Obeh mn." the 8

168 148 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS nturl powers ; nd in the course of which, he undertkes to show h rt by killing one of the persons present, whom he pitches upon for tht purpose. He sprinkles vrious powders over the de voted victim, blows upon him, nd dnces round him, obliges him to drink liquor prepred for the occsion, nd finlly the sorcerer nd h sstnts seize him nd whirl him rpidly round nd round till the mn loses h senses, nd flls to the ground to ll pper nces nd the belief of the specttors perfect corpse. The chief Myl mn then utters loud shrieks, rushes out of the house with wild nd frntic gestures, nd concels himself in neighbouring wood. At the end of two or three hours he returns with lrge bundle of herbs, from some of which he squeezes the juice into the mouth of the ded person; with others he noints h eyes nd stins the tips of h fingers, ccompnying the ceremony with gret vriety of grotesque ctions, nd chnting ll the while something between song nd howl, while the sstnts hnd in hnd dnce slowly round them in circle, stmping the ground loudly with their feet to keep time with th chnt. A con siderble time elpses before the desired effect produced, but t length the corpse grdully recovers nimtion, res from the 8 ground perfectly recovered, nd the Myl dnce concludes." With the decline of Mylm from its erly religious stndrds, it took on more nd more chrcter of ntgonm to Obeh until eventully to "dig up Obeh" becme its principl differenti tion from witchcrft, t lest s fr s the uninitited were con cerned. The spirit of fnticm, however, held pce nd fter the bolition of slvery, when the restrictions on ssemblies were removed, there ws recrudescence of the cult, sometimes referred to s "Revivlm" tht hs dturbed t times the pece of more thn one Jmic community. Thus for exmple, Grdner tells us: "In 1842 severl Negroes residing on n estte ner Montego By gve themselves out to be Myl men ; nd in St. Jmes, West morelnd, nd Trelwney, thousnds of deluded people becme their followers. They were ccustomed to meet together fter 8 Mtthew Gregory Lew, Journl of West Indi Proprietor, kept during Residence in the Islnd of Jmic, London, 1834, p. 354 f.

169 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 149 nightfll, generlly beneth the shdow of cotton tree. Fowls were scrificed, nd wild songs sung, in the chorus of which the multitude joined. Dncing then begn, becoming more nd more weirdlike in chrcter, until one nd nother fell exhusted to the ground, when their incoherent utternces were ltened to s divine reveltions. Hlf-demented cretures st mong the brnches or in the hollow trunks of trees, singing; while others with their heds bound in fntstic fshion, rn bout with rms outstretched, nd declred tht they were flying. It becme neces sry t lst to swer in severl hundreds of specil constbles, nd to punh numbers of these deluded people for dturbing the pece.... Some six yers lter Myl mn, clled Dr. Tylor, gve much trouble in Mnchester nd Clrendon, drwing gret crowds fter him. He ws sent to the penitentiry, where he ws ccidentlly killed. In 1852, the delusion gin ppered: some now gve themselves out to be prophets, nd sw vions, but the firmness of the msionries soon put n end to these prctices." There re some interesting detils of the Myltic outbrek of 1842 given by the Reverend R. Thoms Bnbury, ntive Jmicn, in little volume which he publhed t Kingston, in on Jmic Superstitions. He tells us: "It took its re t 1895 Newmn Hll estte in St. Jmes nd went through tht prh, Westmorelnd nd Hnover, incresing s it went until it con sted of hundreds of deluded fntics. They went by the nme of 'Myl people'; they were lso clled 'ngel men.' They declred tht the world ws to come to n end; Chrt ws coming, nd God hd sent them to pull ll the Obehs, nd ctch ll the shdows tht were spell-bound t the cotton trees. In preprtion for these events they ffected to be very strict in their conduct. They would neither drink nor smoke. Persons who were known to be notorious for their bd lives were excluded from their society. They went from plce to plce pulling out Obehs nd ctching shdows nd uttered ferful threts ginst sinners. About the time mentioned there ws very extrordinry comet, which continued in the hevens for severl weeks. It ws in the west, nd the shpe of it 9 Grdner, Htory of Jmic, p

170 ISO VOODOOS AND OBEAHS ws like 'slt fh' ( cod fh split in two, with the hed cut off), the hed squre nd the body tpering off to point. It ws re mrkbly brillint. These people mde reference to it in their songs nd pointed to it s n illustrtion of their divine msion, nd the people were not little lrmed t its ppernce.... Mny songs were used when tking up Obehs, which they did openly in the dytime, in the presence of lrge concourse of people who flocked from ll prts to see it. The overseers nd bookkeepers on the sugr esttes ll were present. There were present n ttorney nd proprietor. An Englhmn nd member of the House of Assembly, who took them on h estte gve them room nd en courged them in every wy. They publicly dug out of h yrd lot of Obehs for him.... The mber ws tlmn by which they pretended to divine. Both Myl men nd Obeh men use it. Anything through which they look t the Obeh, either in the ground or skin clled n mber, the nme not being strictly confined to the substnce properly so-clled. "Four shillings ws the price for pulling n Obeh nd six shillings for ctching shdow, nd they did mke money. They ccompnied their opertions with violent singing nd dncing. They worked themselves into violent niml excitement nd f nticm, jumping bout, yelling like so mny demonics. It ws frightful to her them. Sometimes one would bolt out of the ring nd run into the bush nd then the others would go fter him, declring tht the spirits hd tken him wy. They hd vils rilled with the juice of bd-smelling bushes which they clled 'their weed.' It ws sid tht it hd the effect of cusing those upon whom it ws sprinkled to become Myl people. Not little injury ws done to the churches by th Myl procession. A number of young people, especilly femles, were drwn wy. They fol lowed them ll bout nd fell into immorlity with the men, not withstnding the ffected piety of the ltter. They went into the churches on Sundys nd interrupted divine services by pulling out persons whom they suspected of deling in Obeh, or who were so reported to them. Old men who looked suspicious were beten, rolled in cotton bush nd hlf killed.

171 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 151 "In Bptt church t Slter's Hill n ttck of th kind ws mde on mn whom these people considered notorious for Obeh. Afterwrds the uthorities hd to tke cogniznce of their out rges nd sent some of them to pron. In returning from pron their song ws : Myl nigg, we come oh, We go d jil, we come out. Myl nigg, we come oh, We work gin, we come bck, Myl mn we come oh. And ccording to the song they did begin their revelries gin. "There no doubt tht these people lboured under delusion from the devil. The Mylm of these people lso put on some wht different feture from tht which exted before. They pro fessed to tke up Obehs, which the regulr Myl mn never did, for the work of the ltter ws confined to shdows, recovering persons who were struck by duppies nd bringing home those who were crried wy into the woods by the spirits." 10 In th lst sttement, we fer, Mr. Bnbury little confused, since "digging up Obeh" ws the dtinctive chrctertic of the Mylt, while we hve here for the first time ny reference to "ctching shdows," nd their connection with "duppies." But wht, it my be sked were these shdows nd duppies? Cptin Rttry clls our ttention to the fct tht "The Ashnti use number of nmes trnslted in to Englh by the words 'soul' or 'spirit' or 'ghost'." He then proceeds to define these vrious terms. Thus Smn " ghost, n pprition, spectre ; th term never pplied to living person or to nything in herent in living person. It objective nd the form the ded re sometimes seen to tke, when vible on erth.... The word hs no connection whtever with ny kind of soul." 11 Th the Jmic "duppy," in every detil. Agin, he tells us : "The ss the invible spiritul power of person or niml which dturbs the mind of the living, or works 10 R. Thoms Bnbury, Jmic Superstitions, or The Obeh Book, Kingston, Rttry, Religion nd Art in Ashnti, p. 153.

172 152 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS spell or mchief upon them, so tht they suffer in vrious wys.... The ss essentilly the bd, revengeful, nd hurtful element in spirit ; it tht prt which t ll costs must be 'lid' or rendered innocuous, the funerl rites... re relly, I believe the plcting, ppesing, nd the finl speeding of soul which my contin th very dngerous element in its composition." 13 Th the "shdow" of Jmic, where, however, both "duppy" nd "shdow" hve grdully ssumed mteril element in the generl ccepttion of the "bush." Thus for exmple, on the occsion of deths in the neighbour hood, especilly if by violence, the superstitious will plug up every crck nd crevice of their hovels t night, "to keep the duppies out," n entirely useless precution if the expected vitnts were purely spiritul nd so impssible. After the hurricne in Montego By in November, 19 12, when bout hundred were drowned, I wnted to send messenger on the following dy on n errnd tht would keep him out fter drk. It ws with the gretest dif ficulty tht I found one the usul form of excuse being : "Every body sty home night. Too mny det (ded) round, Sh!" So, too, t "bush" funerl, the most importnt circumstnce frequently the ctching of the "shdow." I hve more thn once wtched the process from very short dtnce, ner enough, in fct, to be ble to her ll tht ws sid, nd to wtch crefully most tht ws done, s the ctors, for such I must cll them, scrmbled nd grsped t empty nothingness, with such relm of pretence, tht I found myself ctully rubbing my eyes, lmost convinced ginst myself tht there must be n elusive something tht escped my vion. When sufficient rum hd been imbibed, nd the singing led by "selfh" voice hd keyed up the ssembly to the proper pitch, someone would excitedly cry out: "See 'im yere!" Immeditely two or three or even more rivl hunters would strt fter tht "shdow" t one nd the sme time. From outside where I stood, it looked s if generl scrmble hd strted in the hovel nd I could see forms flling over one nother nd her the imprections 12 Ditto, p. 153.

173 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 153 nd exclmtions. After time, one more "forwrd" thn the rest would clim to hve cught the prey, only to be greeted with cries of " scorn: 'Im get wy! See 'im dh!" Whereupon the scuffle would strt new. Eventully when ll of them were brethless, dripping with perspirtion, their clothes soiled or t times ctully torn, nd eyes lmost popping out of their heds with excitement, while generl condition of hysteri hd tken possession of the entire gthering, the fet would be ccomplhed by some belligerent individul, who would clsp h hnds nd let out veritble screm of defince: "Me got 'im! Me got 'im!" with such ve hemence tht he would literlly shout down ll protests to the contrry, with perhps just little hint of possible physicl violence tht might follow s support to the power of h vocifertion. Then box or t times smll coffin would be produced nd with much do, not perhps without finl effort to escpe, the poor "shdow" would be securely fstened in nd properly "lid" to be buried lter t the funerl. I hve further ltened to two dputnts on the following morning, while the rum fumes were still ssertive, lmost coming to blows s to which one of them hd ctully ccomplhed the fet of ctching the shdow, nd yet when I questioned them in dividully few dys lter, despite the fct tht I knew them intimtely, both of them in perfect scorn, sserted, lmost in the sme identicl words: "Me no belieb in 'shdow,' Sh! 'Im ll nonsense, Sh!" As fr s I could form ny judgment from my own observ tions, it seemed to me tht one of the supposed voctions of the Obeh mn ws to ctch the shdows of the living nd nil them to cotton tree, while the Myl mn, to undo the dmge, ws busying himself by "pulling" the shdows from their impron ment in the tree. Agin s the shdow my be hrmful to the fmily of the decesed, it the function of the Myl mn nd not the Obeh mn to ctch them t the funerl for th beneficil ct. Reverend A. J. Emerick, who devoted more thn decde to

174 154 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS msion work in Jmic, in privtely printed rticle gives us vluble informtion bout Mylm s it exted t the beginning of the present century. He writes : "To ttempt to describe Jmic Milm, superstition imported from Afric, like trying to describe the intriccies of the most cunningly deved Chinese puz zle. Milm so mixed up with Obehm, Duppym nd other cults of Africn wrp, together with whtever in Protestntm or Ctholic ritul tht my ppel to the bizrre Africn imgintion, tht it hrd to tell which which nd wht wht. But for ll tht it most interesting study for the student of folklore.... "But whtever my hve been its origin, Milm, properly soclled in Jmic, species of Spiritulm, mixed with peculir form of nimm. Milm with its Mil men nd Mil women, hs been just s prevlent in Jmic s Obehm with its Obi men nd Obi women. At present you do not often her the words, 'Milm nd Mil people,' but they re still there in lrge forces, msquerding under other nmes. "The mysterious opertions of Milm const in communic tions with spirits or deths ('dets' s the Jmicn terms it). The persons who re fvoured with communictions with spirits re clled 'mil' people. They re sid to be 'fo-eyed,' tht foureyed, by which ment tht they cn see spirits nd converse with them. Both sexes mke pretention to th power ; hence you hve mil men nd mil women. They re believed to be ble to kill or injure nyone by id of spirits. A mil mn nd obi mn re eqully dreded. The mil mn hrms by depriving persons of their shdows, or setting deths upon them.18 It believed tht fter person's shdow tken he never helthy nd if it be not cught, he must pine wy until he dies. It sid tht the word for shdow in the lnguge of some Africn tribes the word for soul. Obi men nd mil people sometimes crry little coffins to ctch nd keep shdows, which shdows they re sup posed to nil to the cotton tree. Th cotton tree in the dys of slvery, like the ok in the dys of Druidm, ws worshipped 18 As just noted, in my own experience tht ws the work of the Obeh mn. The Myl mn relesed them.

175 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 155 nd scrifices were offered t its roots. Th tree ws held in venertion nd it ws hrd to get Negroes to cut it down becuse they were frid tht if they did so the deths which took up their bode t its roots would injure them. There re mny in teresting superstitions connected with the cotton trees, one curious belief bout them ws tht they hd the power of trnsporting themselves t night to hold conferences together.... "In connection with shdow tking shdow ctching, tht, the restoring of the shdow to the person who hd been deprived of it. The performnce rther strnge. Shdow ctching in vribly done in the night. The person suspected of hving lost h shdow tken to the cotton tree, where h shdow, s the Jmic people sy, 'pell bound,' tht spellbound, or to which ws niled. The mil men nd mil women re ccompnied by lrge concourse of people. The victim dressed ll in white, with white hndkerchief bout h hed. Eggs nd fowls re tken together with cooked food, to the cotton tree. The mil men nd mil women prde up nd down before the cotton tree with white cloths over their shoulders, singing nd dncing, nd ll the people join in the chorus. The cotton tree pelted with eggs, nd the necks of fowls re wrung off nd the bodies re cst t it. Th done to propitite the deths or duppies tht hd their shdows enthrlled t the tree. The singing nd dncing proceed more vigorously s the shdow begins to mke signs of leving the tree. A white bsin of wter to receive held up. After they hve sung nd dnced to their hert's content, they suddenly ctch up the person nd run home with him, ffirming tht h shdow cught nd covered up in the bsin. When the ptient hs reched h home, wet cloth pplied to h hed nd h shdow sid to be restored to him." 14 The nrrtive my here be interrupted to remrk tht Fr. Emerick fils to mke the cler dtinction between Obeh mn nd Myl mn, since t times the two functions re so confused nd even exerced by the sme individul under dul role. In gen erl, however, Obeh secretive nd mlicious; Mylm open 14 A. J. it Emerick, Jmic Milm, Woodstock, 1916, p. 39 ff. it

176 156 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS nd benevolent. When the "shdow" "pulled" t the cotton tree, or "cught" t the funerl, just s when Obeh "dug up," the lrger the body of witnesses the greter the stfction of the Myl mn in th good deed which he performs. The Obeh mn, on the contrry, seeks to void ll publicity, s h purpose evil. And even if, s occsionlly does hppen, the sme individul tody n Obeh mn nd tomorrow Myl mn, to the best of my knowledge, he observes perhps unconsciously the technique of the rite which he performing, nd h entire mnner nd method will chnge overnight. Bringing the subject up to dte, Fr. Emerick sttes : "Bedwrdm hs ll the er-mrks of milm, nd in its feth origin fundmentlly the sme. Its founder ws luntic, nmed Bedwrd, who ws suffering from religious monomni. He climed tht he hd vions from God, nd tht the spirit of God hd de scended upon him nd tht in him the prophets were reincrnted, t one time Jons, t nother Moses, then John the Bptt. He declred tht in vion God hd mde known to him tht the wter of Hope River clensed from deses nd sin. It ws rumoured tht sick womn ws cured by prtking of th wter. Belief in Bedwrd's mirculous powers grdully grew until per sons from ll over the lnd cme to get the heling wters from him nd stories of wondrous cures by him were spred bout. The crze grew until s mny s twenty nd thirty thousnd Negroes used to gther every Wednesdy morning long the river bnk t plce clled August Town, on the Hope River. In the gret throng were hundreds of the crippled, the deformed, lepers, the blind, consumptives nd sufferers from every form of dese. At few moments of nine the so-clled prophet would pper in flowing white robes, nd with wnd in h hnd, with elborte nd mjestic ceremonies, he would bless the wter, whereupon, these thousnds of men, women nd children of ll ges would strip nked nd jump into the wter. An indescribble scene fol lowed.... I only introduce th short ccount of it here s help to my study of Milm nd becuse Bedwrdm seemed

177 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 157 to hve prentl ffinity to Revivlm 15 which now rmpnt in Jmic nd which nothing but Milm pure nd simple under new nme.... "The Revivlts msquerde s Chrtin sect nd cover themselves with glmour of Chrtinity, by such prctices s excliming in the miltic songs,... such expressions s 'Lord hve mercy on us,' 'Chrt hve mercy on us,' words evidently tken from the Ctholic Mss. But despite ll th they re but pgn milts, nd their service pgn. The milts s body s well s individully, believed nd especilly FELT themselves clled by the spirit for their work. Their supreme effort in their demonicl, frenzied worship ws to get plenitude of the spirit. So lso the Revivlts believe nd feel n excited cll to perform some work or give some messge. Sometimes individuls, getting the spirit during the night, re nd in frenzied condition go over the hills nd long the rods, stopping sometimes before houses nd shouting t the top of their voices, quoting Holy Scrip ture, giving wrning, nd nnouncing wht they consider their God-given messge. They will sometimes give wrning by shout ing 'Hmmer nd nils!' Th intended to be deth wrn ing. During the dy you will sometimes see them mking curious mrking on the rod before certin houses. One night while I ws going long mountin pth I met womn who ws under th peculir spell. She seemed to me like one of the frenzied Eumenides whirling by me. You see gin from the nme of 'Angel people,' s they cll themselves, where they get their ide of being messengers from heven." At one plce in the moun tins, I hve myself herd one of these unfortunte cretures, hlf-crzed with emotionlm, s night fter night for weeks on end, she stood up ginst flt wll of rock which served s sounding bord nd sent her voice booming out over the vlley in seemingly interminble repetition of "Fire nd brimestone, Fire nd brimstone, Judgment on men, Judgment on men!" 15 Note : On the contrry Bedwrdm n offshoot of Revivlm which dtes bck to the closing dys of slvery.

178 158 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS After stting : "The originl mil dnce sid to be n old West Africn priest dnce," Fr. Emerick continues: "The Milts robed themselves in white nd ffected the power of divin tion. The Revivlts do ll th. There ws bnd of Revivlts who met every Thursdy t plce clled Retirement, in the Dry Hrbour Mountins. I often herd them, for it ws one perpetul howl from morning till night, like the re nd fll of tidl wves on the se bech. I hve gone to see them nd ny ccount of demonic possession tht I ever red seemed tme in compron with the demonicl contortions, the hystericl singing nd mon ing, the frenzied gyrting, swying, dncing nd the bominble jerkings, of these people in the het of their wild Africn, weird feth worship to become possessed by the spirit. They form compct circle, or rther wheel, of men nd women. The whole living, squirming wheel circles nd swirls in body nd ech in dividul gyrtes t the sme time with mny curious bow nd bend nd dip nd twt. Alterntely they sing nd mon nd shout nd screm. Every now nd then by spells they go through bdominl contortions, just s if some infernl spirit of wondrous strength gripped them nd threw into convulsions every fibre of their being. Their eyes nd fces with the demon of possession looking from them mde horrible sight to see, nd once you hve seen it you will never forget it. They ll do not do the sme thing t the sme time, some re doing one thing nd others re doing different things, but ll together they mke hrmonious inhrmonious whole. Ech one held in h hnd green piece of bush or twig. I sked the reson for th, but got no stfctory nswer.... There lwys one mn who clled the leder, or bnd mster. He stnds still not performing ny of the gyr tions, but directs the performnce like the director of n orchestr or bnd, nd nnounces the reveltions which those possessed by the spirit receive." 19 Describing similr open-ir meeting of Revivlts, De Lser sys : "Ech of the white-robed women hd bit of withe twted round her left wrt, nd ech crried short cne. Noticing th, 16 A. J. Emerick, 1. c, p. 47 f.

179 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 159 I remembered tht when the priests nd priestesses of the Africn Gold Cost were bout to dnce in honour of their gods nd to become possessed by them, they bound their wrts with ddor crried bundles of cnes in their hnds. Here then, clerly, ws the survivl of n Africn custom msquerding tin revivlt demonstrtion." 17 nd s ntive Chr Whtever, then, my be thought of the present-dy decdent Mylm s seen in Bedwrdm nd other revivlt outbreks, it certin tht in its inception, s the offshoot of the old Ashnti tribl religion, it ws of so potent religious force, tht it hs survived century nd hlf of legl proscription nd still further century of n undgued deth-struggle with the powers of Obeh, nd still ble to vitlize ech recurrent uphevl ginst forml Chrtinity, even s it inspired the futile efforts to brek the chins of slvery nd cst off the white mn's rule, before constitutionl methods hd found wy to right the crying wrong of humnity. It not surpring, then, tht from the erliest dys of legl tion in Jmic, serious source of dnger to the pece of the Colony ws recognized to be ever present in the ssemblies of slves where the old religious tribl dnces were openly c compnied by drumming which roused the fnticm of Africns to such pitch s to endnger generl upring. Before long it ws dcovered tht second cuse of dnger, th time personl one to mster nd slve like, ws to be trced to the secret poon ings tht were ever becoming more common. And yet mny yers pssed before it ws even suspected tht there could be ny con nection between th stte of ffirs nd Obeh, which ws looked upon with mused tolertion s foolh superstition nd nothing more. But even when the rebellion of 1760 dclosed the connec tion of Obeh nd pooning, nd there ws set determintion to crush the dred mence t ny cost, it ws not suspected tht they were not deling with witchcrft lone but recrudescence of the old religious spirit in new nd more dngerous gue. In erly legltion we find ccentuted the dnger from fnti- " De Lser, Twentieth Century Jmic, p. 134.

180 i60 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS cm roused by religious ssemblies nd nothing more. Then ppers due provion ginst the mence of poonings nd finlly forml condemntion of Obeh. But through it ll the secret phse of Mylm nd its confedertion with its rchenemy Obeh ginst the oppressor of both, never seems to hve been suspected. We my be prdoned, if we review somewht in detil the legl development of th phse in the Lw of Jmic. Appended to the Lws of Jmic pssed by the ssembly nd confirmed by H Mjesty in Council, April i7, immedi tely following the Royl Confirmtion nd consequently d llowed, we hve "An Act for the better ordering of slves," wherein we find the words: "And it further encted by the uthority foresid, tht every mster or mtress or overseer of fmily in th lnd shll cuse ll slves houses to be diligently nd effectively serched once every fourteen dys, for clubs, wooden swords, nd mchievous wepons, nd finding ny, shll tke them wy nd cuse them to be burnt." 19 Th would in dicte tht even t th erly dte there ws dnger from slve upring. Among the Acts pssed in 1696 one entitled: "An Act for the better order nd government of slves." Herein we red under Cluse XIII the very sme words s in the bove Act which ws dllowed in Cluse XXXII of th new Act runs s fol lows: "And wheres divers slves hve of lte ttempted to de stroy severl people, s well white s blck, by poon ; the con sequences of which secret wy of murdering my prove ftl, if not timely prevented : Be it encted by the uthority foresid, Tht if ny Negro, or ny slve or slves, before the mking of th Act, hve mliciously given or ttempted to give, or shll herefter mliciously give, ttempt or cuse to be given to ny person whtsoever, free or slve, ny mnner of poon, lthough the sme ws never tken, or if tken, deth did not or shll not ensue upon the tking thereof ; the sid slve or slves, together 18 London, 1684, p. 140 ff. 19 Ditto, p Acts of Assembly, pssed in the Islnd of Jmic from 1681 to 1737, in clusive, London, 1743, p. 50 ff.

181 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 161 with their ccessories, s well before s fter the fct, being slves, nd convicted thereof... shll be djudged guilty of murder, s if the prty or prties tht took or shll tke the sme hd died ; nd shll be condemned to suffer deth, by hnging, burn ing, or such other wy or mens s to the sid Justices nd free holders shll seem most convenient." 21 Moreover Cluse XXXIV of the sme Act prescribes : "And for the prevention of the meeting of slves in gret numbers on Sundys nd Holidys, whereby they hve tken liberty to contrive nd bring to pss mny of their bloody nd inhumn trnsctions : Be it encted by the foresid uthority, Tht no mster, or mtress, or overseer, shll suffer ny drumming or meeting of ny slves, not belonging to their own plnttions, to rendezvous, fest, revel, bet drum, or cuse ny dturbnce, but forthwith endevour to dperse them, by him, or herself, overseer or servnts; or if not cpcitted to do the sme, tht he presently give notice to the next commsion-officers to re such number of men s my be suffi cient to reduce the sid slves." 22 Filure in duty on th point, the commsion-officers included, crries penlty of "forty shillings for every offence." Th Act ws confirmed, Jnury 5, 1699,23 nd thus becme the first pproved Code Noir of Jmic. We hve, then, in the very foundtion of the Jmic Slve Lw, nd tht before the close of the seventeenth century, cler dtinction between dnger from the rebellion of slves nd dnger from pooning. In there ws pssed "An Act for the more effective punh ing of crimes committed by slves," 24 of which Cluse VIII thus ccentutes the dnger of slve uprings: "And wheres the permitting or llowing of ny number of strnge Negroes to ssemble on ny Plnttion, or settlement, or ny other plce, my prove of ftl consequences to th your Mjesty's Islnd, if not timely prevented: nd forsmuch s Negroes cn, by beting on drums, nd blowing horns, or other such like instruments of 21 Ditto, p Ditto, p Acts of the Privy Council, Vol. II, p Acts of Assembly, 1. c, p. 108.

182 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS noe, give signls to ech other t considerble dtnce of their evil nd wicked intentions: Be it further encted, Tht in one month's time fter the pssing of th Act, no proprietor, t torney, or overseer, presume to suffer ny number of strnge Negroes, exceeding five, to ssemble on h plnttion or settle ment, or on the plnttion or settlement under the cre of such ttorney or overseer; nor shll ny proprietor, ttorney, or over seer, suffer ny beting on drums, brrels, gourds, bords, or other such like instruments of noe on the plnttions nd settlements foresid." The penlty for ech offence to be ten pounds in the cse of proprietor or ttorney, nd hlf tht sum for over seers. Th ws n erly recognition of the power of the "tlking drums" which so long mystified Africn trvellers. In th Act of 1717, there no mention of the dnger of pooning. However, in 1744, in consequence of frustrted re bellion of the slves, wherein " generl msscre of the white people ws intended," there ws pssed : "An Act to explin nd mend n Act, entitled, 'An Act for the better order nd govern " ment of slves,' in which it explined : "Tht it ws the true intent nd mening of the sid Act, tht the crime of compssing nd imgining the deth of ny white person by ny slve or slves, should be deemed nd djudged crime of s high n ture s the crime of murder, nd should be punhed s such," 25 nd gin reitertes "lthough the bloody purposes of such slve or slves be prevented before ny murder hth been or shll be committed." 29 Thus wht ws originlly pplicble to the cse of pooning lone, now by extension pplied generlly to ny ttempt wht soever t the tking of the life of ny white person. Agin, before th lst Act, the dnger from rebellion hd been clerly d socited from the dnger of pooning. Henceforth, while the two groups of prohibitions will be preserved, the dnger of rebel lion recognized in both. However, the second group of Cluses 25 Acts of Assembly, pssed in the Islnd of Jmic from 1681 to 1754, in clusive, London, 1756, p. 263 ff. 28 Ditto, p. 264.

183 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 163 re now formlly connected with Obeh, while the prohibition ginst ssemblies becomes more detiled nd specific in purpose. Grdner tells us : "The sfety of the lnd ws gin imperilled by the Koromntins. Severl of the leders met in St. Mry's in July 1765, when the solemn feth oth ws dmintered. Into quntity of rum, with which some gun-powder nd dirt tken from grve hd been mingled, blood ws put, drwn in suc cession from the rm of ech confederte. With certin horrid ceremonies th cup ws drunk from by ech person, nd then cme the council. It ws greed tht during the ensuing Chrtms holidys the ring should tke plce, nd in the mentime ll were to obtin compnions." 27 The impetuosity of one of their number frustrted the plns of h ssocites who were cting not under the influence of Obeh but of Mylm, s the "solemn feth oth" mkes cler. On Dec. 21, 1781, there ws pssed "An Act to repel severl Acts nd Cluses of Acts, respecting slves, nd for the better order nd government of slves, nd for other purposes." The purpose of th consolidted Act ws to rewrite the Code Noir in its entirety, nd being pssed for three yers only, it ws to expire with December 31, Cluses XII to XIV renew the former prohibitions bout ssemblies of slves but the penl ties re gretly incresed. The mster, owner, gurdin or t torney now lible in the sum of one hundred pounds, while overseers nd bookkeepers my be punhed with six months' im pronment for violtions of the code. As regrds musements which re permsible mong their own slves, the use of "drums, horns nd such other unlwful instruments of noe" re of course prohibited. Cluse XLIX tkes direct cogniznce of Obeh. It runs s follows : "And in order to prevent the mny mchiefs tht my herefter re from the wicked rt of Negroes going under the the ppelltion of Obeh men nd women, pretending to hve Grdner, Htory of Jmic, p Acts of Assembly, pssed in the Islnd of Jmic, from 1770 to 1783, in clusive, Kingston, 1786, p. 256 ff.

184 164 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS communiction with the devil nd other evil spirits, whereby the wek nd superstitious re deluded into belief of their hving full power to exempt them whilst under protection from ny evils tht might otherwe hppen : Be it therefore encted by the uthority foresid, Tht from nd fter the first dy of Jn ury, foresid, ny Negro or other slve who shll pretend to ny supernturl power, nd be detected in mking use of ny blood, fethers, prrots-beks, dogs-teeth, lligtors-teeth, broken bottles, grve-dirt, rum, eggshells, or ny other mterils reltive to the prctice of Obeh or witchcrft, in order to delude nd im pose on the minds of others, shll upon conviction before two mgtrtes nd three freeholders, suffer deth or trnsporttion ; nything in th or ny other ct to the contrry in ny we not withstnding." 29 Th Act never received the Royl Assent nd t its expirtion the mtter ws llowed to rest for couple of yers, but the ction of the Assembly in Jmic during the yers 1787 nd 1788 resulted in wht ws commonly clled "The New Con solidted Act," 80 to which Stephen Fuller refers s "being the present Code Noir of tht Islnd." Cluses XIX to XXI prohibit the meetings of slves, etc. long the generl lines of previous Acts. Cluse XL represents the restrictions on Obeh without enumerting the prphernli, but specifies s the purpose of the deed : "In order to ffect the helth of lives of others, or promote the purposes of rebellion." 31 In Cluse XLI, we find repeted the old penlty ginst pooning, which hd been overlooked in the Act of 1 781, where it ws supposed to be contined under the generl decree ginst Obeh.82 December 14, 1808, there ws pssed "An Act for the pro tection, substing, clothing, nd for the better order, regultion, 29 Ditto, p Stephen Fuller, New Act of Assembly of the Islnd of Jmic commonly clled the New Consolidted Act, London, Ditto, p. 10.,2 Ditto, p. 11. Note : Th Act filed to receive the Royl Assent nd we find no mention oi its provions in An Abridgement of the Lws of Jmic, being n lphbeticl digest of ll the public Acts of Assembly now in force, publhed t St. Jgo de l Veg, in In fct there no reference there in ny wy pertining to ssemblies of slves, Obeh or poonings.

185 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 165 nd government of slves, nd for other purposes," which ws re plced on December 19, 181 6, by "An Act for the substence, cloth ing, nd the better regultion nd government of slves, for en lrging the powers of the council of protection; for preventing the improper trnsfer of slves; nd for other purposes." In the ltter Act, Cluses XXXIV to XXXVI prohibit the ssemblies of slves in the usul form, but under the section per mitting musements on the properties to which they belong, "so s they do not mke use of militry drums, horns nd shells" we find the further restriction, "Provided tht such musements re put n end to by ten o'clock t night." 84 Cluse XLIX (p. 123 f.) dels with Obeh nd Cluses LII nd LIII 85 repet the former penlties for pooning nd hving poons in one's possession. By Cluse L, plced immeditely be tween Obeh nd poonings, slves re forbidden to prech or tech "without permsion from the owner nd the qurter ses sions," nd by Cluse LI nightly 38 nd other privte meetings of slves re declred unlwful. And s there no mention of outside slves or drumming or dncing we my sfely conclude tht these two new Cluses re ssocited with Mylm in its new form, the true nture of which even here escpes detection.87 Th surme strengthened by the fct tht the whole mtter thus plced immeditely fter Obeh to which the legltors evi dently thought it ws connected. Cluse LIII proceeds to extend the scope of previous legltion ginst the dnger from poon ings nd further identifies the process with Obeh. It runs s follows: "And be it further encted, Tht if there shll be found in the possession of ny slve ny poonous drugs, pounded glss, John Lunn, Abstrct of the Lws of Jmic relting to Slves, St. Jgo de l Veg, 1819, p "Ditto, p Ditto, p. 124 f. 38 Ditto, p Lunn, 1. c, p Note: While the non-conformts hve lwys felt tht th legltion ws imed solely t their msionries through motives of bigotry, more sincerity of purpose should be ccredited to the Assembly thn ws gen erlly ccorded. The objective of the lw the Revivlt meetings initited by the Methodts, it true, but the rel motive self-protection ginst the ring spirit of Mylm fostered in these gtherings.

186 1 66 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS prrot's beks, dog's teeth, lligtor's teeth, or other mterils notoriously used in the prctice of Obeh or witchcrft, such slve upon conviction, shll be lible to suffer trnsporttion from th lnd, or such other punhment, not extending to life, s the court shll think proper to direct." 38 The Act of 1781 hd mde the use of such instruments unlwful, the present Cluse directed ginst even hving them in possession. The prevlence of poonings in Jmic bout th period evidenced by vitor to the lnd in 1823, s follows : "9 "A Negro mn, nmed Schweppes or Swipes, to which h comrdes hd dded the ppelltion of Sint, took it into h hed to poon precher t Montego By. He but hlf killed the poor creture, who dcovered the nture of the poon in time to prevent its ftl effects, though it more thn probble he will never recover h former helth. The mnic did not escpe, but rgued tht the spirit moved him to kill Mss Prson. He ffirmed tht the precher lwys sid 'he longed to ly down h burden; to quit th mortl life; to go to Abrhm's bosom, to the bosom of h Sviour, to glory' nd so forth nd he Swipes (whose brin ws turned topsy-turvy) out of good-will nd love, whed to help him to Heven nd glory, for which he ws nxious." Agin while viting n estte on Mornt River, we re told : "The cook few dys before, hd endevoured to poon Mr. G. nd h fmily, by mixing, I think he sid, ground glss in some soup, which ws, however, fortuntely detected in time to prevent m chief." 40 Finlly, just before siling from Port Antonio, he thus describes the contents of the "cutcoo" of vgrnt Obeh mn who ws pprehended : "There ws n old snuff-box, severl phils, some filled with liquids nd some with powders, one with pounded glss; some dried herbs, teeth, beds, hir, nd other trsh; in short the whole frrgo of n Obeh mn." 41 On December 22, 1826, ws pssed "An Act to lter nd mend 38 Lunn, 1. c, p. 124 f. 39 Cynric R. Willims, A Tour through the Islnd of Jmic, from the western to the estern end, in the yer 1823, London, 1826, p. 38 f. 40 Ditto, p Ditto, p. 344.

187 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 167 the Slve Lws of th Islnd." Cluse LX to LXIV cover un lwful ssemblies of slves. The time for "innocent musements" on their own properties extended to midnight.42 Cluse LXXXII dels with Obeh nd the following Cluse repets the prohibi tion ginst slves preching nd teching without permsion, nother evidence of rejuvented Mylm.48 In Cluse LXXXIV there further extension of the generl sfegurd ginst the 44 formtion of "plots nd conspircies" whereby meetings of sectrins between sunset nd sunre re prohibited: "Provided lwys, tht nothing herein contined shll be deemed or tken to prevent ny minter of the Presbyterin kirk, or licensed minter, from performing divine worship t ny time before the hour of eight o'clock in the evening t ny licensed plce of worship, or to interfere with the celebrtion of divine worship ccording to the rites nd ceremonies of the Jewh nd Romn Ctholic religions." Then follows n rticle for the punhment of designing techers for lying contributions on slves 45 nd the usul prohibition ginst nightly meetings of slves nd the Cluses on pooning.48 Cluse LXXXIV prohibiting meetings of sectrins between sunset nd sunre roused strong opposition, especilly on the prt of the Methodts who climed tht the instruction of the slves ws thereby prcticlly restricted to the Estblhed Church of Englnd,47 nd the Act ws ccordingly dllowed. The des ptch thereupon sent by W. Huskson, H Mjesty's Principl Secretry of Stte for the Colonies, ddressed to the Governor of Jmic, Sir John Kenc, under dte of September 22, 1827, sttes, in prt : "Among the vrious subjects which th Act presents for considertion, none more importnt in itself, nor more interesting to every clss of society in th kingdom, thn the regultions on the subject of religious instruction. The eighty- 42 Slve Lw of Jmic with Proceedings & Documents reltive thereto, London, 1828, p. 95 ff. 43 Ditto, p Ditto, p Ditto, p. 11o. 44 Ditto, p. in. 47 Ditto, p. 231.

188 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS third nd the two following cluses must be considered s n in vsion of tht tolertion, to which ll H Mjesty's subjects, whtever my be their civil condition, re like entitled. The pro hibition of persons in stte of slvery ssuming the office of religious techers might seem very mild restrint, or rther fit precution ginst indecorous proceedings; but mongst some of the religious bodies who employ msionries in Jmic, the prctice of mutul instruction stted to be n estblhed prt of their dcipline. So long s the prctice crried on in n in offensive nd peceble mnner, the dtress produced by the prevention of it will be compensted by no public dvntge. "The prohibition of meetings for religious worship between sunset nd sunre will, in mny cses, operte s totl prohibi tion, nd will be felt with peculir severity by domestic slves, in hbiting lrge towns, whose ordinry enggements on Sundy will not fford leure for ttendnce on public worship before the evening. It impossible to pss over without remrk the invidious dtinction which mde not only between Protestnt dsenters nd Romn Ctholics, bui even between Protestnt d senters nd Jews. I hve indeed no reson to suppose tht the Jewh techers hve mde ny converts to their religion mong the slves, nd probbly, therefore, the dtinction in their fvour merely nominl ; still it preference, which, in principle, ought not to be given by the Leglture of Chrtin country." 48 Agin he sys further on: 49 "It my be doubtful whether the restrictions upon privte meetings mong the slves, without the knowledge of the owner, ws intentionlly pointed t the meet ings for religious worship. No objection, of course, could ext to requiring tht notice should be given to the owner or mnger whenever the slves ttended ny such meetings; but, on the other hnd, due security should be tken tht the owner's uthor ity not improperly exerted to prevent the ttendnce of the slves. "I cnnot too dtinctly impress upon you tht it the settled «Ditto, p *» Ditto, p. 147.

189 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 169 purpose of H Mjesty's government to snction no colonil lw, which needlessly infringes on the religious liberty of ny clss of H Mjesty's subjects, nd you will understnd tht you re not to ssent to ny bill imposing ny restrint of tht nture, unless cluse be inserted for suspending its opertion until H Mj esty's plesure shll be known." Lter, tking up the question of Obeh, he writes : "The defini tion of the offence of Obeh will be found to embrce mny cts, ginst which it could not hve been relly intended to denounce the punhment of deth. The definition of the crime of prepring to dminter poon lso so extensive s to include mny in nocent nd even some meritorious cts. Thus lso the offence of possessing mterils used in the prctice of Obeh imperfectly described, since no reference mde to the wicked intention in which lone the crime consts." 50 The cknowledgment, to the Governor, of the receipt of th communiction, on the prt of the House of Assembly, on De cember 4, 1827, contins these significnt words : "In encting the eighty-third, eighty-fourth, nd eighty-fifth cluses, which re prticulrly objected to, the House hd before them the ex mple of Demerr, nd they deemed the restrictions necessry, s well for the pece of the colony s for the well-being of the slves; tht opinion the House still retins, nd consequently re unble to present to your Honour ny modified lw on th subject." 51 In the forml nswer to the letter, pssed unnimously 52 by the Jmic House of Assembly on December 14th we red: "The eighty-third cluse prohibits the preching nd teching of slves, not becuse mchief might possibly ccrue, but becuse it hs been found by experience, s the premble in the cluse declres, 'to be ttended with the most pernicious the loss of life.' So long s the slve substs consequences, nd even with t the cost of the mster, so long must tht mster's right be dmitted to wtch B0 Ditto, p Ditto, p BJ Ditto, p. 189.

190 170 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS over h ctions, on which depend h helth nd h life. Neither helth nor life cn be secure, if slves re llowed to unsettle the understnding of ech other, by mutully inculcting their crude notions of religion, nd hve free license to meet under the pre tence of preching t unsesonble hours nd in improper plces. The House duly pprecite the pious motives of the King's min ters, who would extend the blessings of religion ll over the world, but nevertheless it their opinion, tht no persons re competent to judge of regultions intended to restrin the ml prctices of 'ignornt, superstitious, nd designing slves,' unless they hve mde themselves cquinted with the Africn chr cter by long residence mong them. These remrks eqully pply to the eighty-fourth cluse. Meetings for religious worship between sunre nd sunset, re prohibited only to unlicensed prechers ; nd it believed tht in no well orgnized society re persons, without chrcter or of doubtful or secret views, suf fered to go t lrge, under shelter of the night, mongst n ig nornt pesntry, nd mke upon their minds n impression tht my be dictted by politicl or religious fnticm.... Al though the slves of Jmic hve dvnced rpidly in civiliztion within very few yers, yet it not pretended tht their progress hs been so gret tht ll those gurds cn be dpensed with which were thought essentil by our predecessors. The eightythird nd eighty-fourth cluses re not innovtions, s Mr. Huskson seems to suppose ; they re tken from the old slve lw, nd come gin into opertion on the dllownce of the new lw, with th difference, tht the new lw provides ginst ny mconception of the lw in respect to Ctholics nd Jews, nd permits licensed minters to perform divine worship t ny li censed plce of worship to the hour of eight ; nd when it re membered tht in Jmic the setting sun vries from hlf-pst five to hlf-pst six, it will pper tht time enough fforded for the night worship of slves.... "The remrks of Mr. Huskson, on the cluse for the punh ment of Obeh, nturlly offer themselves to one ignornt of the extent of Africn superstition, nd the horrible crimes Negroes

191 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 171 will perpetrte sometimes to grtify revenge, nd often to c quire influence tht my enble them to levy contributions on the fers of their more timid fellows. Negroes re seen to pine wy to deth under the pretended sorceries of the Obeh mn; nd, where the imgintion does not perform the work of deth with sufficient celerity, the more certin id of poon clled in, to hsten the fte of the victim. Mr. Huskson considers, tht under the next cluse, mny innocent nd some meritorious cts re exposed to punhment. But it submitted, tht the possession of poonous drugs by Negroes cnnot be innocent, unless confided to them by their msters ; which fct cn redily be proven." 88 Both sides to th controversy were right in prt, nd yet they both filed to dcern the rel point t sue. To the home govern ment, there ws ctul need of suppressing wht ppeled to them s n outburst of religious bigotry ginst the non-conform ts ; to the plnters in Jmic it ws cler tht there ws growing up mong the slves religious fnticm nd unrest tht could ugur nothing but nother uphevl of the socil order with ttempted msscre nd destruction of property. Wht neither side of the rgument even suspected ws tht under gue of Methodt Revivlm, the long persecuted nd seemingly forgot ten Mylm ws tking new lese of life nd imbuing the slves in generl with its own peculir religious mni in prep rtion for the dy when the solemn feth oth might be dmin tered for the generl overthrow of the white regime. And the Methodt uthorities, on their prt, could only see consoling outpouring of the spirit, nd countless brnds sved from the burning, when in relity the consequence of mguided zel ws dngerous recrudescence of pgn prctices with veneer of Chrtinity, cloked nd dgued s Methodt Revivl.54 Similr excesses were experienced lter by nother group who surpssed even the Methodts in the unbridled spirit of Revivl- 58 Ditto, p. 164 ff. 04 Note: Cfr. lso D. Trouillot, Esquse Ethnogrphique : Le Vudoux, Port-u-Prince, 1885, p. 27, where Jmic Revivlm clssified with the Hitin "Fndngo," Chic Dnce nd climed to be form of Voodoo in the wide sense of the word.

192 172 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS m. Grdner thus describes the fcts. "With few exceptions, tive Bptt churches becme ssocitions of men nd women who, in too mny cses, mingled the belief nd even prctice of Mylm with religious observnces, nd who perverted nd cor rupted wht they retined of these; mong them sensulity ws lmost unrestrined. Their leders or 'dddies,' s clss were overbering, tyrnnicl, nd lscivious, nd united the uthority of the slve-driver with the drkest forms of spiritul despotm. Of scripturl teching there ws little. Simple fcts were so per verted, tht they would hve been ridiculous hd they not been blsphemous." 55 It ws th condition of ffirs tht led up to the finl slve-rebellion just before emnciption went into effect. As recently s October 12, 1932, letter ppered in the dily glener of Kingston, Jmic, entitled "An Open Letter to Minters of Religion" n nd signed by R. H. Ferguson, wherein the ltest form of Myltic Revivlm, known s Pocomnm, thus described. "I see house yonder. Those within re sing ing. Come steling sweet cdences the notes of tht well-known hymn 'Dy dying in the West, Heven touching erth with rest.' "The hymn ceses nd h! they strike up some lively tune s 'Bright soul, wh' mek you tun' bck?' Bodies re swying, nd, oh soul of Bcchus! Are they drunk? Pndemonium! reli gious frenzy. I m minded of the Berserkers little md ness s men nd women jumping like kngroos, to welltimed rhythm plce their hnds to their mouths, grunting ( it grunting?) for ll they re worth, like wild bors sounding their wr-cries s they rest the onslught of the chrging hounds. "Tht exerce over, stlwrd Negro mn, wering red nd 55 Grdner, Htory of Jmic, p Note : The so-clled "Ntive Bptt Churches" re not to be confused with the regulr Bptts. They hd their origin, it sid, in groups expelled from the older orgniztion for super stition nd immortlity. They crried with them the nme of Bptt nd little more. Cfr. Smuel Green, Bptt Msion in Jmic, London, 1842, p. 19 f. Mny of the leders in the insurrection of 1831 in St. Jmes' prh, s well s not few of those who were ssocited with the Mornt By Rebellion of 1865, were connected with these Ntive Bptt Churches.

193 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 173 white bndn, steps forth nd mkes n ortion. Lten. 'I come here to tke off ghosts nd if the Devil himself come with you, him must go!' Cn it be possible in lw-biding Jmic? Sick folks re wshed nd nointed with evil-smelling oils, presum bly, 'oil tun' bck,' 'oil crry-wy,' 'oil keep him down,' 'oil bmb,' 'ded mn drops.' Oh shde of iesculpius! Songs, songs, scred songs. "Does the lw punh the mn who prctices Obeh? Are these prctices form of Obeh? If so, re they crried on in the gue of Chrtinity? Do such meetings contribute to the uplift of the people, nd mke of the children the idel citizens of the dys to come?... "My humble opinion tht tht sect should not be llowed to brodcst such demorlizing influences. The lnd cn sfely do without Pocomnm.... "With the gretest lrm I once ltened to mn hrnguing crowd in New Town. Sid he, 'Your minters tell you when you die, you gwine heven go drink milk nd honey. Who tell dem sy God hve cow-pen heven? etc'... And now I m sking potently, should such people be llowed to crry on nd brodcst heresies, pernicious, destructive, dmning?... "I respectfully beg your frternity to get together nd rep resent th mtter to the legltors to the end tht our fir lnd my be sved the dster of religious uphevl brought bout by whom? An ignornt set of dncing, prncing, steppers, set of howling windbgs men too lzy to work, nd so elect to collect toll while preying on the credulity of the simple selfstyled 'shepherds' determined to mke mess of Chrtinity." Th letter evoked the following editoril in the dily glener of the following dy. "pocomnm. Mr. R. H. Fer guson cries loud in h Open Letter to Minters of Religion (publhed in th pper yesterdy) tht Pocomnm 'tering t the vitls of the Church.' He wre tht th 'Pocomnm,' which he sys the result of Pocomni, will strike the verge reder s being something strnge nd weird; therefore in th letter to the minters of religion he explins wht Pocomnm

194 174 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS, nd it Mylm, turns out to be neither which more nor less thn our old friend much better known in these dys s Revivl m. Pocomni, then, frenzy brought bout by men nd women exciting themselves 'jumping like kngroos,' s Mr. Ferguson expresses it singing hymns clculted to stimulte the emotions, delibertely surrendering their minds nd bodies to superstitious influences. The leders of these revivlts or pocomnics clim to be ble to exerce ghosts tht re hunting f flicted persons, nd lso to cure the sick by nointing them with specil mixtures, usully of n evil-smelling description. These men re nothing but survivl of the 'Myl men' of hundred yers go, nd of West Africn priests who prcticed the sme rites in their ntive country. And they seem to thrive on their deceptions. "It pity tht Mr. Ferguson writes in mnner tht sug gests sort of long, loud screm of the pen, vried by spsmodic jumps, for the evil to which he clls ttention one tht should certinly not be overlooked. H ppliction to of the term 'Pocomnm' very effective in directing notice to the thing to which refers. Religious revivls re of ll sorts nd descrip tions ;to spek of revivl merely, therefore, not to evoke in it the mind of the verge herer ny strtling picture of physicl obscenity protest or morl degrdtion; which perhps it why, when voiced ginst 'Revivlm' of the ghost-ctching or 'blm' heling type, not much notice tken of it. Yet those who hve seen the ceremonies by which ghosts re supposed to be lid nd sickness to be cured, recognize tht even the ejcultory mnner dopted by Mr. Ferguson in describing them does not exggerte the fcts. The thing itself worse thn ny pic ture of could be, nd no wonder tht he wnts to know it it whether these prctices re not form of Obeh, even if crried on under the gue of Chrtinity. He suggests tht legltion should be brought to ber on th Pocomnm nd tht the min ters of the lnd should unite to crush the Pocomnics, 'n ignornt set of dncing, prncing, steppers, set of howling

195 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 175 windbgs, men too lzy to work, self-styled "shepherds" deter mined to mke mess of Chrtinity.' "The lnguge strong, but not too strong; the denuncition fully merited. We gree entirely tht th sort of Revivlm, or Pocomnm, must hve bd effect upon the minds nd morls of the younger people who witness it nd tht it delibertely en courges the bsest forms of superstition. But it no use p peling to the minters of religion ; they cnnot put stop to it. Preching nd teching will doubtless hve slutry effect in the long run, but tht long run mens yers nd yers, couple of genertions, perhps century. We ought to hve quicker nd more effective ction to del with the evil; such ction mens legltion, nd tht in its turn will demnd comprehensive de scription nd definition of the prctices to be suppressed. Tht my not be esy, but we should hope tht it will not be impossible. The clim to 'tke off ghosts,' to hel deses by nointing with oil, nd incnttions, relly form of frud such s Obeh defined to be in our lws. A dgue thrown over these things by the use of terms current in the Chrtin religion, but the frud, the superstition, the vileness of the dncing nd the sexul ex cittion tht follows re ptent to everyone except the willingly deluded. It will hve to be the lwyers, however, who must try their hnds t frming legltion to suppress the prctices com plined of. We hope these lwyers will be equl to the tsk, for these orgtic revivl dnces th Pocomnm which seems be more common thn should be possible t th dte of our h tory undoubtedly do much to frustrte the efforts mde by eductionts nd the religious orgniztions in th country." But even if they do leglte ginst th ltest Myltic out brek, it to be fered tht they will t best bolh for time the public expression of the rel spirit which we must expect merely to retire once more to secret functions in preprtion for the dy when it will ultimtely brek out new under nother gue in which it will not be immeditely recognized. It not lwys esy to nlyze the Negro's purpose in dnce. to

196 176 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS In quite recent times, I hve personlly known well-mening Ecclestics, comprtively new to Jmic nd its wys, com menting with pprovl regrding the Minto dnce, tht it ws grceful nd free from the objectionl embrces of most modern dnces. In their innocence, or rther ignornce, they never sus pected the entire purpose of the dnce which consts in the rous ing of the pssions, being derived from the sme source s the Hitin Clend lredy described. When told of its true import they blushed t the memory of the interest they hd shown in wtching the dnce. An interest tht hd probbly mde the pr ticipnts chuckle shmelessly t Prson's lck of understnding. " 'Im ignornt fee true, Sh!" For they who dnce the Minto know full well its evil purpose. Willim Wilberforce sserted: "The Jmic plnters long im puted the most injurious effects on the helth nd even lives of their slves, to the Africn prctice of Obeh, or witchcrft. The Agents for Jmic declred to the Privy Council, in 1788, tht they 'scribed very considerble portion of the nnul mortlity mong the Negroes in tht lnd to tht fscinting mchief.' I know tht of lte, shmed of being supposed to hve punhed witchcrft with such severity, it hd been lleged, tht the pro fessors of Obeh used to prepre nd dminter poon to the subjects of their spells ; but nyone who will only exmine the lws of Jmic ginst these prctices, or red the evidence of the gents, will see plinly tht th ws not the view tht ws tken of the proceedings of the Obeh men, but tht they were considered s impostors, who preyed on their ignornt country men by the pretended intercourse with evil spirits, or by some other pretences to supernturl powers." 58 And remrks on the very next pge : "No sooner did Negro become Chrtin, then the Obeh men despired of bringing him into subjection." 57 Th sttement of Wilberforce brought lmost immeditely from the Reverend George Wilson Bridges, n Anglicn Clergy- 58 Willim Wilberforce, An Appel to the Religion, Justice, nd Humnity of the Inhbitnts of the Brith Empire, in behlf of the Negro Slves in </ie. West Indies, London, 1823, p. 22. " Ditto, p. 23.

197 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 177 mn in Jmic the following custic retort : "You spek of the Africn prctice of witchcrft, clled Obeh; nd referring to the lws which mke the dredful effects of tht superstition pun hble by deth, you cll it 'folly' to ttempt 'rooting out pgn superstition by severity of punhment.' Are you then so ignornt, Sir, of the mnners nd customs of the people whose cuse you profess to dvocte, s not to know tht Obeh, nd deth, re synonymous : tht the ltter the invrible end nd object of the former, nd tht th imported Africn superstition widely different from the hrmless tles of witches nd broomsticks, which once frightened you in the rms of your nursery mid? Your feelings hve probbly been shocked by stories of burning old women for bewitching pigs, nd swimming them for s suming the shpe of hre ; but re you not to be told tht Obeh superstition dredfully different from these fntsies; tht it, in fer, the prctice of occult poons :by which thousnds hve suffered in these lnds, nd which, though grdully giv ing wy beneth the spreding influence of Chrtinity, must nevertheless, in every proved cse, be punhed by humn lws, s severe s those which ttch to the convicted murderer in every lnd." 88 And yet, s we hve seen, Wilberforce ws not fr stry in h estimtes, not only of the Lws of Jmic, but lso of the generl ttitude of mused tolertion with which Obeh ws usu lly regrded by the plnters of the lnd, until the rebellion of 1760 opened the eyes of ll to the connection between Obeh nd poonings, nd led the Assembly to leglte directly ginst the prctice of th blck rt. Still, despite the fct tht chroniclers mde no specific mention of the dngerous pest s such, there re mny indictions tht excted n wful toll of humn lives from the erliest dys of Jmic s n Englh Colony. In n ppendix to h Reports the Jmic Assembly on the subject the slve trde, Stephen Fuller gve summry of the of S8 George Wilson Bridges, berforce, London, 1823, p. 28 A f. of Voice from Jmic; in reply to Willim Wil it

198 178 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Negroes from Afric who were sold in Jmic between 1764 nd During th period some 50,000 slves were imported by the five principl gents nd of these nerly 15% cme from the Gold Cost nd bout 10% from Whydh. One firm, Messrs Cppells, who seemingly specilized in Gold Cost Negroes, re ports between November, 1782, nd Jnury, 1788, out of totl of 10,380 importtions, 5,924, or nerly 60% s from the Gold Cost nd only 444 from Whydh.69 But it not only numericlly but lso by h dominnt spirit, s we hve seen, tht the Gold Cost or Ashnti slve sserted n scendncy over the rest of the slves nd firmly estblhed in Jmic h own form of witchcrft, Obeh, with its concomitnt poonings. Robert Hmmill Nssu sttes : "The slves exported from Afric to the Brith possessions in the West Indies brought with them some of the seeds of Africn plnts, especilly those they regrded s 'medicinl,' or they found mong the fun nd flor of the tropicl West Indies some of the sme plnts nd nimls held by them s scred to fetich in their tropicl Afric. The ceib, or silk-cotton tree, t whose bse I find in Afric so mny votive offerings of fetich worship, they found flourh ing in Jmic. They hd estblhed on their plnttions the fetich doctor, their dnce, their chrm, their lore, before they hd lerned Englh t ll. And when the Brith msionries cme mong them with school nd church, while mny of the converts were sincere, there were those of the doctor clss who, like Simon Mgus, entered into the church-fold for ske of wht ever gin they could mke by the white mn's new influence, the white mn's Holy Spirit. Outwrdly everything ws serene nd Chrtin. Within ws working n element of dibolm, fetichm, there known by the nme of Obeh, under whose leven some of the churches were wrecked. And the sme dibolm, known s Voodoo worship in the Negro communities of the Southern United Sttes hs emsculted the spiritul life of mny 59 Stephen Fuller, Two Reports from the Committee of the Honourble House of Assembly of Jmic, London, 1789, Appendix.

199 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 179 professed Chrtins." 80 Agin he sys, "There re ntive poons. It known tht sometimes they re secretly used in revenge, or to put out of the wy reltive whose welth desired to be in herited.... The dtinction between fetich nd poon vgue in the thought of mny ntives. Wht I cll 'poon* to them only nother mteril form of fetich power, both poon nd fetich being supposed to be mde efficient by the presence of n djuvnt spirit. Not ll deths of foreigners in Afric re due to mlri. Some of them hve been doubtless due to poon d mintered by revengeful employee." 81 Sir Hns Slone, who ccompnied the Duke of Albermrle to Jmic in 1687, in cpcity of physicin to the Governor, re mrks of the slves : "They formerly on their festivls were l lowed the use of trumpets fter their fshion, nd drums mde of piece of hollow tree, covered on one end with ny green skin, nd stretched with thouls or pins. But mking use of these in their wrs t home in Afric, it ws thought too much inciting them to rebellion, nd so they were prohibited by the customs of the lnd." 82 Agin he sys : "The Indins nd Negroes hve no mnner of religion by wht I could observe of them. 'T true they hve severl ceremonies, s dnces, plying, &c. but these for the most prt re so fr from being cts of dortion of 80 Robert Hmmill Nssu, Fethm in West Afric, London, 1904, p Ditto, p Note : Nssu further sttes, p. 264 : "An Englh trveller recently in the Igbo country of Nigeri, in dcussing the ntive belief in occult forces, sys: 'It impossible for white mn to be present t the gtherings of "medicine men" nd it hrd to get ntive to tlk of such things, but it seems evident to me tht there some relity in the phenomen one hers of, s they re believed everywhere in some degree by white men s well s blck.' However tht my be the ntive doctors hve wide knowledge of poons ; nd if one to believe reports, deths from poon, both mong the white nd blck men, re of common recurrence on the Niger. One of the white mn's often quoted proverbs. 'Never qurrel with your cook' ; the mening of which tht the cook cn put something in your food in retlition if you mltret him. There everywhere belief tht it possible to put medicine on pth for your enemy, which when he steps over will cuse him to fll sick nd die. Other people cn wlk uninjured over the spot, but the moment the mn for whom the medicine lid reches the plce, he succumbs, often dying within n hour or two. hve never seen such cse myself; but the Rev. A. E. Richrdson sys he sw one when on the journey with Bhop Tugwell's house-prty. He could offer no explntion of how the thing done, but does not doubt tht done. Some of the best educted of our ntive Chrtins hve told me tht they firmly believe in " th 'medicine-lying.' 62 Hns Slone, Voyge to the Islnds, London, 1707, Introduction, p. lii. A it I it,

200 i80 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS God, tht they re for the most prt mixed with gret del of bwdry nd lewdness." 68 With the suppression of drumming nd ssemblies, the Myl dnce (nd in dgued form) ws ll tht ws left of their religious prctices tht could be produced in public. In pssing Slone remrks couple of cses of pooning, but mkes no mention of Obeh s such.84 Chrles Leslie, writing in 1740, sttes: "When nything bout plnttion msing, they hve solemn kind of oth, which the eldest Negro lwys dminters, nd which by them c counted so scred, tht except they hve the express commnd of their mster or overseer, they never set bout nd then they go very solemnly to work. They rnge themselves in tht spot of ground which pproprited for the Negro burying plce, nd one of them opens grve. He who cts the priest, tkes little of the erth, nd puts into every one of their mouths they sy, I tht if it ny hs been guilty, their belly swells, nd occsions deth. never sw ny instnce of th but once; nd it, it ; ws certinly fct tht boy did swell, nd cknowledged the theft when he ws dying :But m fr from thinking there ws ny connection I betwixt the cuse nd the effect, for thousnd ccidents might hve occsioned without ccounting for by tht foolh cere mony." 85 While th pssge frequently quoted s n exmple of Obeh, relly religious ordel, similr to so mny prc ticed in Afric. employed publicly nd for the generl good. Consequently it it, It we must scribe it it to Mylm nd not to Obeh Ditto, Introduction, p. lvi. Note :64 Retribution flls hevily on the slve of h dy, we my judge by the following sttement of Slone, Introduction, p. lvii "The punhment for crimes of slves, re usully for rebellions burning them, by niling them down on the ground with crooked sticks on every limb, nd then pplying the fire by degrees from the feet nd hnds, burning them grdully up to the hed, whereby their pins re extrvgnt. For crimes of less nture gelding or chopping off hlf of the foot with n x. These punhments re suffered by them with gret constncy." 8B Chrles Leslie, New Htory Jmic, London, 1740, p Note Dr. Ptrick Browne, The Civil nd Nturl Htory Jmic, London, 1756, p. 25, like h predecessor, Dr. Slone, remrks the presence of poonous plnts. However he scribes the high deth rte mong the slves not to poon but rther to the poor medicl ttendnce on the lnd. Speking of the deses so prevlent mong the slves, he decidedly outspoken: "These re indeed frequently of peculir nture, nd require consummte knowledge of symptoms nd dorders, to dcover the rel forces of them yet the owners, of : if ; of

201 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 181 Edwrd Long, the first htorin to refer to Obeh by nme writing fter the reveltion cused by the rebellion of As yet h views re not s set s we find them fifteen yers lter in the document studied in n erlier chpter, nd he quite nturlly confuses Obeh nd Mylm. He sys of the slves : "They firmly believe in the pprition of spectres. Those of decesed friends re duppies; others, of more hostile nd tremendous spect, like our rw-hed-nd-bloody bones, re clled bugboos. The most sensible mong them fer the supernturl powers of the Africn Obeh men, or pretended conjurers; often scribing those mortl effects to mgic, which re only the nturl opertion of some poonous juice, or preprtion, dexterously dmintered by these villins. But the creoles imgine, tht the virtues of bptm, or mking them Chrtins, render their rt wholly ineffectul ; nd for th reson only, mny of them hve desired to be bptized, tht they might be secured from Obeh. "Not long since, some of these execrble wretches in Jmic introduced wht they clled the Myl dnce,87 nd estblhed kind of society, into which they invited ll they could. The lure hung out ws, tht every Negro, initited into the Myl society, would be invulnerble by the white mn ; nd lthough they might in ppernce be slin, the Obeh mn could, t h plesure, re store the body to life. The method, by which th trick ws cr ried on, ws by cold infusion of the herb brnched cllue; which, fter the gittion of dncing, threw the prty into pro found sleep. In th stte he continued, to ll ppernces lifeless, no pulse, nor motion of the hert, being perceptible ; till on being rubbed with nother infusion (s yet unknown to the whites), the effects of the cllue grdully went off, the body resumed its motions, nd the prty on whom the experiment hd been tried, woke s from trnce, entirely ignornt of nything tht whose interest depends chiefly on their welfre, will commit them to the cre of some rw youth, or ignornt ssumer, tht hrdly skilled enough to brethe vein, or dpense dose of physic ; but th proceeds more from ignornce nd vnity, thn ny rel wnt of humnity; for few of them re judges of physic, nd ech would be thought to hve doctor of h own." 87 Th the common mconception, lredy noticed, of considering Mylm s n offshoot from Obeh.

202 1 82 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS hd pssed since he left off dncing." 88 A few pges lter, Long dds : "Bits of red rg, cts teeth, prrots fethers, eggshells nd fh-bones re frequently stuck up t the doors of their houses when they go from home leving nything of vlue within, (some times they hng them on fruit trees, nd plce them in cornfields), to deter thieves. Upon conversing with some of the Creoles upon th custom, they lugh t the supposed virtue of the chrm nd sid they prcticed it only to frighten wy the slt-wter Negroes, of whose depredtions they re most pprehensive." Long seems too esily stfied with the explntion of th Creole. Even tody, every Negro in Jmic hs superstitious fer of nything tht referred to, even in joke, s preternturl. On more thn one occsion I hve seen gentlemn throw piece of ordinry pper on the floor nd sy to the housemid, mrried womn of exemplry chrcter nd regulr church-member : "Look out Aid, duppy there." To which Aid would invribly reply with lugh : "Me no belieb duppy, Sh! All nonsense, Sh!" And yet she would give tht piece of pper wide berth, nd if told to bring something tht would necessitte her pssing the suspicious object, she would wlk ll the wy round the room to void it. When sked why she did not go direct, she would explin : "Me prefr wlk d wy, Sh!" And tht pper would remin there untouched until friendly breeze blew it out of the house. During the lst qurter of the eighteenth century, there lived one of the most desperte chrcters in Jmic htory. H depredtions ccomplhed single hnded nd over wide re left the impression tht he ws the hed of numerous nd wellorgnized bnd of robbers nd h very nme becme synonymous with terror throughout the country dtricts. Owing to the loss of two fingers in n erly encounter with Mroon, he ws generlly Edwrd Long, Htory of Jmic, London, 1774, Vol. II, p Ditto, Vol. II, p Note : In reference to the slve lw of Jmic, Long writes, p. 493 : "The Negro code of th lnd ppers originlly to hve copied from the model in use t Brbdoes; nd the leglture of th ltter lnd, which ws the first plnted by the Englh, resorted to the Englh villeinge lws, from whence they undoubtedly trnsfused ll tht severity which chrcterizes them, nd shows the bject slvery which the common people of Englnd formerly lboured under."

203 .. DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 183 known s Three-finger Jck. Concerning th desperdo, mny ccounts hve come down to us, ll of which show tht h chief relince ws the mchintions of notorious Obeh mn. Thus we re told : "Dr. Moseley in h Trete on Sugr, sys, T sw the Obi of th fmous Negro robber, Three-finger Jck, th terror of Jmic in The Mroon who slew him brought it to me. It consted of got's horn, filled with compound of grve dirt, shes, the blood of blck ct, nd humn ft, ll mixed into kind of pste. A ct's foot, dried tod, pig's til, flip of virginl prchment, of kid's skin, with chrcters mrked in blood on it, were lso in h Obeh bg." 70 Burdett thus de scribes the Obeh mn who bestowed th grewsome gift on Mnsong: "Amlkir, the Obeh prctitioner, dwelt in lothsome cve, fr removed from the inquiring eye of the suspicious whites, in the Blue Mountins; he ws old nd shrivelled; dorder hd contrcted ll h nerves, nd he could hrdly crwl. H cve ws the dwelling-plce, or refuge of robbers; he encourged them in their depredtions; nd gve them Obi, tht they might ferlously rush where dnger stood. Th Obi ws supposed to mke them invulnerble to the ttcks of the white men, nd they plced im plicit belief in its virtues." 71 He evidently plyed the role of Mylt s well s Obeh mn. Coming now to the nineteenth century, s would be expected, 70 Willim Burdett, Life nd Exploits Mnsong, commonly clled Threefinger Jck, the Terror Jmic, Sommers Town, 1800, p Ditto, p. 17. Note: Robert Renny publhed in London in 1807: An H tory Jmic,. To which dded n illustrtion the Advntges, which re likely to result, from the Abolition the Slve Trde. He remrks, Prefce, p. xi :"Perhps n observtion will be deemed requite respecting the non-quottion of uthorities, for the vrious htoricl fcts, relted in the present volume. For th conduct, the conceness requite in short htory, will probbly ccount in stfctory mnner." The entire work lcks originl ity nd little more thn reprint from others. Hence we my confine our selves to the following brief quottion, p. 169 "Whtever their notions of religion my hve been, they, not unlike their Europen msters, seem to py little regrd to the ceremonies of ny system in Jmic. But they re not on tht ccount, the less superstitious. A belief in Obeh, or witchcrft, lmost universl mong them. The professors of th occult science, re lwys Afri cns, nd generlly old nd crfty. Hory heds, grvity of spect, nd skill in herbs, re the chief qulifictions for th curious office. The Negroes, both Africns nd Creoles (i. e. those born the lnd), revere, consult, nd fer them." Then follows n ccount which little more thn prphrse from the Report of of of of in of f. : of

204 184 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS every writer in Jmic hs something to sy bout Obeh which still remins, however, gret enigm to be explined ccording to ech individul's point of view. Thus Stewrt writing in 1808, nd expressing the opinion tht ws commonly mintined by the msionries : "There one good effect which the simple per susion of h being Chrtin produces on the mind of the Negro ; it n effectul ntidote ginst the spells nd chrms of h ntive superstition. One Negro who desires to be revenged on nother, if he fers more open nd mnly ttck on h dver sry, hs usully recourse to Obeh. Th considered s potent nd irrestible spell, withering nd plsying, by undescribble terrors, nd unwonted senstions, the unhppy victim. Like the witches' culdron in Mcbeth, it combintion of ll tht hteful nd dgusting; tod's foot, lizrd's til, snke's tooth, the plumge of the crrion crow, or vulture, broken egg shell, piece of wood fshioned into the shpe of coffin, with mny other nmeless ingredients, compose the ftl mixture. It will of course be conceived tht the prctice of Obeh cn hve little effect, without Negro conscious tht it prcticed upon him, or thinks so : for s the sole evil lies in the terrors of per turbed fncy, it of little consequence whether it relly prc ticed or not, if he only imgines tht it. An Obeh mn or womn upon n estte, therefore very dngerous person; nd the prctice of it for evil purposes mde felony by the lw. But numbers my be swept off by its inftution before the prctice detected ; for, strnge s it my pper, so much do the Negroes stnd in we of these wretches, so much do they dred their mlice nd their power, tht, though knowing the hvoc they hve mde, nd re still mking, mny of them re frid to dcover them to the whites; nd others, perhps, re in legue with them for sinter purposes of mchief nd revenge. A Negro under th inftution cn only be cured of h terrors by being mde Chrtin; refuse him th indulgence, nd he soon sinks mrtyr to imgine evils. The uthor knew n instnce of Negro, who, being reduced by the ftl influence of Obeh to the lowest stte of dejection nd debility, from which there were little hopes of

205 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 185 h recovery, ws surpringly nd rpidly restored to helth nd to spirits, by being bptized Chrtin; so wonderful re the workings of wek nd superstitious imgintion. But, though so lible to be perverted into n instrument of mlice nd revenge, Obeh, t lest sort of my be sid to hve its uses. When it, plced in the grdens nd grounds of the Negroes, becomes n excellent gurd or wtchmn, scring wy the predtory run wy, nd midnight plunderer, with more effective terror thn gins nd spring guns. It it loses its effect, however, when put to protect the grdens nd plntin wlks of the Buckrs." Stewrt, An Account Jmic nd its Inhbitnts, London, 1808, p. 256.Note : In the second edition of th work which ws publhed under the title, View the Pst nd Present Stte the Islnd Jmic, Edinburgh, 1823, for some unexplined reson, th pssge rewritten nd considerbly chnged with the element of poon in Obeh introduced. Cfr. p. 276 :"The most dngerous prctice, ring from the superstitious credulity, previling mong the negroes, wht clled obeh, pretended sort of witchcrft. One negro who desires to be revenged on nother, nd frid to mke n open nd mnly ttck on h dversry, hs usully recourse to obeh. Th con sidered s potent nd irrestible spell, withering nd plsying, by indescribble terrors nd unwonted senstions, the unhppy victim. Like the witches' cldron in Mcbeth, combintion of mny strnge nd ominous things erth gthered from grve, humn blood, piece of wood fshioned in the shpe of coffin, the fethers of the crrion-crow, snke's or lligtor's tooth, pieces of eggshell, nd other nmeless ingredients, compose the ftl mixture. The whole of these rticles my not be considered s bsolutely necessry to com plete the chrm, but two or three re t lest indpensble. It will, of course, be conceived, tht the prctice of obeh cn hve little effect, unless negro J. ff A it of it it of conscious tht prcticed upon him, or thinks so; for s the whole evil consts in the terrors of superstitious imgintion, of little consequence whether be relly prcticed or not, he cn only imgine tht. But the chrm fils to tke hold of the mind of the proscribed person, nother nd more certin expedient resorted to the secretly dmintering of poon to him. Th sves the reputtion of the sorcerer, nd effects the purpose he hd in view. (The negroes prcticing obeh re cquinted with some very powerful vegetble poons, which they use on these occsions.) An obeh- mn or womn if of of it (for prcticed by both sexes) very wicked nd dngerous person on plnttion ;nd the prctice of mde felony by the lw, punhble with deth where poon hs been dmintered, nd with trnsporttion where only the chrm used. But numbers my be swept off by its inftution before the crime detected for, strnge s my pper, so much do the negroes stnd in we of those obeh professors, so much do they dred their mlice nd their power, tht, though knowing the hvoc they hve mde, nd re still mking, they re frid to dcover them to the whites ;nd others perhps, re in legue with them for sinter purposes of mchief nd revenge. A negro under th inftution cn only be cured of h terrors by being mde Chrtin: refuse him th boon, nd he sinks mrtyr to imgined evils. The uthor knew n instnce of negro, who, being reduced by the ftl influence of obeh to the lowest stte of dejection nd debility, from which there were little hopes of h recovery, ws surpringly nd rpidly restored to helth nd cheerfulness by being bptized Chrtin. A negro, in short, considers himself s no longer it ; it it it f. if

206 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Mtthew Gregory Lew, who ws lredy quoted on Mylm, records in h diry, in h own delightful wy, n ccustion of Obeh brought by one of h own servnts, Pickle, ginst fel low-servnt Edwrd, s follows : "He hd ccused Edwrd of breking open h house, nd hd begged him to help him to h goods gin ; nd 'Edwrd hd gone t midnight into the bush' {i.e. the wood), nd hd gthered the plnt whngr, which he hd boiled in n iron pot, by fire of leves, over which he went puff, puffie : 'nd sid the sutee-sutee ; nd then hd cut the whngr root into four pieces, three to bury t the plnttion gtes, nd one to burn ; nd to ech of these three pieces he gve the nme of Chrtin, one of which ws Dniel ; nd Edwrd hd sid, tht th would help him to find h goods ; but insted of tht, he hd immeditely felt th pin in h side, nd there fore he ws sure tht, insted of using Obeh to find h goods, Edwrd hd used it to kill " himself.' 78 Even in my time in Jmic, it ws enough to threten to "burn whngr" within the hering of some petty thief, to hve the goods returned t once. I understood tht filure to do so, would cuse the body of the thief to brek out into the most terrible sores, in cse the thret hd been crried into execution. Another entry in Lew' diry worth repeting here. Under dte of Jnury 28, 18 16, we find it recorded: "There re cer tinly mny excellent qulities in the negro chrcter ; their worst fults pper to be th prejudice respecting Obeh, nd the under the influence of th sorcery when he becomes Chrtin. But, though so lible to be perverted into dedly instrument of mlice nd revenge, obeh t lest species of it my be sid to hve its uses. When plced in the gr dens nd grounds of the Negroes, it becomes n excellent gurd or wtch, scring wy the predtory runwy nd midnight plunderer with more effective power thn gins nd spring-guns. It loses its.power, however, when put to protect the grdens nd plntin-wlks of the Bnckrs." B. Pullen-Bury, Jmic s It Is, 1903, London, 1903, p. 140, sys of recent times : "Some plnters dopt Obi to ensure themselves ginst thieving. They tke lrge blck bottle, fill it with some phosphorescent liquid, nd plce within it the fether of buzzrd, the quill sticking uppermost. Th they fsten to tree on the outskirts of the coffee-ptch or bnn-field, where it cn be well observed by ll who pss ner. The dusky popultion, firmly believing it to be the work of the Obeh mn, refrin their thieving propensities ccordingly." 7S Lew, Journl of West Indi Proprietor, p. 134.

207 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 187 fcility with which they re frequently induced to poon to the right hnd nd to the left. A neighbouring gentlemn, s I her, hs now three negroes in pron, ll domestics, nd one of them grown grey in h service, for pooning him with corrosive sub limte ; h brother ws ctully killed by similr mens ; yet I m ssured tht both of them were reckoned men of gret humnity. Another gent, who ppers to be in high fvour with the negroes whom he now governs, ws obliged to quit n estte, from the frequent ttempts to poon him ; nd person ginst whom there no sort of chrge lleged for tyrnny, fter being brought to the doors of deth by cup of coffee, only escped second time by h civility, in giving the beverge, prepred for himself, to two young bookkeepers, to both of whom it proved ftl. It, indeed cme out, fterwrds, tht th crime ws lso effected by the bominble belief in Obeh, the womn who mixed the drught, hd no ide of its being poon, but she hd received the deleterious ingredients from n Obeh mn, s ' chrm to mke her mss good to her!' by which the negroes men, the compelling person to give nother everything for which tht other my sk him." 74 Jmes Stephen, on the other hnd, writing in 1824, in defence of the slves, still clings to the old estimte of Obeh s being for the most prt fnciful. Thus he rgues : "Obeh lso prctice, which hs, by lws of Jmic nd Dominic, ll of modern dte, been constituted cpitl offence : nd mny negroes hve of lte yers been executed for it in the former lnd, though in mny of our other lnds it hs never been considered s worthy of hving plce in the copious nd comprehensive ctlogues of crimes furnhed by their penl slve lws. Obeh nd poon re deserving of prticulr considertion, becuse they were once seriously lleged by the Agent of Jmic nd other colonts, s gret cuses of the dredful mortlity which previls mong the slves in our lnds. The subjects lso re curious in their nture, nd I ws prepred to offer much uthorittive informtion upon " Ditto, p. 148 f.

208 1 88 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS them, tending to prove tht they re for the most prt the grounds only of fnciful, though ftl imputtions on the un fortunte slves." 75 Th pssge drew shrp reply from Alexnder Brcly who hd just returned from twenty-one yers' residence in Jmic : "Another prt of the slve lw which Mr. Stephen dpproves of the punhment of Obeh with deth but he hs not ssigned h resons for thinking tht 'it hs been, for the most prt, the ground of fnciful though ftl imputtion on the poor slves.' The deths which the Obeh mn occsioned by working on the imgintions of their superstitious countrymen, nd by poon, certinly were not 'fnciful,' whtever their pretended super nturl powers might be. "I ws present some yers go, t tril of notorious Obeh mn, driver on n estte in the prh of St. Dvid, who, by the overwhelming influence he hd cquired over the minds of h deluded victims, nd the more potent mens he hd t commnd to ccomplh h ends, hd done gret injury mong the slves on the property before it ws dcovered. One of the witnesses, negro belonging to the sme estte, ws sked "Do you know the proner to be n Obeh mn?' 'Ess, mss, shdow-ctcher, true.' 'Wht do you men by shdow-ctcher?' 'Him h coffin, ( little coffin produced), him set for ctch dem shdow.' 'Wht shdow do you men?' 'When him set obeh for summry (some body), him ctch dem shdow, nd dem go ded'; nd too surely they were soon ded, when he pretended to hve cught their shdows, by whtever mens it ws effected. Two other cuses, besides the lw, hve contributed to mke th now crime of much less frequent occurrence, the influence of Chrtinity, nd the end put by the bolition to the importtion of more Africn superstition." 7 George Wilson Bridges, in h Annls of Jmic, lso out spoken. In explining Africn Fethm he observes : "The Obeh, 75 Jmes Stephens, The Slvery of the Brith West Indi Colonies, delineted, London, 1824, Vol. I, p Alexnder Brcly, A Prcticl View of the Present Stte of Slvery in the West Indies, London, 1828, p. 185 f.

209 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 189 with which we re so ftlly fmilir in Jmic, no other thn th doctrine of the feth." 77 He hd previously sid : "The dexterity with which the Negroes mke use of poon to grtify their humn propensities, surpsses the utmost refinements of Asitic cruelty... it concentrted in so smll compss, tht the immersion in ny liquor of the finger in whose nil it lies con celed, cuses the immedite deth of the drinker." 78 In the closing dys of slvery, on the very eve of Emncip tion, we hve the testimony of Dr. R. R. Mdden, who, s he tells us himself ws one of six stipendry mgtrtes who in October 1833, were sent out to Jmic.79 In letter dted King ston, September 8, 1834, Mdden writes: "An Obeh mn ws ltely committed to the Spnh Town pron for prcticing on the life of Negro child. It ppered in evidence tht he went to Negro hut, nd sked for some fire to light h pipe ; tht he ws seen to put some bush (herb) into the pipe, nd then plcing himself to windwrd of the child, commenced smoking, so tht the fumes were directed by the wind towrds the child. Immedi tely fter he went wy, the child ws tken lrmingly sick; the fther pursued the mn suspected of Obehing, nd brought him bck. He ws ccused of being n Obeh mn, of hving injured the child; nd being thretened with violence if he did not tke off the Obeh he consented to do so, nd ccordingly per formed certin ceremonies for tht purpose; the child improved nd he ws suffered to deprt. The improvement however ws only temporry; he ws gin sent for nd with similr result. "I hve copied the ccount of h exmintion by the ttorneygenerl, from the originl document. He confessed tht he ws prcticer of Obeh, tht he did it not for gin or vengence, but solely becuse the devil put it into h hed to be bd. He hd lerned the use of the bush from n old Negro mn on... estte, where mster hd been pooned by old mn. It ws smll plnt which grew in the mountins, but did not know the 77 George Wilson Bridges, Annls of Jmic, London, 1828, Vol. II, p Ditto, Vol. II, p R. R. Mdden, A Twelvemonth's Residence in the West Indies, during the Trnsition from Slvery to Apprenticeship, London, 1835, Vol. I, Prefce, p. vi.

210 190 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS nme of it ; (he gve some of the dried leves to the ttorney, who showed them to me for exmintion ; but they were so broken tht nothing ws to be mde of them). He sid it did him no hurt to smoke th plnt ; but whoever brethed the smoke ws injured by it; he hd no spite ginst the fther or mother of the child, nor wh to injure them. He sw the child, nd he could not rest the instigtion of the devil to Obeh he would never do it it, but he hoped ny more; he would pry to God to put out of h hed to do it. Such ws the singulr sttement mde to the ttorney-generl by the proner; nd the ttorney-generl informed me, mde with n ppernce of frnkness nd truth which gve fvourble impression of its vercity." 80 Th looks like smoking whngr or wng which hs become very common of recent yers. The effect on the smoker, however, similr to tht of Indin hemp, nd renders mny of the devotees veritble mnics. Dr. Mdden lso records one tht :"There re two descriptions of Obeh prcticed by mens of incnttions; nd the other by the dmintering of medicted potions in former times, sid of poons, nd these prctitioners were clled Myl men." 81 He here mixing up the two, Obeh nd Mylm, s might be expected from one insufficiently cquinted with the lnd to dcriminte. The whole subject interests him nevertheless, s he tkes note :"In the criminl record-book of the prh of St. Andrews, find the following obeh cses I "1773. Srh, tried 'for hving in her possession cts' teeth, cts' clws, cts' jws, hir, beds, knotted cords, nd other m terils, reltive to the prctice of Obeh, to delude nd impose on the mind of the Negroes.' Sentenced to be trnsported. "1776. Solomon, 'for hving mterils in h possession for the prctice of Obeh.' To be trnsported. "1777. Tony, 'for prcticing Obeh, or witchcrft, on slve nmed Fortune, by mens of which, sid slve becme dngerously ill.' Not Guilty. 80 Ditto, Vol.»i Ditto, Vol. I, I, p. 93. p. 97. : it it ;

211 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 191 "1782. Neptune, 'for mking use of rum, hir, chlk, stones, nd other mterils, reltive to the prctice of Obeh, or witch crft.' To be trnsported." 82 Immeditely fter Jmicn emnciption, nd during the try ing dys of reconstruction of the entire socil order, with redjustment to conditions tht were so vstly different from the ccepted sttus of nerly two hundred yers when the word of the mster usully stood ginst the world, free rein ws given to the religious frenzy tht brought gin into vogue the Myltic spirit so long repressed. A spirit of exulttion nturlly drove the slve of yesterdy to tke dvntge of h freedom nd ste him self with long-forbidden joys nd the outbursts of religious fnticm becme so intermingled with nocturnl sturnli, tht for time it ws difficult to dtinguh the one from the other. The old objective of Mylm quickly resserted itself. Now tht the shckles hd been stricken from their bodies, why not strike the chins from their souls s well? To "dig up Obeh" con sequently becme widespred nd perstent. Th gve witchcrft set-bck for time, or rther mde it even more secretive nd vindictive. As consequence, there ws no btement in the generl fer nd terror in which it ws held by Negroes without exception. And it cnnot be surpring if occsionlly the prctitioner of Obeh, perhps for self-protection, ssumed the role of Mylt, nd "dug up" perhps the Obeh tht he himself hd plnted. In public, too, he might becme Mylt Doctor, while in secret he ws still the Obeh mn. He could pply the heling properties of herbs to counterct the very 82 Ditto, Vol. I, p. 98. Note : Dr. Mdden lter mkes the observtion on p. 108: "The Africns, like ll other people who profess the Mohmmedn fith, hve n opinion tht insnity nd supernturl inspirtion re frequently com bined, nd consequently, knves nd luntics (prtilly insne) re commonly the persons who ply the prts of sntons nd sorcerers. The Africns crried most of their superstitions to our colonies, nd, mongst others their reverence for those either whose physicl or mentl peculirities dtinguhed them from the multitude, nd such were the persons who in dvnced ge, usully took on themselves the Obeh chrcter. It evident to ny medicl mn who reds these trils, tht in the gret mjority of cses the trumpery ingredients used in the prctice of Obeh were incpble of producing mchief except on the imgintion of the person intended to be Obehed." The good Doctor here over looks the element of poon nd gretly underrtes the power of superstitious fer on the prt of the Negro.

212 192 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS poons he hd occultly dmintered. Finlly, together with the vile concoction deved t the midnight hour for hrm nd ruin, he might fshion the protective feth s counter-irritnt. And the Myl mn in turn! Is it entirely improbble tht he my hve on occsion stooped to unprofessionl prctices, nd with h knowledge of vegetble poons plyed the role of h rivl in herbl lore? In ny cse, from th time on, we find n ever in cresing confusion of Obeh nd Mylm in the ccounts tht hve come down to us. Thus John Joseph Gurney, in letter ddressed to Henry Cly of Kentucky nd dted Flushing, L. June 1840, writes s the tourt nd not s scientific investigtor. He describing h vit to Jmic few month erlier, nd remrks: "Under the guidnce of our friends nd M. Cndler, we drove severl miles into the country, to brekfst t Ppine, the estte of B. J. Wildmn, lte member of prliment for Colchester. There we were entertined by Willim Mnning, ctecht of the Church Msionry Society, who like other gents of tht institution in the lnd, very vluble nd useful.... "We were dppointed, on viting the sugr works of Ppine, to find them stopped ;nd we sw young men, doing nothing, in some of the comfortble cottges which hve been built on the I., property. The reson ssigned ws, tht there ws settle.' The sid mtter turned out to be the tril of 8, ' J. mtter to 'Mylt,' or 'blck doctor,' one of those persons who hold communion, s imgined, with deprted spirits, nd prctice medicine, under their direction, for the cure of the living the deses them selves, being scribed to Obeh, or evil witchcrft. These supersti tions, lthough not nerly s prevlent s formerly, still previl in some plces, nd deprived s the Negroes now re of regulr medicl ttendnce, some of them hve recourse to these mgicl quck doctors, to the gret dnger of their lives. The whole dy ws now given up by the people to th strnge concern; but under prome of their working for their mster two of their usul spre dys, in lieu of it. The Mylt, young fellow of eighteen or twenty, dressed in the height of fshion nd jet blck,

213 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 193 ws brought up before our friend Mnning to be exmined severl men, nd crowd of women, being in ttendnce. He openly confessed h necromncy, nd s proof of its success, showed us two merble women, one sick of fever, the other mutilted with leprosy, whom he pretended to hve cured. The evidence ws regrded by the people s restless, nd our plin declrtion of dbelief in Mylm, were very unwelcome to them, They sid it ws 'no good.' We were sorry to observe the ob stincy of their delusions, but such things will be grdully cor rected by Chrtin instruction." 88 If Mr. Gurney could only hve looked well into the future, he might hve reved h prophecy! The sme ftuous hopefulness inspired the Reverend Jmes M. Phillippo of Spnh Town, who spent twenty yers s Bptt Msionry in Jmic. Writing of th sme period, he sys : "It my be remrked tht the spell of Obem nd its kindred bomintions broken. In some dtricts, it true, Mylm hs recently revived; but it hs been owing to the bsence of lw since the brogtion of the Slve Act, by which the perpetrtors could be punhed, together with the difficulties nd expensiveness, in mny dtricts, of procuring proper medicl dvice nd id. Thus the Myl men hving most of them been employed in t tendnce of the sick in the hospitls of esttes, nd thereby cquir ing some knowledge of medicine, hve, since the bolition of slvery, set up s medicl men ; nd, in order to increse their influence, nd, consequently, their gins, hve clled to their id the mysteries of th bominble superstition, in mny cses c complhing their purposes by violence s well s by terror. The more effectully to delude the multitude, the priests of th dedly rt, now tht religion hs become generl, hve incorported with it religious phrseology, together with some of the religious observnces of the most populr denomintions, nd thus hve in some instnces succeeded in imposing on the credulity nd fers of mny of whom better things hd been expected." John Joseph Gurney, Fmilir Letters to Henry Cly of Kentucky, Describ ing Winter in the W est Indies, New York, 1840, p Jmes M. Phillippo, Jmic: Its Pst nd Present Stte, London, 1843, p. 263.

214 194 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS We will find our next witness more dcriminting. From long experience nd close contct with every clss of Jmicns, he hd lerned to recognize the fundmentl elements tht mde up their nturl religious nd superstitious tendencies, so commonly confused nd intermingled in prctice, but nevertheless, even then ctully dtinguhble in their principles. In consequence of the rebellion tht strted t Mornt By in October, 1865, nd which led to the tril nd execution of George Willim Gordon, Royl Commsion ws ppointed "to inquire respecting certin dturbnces in the Islnd of Jmic." On Februry 26, 1866, Beckford Dv, Clerk of the Pece of St. George's, now prt of the Prh of Portlnd, ppered before the Commsion nd ws exmined under oth. One point on which he ws questioned in detil ws the prevlence nd influence of Obeh. H evidence, in prt, ws s follows : "It two fold rt; it the rt of pooning, combined with the rt of imposing upon the credulity of ignornt people, by pretence of witchcrft. Its effects re produced by pooning. The Obeh men re prties who re cquinted with mny of the simples of th country, which re not known, nd they dminter them with very pernicious effect.... I cn only imgine wht they re from the effects which I hve seen produced on individuls.... I did not see the poon dmintered. I know tht the generl belief tht Obeh men re cquinted with the venomous plnts of th country; their hbit of prctice in it by imposing on the Negroes by mens of chrms nd things of tht kind, such s dried fowl's hed, lizrd's bones, old eggshells, tufts of hir, cts' clws, ducks' skulls, nd things of tht kind. I hve seen good del of it." Asked: "Are these Obeh men still much consulted?" he n swered : "Very much indeed ; nd their influence so gret tht nothing tht cn be sid to the blck popultion cn induce the more ignornt of them to question the power of the Obeh mn.... They hve no fixed residence. They wnder bout the coun try wherever they cn pick up dupes.... The people hve mny superstitions bout them, but they re mortlly frid of them."

215 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 195 He testifies bout one prticulr Obeh mn who ws ppre hended in h dtrict but ws sent to Port Antonio for tril, nd describes the contents of h chest "nd book full of strnge chrcters." Among the Obeh rticles noted in the chest ws white powder, which ws identified by Dr. Robert Edwrd Gyle of St. George's s being rsenic. Being sked: "Did you ever see n Obeh stick?" he replies: "Oh yes, plenty of them." "With twted serpents round them?" "Yes, some; nd some with the likeness of mn's hed, only of very deformed cst. They hve different kinds of things on them. The Negroes re in gret dred of them ; they consider if n Obeh mn touches you with one of these sticks, some gret m fortune will hppen, if not deth itself." Questioned further if he hd ever seen n Obeh mn with " globe of glss into which persons look to see the future?" he sserts : "They hve not rrived t tht stge of superstition yet. Grve dirt fvourble rticle with the Obeh mn.... It the grve dirt tken from whence the corpse buried. It supposed tht if n Obeh mn throws tht t person, he will die." To the inquiry : "Are the Obeh men solitry persons or hve they wives nd fmilies?" he nswers: "Those tht I hve seen hve lwys been single men." "Hs he ny dtinct mrk by which he known?" "None in prticulr, tht I know of, except tht he generlly possessed of very bd countennce.... There generlly peculirity bout them." Finlly sked: "Do not they possess the rt of curing s well s pooning?" he declred: "No; it nother clss tht do tht, clled 'Myl men'; they profess to undo the work of the Obeh 88 mn." "They re the ntidote, not the bne?" "Just so." The rel sinter element of Obeh now begn to ssert itself. As the entire tone of the Royl Commsion hd been from the strt ntgontic to Governor Eyre nd its every move ws sym pthetic towrds the restless msses who hd been implicted in "Report of the Jmic Royl Commsion, 1866, London, 1866, Vol. II, p. 531, Items

216 196 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS the Mornt By upring where Obeh hd plyed its evil prt, mny n Obeh mn bosted of the influence he hd exerced throughout the conduct of the investigtion nd consequently p plied h trde with new energy nd the generl terroriztion of the lnd. Seven yers fter the publiction of the Report of the Jmic Royl Commsion, Chrles Rmpini writes: "Of ll the motive powers which influence the Negro chrcter, by fr the most potent, s it lso the most dngerous, tht of Obeh.... The Obeh mn or womn one of the gret guild or frternity of crime. Hrdly criminl tril occurs in the colony in which he not implicted in one wy or nother. H influence over the country people unbounded. He the prophet, priest, nd king of the dtrict. Does miden wnt chrm to mke her lover 'good' to her? does womn desire sfe delivery in child-birth? does mn wh to be venged of h enemy, or to know the secrets of futurity? the Obeh mn t hnd to supply the mens nd to proffer h dvice. Under the style nd title of 'bush doctor' he wnders from plce to plce, excting 'coshery' from h dupes on ll hnds; supplied with food by one, with shelter by nother, with money by third, denied nught from the mysterious terror with which he regrded, nd refused noth ing from fer of the terrible retribution which might be the consequences of such rsh ct. H pretensions re high; but he hs mens t hnd to enforce them. He cn cure ll deses ; he cn protect mn from the consequences of h crimes; he cn even renimte the ded. H knowledge of simples im mense. Every bush nd every tree furnhes wepons for h rmoury. Unfortuntely in too mny instnces more potent gents re not wnting to h hnd. H stock in trde consts of lizrd's bones, old eggshells, tufts of hir, cts' clws, ducks' skulls, n old pck of crds, rusty nils, nd things of tht description. 'Grve dirt,' tht erth tken from where corpse hs been buried, lso lrgely used.... But ground glss, rsenic nd other poons, re not infrequently found mong the contents of

217 . DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 197 the Obeh mn's 'puss-skin' wllet, nd it not difficult to conjec ture for wht purposes these re employed. "As n outwrd nd vible sign of h power, the Obeh mn sometimes crries bout with him long stff or wnd, with twted serpents or the rude likeness of humn hed crved round the hndle. He hs h cbltic book, too, full of strnge chrcters, which he pretends to consult in the exerce of h clling. One of these now in my possession. It n old child's copy-book, well thumbed nd very dirty. Ech pge covered with rude delinetions of the humn figure, nd roughly trced digrms nd devices. Between ech line there runs rugged scrwl, intended to imitte writing.... "There something indescribbly sinter bout the ppernce of n Obeh mn, which redily observed by persons who hve mixed much with the Negroes. With dirty hndkerchief bound tightly round h forehed, nd h smll, bright cunning eyes peering out from beneth he sometimes vits the courts of it, petty sessions throughout the lnd, some unfortunte client of h who hs got into trouble requires h id to defend him... "Serpent or devil worship by no mens rre in the country dtricts; nd of its hethen rites the Obeh mn invribly the priest. Mny of them keep stuffed snke in their huts s domestic god prctice still common in Afric, from which of course the custom hs been derived." 88 Th evidently n element of decdent Voodoo tht tempo rrily impinged itself on Obeh. hve found mny references I to th in recent writers but never cme cross ny indiction of in my own investigtions. As regrds the cbltic book, it referred to by both Beckford Dv nd Rmpini, we hve possibly residue of Mohmmednm. In the Report i?8p, nswering the question bout the religion of those mong the slves who were not Chrtin, Stephen Fuller replied, "They re either Pgns or Mohmmedns, but principlly Pgns. The Mohm- if of 86 Chrles Rmpini, Letters from Jmic, Edinburgh, 1873, P- 131

218 198 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS medns re those tht come from the Mndongo Country chiefly." Pere Lbt hd lredy stted : "Nerly ll the Negroes re idol ters. There re only those from the neighbourhood of Cpe Verde, of whom some re Mohmmedns. When they bring these lst to the Islnds, it necessry to be on one's gurd in ssuming chrge of them. For besides the fct tht they will never embrce Chr tinity they re extremely subject to the bominble sin which cused the destruction of the four ill-fmed towns : nd it of the gretest importnce tht th vice be not introduced mong the Negroes nor in the country." 87 He writing in the yer Much of the sensuous in Voodoo probbly due to th influence of these Mohmmedns, nd possibly Obeh, too, my owe to like source some of the more repulsive fetures of its lter prctice.88 Rmpini gives some of the results of h own investigtions concerning Obeh nd incidentlly mentions in pssing: "I hve before me the records of the slve courts held in the prh of Portlnd between the yers 1805 nd They re full of cses of Obeh. One womn ttempts to murder her mster by putting rsenic into h noyeu ; nother by mixing pounded glss with h coffee; third chrged with prcticing upon the credulity of h fellow-slves by pretending to cure nother of sore in h leg, nd 'tking from thence sundry trifles, hwk's toe, bit of wire, nd piece of flesh.' "On 22d Februry, 1831, Willim Jones ws tried nd sentenced to deth 'for conspiring nd contriving to destroy Willim Ogilvie, overseer of Firy Hill estte in the Prh of Portlnd.' The notes of the evidence tken t the tril stte : 'Th prosecu tion res out of the confession of Thoms Lindsey, who ws shot to deth pursunt to the sentence of court-mrtil, on the 31st dy of Jnury, The prt of the confession which inculptes Willims Jones s follows : About three weeks before 87 Lbt, Nouveu Voyge ux Isles de I'Amerique, Vol. II, p Note : The rel Negro who hs remined uncontminted by Mohm medn influence hs degree of morlity tht puts the verge white to shme, e.g., Cfr. J. H. Driberg, The Lngo, London, 1933, p. 209 especilly the Notes. Here we find the deth penlty for those sensul cts which re usully clssified s being "ginst nture." f.,

219 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 199 Chrtms me nd Dvid Anderson; nd Willim Riney, nd Alexnder Simpson being together, the devil took hold of us, tell us we must destroy the overseer ; nd we greed to go to mn nmed Willim Jones, belonging to Providence Mountin, n Obeh mn, to give us something to kill the bush, so tht h horse my throw him down nd brek h neck in hole. Jones sid s th ws gret thing he could not do it for less thn doubloon, nd we hd only five shillings to give him. But we greed to crry him brrow (hog) with five dollrs, nd three-gllon jug of rum, nd three dollrs in csh. He then gve us something nd told us to give it to the witing-boy to throw it in the wter, nd tht would kill him. The witing-boy, Jmes Oliver, did throw it into the wter, but it did the bush no hrm nd the witing-boy sid the Obeh mn ws only lughing t us. We then went to the Obeh mn, nd he sid the witing-boy could not hve put the things into the wter. And then he cme himself one dy, took the bg of n nt's house, etc. etc. etc' 'Here,' sys the report, 'follows n ccount of Obeh tricks " 89 prcticed.' Finlly Rmpini wrns us : "The Obeh mn must not be con founded with the Myl mn, who to the former wht the nti dote to the poon. He professes to undo wht the other hs done; to cure where the other hs injured, but it must be con fessed tht, both in its opertion nd its results, the cure often worse thn the dese. In truth, the boundry line between the two clsses of professors oftentimes but shdowy one." 90 We hve lredy seen tht the Ashnti Obyifo in legue with Ssbonsm, the forest monster or evil spirit.91 Now, Bryn Edwrds, in h dy recognized s result of h direct inquiries mong the Gold Cost slves tht besides their belief in Accompong, the Nynkopon of the Ashnti, the God of the Hevens 8" Rmpini, 1. c, p Ditto, Bl p Note : Cf r. lso J. G. Wood, The Unciviled Rces of Mn, Vol. I, p. 550 : "Ssbonsm the friend of witch nd wizrd, htes priests nd msionries, nd inhbits huge silk-cotton trees in the gloomiest forests; he monstrous being, of humn shpe, of red colour nd with long hir."

220 200 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS nd the Cretor of ll things, they lived in fer of mlicious deity, the uthor of ll evil, whom he clls Obboney.02 The very title, which Edwrds' ttempt to trnsliterte the nme s he herd it from the slves, suggestive of the deity's connection with the Obyifo, or witch, nd in mny respects th evil spirit corresponds with the Ssbonsm of the Ashnti. Hence it tht we find modern Obeh clssified t times s devil worship, in which gue it poses more nd more s religion. It would seem tht during the dys of slvery, with the drstic suppression of Myltic meetings, the need ws felt more imper tive of plcting the other deity. And so it cme to pss tht Obeh did in sense develop more nd more s religion in which, of course, the object of worship ws not the Divine Being but rther the evil spirit whether we refer to him s Ssbonsm or Obboney, nd whom we must regrd either s the Evil One, or perhps more properly one of h stellites. The ct of worship, however, not relly one of dortion, but pcifiction or pro pitition, wherein n effort mde to ssuge h enmity nd restrin h vindictiveness. It not surpring then to find the Reverend bury, writing towrds the close of the lst century, R. Thoms Bn thus describing the Obeh mn : "He the gent incrnte of Stn, the Simon Mgus of these good gospel dys, the embodiment of ll tht wicked, immorl nd deceitful. You my esily t times dtinguh him by h sinter looks nd slouching git. An Obeh mn seldom looks you in the fce. Generlly he dirty-looking fellow with sore foot. But some few re known to be decent in ppernce nd well cld. He never goes without wllet or bg in which he crries h things. He professionl mn tht s well pid s the lwyer or doctor, nd sometimes better. It well known fct tht in cses of lw-suits the Obeh mn retined s well s the lwyer, nd t times he not only works t home on the cse but goes to the court with h client for the purpose of stop- 92 Edwrds, Htory of the Brith Colonies in the West Indies, Vol. II, p. 71. Note: Trouillot, Esquse Ethnogrphique : Le Vudoux, p. 39, tells us tht in Hiti Sss-Bouss recognized s "the devil of the Bmbrs."

221 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 201 ping the mouth of the prosecutor nd h witnesses nd of in fluencing the judge nd jury." 98 A more recent writer remrks: "Obeh! Wht's in n impos ing nme? Evidently good del; for, though owing to the t titude tken by the lw in Jmic with regrd to these esoteric principles, the high priests nd high priestesses of the cult effce themselves s much s possible, it would pper from wht cn be scertined tht their system rudimentry compred with the complicted forms of devil worship tht obtin in Indi nd elsewhere. "Obeh n ignornt, superstitious foreigner, but owing to 'mn's eternl sense of we,' to the indestructible desire deep down in the brest of most humn beings to connect themselves with the unseen world, nd to tht most powerful of ll resons, the thirst of revenge, it hs not died out. There re outwrd nd vible signs of th mngrove-rooted curse well known to the police. A white cock, it would seem, plys similr role to tht personted by the blck ct of the witch in medievl times. Whether the prime movers in th money-mking business relly believe in ll the ccessories of their trde, or whether their by ply resembles merely the conjurer's rts, when he ttempts to divert the ttention of the onlookers while he performs h tricks, I hve not herd, but th sure: tht the strength of their in fluence lies in one word poons." 94 A few pges lter Ms Cook thus describes prt of con verstion which ws held t the home of resident mgtrte in Jmic, just fter h return from Court where he hd tried " cse of Obeh: 'Oh! Obeh!' sid the winter tourt, 'I hve herd of tht, I think, ridiculous superstitious ide. How very stupid ll these people must be!' 'I beg your prdon,' objected the pen-keeper's wife, 'tht only sttes hlf the cse. These Obeh men nd women (whom you cn so seldom ctch) do, no doubt, pretend to cure deses which they know little or nothing of, shmelessly extrcting money from too credulous public, though 93 Bnbury, Jmic Superstitions. 9* E. M. Cook, Jmic: The Lode stone of the Cribben, Brtol, 1924, p. 115 f.

222 202 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS it fct tht they well understnd the preprtion of simples; but the dred of Obeh, which nother nme for witchcrft, not ltogether cused by superstitious fer. Obeh often mens poon. When nyone whes to be revenged on h enemy he puts Obeh on him : tht, best mode of procedure, in such cunning mnner out. The strnge thing he first consults the Obeh mn s to the with the result tht poon tht it dmintered lmost impossible to find it tht those who give the poon hrdly relize wht they re doing, but ttribute the result to supernturl gency.' 'Tht true,' corroborted the hostess." 99 We cnnot close th chpter without quoting gin from the experienced msionry who threw so much light on the question of Mylm. Fther Emerick speking from eleven yers of experience nd close study in some of the most pronounced Obeh dtricts of Jmic. Spce, however, restricts us to few of the more striking pssges tken from h vluble nd creful study. Thus he sys :"The West Indies re like so mny little Africs or Africn colonies, with mny of the customs, ides, words, observnces nd superstitions of their home country, Afric, still clinging to them. Since ntion's religion exerts the strongest in fluence upon its people, for they cling with greter tencity to thn to nything else, it it nturl to suppose tht the lst thing tht they would give up, nd tht only fter gret struggle, would be wht to them ws their religion, their feth worship nd superstitious prctices. Thus tht the Africns brought with them their Africn superstitions, which soon becme prev lent in ll the West Indies, nd cn ssure you tht Jmic hs its shre of them. "There ws sying in vogue tht the Africn Obeh mn crried h Obeh mgic under the hir of h hed when he ws im ported; for th reson the heds of Africns were shved before lnding. ws lso sid tht before leving Afric he swllowed h mgicl instrument. These imported superstitious prctices flourhed in the lnd, in spite of the fct tht these people hve been under the civilizing influence of chrtin ntion for 400 It 95 Ditto, p I it

223 . DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 203 yers, nd in spite of the fct tht slvery in Jmic hs been bolhed since August 1, 1824, Obeh flourhes in Jmic l though the most drstic lws hve been pssed ginst it,... nd in spite of the fct tht twelve months' hrd lbour nd the lshes of the ct-o'-nine-tils re inflicted upon those found guilty of prcticing it. Obeh my be defined in generl to be super stitious belief tht certin men nd women, known s Obeh men nd Obeh women, cn exerce certin preternturl power over plces, persons nd things nd produce effects beyond the nturl powers of mn, by gencies other thn divine. It seems combintion of mgic nd witchcrft. Mgic, we re told, to be ttempt to work mircles by the use of hidden forces beyond mn's control, so in Obi n ttempt to produce by some it ; it undetermined, invible power, effects out of proportion to nd beyond the cpbilities of the things nd ctivities employed. In witchcrft, we re told,... there involved the ide of dibolicl pct, or t lest n ppel to the intervention of the spirits. In the htory nd mke up nd prctice of Obi there involved the ide of ssocition with the devil... "H Stnic mjesty the invible hed of Obeh. The vible gent, hed nd front of Obeh n the Obeh mn or Obeh womn, more often nd more chrcterticlly the Obeh mn. Who nd wht the Obeh mn? In generl the Obi mn or womn ny mn or womn who supposed to hve communic tion with some invible gent through which he or she cn exert preternturl power over nimte nd innimte beings. You hve Obi men of ll sorts, just s you hve professionl doctors nd quck-doctors. As Obehm so common mong the people nd form of religion, comes nturl for ny individul to prctice it s he would prctice ny religious rite. From th you cn esily understnd how ny rscl who wnts to grtify h revenge, vrice or lust, cn work upon the superstitious, prctice Obi nd get following s n Obi mn. Hence Obi-working mon.... "The Obi mn's incnttion very com it generlly the muttering of strnge sounds, often meningless, the pronouncing of some word

224 204 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS or words over the objects to be Obehed, joined with some gro tesque ctions. It my const in words or ctions lone. "The following lines which I find in my notes on Obeh, by Jmicn poet describe n Obi mn t work : Crouched in cve I sw thee nd thy berd, White ginst blck, glemed out ; nd thy gunt hnd Mixed lizrd skins, rum, prrots' tongues nd snd Found where the sinking tombstone dppered. Sleek glli-wsps looked on thee ; grimly peered Blood-chrtened John Crows with hsed demnd Who rt thou? then like ghouls to dim lnd Fled for they sw thee working nd they fered. "Compre th description of the Obi mn mking Obeh or n Obi chrm with tht given by Shkespere in Mcbeth of the witches mking chrm through which they red spirits nd deceivingly foretold to Mcbeth h future; nd you will find tht they hve much in common.... "If gentlemn in Jmic find rusty nil or knife hnging over h door he knows tht it n obeh, it hs been plced there by one of h servnts who hs been offended or dchrged. The ide of plcing it there tht when the mster psses under it he will meet with violent deth, or be fflicted with some mery, or tht he will be compelled to reemploy the dchrged servnt. If you should hppen to go to Jmic nd find under your pillow t night some grve dirt, or bit of fether in your soup, or few lizrd bones in your cot pockets, you hd better look out, someone trying to work Obeh on you. It the custom in Jmic in the coloured Protestnt Churches to expell members who re guilty of certin crimes, or s the Jmic pesnts sys, 'Crtch der nme off der church book.' If the minter, fter one of these suspensions, finds when he opens the bible on the pulpit for h text, quint collection of ct clws, fethers, dried leves, eggshells, etc., he not puzzled s to the mening of it ll. He knows tht expresses 'Qushie's' desire to be received bck into the membership of the church. Techers will sometimes sctter obehs over the school floor to compel

225 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 205 the government inspector of schools to give the school good mrks.... "The Obeh credulous entertin the gretest dred of nything supposed to be n Obeh, n egg seen on the rod, or nywhere, supposed to be plced designedly, would not be touched; they would not wlk ner it. It would be ccounted mdness to step over n egg or ny prcel wrpped up with string, found in the yrd or on the pth. They will not wlk ner it, but tke circuitous wy to void it. Even money would not be picked up d1ere ws suspicion tht hd been used by the Obi mn in wshing some desed person nd cst in the rod to trnsfer if it the dese to the person picking up. But of ll things n egg perhps the most dreded. The story told of n old womn giving her prting dvice to her son going fr wy from home 'Jmes, my bwoy, you do go w fr mi, ll wrr you d go, no no tief, no sw, but you do even tief, my bwoy, no tief fole li, egg; becuse if if it you do tek people's fole egg, my bwoy, dem tek nrr fole egg go trow sme in se, sme fssion de se rowl s so you belly bottom d rowl.' Tht : 'Jmes my boy, you re going fr wy from me; but wherever you go, do not lie, do not stel, do not swer, but if you self s to stel, do not stel fowl egg, becuse do even so forget your if ; you do the person from whom you stel the fowl egg will tke nother fowl's egg nd throw in the se, nd s the se wves roll so it will the bottom of your belly roll'... "Very frequently Obeh used to bring bout n influence over the mind of nother, in order to gin some dvntge from or over the person. sort of hypnotm. Th they cll, 'Turn him yeye,' tht 'Turn h eye,' the eye in the phrse mening h mind or will, or the controlling of h ctions. Th frequently hppens in lw-suits. The Obi mn t times retined s well It s the lwyer nd the former considered s indpensble, if not more so, thn the ltter. The Obi mn sometimes not only works on the cse t home but lso goes to the court with h client for the purpose, s they cll of 'Topping de mouts' stopping the mouths, of the prosecutor nd h witnesses nd in it,

226 206 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS fluencing the judge nd jury. Th understood to be 'turning dem yeyes.' "There 'Turn him yeye' Obeh, which the equivlent of the 'Love Potion' in witchcrft : the Jmicns cll it 'De tempt ing powder.' Men nd women use th 'Turn him yeye' Obeh in fits of jelousy. A Ldy Clr de Vere must be very creful bout breking the hert of some country swin. He might get 'Tempting powder' from the Obi mn nd put it in her te nd then she will fll mdly in love with the broken-herted swin. It sid tht the mking of th love potion unspekbly filthy nd dgusting.... "Here cse of n Obi mn undertking to force n un desirble lodger to leve mn's house : 'An old Obi mn herd respectble Negro proprietor sy tht he whed he could mke lodger leve h house s he ws nunce. The Obi mn of fered to mnge it for price. The proprietor must get two white fowls, white shirt, pint of rum, some blck thred, bundle of wood, two nils nd hmmer. It ws then rrnged tht they meet t the proprietor's house. The proprietor pretending to gree, went nd told the police. At the ppointed time he conceled two policemen in some coffee bushes where they could see ll tht went on. After some weird incnttions, the Obi mn drove one nil into the front door nd nother into the bck door of the house, tying the blck thred from nil to nil. He then produced flsk filled with mixture of oil, rum nd fowl's blood nd lubricted the string, t the sme time monotonously chnting. The remnnts of the liquid he threw into the fire. The next prt of the ceremony ws to kill the two white fowls nd sprinkle their blood on the floor. The Obi mn then demnded seventeen shillings nd three bngles, remrking t the sme time, "I gib dt fellow one dy fe cler out, if him don't go, I ctch him shdow nd him go fe tru." The detectives then stepped in nd rrested him.' " 08 In rejecting the Slve Act of 1826, one reson ssigned ws, s we hve seen, the restriction plced on preching nd teching 06 A. J. Emerick, Obeh nd Duppym in Jmic, p. 190 ff.

227 DEVELOPMENT OF OBEAH IN JAMAICA 207 on the prt of the slves, s it ws climed tht "mongst some of the religious bodies who employ msionries in Jmic, the prctice of mutul instruction stted to be n estblhed prt of their dcipline." 07 The deleterious effect of such prctice shown in n erlier protest of the Jmic Assembly ginst the rejection of the Slve Act of 1807, s we find it in the Report of the Committee of the Assembly dted November 16, 1809,98 how two dsenting minters while mking ppliction for license before the Mgtrtes of Kingston in August, 1809, dmitted freely : "Tht they hd been informed tht their predecessors did, upon mny occsions, conduct themselves improperly, nd did inculcte improper notions in the minds of the slves." 99 Too frequently well-mening minters of the gospel, especilly in the first dys mong the slves, esily were mled to believe tht wht ws in relity nothing but fnticl emotionlm consequent on the rousing of the spirit of the old Africn religions, ws to them n wkening of the spirit. Even for the experienced it hrd t times to dtinguh between the hystericl dementi of n old-time cmp-meeting nd the obsession of Mylm in degrded form. "So lte s 1861," s Grdner remrks, "during the revivl, s it ws termed, prty of young women, in stte of religious excitement, went to the house of reputed Obeh mn, residing in one of the suburbs of Kingston, nd brought him, with ll the implements of h rt, to the prde. H box contined not only nerly ll the bomintions mentioned, but... in the midst of ll, sd to sy, ws number of clss tickets, in dicting tht he hd been member of religious body for good number of yers." 100 Thus not only the persecuting Mylts but their victim the Obeh mn s well, could be church members in good stnding, during th weird stge of Revivlm. And if the zelous, well-mening Methodt msionries were so esily deceived, why should we be surpred in our own dy 91 Slve Lw of Jmic nd Documents reltive thereto, p Ditto, p Note : The full petition my be found, 1. c, p. 252 f. 100 Grdner, Htory of Jmic, p. 188.

228 208 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS tht such egregious blunders re mde t times by chnce vitors to Jmic or even by the more experienced folklort who spends few hurried months in the lnd interviewing the very clss of individuls who re lest likely to furnh correct informtion, since they feel themselves clled upon to del with the whole question s foolh superstition of the low nd ignornt, nd usully too, out of locl pride, gloss over or deny the rel work ings of Obeh Note : Cf r. Mrth Wrren Beckwith, Blck Rodwys; Study of Jmic Folk Lore, Chpel Hill, Ms Beckwith opens her chpter on "Obeh," p. 104, with the following prgrph : "We hve seen tht ll Jmic Negroes believe in spirit world. Mny think tht there re mchievous spirits who hve the power to tke niml shpe nd go bout mking themselves trouble some to men; these they sy re the ghosts of evil men. Even the ghosts of good men, whose souls the Chrtin religion teches them to look upon s hppy in heven, my come bck to their friends on erth 'to keep holidy,' nd my t times be hovering bout the house where they hve lived on erth. There generl inclintion tody to ssocite these huntings with the 'shdow' of the ded which lingers bout the grve nd which, if properly solicited my be per suded to tke prt in humn ffirs. Th 'shdow,' which the duppy, my be tempted out of the grve by member of the ded mn's fmily nd 'set' upon someone ginst whom the exorcer hs grudge, or it my be mde to perform other services to h ddvntge. The prctice of th power over the shdow world clled obeh, nd the so-clled obeh religion depends on the belief tht such spirits my be employed to work hrm to the living or my be clled off from such mchief. 'Working' obeh mens to 'set' duppy for some one ; 'pulling' obeh mens to extrct the obeh set by nother." Ms Beckwith tells us in her Foreword, p. vii : "Between the summers of 1919 nd 1924 I mde four vits to the lnd of Jmic." If these four short vits hd been lengthened out into four full yers, she would not hve been so redy to settle off-hnd the difficult question of just wht Obeh, nd her conclusions would unquestion bly hve differed gretly from wht she hs written. Agin, p. 106, she sserts bsolutely : "Obeh merely sympthetic mgic." In her foreword, too, p. vii, she sttes : "When the confidence of the people hs been won nd my own knowledge widened, I could question them bout beliefs nd customs. To three such inform nts I m especilly indebted to Wilfrid Bonito of Richmond (but brought up in Mnderville), etc." Her friend, then, must hve been musing himself t her expense t times, if we my judge from the following, p. 108 : "The rel Obeh mn, sys Wilfrid, must kill one of h own fmily it my be n infnt. Wilfrid did not sy so, but I suppose in th wy the Obeh mn secures the duppy who cts s h 'fmilir' or 'control.' "

229 Chpter VI CONCLUSIONS As Moreu de Sint-Mery remrks: Sn Domingo ws the first plce in Americ where Africn slves were introduced. It ws proposed to use them in plce of the Indins who were dying off in consequence of the hrd work in the mines to which they were ill-dpted.1 At tht period, there were two sets of Negro tribes, one group bck of the Gold Cost, the other further to the est cross the Volt River, both in the formtive stge nd s yet unknown to the white mn. These two groups, to be known lter s the Ashnti nd the Dhomns, were in time to become not only rivls for the supremcy of West Afric, but were destined to estblh in the West Indies two dtinct spheres of influence, s ntgontic in slve circles s their own politicl mbitions were to be t home.2 Among the Ashnti tribes, there ws strong religious orgni ztion with well defined ritul, inspiring coordintion nd spirit of ntionlm tht lter drew from Lord Wolseley the encomium : "From the Ashnt I lerned one importnt lesson, nmely tht ny virile rce cn become prmount in its own region of the world, if it possesses the courge, the constncy of purpose, nd the self-scrifice to resolve tht it will live under stern system 1 Moreu de Sint-Mery, Description de l Prtie Frnce de Sint Dominigue, Vol. I, p Note: Commnder Frederick E. Forbes, Dhomey nd the Dhomns, London, 1851, Vol. II, p. 7 writes: "On the western nd north-western side the strem of the Volt lone seprtes Dhomey from its gret rivl monrchy of Western Afric, the kingdom of Ashntee. Time lone cn develop the con sequences to Afric of such powerful nd mbitious ntions being divided by no more difficult boundry thn the fr from wide or impssble wters of the Volt. Alredy on tht side the Atthphms nd Ahjbee hve been defeted lthough not nnexed to the rpidly incresing territory of Dhomey. If we turn to the Est, we find the extensive provinces of Yoruhbh looked upon with cupidity, nd mrked out for devsttion, slver, nd murder." 1., 209

230 2IO VOODOOS AND OBEAHS of Sprtn militry dcipline enforced by one lord, mster or king." 3 It ws s mtter of fct, the exlted religious spirit tht principlly gve to the vrious tribl units the cohesive power tht formed the Ashnti into wrlike people, nd tended to crush down the ntgontic mgic of the Obyifo. Menwhile t Sbee, the cpitl of the Kingdom of Whydh on the Slve Cost, well estblhed Ophioltry ws extending its swy s religious force of such proportions tht the Dhomns themselves fell under its influence when once they hd ex tended their domin to the se through the conquest of Whydh. It cler, then, tht in its inception, Voodoo, s the West Indin offshoot of the Ophioltry of Sbee, must be considered techniclly s form of religion. The serpent worship of its Africn prototype ws ultimtely ddressed to the Supreme Being through the ncestrl spirits supposedly indwelling in the scred serpents. The sme conditions undoubtedly mrked the Hitin Voodoo when it ws first estblhed in its new field, but its ritul quickly suffered modifictions through contcts with the other religious influences derived from every prt of the drk continent through the influx of the heterogeneous their wy to West Indin bondge. msses of slves tht found Shortly before the outbrek of the Hitin Revolution, n off shoot of Voodoo developed into the more snguinry Don Pedro rites, but Voodoo itself continued for time, substntilly un chnged. It ws secret religious function with its own peculir dnce unccompnied by drums or other instruments. Grdully it ws found desirble to clok the rel Voodoo rites by holding in dvnce public dnce which ws summoned nd ccompnied by the loud beting of the drums, presumbly s n officil excuse for the locl uthorities who secretly snctioned ll tht ws going on. Th dnce in turn developed into wht cme to be known s Voodoo fest, since prolonged dncing without refreshments scrcely comptible with the Negro temperment. 8 H. Osmn Newlnd, West Afric, London, 1922, p. 94.

231 CONCLUSIONS 211 Menwhile the religious element in Voodoo becme somewht decdent nd superstitious prctices ssocited themselves with its ceremonies t times. The Voodoo fest, in consequence, ws more nd more ccentuted. It ws developing into socil function, nd musement rther thn worship frequently becme the rel objective. Tody it difficult to believe, tht, except in rre cses, do we find Voodoo in Hiti, strictly speking, n ct of worship. At lest in the public estimtion lmost everything clssified s Voodoo nd the very drums tht were originlly debrred from Voodoo by necessity if not by choice hve ctully come to be known by the nme of Voodoo drums. Mgic nd even witch crft hve entered into n unholy llince with Voodoo nd the Pploi nd Mmloi hve somewht ssumed the role of medium if not tht of witch nd necromncer. We re even told tht the serpent hs now been eliminted from the ritul. Th my be true. We would not like to question the relibility of such n uthority s Dr. Price-Mrs in the mtter. However, i f so, the chnge must hve been effected within the pst few yers, s I know from relible witnesses tht the prctice ws still in vogue well fter the opening of the present century. In ny cse it seems inconstent to hve our friend Dr. Price-Mrs in sting on th dppernce of the serpent from present-dy Voodoo, nd yet demnding tht it still be clssified s religion. Let us quote h very words : "It inconceivble tht the Dhomn trditions should dpper without leving trces in the Hitin beliefs. There remin s survivl few touches. We re mrk tht the fer noticed mong our pesnts of killing dders ( species of wter bo, ungli) the most pronounced mni festtion of th survivl. If, therefore, we omit the cult of the dder on which rests the whole economy of colonil Voodoo, probbly becuse it pproches more closely to its Dhomn con nection, wht remins then of the originl belief? Nothing except the dnce nd ecstsy, both strengthened by scrifices. My we not be permitted to point out tht these three elements : the dnce, the ecstsy nd the scrifice, formed or form the permnent prts

232 212 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS of religious rites nd tht one finds them connected or seprted in the most exlted religions." 4 But if you eliminte the serpent from the cult, it should no longer be clled Voodoo. Cn you ply Hmlet without the title prt? It should t lest be known by some other term, more generic nd including ll Negro cults, s did fethm genertion go. We cn dmit tht much of the emotionl religious mnifesttions of the Hitins tody not Voodoo in the strict sense of the word, but with ll due respect to Dr. Price-Mrs, we re not entirely convinced tht the serpent cult, substntilly the sme s prcticed in the lst century not still secretly in vogue in Hiti. The trnsition seems too sudden. Possibly, too, there just little verbl quibble in the repeted ssertions tht the serpent no longer worshipped. Our conten tion, too, tht it ws never worshipped. It ws merely venerted s depository of some spiritul entity, not even itself divine, but only n intermediry to the Divine Being, who ultimtely nd lone worshipped.5 Arthur C. Millpugh who ws the Finncil Adver-Generl Receiver of Hiti, , in depicting the condition of Hiti, in the eve of intervention in 191 5, simply sttes: "In the interior the prctice of Voodoom persted but it ws neither generl nor open nd tended to dpper." 8 But while he fils to define wht he mens by Voodoom, since h references re to Kilsey, St. John nd Sebrook, we must conclude tht he tking it in its worst possible sense. Certinly the wholesle confction of "Voodoo" drums by the 4 Dr. Price-Mrs, Ainsi Prl I'Oncle, p e Note : Dr. Price- Mrs, however, goes too fr when, in lecture delivered be fore the Society of Htory nd Geogrphy in 1926, he llows h fervour nd ptriotm to crry him wy nd in n ortoricl outburst sserts tht Voodoo which he defines s n nimtic religion not "opposed to the religion of the one God, sovereign nd supreme mster of the Universe." Cfr. Une Btpe de Involution Hitienne, p He sttes specificlly, p. 130: "Th nimm which deifies the forces of Nture renders homge to the spiritul genii which they incrnte, th nimm, in fct, which renders to decesed ncestors cult of venertion nd implores their fvour nd protection, it religion in opposition to the religion of the one God, sovereign nd supreme Mster of the Universe? No, certinly not." It monothetic, yes, nd in tht restricted sense h stte ment might stnd, nd possibly tht ll tht he relly ment to signify. 6 Arthur C. Millpugh, Hiti, under Americn Control , Boston, P- 20-

233 CONCLUSIONS 213 Americn Mrines shows tht the populr form of Voodoo ws still very much in evidence. As regrds the conditions t the time of writing in 1931, Millpugh hs nothing to sy bout Voodoo beyond pssing remrk in footnote wherein he scribes to the Medicl Service the principl fctors in the combting of ges of superstition nd voodootic beliefs.7 Possibly the fct tht he writing for the World Pece Foundtion mkes him void whtever might offend the self-respect of the Hitins to the detriment of generl pece nd hrmony. Concerning humn scrifice, "the got without horns" nd cnniblm, despite the loud protests of the friends of Hiti, it hrd to believe tht the prctice entirely extinct. It would, of course, be grve mtke to suppose tht it regulr prctice or connived t by the present government uthorities. Still it would be even more surpring if the sexul excitement of their vrious dnces with the concomitnt excessive use of stimulnts, did not t times brek down the nervous systems of individuls here nd there, nd induce kind of prnoi with recrudescence of ll tht vilest nd most degrded in fllen nture. At ll events, when such hlf -crzed outbreks do occur, they re to be ssocited with the Don Pedro swinh rites where the ordinry victim the pig, nd where the humn substitute would be more ppropritely clled not the "got without horns" but the "long pig" s ws done under similr circumstnces in the dtnt lnds of the Pcific. As regrds Obeh, we find t work process directly opposite to tht noticed in the cse of Voodoo. Obeh, no less thn Mylm, s we hve seen, derive their origin from the Ashnti. The ltter ws the old religious dnce modified somewht by circumstnces nd surroundings in J mic, but substntilly the sme s prcticed in West Afric. The former, on the other hnd ws Ashnti witchcrft, essentilly ntgontic to Mylm which mde one of its chief objects the "digging up" of Obeh. The Ashnti wrlike nd indomitble spirit ws not crushed 7 Ditto, p. 140, Note 27.

234 2i4 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS by slvery, nd the old religious prctice esily stirred them up to point of rebellion. Hence from the erliest dys of legltion in Jmic, the tribl religious dnce remined inctive s s semblies were strictly prohibited. During the long yers of slvery, then, Mylm might be regrded s dormnt. There ws no opportunity of its develop ment or brnching out. It ws preserved secretly nd cherhed s the fondest trdition of the pst. No doubt the hours of muse ment llowed to the slves on their own cultivtions, preserved in some degree the Myltic rites, dgued s one of the socil dnces tht were countennced by the plnters. The ntive Africn essentilly religious in h own wy nd s forml ceremonies were debrred he found n outlet by s sociting with Obeh n element of worship, if not of Accompong, t lest of Ssbonsm or Obboney. If he could not venerte the Supreme Being through the minor deities nd ncestrl spirits, he might t lest plcte the evil one, nd bespek h influence for purpose of revenge or to coerce h mster to grnt him some thing tht he sought. We find Obeh thus relly becoming form of devil worship in the Chrtin sense, nd when t length Mylm entered into n llince with it for the overthrow of the white regime it ntu rlly gined in the populr estimtion of the slves, since its rch enemy Mylm hd come to recognize its power. And yet th public esteem ws not one of devotion but of unholy fer, which the Obeh mn nturlly plyed up to h own dvntge. With Emnciption, Mylm mde hste to ssert itself in n endevour to regin its prtine scendncy nd mde open wr on Obeh, t the expense be it sid of the generl pece of the com munity. Its new-found independence led to excesses of every kind nd in course of yers it becme s gret n evil s Obeh itself. Its old priestly clss ws ded, for genertion none hd come from Afric, nd there hd been no opportunity of estblhing succession in the crft or of pssing long the ritul in prctice. The trditions nd nothing more could hve remined, nd it questionble whether the new leders hd ny legitimte clim to

235 CONCLUSIONS 215 the exerce of the role tht they ssumed. It simple, then, to see tht the decy of Mylm s religious force ws inevitble. And it would certinly soon hve been entirely eliminted hd not its spirit nd much of its trditionl ritul found new scope in the kindred spirit of the emotionl Revivlm of the Methodts nd even more so mong the so-clled ntive Bptt congreg tions. But perhps it more conspicuous of ll mong the Bedwrdites, so chrcterized by the peculir hip-movement tht clerly Africn, nd which shows itself not only in their dnce but lso in their religious processions, nd gives peculir lilt to ll their hymns. Here, strictly speking, Mylm dppers s seprte entity, nd its very nme dying out except s mysterious something tht hs endured in its opposition to the Obeh mn who more nd more ssumes the dul role of Mylt by dy nd Obeh mn by night, using the title s sfegurd from the lw in the prosecution of h rel ims in life. As further consequence, Obeh tking on more nd more of religious spect nd it now, not entirely undeservedly, clssified by mny s devil worship. My first experience with n Obeh mn in Jmic ws s follows. Accompnied by ntive of the dtrict I ws re turning lte one night to my residence high up in the mountins, when suddenly my compnion who ws leding the wy shrnk bck nd pointing trembling finger through n opening of the coffee wlk where we hppened to be pssing, whpered lmost inudibly: "Obi, Sh!" It ws bright moonlight night, nd short dtnce off the pth might be seen filthy-looking bedrggled fellow plying h rt of Obeh for wel or woe. I drew my reluctnt compnion behind shrub to wtch the process which so seldom vouch sfed to the eye of white mn. The Obeh mn hd plced on the ground some sticks, fethers, eggshells nd other objects tht could not clerly be dtinguhed. A piece of string ws plced on top of the little hep. He then retreted for short dtnce nd begn mumbling incnttion

236 2l6 which ws ccompnied VOODOOS AND OBEAHS by rhythmic swying of the body. With hnds behind the bck he next pproched, crossing one leg over the other s he slowly dvnced nd drew ner the incongruous ingredients of wht ws evidently intended for feth. With legs still stiffly crossed nd swying body he stooped nd brethed upon nd spt t nd then gthered up the rticles one by one, still mumbling some weird incnttion s he plced the sticks it, together nd crushed the eggshells nd other ingredients within them nd finlly bound ll together with the piece of string. When the tsk ws ccomplhed cringing womn dvnced from the shdow of tree where her presence hd not previously been noted. The Obeh mn pssed her the feth chrm nd with fierce injunction chrged ing bck or speking to her to hsten on her wy without look living soul. She ws especilly wrned to gurd her feth from every moture. Should river or rin or dew, or even the perspirtion of her own body chnce to wet not only would ll efficcy be lost but would inevitbly turn ginst herself. could not follow ll the words despite my knowl edge of the lnguge of the "bush," but hd been ble to gther the generl gt of the instructions which were lmost in the form of n invoction or curse.8 it, I Strictly speking wht hd been wtching ws not relly the prctice of Obeh but rther the mking of protective feth or good luck chrm, our friend ws working in the role of I Myl mn nd cred nothing if I it he ws observed. Hd he been relly mking Obi he would hve been surer of h privcy nd would hve squtted on the ground surrounded by h prpher nli nd th would hve been the scene with little vrition Most of the ingredients which he drws them s he needs to be used re conceled in : bg from them. The specil offering of h ptron which must include white fowl, two bottles of rum, silver offering re on the ground beside him. Before him inevitble empty bottle to receive the ingredients. The incnttion opens with prolonged unknown tongue." Th 8 mumbling which ccompnied by nd the supposed to be "n swying of the body. Note : Compre th scene with tht described by Rttry on pge 127.

237 CONCLUSIONS 217 Grdully ingredients re plced in the bottle, nd little rum poured over them. The throt of the fowl deftly slit nd drops of blood re llowed to fll first on the silver offering, nd then on the contents of the bottle to which finlly dded few fethers plucked from vrious prts of the fowl with lst lib tion of rum. During ll th process the Obeh mn hs been drw ing inspirtion from frequent drughts of rum, reserving sub stntil portion to be consumed lter when he mkes mel off the flesh of the fowl. When the bottle concoction hs been completed nd the lst incnttion hs been ptron with minute sid over it, instructions how pth where the intended victim the Obeh it mn entrusts it to h to be buried on some sure to pss or s ner h dwell ing s possible. In the dys of slvery, the expert in Obeh ws frequently dtinguhed by being physiclly or mentlly defective or b norml. So we find tody tht not expertness in Obeh ffect few of the pretenders to dregrd for clenliness nd hygiene, t strnge vrince with the Jmicn's chrctertic love of bth ing nd netness. If not ctully dfigured, then, the Obeh mn usully presents dgusting nd filthy ppernce especilly when ctully mking Obi. Agin, he cnnot s rule meet your gze, but shiftily moves h eyes round nd nervously dtorts h countennce, lthough on the other hnd he will stre fixedly t the blzing tropicl sun without blinking n eye. Possibly h very hng-dog look my be explined by injury to the optic nerve induced during h long preprtion for h future voction when s little fellow he ws forced to stnd motionless by the hour with every muscle tense nd set while he stred the sun out of countennce. Another peculirity of Jmic Obeh should be noted here. Possibly through contct with msionries t n erly dte in West Afric, Obeh in its vrious mnifesttions mkes use of crosses to gret extent. In the mking of feth, s we hve seen, the Obeh mn pproches h tsk, crefully crossing h legs t every step. So, too, while crouched over the bottle, in mking

238 2l8 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS rel Obi, he prticulr to keep h legs crossed under him. Mny crosses re mde during the ritul nd sticks re crossed nd recrossed gin nd gin. It no uncommon thing to find sickly child to whom the Obeh mn hs been clled ll mrked up with crosses mde with indigo or coloured cly. For "big obi" the wx drippings from ltr cndles nd the refuse from the censer fter benediction but especilly the grins of unburnt incense, re prtic ulrly in demnd. Th lst probbly explined by wht follows. The Obeh mn hs wholesome fer of the priest nd usully tries to void h presence. There conviction mong them tht the priest cn exerce more powerful influence thn ny Obeh mn. Th belief expressed by the phorm : "French obi, him strongest." The first priest to become well known through the Jmic "bush" ws Frenchmn, nd the Ctholic Church in consequence hs come to be known fmilirly s the French Church. Hence "French obi, him strongest" relly mens tht the Ctholic Church exerces the strongest Obeh. It lso ccepted s fct by the devotees of the Obeh cult tht the priest cn give evidence of th dominnt power by "lighting cndle on them." Th process thus described : "Fdder tke pin nd Fdder tke cndle; nd him stick der pin in der cndle; nd him light der cndle on you. Der cndle him burn, nd him burn, nd him burn. And you wste, nd you wste, nd you wste. And when der flme touch dt pin you die." So tht it only necessry for priest to mke the plyful remrk to some blck fellow in the "bush," "I think I'll hve to light cndle on you," to bring him to h knees with: "O Fdder, don't." The Ashnti Mmoti, or little folks, re ssocited with the forest monster Ssbonsm nd the Obyifo or witch in imprt ing power to the sumn or feth.9 According to A. W. Crdinll they re "Preeminently mchief -workers, nd re sid to 'throw " stones t one s one psses through the bush.' 10 Cptin Rttry clls them "firies," nd lso tells us tht in the Ashnti belief they re "Of three dtinct vrieties : blck, red nd white, nd 9 Note : Cfr. Rttry, Religion nd Art in Ashnti, p Crdinll, In Ashnti nd Beyond, p. 234.

239 CONCLUSIONS 219 they converse by mens of whtling. The blck firies re more or less innocuous, but the white nd the red mmoti re up to ll kinds of mchief." 11 For th ltter group perhps imps would be more pproprite nme thn firies. Be tht s it my, the Jmic duppies or ghosts re notorious for their stone-throwing propensities, nd th polterget, s it techniclly clled, sso cited in the populr mind with evil gencies. In th connection it interesting to note the testimony of no less n uthority thn Lord Olivier, former Governor of J mic, who recently wrote to me : "The occsionl outbursts of th 'polterget' phenomenon in Jmic remrkble. I investi gted with some cre the evidence s to one cse which occurred when I ws in Jmic nd there hve been very full reports in the locl Press of nother recent occurrence which seems to hve been crefully investigted without detecting ny possibility of corporel gency." The phenomenon itself scribed by the pesntry to duppies or ghosts who despite their intngible nture re extrordinrily good shots to ll ppernces. True, it frequent mens of frightening or nnoying n enemy to cst stones so tht they will fll on the from dtnce roof of h house nd mke him think tht the duppies re fter him. On the other hnd there re un denible instnces of persons being stoned nd tht, too, by no determinble gency. The stones for exmple, simply cme out of the trees with truly remrkble ccurcy nd no one cn be found either in the trees or on the line of fire. A Jmic msionry lredy quoted on Mylm nd Obeh, grphiclly describes some of h own experiences nd gives mny instnces tht he hs investigted where the stones thus thrown seem to violte ll the lws of science. For exmple, "Some of the stones which cme from the bushy declivity, fter smshing through window, turned t right ngle nd broke the techer's clock, glsses, etc., on side-bord." 12 A mn running from the stone-thrower turns nd fires gun in the direction from which 11 Rttry, 1. c, p. 25 f. 12 A. J. Emerick, Jmic Duppies, Woodstock, 1916, p. 342.

240 220 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS the stones were coming, nd s he does so nother stone comes from the very opposite direction nd hits him in the bck of the neck.18 "Some of them seem to come in the open door, turn round nd fll t the techer's feet." 14 A stone tht hs come flying into the house mrked by one of the occupnts nd thrown out gin with the remrk, "If him be true duppy, him will throw th stone bck," nd bck it cme, "proving tht the stone-thrower ws true duppy," in the common estimtion.15 At times these duppies, imps, evil spirits, cll them wht you will, hve other mens of dturbing one's pece of mind. On one occsion I ws on the outskirts of notorious Obeh dtrict when mn, non-ctholic, cme to me nd begged me to come nd bless h house s h children were strving. "Why don't you give them something to et?" ws the obvious question. "Dem cn't et, Fdder," ws the stonhing reply. "Someone put Obi on dem." He explined further tht when they tried to et, the food would fly up nd hit them in the fce, but tht they could not get it into the mouth. Absolutely incredulous, I mounted my horse nd followed him to h house. The entire villge ws ssembled round the dwelling nd stte of pnicky hysteri hd tken possession of ll. While I did not ctully witness the dibolic dply myself, s I did not feel justified in provoking the evil one to n exhibition merely to stfy my curiosity, ll the men, women nd children there present greed in their testimony of wht hd hppened. I blessed the house, but whether the bless ing took or not, I cnnot sy, s I ws shortly leving Jmic nd never revited the dtrict. To understnd the rpid trnsition from Mylm to Revivlm in Jmic, it necessry to go into the question of the religious condition of the lnd in the closing dys of slvery. In h chpter on "Religion nd Eduction" prior to 1782, Grdner writes : "It no esy tsk to portry the religious htory of the colony during the period now under review. With the "Ditto, p. 342 " Ditto, p Ditto, p. 343.

241 CONCLUSIONS 221 exception of some letters written by the rector of Port Royl, immeditely fter the erthquke (preserved in gentlemn's mgzine) there ppers to be no document in extence which in ny wy illustrtes the spiritul lbours of the clergy. From Mr. Bridges, s clergymn, we might hve expected some ccount of the lbours of h brethren ; but though he devotes considerble spce to the htory of the estblhed church, it only so fr s the emoluments nd sttus of its clergy were concerned. "Amidst the derth of informtion, the letters of the Port Royl rector re of peculir interest. Writing of the dy of the erthquke, he sys, 'On Wednesdy, the 7th, I hd been t pryers, which I did every dy since I ws rector of Port Royl, to keep up some show of religion mongst most ungodly nd debuched people.' Th description of the generl chrcter of the popultion pplies, it to be fered, to the whole lnd, but it questionble whether the incumbent of the doomed city ws not lmost singulr in h zel." 19 Then fter quoting further from the letter, Grdner dds : "For more thn two genertions we shll serch in vin mong the records of the colony for ny further illustrtion of min teril zel nd fidelity." 17 Edwrd Long sttes : "The bhop of London clims th s prt of h diocese; but h jurdiction renounced nd brred by the lws of the lnd, in every sense, except so fr s reltes or ppertins to ecclesticl regimen of the clergy; which im prts no higher power thn tht of grnting orders, nd giving pstorl dmonitions." 18 On the following pge he sserts: "The governor s supreme hed of the provincil church, nd in virtue of the royl instruments, vested with power of suspending clergymn here, of lewd or dorderly life, b officio, upon the pe tition of h prhioners ; nd I cn remember one exmple of th sort. The governor inducts into the severl rectories within the lnd nd its dependencies, etc." 19 Th power of ptronge on 16 Grdner, Htory of Jmic, p Ditto, p Long, Htory of Jmic, Vol. II, p Ditto, p. 236.

242 222 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS the prt of the governor nturlly led to buses s in the cse of the Stirt "Peter Pindr" who ws the lst person one would expect to find grcing the pulpit of church. And yet we red in Chmbers's Cyclopedi of Englh Literture: "Dr. John Wolcot ( ) ws corse but lively stirt, who under the nme of 'Peter Pindr,' publhed vriety of effusions on the topics nd public men of h times, which were egerly red nd widely circulted. Mny of them were in ridicule of the reigning sov ereign, George III, who ws good subject for the poet; though the ltter, s he himself cknowledged, ws bd subject to the king.... Wolcot ws instructed in medicine, nd 'wlked the hospitls' in London, fter which he proceeded to Jmic with Sir Willim Trelwney, governor of the lnd, who hd engged him s h medicl ttendnt. The socil hbits of the doctor ren dered him fvourite in Jmic ; but h time being only prtly employed by h professionl voctions, he solicited nd obtined from h ptron the gift of living in the church, which hppened to be vcnt. The bhop of London ordined the grceless neophyte nd Wolcot entered upon h scred duties. H con gregtion consted mostly of Negroes, nd Sundy being their principl holidy nd mrket, the ttendnce t the church ws very limited. Sometimes not single person cme, nd Wolcot nd h clerk the ltter being n excellent shot used t such times, fter witing for ten minutes, to proceed to the se-side, to enjoy the sport of shooting ring-tiled pigeons! The deth of Sir Willim Trelwney cut off ll further hopes of preferment, nd every inducement to longer residence in the lnd. Bidding dieu to Jmic nd the church, Wolcot ccompnied Ldy Trelwney to Englnd, nd estblhed himself s physicin t Truro, in Cornwll." 20 Th prepres us for the strtling testimony of Chrles Leslie, written in 1840: " 'T surpring tht such worthless nd bn doned men should be sent to such plce s th. The clergy here re of chrcter so vile, tht I do not cre to mention it; for ex cept few, they re generlly the most finhed of our debuchees. 20 Chmbers's Cyclopedi 0} Englh Literture, London, 1899, Vol. II, p. 24.

243 CONCLUSIONS 223 Messrs. Glpin, Johnston nd My, re indeed men whose un blemhed lives dignify the chrcter they ber. They generlly prech either in their own churches, or to few in some privte houses every Sundy; but for others, their church doors re sel dom opened." 21 With such n ccount of the clergy, it not surpring to find Stephen Fuller, the Agent for Jmic t London, ddressing the Erl of Shelburne s regrds the pressing militry needs of the lnd, pinting the free Negroes nd multtoes in sombre colours. Thus he writes on April 2, "The free Negroes nd multtoes hve been reckoned bout 900 fencible men, out of which number not bove 500 cn be employed to ny useful purpose ; the gretest prt of them being the most idle, debuched, dtempered, profli gte wretches upon erth. Besides th, there n insuperble objection to their being rmed, s they re not to be trusted in Corps composed of themselves, nd the incorporting them with 22 the whites will not be endured." Wht, then, the religious nd morl condition of the slves themselves must hve been, cn well be surmed. Willim Wilberforce, writing in 1823, sttes: "It cnnot be denied, I repet, tht the slves, more especilly the gret body of the field Negroes, re prcticlly strngers to the multiplied bless ings of the Chrtin Reveltion. Wht considertion th! A ntion, which, besides the invluble benefit of n unequlled de gree of true civil liberty, hs been fvoured with n unprece dented mesure of religious light, with its long trin of ttendnt blessings, hs been for two centuries detining in stte of slv ery, beyond exmple rigorous, nd in some prticulrs, worse thn Pgn drkness nd deprvity, hundreds of thousnds of their fellow-cretures, originlly torn from their ntive lnd by frud nd violence. Genertion fter genertion hve been pining wy; nd in th sme condition of ignornce nd degrdtion they still, for the most prt, remin." Leslie, New Htory of Jmic, p Cfr. Stephen Fuller, Originl Letter Book, , Boston College Li brry, MS. No Wilberforce, Appel etc, p. 19.

244 224 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS It ws Wilberforce's Appel tht drew n nswer from the Reverend George Wilson Bridges, Rector of the Prh of Mn chester ( ) nd lter Rector of the Prh of St. Anns ( ) 01 whom Frnk Cundll sys, tht he "s rule d plys more fertile imgintion thn Long without hlf h trust worthiness s htorin." 24 Cundll further observes in h regrd: "In 1823 he publhed h Voice from Jmic, written in defence of slve-owners, for which the Assembly two yers lter voted him 700 pounds." 25 Th fct in itself renders Bridges' evi dence of questionble vlue. As regrds the prticulr cittion which we hve given from Wilberforce, Bridges replies in prt : "As to the 'pgn drkness' of the Negroes, though their progress certinly does not keep pce with our nxious whes to see them in tht stte which would mke it sfe to confide ourselves to their estimtion of Chrtin oth, nor in tht condition which would render it dvntgeous to themselves to be trusted with the liberty of self-control, yet the promes of Chrtinity re so fr understood, nd its prelimi nry rites so rdently desired by them, tht during my residence in th prh, I hve ctully bptized 9,413 Negro slves, mny of them ttend church ; some hve lerned the Lord's pryer, nd ten commndments, nd few hve so fr dvnced, s to be now dseminting their little stock of religious knowledge on the es ttes to which they re ttched. As I sid before, I believe ll my fellow-lbourers here hve been t lest s ssiduous s myself, nd some more successful. I expect therefore tht you, sitting by your own fireside, four thousnd miles off, will not refuse credit to the unnswerble fct, dvnced by one who on the spot, n ctor in the deeds he records, nd who hs certinly the better mens of forming correct judgment, on the point t sue." 28 Here direct chllenge, nd it tken up by brother clergymn, lso long resident in Jmic. Reverend Willim Jmes Grdner, Congregtionl Minter, who died in chrge of 24 Cundll, Htoric Jmic, London, 1915, p Ditto, p Bridges, Voice from Jmic, p. 26 f.

245 CONCLUSIONS 225 the North Street Church, Kingston, in 1874, reviewing the whole question, tkes Mr. Bridges to tsk in no uncertin mnner. Thus he writes: "The Rev. G. W. Bridges, the nnlt, stted in 1823, tht he hd bptized 9,413 slves during two yers, nd tht mny of them ttended church. The proportion must indeed hve been smll, for the church he refers to (Mndeville) could not t tht time hve held twentieth prt of tht number. Most of these slves pid hlf--crown ech s bptml fee. Mr. Bridges, in hppy oblivion of wht he hd sid of the money given to m sionries being the result of cruel nd hertless imposition on their superstition nd ignornce, observes of the fees received, tht 'th ludble desire of exchnging worldly goods for celes til rewrds,' evinces ' mesure of fith words cnnot express.' By the end of nother yer th zelous bptizer ws ble to re port tht 12,000 out of 17,000 slves in the prh hd received the holy ordinnce, nd he dds 'hppily there re no sectri " ns,' 27 Th lst remrk probbly explins the bitterness of Mr. Grdner himself. However, the generl estimte given sup ported by the Reverend R. Bicknell, contemporry of Mr. Bridges nd like him Minter of the Estblhed Church, who ws sttioned t Kingston nd Port Royl during the period tht Mr. Bridges ws t Mnchester. He sys : "In the prh church of Clrendon I hve often been, nd never sw hundred of ll colours there, ltterly much less number, nd once in prticulr, bout ten or twelve only; though within five or six miles of the church there were severl thousnds of inhbitnts. The churches of St. John's, St. Thoms's in the Vle, St. Dorothy's, St. George's, St. Mry's, Hnover nd Vere, re but little better t tended, some of them even worse, s I cn testify from my own knowledge, nd the ssurnce of creditble persons; the remin ing churches I believe to be but little better, with the exceptions of those in the prhes of Kingston, St. Thoms in the Est, St. Ctherine, Port Royl, nd St. Andrew." 28 Certinly if Mr. 27 Grdner, Htory of Jmic, p R. Bicknell, The West Indies s they re; or Rel Picture of Slvery; but more prticulrly s it exts in the Islnd of Jmic, London, 1825, p. 74.

246 226 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Bridges hd been relly ccomplhing nything out of the or dinry some mention of it would be expected here. The Reverend John Rilnd, Curte of Yoxll, Stffordshire, somewht fcetiously styles Mr. Bridges' clims of 9,413 bp tms of slves : "A direct illustrtion of Obeh prctice under the forms of Chrtinity." And dds: "If we ssume these 9,413 to hve been lso ctully converted from Pgnm to Chrtinity, or even to hve been tught enough of the fundmentl truths of the Gospel to understnd the enggements into which they en tered, we hve here mircle s gret s ws exhibited on the Dy of Pentecost. And if they were not converted to Chrtinity, of if they did not understnd the nture of the solemn vow nd covennt they were clled to mke, wht mockery of religion, nd wht prostitution of the scred inititory rite of bptm, here mde the subject of bost." 29 But let us return to Mr. Bicknell whom we hve recently quoted. We find him dverted s : "A member of the Univer sity of Cmbridge, lte Nvl Chplin t Port Royl, sometime Curte of tht Prh, nd previously of the City of Kingston, the foresid lnd." H description of conditions mong the slves not plesnt one. Thus he declres: "It not enough tht most of the slves must work in their grounds prt of tht Holy dy, but to dd to the bomintion, mrket must be kept lso on the Sundy, for the sle of provions, vegetbles, fruit, &c. It the only mrket-dy, fellow-countrymen, nd fellow- Chrtins, which the poor Negroes nd coloured in slves hve, nd insted of worshipping their God, they re either cultivting their portions of lnd to preserve life, or trudging like mules with hevy lods, five, ten, or even twenty miles, to sell the little sur plus of their provion grounds, or to brter it for little slt fh to seson their poor mels : or wht much worse, to spend, very often, the vlue in new destructive rum, which intoxictes them, nd drowns for time, the reflection tht they re desped nd burdened slves. I shll never forget the horror nd dgust which I felt on going on shore, for the first time, in Kingston, in the 29 John Rilnd, Memoir of West Indi Plnter, London, 1827, p. 186 f.

247 CONCLUSIONS 227 month of August, 1819; it ws on Sundy, nd I hd to pss by the Negro Mrket, where severl thousnds of humn beings, of vrious ntions nd colours, but principlly Negroes, insted of worshipping their Mker on th Holy dy, were busily employed in ll kinds of trffic in the open streets." 80 Agin he tells us: "I hve resided nerly five yers in Jmic, nd hve preched two or three sermons every Sundy; mny other clergymen hve lso exerted themselves, but to very little purpose, s fr s slves re concerned, s those horrid nd leglized scenes re just the sme; for th Sundy mrket bit of Stn, to drw wy the ignornt Negro ; h temporl nd pressing nturl wnts re set in opposition to h spiritul ones, nd the former previl to tht degree, tht most of the churches in the lnd re nerly empty." 81 He dds lter : "I m wre tht there lw in Jmic im posing fine on proprietors or overseers for compelling the Ne groes to do certin kinds of lbour on the Sbbth; but it notorious tht th lw ltogether ded letter, nd tht in re spect to their grounds, the Negroes not only go of their own ccord to work there, s not hving sufficient time llowed them otherwe; but if they re found inttentive, it custom to send one of the bookkeepers, on tht Holy dy, to see tht ll the slves re t work, nd to wtch them certin time, tht there my not be wnt of food. For putting the mill bout (viz. for mk ing sugr) on Sundy, there fine of 50 pounds, one hlf of which, I believe goes to the informer; but though th done in defince of lw in lmost every, if not every prh in the lnd, I never herd of n informtion being lid for tht offence, s those plnters who do not put their mills bout, wink t it in others, nd no clergymn or other religious person would ven ture, I think, to inform, s he would be sure to meet with insult, or some worse injury, for h conscientious interference." 82 Mr. Bicknell's conclusion : "Nerly the whole of the field 80 Bicknell, 1. c, Flylef. 81 Ditto, p Ditto, p. 73.

248 228 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Negroes (nine-tenths of the popultion) hve not even the out wrd form of religion, nd re just s gret hethens s they were on the bnks of the Gmbi or Niger." 88 The Reverend Peter Duncn, Wesleyn-Methodt msion ry, rrived in Jmic erly in 1821 nd lboured there for over eleven yers. In reference to Dr. Coke's vit to the lnd in 1789, he writes : "The lnd hs been under Brith government for up wrds of century, yet scrcely nything hd been done for the souls of the people. The hbits of the whites hd indeed become much more settled. They were friendly nd hospitble in their intercourse with ech other, nd hd improved in mny of the externl civilities of modern refinement, but the hllowed re strints of religion were s much unknown s ever. They were strngers to the enjoyments of the domestic circle, nd throughout the whole country the stndrd of morls ws deplorbly low. It true, emigrnts from Gret Britin were constntly rriving, but they left their profession of Chrtinity behind, nd were soon ssimilted to the corrupt mss by whom they were preceded. The ordinnces of religion in mny prts were rrely dmin tered. There ws fmine of the bred of life. There ws indeed church in lmost every prh, but mny of the benefices were generlly vcnt; nd excepting on the occsion of funerls, the churches in the country prhes were seldom open for divine service, even upon the Lord's Dy. Numbers of the clergy were living openly in concubinge nd were otherwe unblushingly im morl; nd it my be firly questioned whether before 1789 tht Sbbth ever dwned upon Jmic, which witnessed five hundred 88 Ditto, p. 71. Note : The Home Government mde futile efforts t times to check the growing buses, if we my judge from letter of the Duke of Hlifx nswering one from Stephen Fuller who hd sought n extended leve of bsence for the Rev. John Venn, t tht time Rector of St. Ctherine's, Jmic, nd dted April 17, 1764, wherein he sttes : "I shll be redy to move h Mjesty to grnt him tht indulgence, upon being ssured tht Governor Lyttleton stfied of the necessity nd pproves of the curte who to officite in h sted. For I must cquint you tht, upon the complints which hve been mde by the Bhop of London of the bd consequences ring from the generl nd frequent bsence of the clergy from their livings in the West Indies, I hve mde it rule never to procure ny such indulgence, unless the ppliction be so grnted." Cfr. Stephen Fuller, Originl Letter Book, , Boston Col lege Librry, MS. No

249 CONCLUSIONS 229 persons in ll the plces of worship put together out of popul tion of between four nd five hundred thousnd souls." 84 The Reverend Cludius Buchnn while exmining the "Stte of our Estblhed Church in the West Indies, in regrd to its efficiency s n instrument of instructing the people" 85 sserts: "In Jmic there re twenty prhes. Supposing tht there re lso twenty Rectors (in some lnds there re mny plurlts) we shll then hve twenty Clergymen in n lnd which 150 miles long nd 40 in medium brod ; which gives dtrict of 300 squre miles for the lbours of ech Clergymn. The popu ltion of the lnd stted by Mr. Edwrds to mount to 30,000 whites, 10,000 free persons of colour nd 210,894 slves: which, when divided mong twenty Clergymen, will give to ech cure of 12,554 souls. It will hrdly be necessry to sy more of the utter indequcy of the public mens of religious instruction in Jmic. Th lnd fvourble specimen of the stte of the Estblhed Church in the old lnds. "On the whole it my be sfely ffirmed, tht no humn zel could be equl to tenth prt of the duties of the prochil Clergy, were the slves prcticlly regrded s belonging to their flock. But the truth, tht th unfortunte mss of the popultion hs, with very few exceptions, never been so regrded, either by the Government or the Clergy." 88 The Reverend Peter Smuel reched Jmic in Jnury, 1832, where he ws to lbour s Methodt msionry for over eleven yers. In h ccount of the development of h denomintion in the lnd, he stresses mong the obstcles encountered t the strt :"The pernicious influence of Obehm nd Africn super stitions" 87 nd dds :"The immense influence possessed nd exer ced by West Indin proprietors in the Prliment of the mother country, s well s in the Colonil Assembly, gve respectbility, 3^ Peter Duncn, Nrrtive the Wesleyn Msion to Jmic, London, 1849, p. 88 Cludius Buchnn, Colonil Ecclesticl Estblhment, London, 1812, 7 f- A of P Ditto, p Peter Smuel, The Wesleyn-Methodt Msions in Jmic nd Hondurs, Delineted, London, 1850, p. f. 9.

250 230 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS constency, n ir of justice, nd degree of power sufficiently formidble to the pprently wek efforts of few humble m sionries." 88 We hve indicted here the foundtion of the bitterest re ligious controversy in the htory of Jmic. When Dr. Coke first vited the lnd in Jnury 1789, he ws deeply touched by the condition of religious bndonment tht he found mongst the slves. He ws not slow on h return to Englnd to send out the Reverend Willim Hmmett in tht sme yer to estblh the Wesleyn Msionry Society in Jmic. The emotionl element in Methodm immeditely ppeled to the kindred Myltic spirit mong the Negroes, nd s they found in the ssemblies which the newly-rrived msionries were convoking in open defince of the uthorities nd in fce of the opposition of the plnters, n opportunity of renewing much of their own Pgn rites in connection with the Chrtin service, they were not slow to tke dvntge of the generl confusion of ides, nd forthwith the "digging up" of Obeh gin becme much in evidence. And the msionries, good, well mening souls, derived comfort nd consoltion mong their hrdships nd perse cutions, in wht they must hve regrded s proming mnifest tions of fith. They wtched with delight the zel to stmp out th Africn superstition, which seemed to them the Negro's rel religion, nd which they rightly interpreted s form of devil worship. And yet they were unconsciously fostering nd betting movement mong the slves tht ws for the most prt s Pgn s the Obeh tht they were "digging up." Spce will not permit our going into th controversy in detil. We cn only touch on it s fr s it hs reference to our present study. The nucleus of the Wesleyn Msion in Jmic ws relly formed of refugees from wht now the United Sttes in conse quence of the Revolutionry Wr, t lest s regrds the leding spirits. Th in itself my hve stirred up opposition.89 On one occsion, Dr. Coke himself, while preching in Kingston, ws l- 38 Ditto, p Note : Cfr. Duncn, Wesleyn Msion to Jmic, p. 1 1.

251 CONCLUSIONS 231 most drgged from the hll by prty of whites who seriously thretened him with bodily hrm.40 In November, 1790, the Grnd Jury of Kingston presented to the Court of Qurter-Sessions complint ginst the Methodt Meeting in tht city s nunce, on the grounds tht it "in jurious to the generl pece nd quiet of the inhbitnts of th town." 41 Buchnn tells us : "After the Methodt Msionries hd been bout ten yers in the Islnd of Jmic; nd hd built chpel t Kingston, which ws ttended by some whites, nd by mny people of colour nd Negroes; the Colonil Leglture pssed n Act, on the 17th December, 1802, by which they prohibited, nd mde penl, 'preching or teching in meeting of Negroes, or people of colour, by person not duly qulified.' There hd hitherto been no lw in Jmic for Dsenters to qulify t ll; nd the Leglture thought fit to determine, tht person regu lrly nd leglly qulified in Englnd, under the Tolertion Act, ws not duly qulified for Jmic. In consequence of th lw, two of the Msionries were thrown into pron. The penlty for first offence ws 'one month's impronment, nd hrd lbour in the common workhouse.' The penlty for the second offence ws, 'impronment nd hrd lbour for six months,' or such further punhment 'not extending to life, s the Court should see fit to inflict.' Such lw, in reltion to white mn, hd never been herd of before in Jmic; for the lws there re highly respect ful to the privileged order. If gin, blck mn should 'tech or prech in meeting of Negroes, not being duly qulified,' he ws 'to be sentenced to receive, for the second offence, public flog ging, not exceeding thirty-nine lshes.' "By the opertion of th lw, the plces of worship of other denomintions of Chrtins besides the Methodts, were shut up. The prechers were silenced; nd mong the rest, regulrly or dined minter of the Church of Scotlnd. The msionries, in the extremity of their sufferings, compred th legl opposition, "Note: Cfr. Duncn, I. c, p. 8f. 41 Duncn, 1. c, p. 16.

252 232 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS nd its effects, to the persecution of Diocletin ; only tht the pun hments were not, s the lw expressed 'to extend to life.' "The lleged ground for pssing th Edict in Jmic, wht ever the truth of the cse might be, ws certinly similr to tht of the Edicts of Diocletin. It it, ws stted in the premble :Tht the Slves, by being permitted to ssemble t these meetings to her Chrtin instruction, were in dnger of being 'perverted with fnticl notions ;nd tht opportunity ws fforded them of con certing schemes of much public nd privte mchief.' "On n ppliction mde by the different religious societies in Englnd whose msionries hd been silenced, the Committee of the Privy Council for mtters of Trde, exmined the merits of the new Act; nd upon their Report, ws dllowed by h Mjesty, nd consequently cesed to hve ny force in mic." 42 it J While we cnnot help dmiring the energy nd long-suffering mnifested by the Methodt msionries in their mguided zel with the slves, s we red their glowing reports of souls re climed, we must keep in mind the wrning of Mr. Grdner "With the exception of one or two denomintions, copious c counts hve been publhed by msionries of the lbours in which they hve tken prt in Jmic. my be sserted, without ny violtion of Chrtin chrity, tht the most glowing descriptions of the results which hve followed such lbours re the lest trust It worthy. Honest, well-mening men hve frequently described s fruit tht which ws only blossom ;while vin, though pious men, too nxious for the pre of their fellow-cretures, nd mbitious of the ephemerl fme of msionry chronicles or the ppluse of public meetings, hve sometimes injured the cuse they whed to serve by too highly-coloured descriptions of their success." 43 In Report of the committee of the whole house which hd been ppointed "to inquire into nd tke further into consider tion the stte of the lnd," presented : to the House of Assembly 42 Buchnn, Colonil Ecclesticl Estblhment, p. 48 Grdner, Htory Jmic, p of 76 ff.

253 CONCLUSIONS 233 of Jmic on Dec. 20, 181 5, we find the words : 44 "The subject of religion, nd the best method of introducing genuine Chrtin ity in the mild nd beneficent spirit of its founder, of so gret importnce tht the committee decline going deeper into it t pres ent; but recommend tht erly in the next session committee my be ppointed, for the specil purpose of dcussing nd con sidering the most eligible mnner of diffusing religious inform tion mongst tht clss of society. "The Assembly hs lwys been ginst communicting to them the drk nd dngerous fnticm of the Methodts, which, grfted on the Africn superstitions, nd the generl temperment of Negroes in stte of bondge, hs produced, nd must continue to produce, the most ftl consequences, eqully inimicl to their well being nd comfort in th world, nd to the prctice of those virtues which we re led to believe ensure hppiness in the next. "But the representtives of the people hve not dplyed ny of tht version with which they hve been chrged, to encourge the propgtion of Chrtinity in the form which they thought likely to be beneficil.... "It shows further, however, tht the representtives of the peo ple hve lwys been desirous to encourge the introduction of pstors, whose eduction gve security for the nture of the doc trines which they were to inculcte. "They continue of tht dposition, lthough eqully stfied, s in former times, tht to communicte the lights of Chrtinity through Methodm would hve consequences the most ftl to the temporl comforts of the slves, nd the sfety of the com munity." Th Report ws ccepted unnimously, nd on December 22, 1815, resolution pssed, lso unnimously, to th effect: "Tht, erly in the next session, th house will tke into considertion the stte of religion mongst the slves, nd crefully investigte the 44 Note : Cfr. Further Proceedings of the Honourble House of Assembly of Jmic, reltive to Bill introduced into the House of Commons for effectully preventing the unlwful importtion of slves nd holding free persons in slvery in the Brith Colonies, London, 1816, p. 40 f.

254 234 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS mens of diffusing the light of genuine Chrtinity, divested of the drk nd dngerous fnticm of the Methodts, which hs been ttempted to be propgted, nd which, grfted on the Afri cn superstitions, nd working on the uninstructed minds nd rdent temperment of the Negroes, hs produced the most per nicious consequences to individuls, nd pregnnt with im minent dnger to the community." 48 As lredy noted, neither side of the controversy even suspected the rel root difficulty. The Methodt Msionries felt tht they were the victims of the rnkest bigotry nd cried loud in protest. If they hd only relized tht they were offering themselves s mrtyrs to revivify nd extend bsolute Pgnm with veneer of Chrtinity in the resuscitted Mylm tht ws prding s Revivlm, they might hve been less outspoken in their denun cition of the entire House of Assembly. If the plnters, on the other hnd, who honestly recognized in the unrest, cused by the ctivities of the Methodts, mong the slves, the significnt forerunners of serious dorders, if they hd only been ble to relly nlyze the sitution, nd dtinguh between the strong Myltic tendencies nd the Methodtic emotionl susceptibil ities, they might hve been ble to direct the ltter influence into less dngerous chnnels nd hve opened the eyes of its pro ponents to wht ws ctully foot. But ech side of the con troversy ws def to the rguments of the other, just s they were both blind to the rel nture of the terrific forces for hrm tht were ccumulting mong the mss of the blcks. When the dreded upring ctully begn in St. Jmes Prh on the night of December 28, 1831, the feeling of bitterness on both sides ws intense. The Reverend Dvid Jonthn Est, writ ing on the West Indies in the Centenry Volume of the Bptt Msionry Society*6 dmits tht the insurrection "broke out in the very dtrict in which msionry lbours hd been most suc cessful," nd dds t once : "It not perhps surpring tht the 4 Ditto, p London, 189, p. 191.

255 CONCLUSIONS 235 first thought of the plnters ws tht msionries were the u thors of the rebellion." Exggerted s th view of the plnters certinly ws, it no more extreme thn the ttitude of some of the msionries them selves. Thus the Reverend Peter Duncn, who ws Methodt Minter in Jmic t the very time of the slve-rebellion, fos ters h own resentment, nd writing eighteen yers fter the events, unhesittingly insinutes, seemingly with bsolutely no foundtion in fct : "Time my yet show, whether, in some in stnces, the negroes were not directly instigted to violence for the purpose of csting odium upon the msionries." 47 And in note he explins : "Th thought hs been ridiculed, nd it hs been sked, whether it cn be believed, tht ny mn would insti gte the negroes to destroy h own property : Perhps not ; but it never ws pretended tht the instigtors of the negroes hd prop erty to destroy. The overseers, the prties lluded to, hd no property. Such found it esier to kindle the fire thn to put it out. It not, however, suspected tht mny directly instigted the negroes to the work of destruction." 48 If both sides could only hve understood the insidious workings of Mylm s we do tody, how much different might hve been the closing dys of slvery in Jmic. In plce of the mutul ntgonm, nd bitter recrimintions, they might hve worked hrmoniously together for the pece nd prosperity of the entire community.49 The yers of pprenticeship might then hve wit- 47 Duncn, Wesleyn Msion to Jmic, p Ditto, p. 273, Note Note : We might then hve been spred th terrible rrignment : "The mdirected efforts nd mguided counsel of certin Minters of Religion, sdly so mclled, if the Sviour's exmple nd teching to be the stndrd, hve led to their nturl, their necessry, their inevitble result (mongst n ignornt, excitble, nd uncivilized popultion) rebellion, rson, murder. These re hrd nd hrsh words, gentlemen, but they re true; nd th no time to indulge in selected sentences, or polhed phrseology." Speech of H Ex cellency, Edwrd John Eyre, Governor of Jmic, before the Legltive Council, Tuesdy, November 7, 1865, t the opening of the first session fter the Mornt By Rebellion. Cfr. Augustus Constntine Sinclir, Prlimentry Debtes of Jmic, Spnh- Town, 1866, Vol. XIII, p. 3. And the Assembly in their nswering Address to the Governor, on the following dy, stte: "We desire to express our entire concurrence in Your Excellency's sttement tht,

256 236 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS nessed grdul enlightenment of the msses of former slves, spiritully s well s intellectully. And with their freedom from bondge, they might nturlly hve cquired dillusionment s regrds Mylm nd Obeh like. In tht cse the recrudescence of Pgnm tht blighted the erly dys of reconstruction might never hve occurred. In ny cse, the fct remins tht ctully the forces of Mylm nd Obeh tody hve degenerted into common form of witchcrft not unfrequently ssocited with devil worship, nd even those of the blcks who belittle its generl influence, in prc tice show wholesome fer of the powers of the Obeh mn. And here we must leve the question for the present, reserving for future volume detiled study of Duppym nd kindred subjects. to the mpprehensions nd mrepresenttions of pseudo philnthropts in Englnd nd in th country,... nd to the mdirected efforts nd mguided zel of certin mclled minters of religion, to be ttributed the present dorgniztion of the colony, resulting in rebellion, rson, nd murder." Cfr. 1. c, p. 13.

257 BIBLIOGRAPHY Spce restricts us to such works s my be found in the Boston College Librry, Newton, Mss. Anonymous. i. bibliogrphy for fricn ophioltry Ophioltrei or Serpent Worship (Printed Privtely). Atkins, John. A Voyge to Guine, Brsil, nd the West Indies in H Mjesty's Ships the Swllow nd Weymouth, London, Bsden, G. T Among the Ibos of Nigeri, London, Budin, Pere Fetichme et Feticheurs, Lyon, Bosch, F. Le Culte Des Ancetres chez les Bnymwezi nthropos, Vol. XX (1925). Bosmn, Willim. A New nd Accurte Description of the Cost of Guine, divided into the Gold, the Slve, nd the Ivory Cost, London, Bouche, Pierre. L Cote des Esclves et le Dhomey, Pr, Brested, Jmes Henry. Htory of Egypt, New York, Development of Religion nd Thought in Ancient Egypt, New York, Ancient Records of Egypt, London, Htory of Ancient Egyptins, London, Briult, M. Polythem nd Fethm, London, Brosses, Chrles des Du Culte des dieux Fetiches ou Prllele de I'Ancienne Religion de l' gypte vec l Religion de Nigritie, Pr, Browne, W. G. Trvels in Afric, Egypt nd Syri, from the Yer 1792 to 1798, London, Bruce, Jmes. Trvels to Dcover Brugsch, Henri. the Source of the Nile, Edinburgh, Htory of Egypt under the Phrohs, London,

258 238 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Brunet, L. Dhomey et Dependnces, Pr, Budge, A. E. Wll. Egyptin Mgic, London, Egyptin Ides of the Future Life, London, The Book of the Ded, London, Short Htory of the Egyptin People, London, Dwellers on the Nile, London, Amulets nd Superstitions, Oxford, Burton, Richrd F. A Msion to Gelele, King of Dhome, London, Clemen, Crl. Religions of the World, New York, Cooksey, J. J. nd McLeh, Alexnder. Religion nd Civiliztion in West Afric, London, 193 Dlzell, 1. Archibld. Htory of Dhomey, n Inlnd Kingdom of Afric, London, Dene, John Bthurst. The Worship of the Serpent, London, Dennett, R. E. At the Bck of the Blck Mn's Mind, London, Desribes, E. L' vngile u Dhomey et l Cote des Esclves, Clermont- Ferrnd, Driberg, J. H. The Lngo, Nilotic Tribe of Ugnd, London, Du Chillu, Pul Belloni. A Journey to Ashngo Lnd, London, Duncn, John. Trvels in West Afric in 1845 nd 1846, London, Ell, Alfred Burton. The Lnd of Feth, London, The Tshi-S peking Peoples of the Gold Cost of Afric, London, The Ewe-Speking Peoples, London, The Yorub-S peking Peoples of the Slve Frrow, Stephen Septimus. Cost, London, Fith, Fncies nd Feth, or Yorub Pgnm, London, Ferud, L Les Peupldes de l SenSgmbie, Pr, FoA, d0urd. Le Dhomey, Pr, Forbes, Frederick E. Dhomey nd the Dhomns; being the Journls of two Msions to the King of Dhomey, nd Residence t h Cpitl, in the Yers 1849 nd 1850, London, 1851.

259 BIBLIOGRAPHY 239 Frzer, Jmes George. Totemm nd Exogmy, London, The Golden Bough, London, Grnered Sheves, London, Freemn, Thoms B Journl of vrious Vits to the Kingdoms of Ashnti, Aku, nd Dhomi in Western Afric, London, J. The Worship of the Ded or the Origin nd Nture of Pgn Idoltry, London, Hddon, A. C. The Wnderings of Peoples, Cmbridge, Mgic nd Fethm, London, Hmbly, Wilfrid Dyson. Htory of Tttooing nd Its Significnce, London, Serpent Worship in Afric, Chicgo, Hstings, Jmes Encyclopedi of Religion nd Ethics (Edited), New York, Holl, A. C. The Msi: Their Lnguge nd Folklore, Oxford, The Nndi: Their Lnguge nd Folklore, Oxford, Hopkins, E. Wshburn. The Htory Religions, New York, Hovelcque, of Abel Les Negres de I'Afrique Sus-Equtorile, Howey, M. Oldfield. Pr, The Encircled Serpent, Phildelphi, Hurel, P. E. Religion et Vie Domestique des Bkerewe nthropos, Vol. VI (1911). Hutchinson, Thoms J. Impressions of Western Afric, London, Johnston, Hrry Hmilton. The Ugnd Protectorte, London, The Nile Quest, New York, Liberi, London, Kingsley, Mry H. Trvels in West Afric, London, West Africn Studies, London, Kitching, A. L. On the Bckwters of the Nile, London, Lbt, Pere. Nouveu Voyge ux Isles de I'Amerique, L Hye, Lfitte, J. Le Dhome, Tours, 1873.

260 240 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Leonrd, Arthur Glyn. The Lower Niger nd its Tribes, London, Levy-Bruhl, Lucien. Lippert, The "Soul" of the Primitive, New York, Julius. The Evolution of Culture, London, Lubbock, John. Origin of Civiliztion nd the Primitive Condition of Mn, New York, Mngin, Arthur. L'Homme et l Bete, Pr, Mngin, Eugene P. Les Mossi nthropos, Vol. X (1915). Mspero, Gston. The Dwn of Civiliztion, New York, Htory of Egypt, New York, Populr Stories of Ancient Egypt, London, tudes de Mythologie et d'archeologie gyptiennes, Pr, M'Leod, John. A Voyge to Afric with some Account of the Mnners nd Cus toms of the Dhomin People, London, Meek, C. K. The Northern Tribes of Nigeri, Oxford, Tribl Studies in Northern Nigeri, London, Meinhof, C. Die Dichtung der Afrikner, Berlin, Nssu, Robert Hm mill Fethm in West Afric, London, Where Animls Tlk, London, Norr, Robert. Memoirs of the Reign of Bss Ahdee, King of Dhomy, Lon don, Oldhm, C. F. The Sun nd the Serpent, London, Perry, Willim Jmes The Children of the Sun, London, Petrie, W. M. Flinders Htory of Egypt, New York, Religions nd Conscience in Ancient Egypt, New York, Personl Religion in Egypt before Chrtinity, London, Amulets, London, Htory of Egypt from the Erliest Kings of the XVIth Dynsty, New York, Prichrd, Jmes Cowles. Reserches into the Physicl Htory of Mnkind, London, Rtzel, Friedrich. The Htory of Mnkind, London,

261 BIBLIOGRAPHY 241 Reville, A. Les Religions des Peuples Non-CivilSs, Pr, Roscoe, John. The Bgnd, An Account of their Ntive Customs nd Beliefs, London, The Northern Bntu, Cmbridge, Twenty-five Yers in Est Afric, Cmbridge, The Soul of Centrl Afric, London, The Bkitr or Bnyoro, Cmbridge, The Bnynkole, Cmbridge, Rougemont, Frederic de. Le Peuple Primitif: S Religion, Son Htoire et S Civiltion, Geneve, Svce, A. H. Ancient Empires of the Est, London, Egypt of the Hebrews nd Herodotus, London, The Religions of Ancient Egypt nd Bbyloni, Edinburgh, SCHWEINFURTH, GeORG. The Hert of Afric, New York, Scot, Reginld. The Dcovery of Witchcrft, London, Seligmn, C. G. Rces of Afric, London, Skertchley, J. A. Dhomey s it ; being Nrrtive of eight months' Residence in tht Country, London, Smith, Edwin W. nd Dle, Andrew Murry. The Il-Speking People of Northern Rhodesi, London, Smith, Grfton Eliot. The Evolution of the Drgon, Mnchester, The Migrtions of Erly Culture, Mnchester, Smith, Willim. A New Voyge to Guine, London, Smith, W. Robertson. Lectures on Religion of the Semites, London, Snelgrve, Willim. A New Account of some Prts of Guine nd the Slve-Trde, London, Spencer, Herbert. Descriptive Sociology: Africn Rces: Compiled nd bstrcted by Prof. Dvid Duncn, London, Resue, entirely rewritten by E. Tordy, London, Stm, N. The Religious Conceptions of the Kvirondo nthropos, Vol. V (1910). Sumner, Willim Grhm nd Keller, Albert Gllowy. The Science of Society, New Hven, 1927.

262 242 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Tlbot, D. Amury. Womn's Myteries of Tlbot, Percy Amury. Primitive People, London, In the Shdow of the Bush, London, Life in Southern Nigeri, London, The Peoples of Southern Nigeri, Oxford, Tribes of the Niger Delt, London, Thoms, Northcote W Anthropologicl Report on the Ibo-Speking People of Nigeri, London, Tremerne, A. J. N. Tiled Hed-Hunters of Nigeri, London, The Bn of Tylor, the Bori, London, Edwrd B Primitive Culture, Boston, Vn Gennep, Arnold L' tt ctuel du Probleme Totemique, Pr, Julien. Les Religions Actuelles, Pr, Wke, C. Stnilnd. Serpent-Worship nd other Essys, London, Weeks, John H. Among Congo Cnnibls, London, Among the Primitive Bkongo, Phildelphi, Werner, Alice Ntives of Brith Centrl Afric, London, Westermnn, Deitrich Die Kpelle, Leipzig, 192 Wilson, 1. J. Leighton. Western Afric, Its Htory, Condition, nd Prospects, London, II. BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR HAITIAN VOODOO Andrde, Mnuel J. Folk-lore from the Dominicn Republic, New York, Aubin, Eugene En Hiti, Pr, Brskeet, Jmes. Htory of the Islnd of St. Domingo, from the Columbus to the present Period, London, Dcovery of Bird, M. B. The Blck Mn; or, Hytin Independence, New York, Bonneu, Alexndre. Hiti: Ses Pr ogres Son Avenir, Pr,

263 BIBLIOGRAPHY 243 Bonsl, Stephen. Brown, The Americn Mediterrnen, New York, J. Htory nd present Condition of St. Domingo, Phildelphi, Chrlevoix, Pierre Frnco Xvier de. Htoire de I'Isle Espgnole ou de S. Domingue, Pr, Dv, H. P. Blck Democrcy: The Story of Hyti, New York, Dorsinvil, J. C. Une Expliction Philologique du Vbdu, Port-u-Prince, Mnuel d'htoire d'hiti, Port-u-Prince, Vodou et Nevrose, Port-u-Prince, Ell, Alfred Burton. On Vodu-Worship populr science monthly, Vol. XXXVIII (1891). Froude, Jmes Anthony. The Englh in the West Indies; or, the Bow of Ulysses, London, Hzrd, Smuel. Snto Domingo: Pst nd Present zvith Glnce t Hyti, London, Johnston, Hrry Hmilton. The Negro in the New World, London, Leger, J. N. Hiti: Son Htoire et ses Detrcteurs, New York, Hyti: Her Htory nd her Detrctors, New York, Mdiou, Thoms. Htoire d'hiti: Annees , Port-u-Prince, Htoire d'hiti: Annees , Port-u-Prince, Mnnington, George. The West Indies with Brith Guin nd Brith Hondurs, New York, Merwin, Bruce W. A Voodoo Drum from Hyti university museum journl, Vol. VIII (1917). Mornd, Pul. of Pennsylvni Mgie Noire, Pr, Moreu de Sint-Mery, Mederic Lou Elie. Loix et Constitutions des Colonies Frncoes de I'Amerique sous le Vent, Pr, Description... de l Prtie Frnce de I'Isle Sint-Domingue, Phildelphi, Topogrphicl nd Politicl Description of the Spnh Prt of Sint-Domingo, Phildelphi, Newell, Willim W. Myths of Voodoo Worship nd Child Scrifice OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE, Vol. I (l888). in Hyti journl

264 244 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Niles, Blir. Blck Hyti: A Biogrphy of Afric's Eldest Dughter, New York, Prsons, Elsie Clews. Spirit Cult in Hyti, Pr, Price-Mrs, Dr Le Sentiment et le Phenomene Religeux chez les Negres de Sint- Domingue, Port-u-Prince, Ainsi Prl I'Oncle, Port-u-Prince, Une Stpe de Involution Hditienne, Port-u-Prince, Prichrd, Hesketh. Where Blck Rules White: A Journey cross nd bout Hyti, Westminster, St. John, Spencer Buckinghm. Hyti or the Blck Republic, London, Second Edition (New Mtter), London, Svine, Albert. Sint-Domingue l Veille de l Revolution. (Souvenirs du Bron Wimpffen), Pr, Sebrook, Willim Buchler. The Mgic Islnd, New York, Trouillot, D. Esquse Ethnogrphique : Le Vudoux, Port-u-Prince, Vsiere, Pierre de. Sint-Domingue : L Societe et l Vie Creoles sous I'Ancien Regime, ( ), Pr, Wetherford, Will Duke. The Negro from Afric to Americ, New York, Wright, J. Voyge to Sint Domingo in the Yers 1788, 1789, nd 1790, by Frnc Alexnder Stnlus, Bron Wimpffen. Trnslted from the originl mnuscript which hs never been publhed, London, iii. bibliogrphy for jmic obeh, mylm nd revivlm Anonymous. Acts of Assembly, pssed in the Islnd of Jmic from 1681 to 1737, inclusive, London, Acts of Assembly, pssed in the Islnd of Jmic from 1681 to 1754, inclusive, London, Acts of Assembly, pssed in the Islnd of Jmic from 1770 to 1783, Kingston, Consolidted Slve Lw, pssed 22 December 1826, London, Continution of the Lws of Jmic pssed by the Assembly nd

265 BIBLIOGRAPHY 245 confirmed by H Mjesty in Council, December 26th 1695, Lon don, Further Proceedings of the Honourble House of Jmic, reltive to Bill introduced into the House of Commons, London, Hints respecting Chrtin Eduction of the Negro Popultion in the Brith Colonies, London, Religious Instruction of the Coloured nd Slve Popultion of Jmic, London, Report of the Jmic Royl Commsion of Inquiry respecting Certin Dturbnces in the Islnd of Jmic nd the Mesures tken in the Course of their Suppression, London, Report of the Lords of the Committee of the Council ppointed for the Considertion of ll Mtters relting to Trde nd Foreign Plnttion, London, Review of Hmel, the Obeh Mn, London, Slve Lw of Jmic nd Documents reltive thereto, London, Brcly, Alexnder. A Prcticl View of the Present Stte of Slvery in the West Indies, London, Bstin, Adolf. Der Fetch n der Kite Guines, Berlin, Beckwith, Mrth Wrren. Blck Rodwys; Study of Jmic Folk Lore, Chpel Hill, Bell, Hesketh J. Obeh; Witchcrft in the West Indies, London, Bicknell, R. West Indies s they re; or Rel Picture of Slvery; but more pr ticulrly s it exts in the Islnd of Jmic, London, Bowler, Lou P. Gold Cost Plv: Life on the Gold Cost, London, Bridges, George Wilson. A Voice from Jmic; in reply to Willim Wilberforce, London, Annls of Jmic, London, Browne, Ptrick. Civil nd Nturl Htory of Jmic, London, Buchnn, Cludius. Colonil Ecclesticl Estblhment, London, Burdett, Willim. Life nd Exploits of Mnsong, commonly clled Three-finger Jck, the Terror of Jmic, Sommers Town, Cmeron, Normn Eustce. The Evolution of the Negro, Georgetown, Demerr, Crdinll, A. W. In Ashnti nd Beyond, London, Cook, E. M. Jmic: The Lodestone of the Cribben, Brtol, 1924.

266 246 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS Cooper, Thoms. Fcts illustrtive of the Condition of the Negro Slves in Jmic, London, Cundll, Frnk. Jmic Negro Proverbs nd Syings, Kingston, De Lser, Herbert G. In Jmic nd Cub, Kingston, Twentieth Century Jmic, Kingston, White Witch of Rosehll, London, Duncn, Peter. Nrrtive of the Wesleyn Msion to Jmic, London, Edwrds, Bryn. Htory, Civil nd Commercil of the Brith Colonies in the West Indies, London, Emerick, Abrhm J. Obeh nd Duppym in Jmic (Printed Privtely) Woodstock, I9I.5- Jmic Milm (Printed Privtely) Woodstock, 1916 Jmic Duppies (Printed Privtely) Woodstock, Fuller, Stephen. New Act of Assembly of the Islnd of Jmic... commonly clled the New Consolidted Act, London, Two Reports from the Committee of the Honourble House of Assembly of Jmic, London, Grdner, Willim Jmes Htory of Jmic from its Dcovery by Chrtopher Columbus to the Present Time, London, Gunt, Mry. Where the Twin Meet, New York, Green, Smuel Bptt Msion in Jmic, London, Gurney, John Joseph Fmilir Letters to Henry Cly of Kentucky, Describing Winter in the West Indies, New York, Jeckyll, Wlter. Jmic Song nd Story; Anncy Stories, Digging Songs, Ring Tunes nd Dncing Tunes, London, Knibb, Willim. Fcts nd Documents connected with the lte Insurrection in Jmic nd the Violtions of Civil nd Religious Liberty ring out of London, Leslie, Chrles. New Htory Jmic, London, Lew, Mtthew Gregory. Journl West Indin Proprietor, kept during Islnd Jmic, London, it, of of of Residence in the

267 BIBLIOGRAPHY 247 Livingston, Willim Pringle. Blck Jmic: A Study in Evolution, London, Long, Edwrd. Htory of Jmic, London, Lunn, John. Abstrct of the Lws of Jmic relting to Slves, St. Jgo de l Veg, Mdden, Richrd Robert. A Twelvemonth's Residence in the West Indies, during the Trnsi tion from Slvery to Apprenticeship, London, Mrryt, Joseph. More Thoughts occsioned by two Publictions, London, McCre, Hrry. Sub-Officers' Guide, Kingston, Nugent, Ldy Mri. Journl of Voyge to, nd Residence in, the Islnd of Jmic, from 1801 to 1805, London, Phillippo, Jmes Murcell. Jmic: Its Pst nd Present Stte, London, Rmpini, Chrles. Letters from Jmic, Edinburgh, Rttry, R. Sutherlnd. Ashnti Proverbs, Oxford, Ashnti, Oxford, Religion nd Art in Ashnti, Oxford, Ashnti Lw nd Constitution, Oxford, Ren ny, Robert. Htory of Jmic, London, Rilnd, John. Memoir of West Indi Plnter, London, Rose, G. H. Letter on the Mens nd Importnce of Converting the Slves in the West Indies to Chrtinity, London, Smuel, Peter. Wesleyn-Methodt Msions in Jmic nd Hondurs, London, Scott, Sibbld Dvid. To Jmic nd Bck, London, Shore, Joseph. In Old St. Jmes, Kingston, Sinclir, Augustus Constntine. Prlimentry Debtes of Jmic, Vol. XIII, Spnh-Town, Chronologicl Htory of Jmic, Jmic, Slone, Hns. Voyge to the Islnds... nd Jmic, London,

268 248 VOODOOS AND OBEAHS London, Stephen, Jmes. The Slvery of the Brith West Indi Colonies, delineted, Stewrt, J. Account of Jmic nd its Inhbitnts, London, View of the Pst nd Present Stte of the Islnd of Jmic, Edin burgh, Underhill, Edwrd Ben. West Indies: their Socil nd Religious Condition, London, Wtson, Richrd. Defence of the Wesleyn Methodt Msions in the West Indies, London, Wilberforce, Willim. An Appel to the Religion, Justice, nd Humnity of the Inhbitnts of the Brith Empire, in behlf of the Negro Slves in the West Indies, London, Willims, Cynric R. Tour through the Islnd of Jmic from the Western to the Est ern End, in the Yer 1823, London, Willims, Joseph John. Whperings of the Cribben, New York, Ilebrewms of West Afric, New York, Young, Robert. View of Slvery in connection with Chrtinity, London, 1825.

269 Index A Plces, Peoples, etc. Abyjidu people, 14. Abomey, 36, 38, 44. Accr, 44. Aguli, 44- Agucte, Cub, vi. Ake-Eze Edd tribe, 16. Albert, lke, 10. Algeri, 41. Angs people, 13. Angol, 104. Annmboe, 33. Antiqu, Aqumboe, 27. Ardr, 23, 24, 25, 30, 33, 57, 61, 67. Ardr or Ard tribe, 62, 91, 100, 101, 104. Ashnti, 5, 9, 57, 93, 94, 119, 130, 131, 132, 135. M Ashnti people, 18, 54, 115, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 142, i , 200, 209, 210, 213, 218. Asi, 1, 2, 4, 136. Assinnee, 44. August Town, Jmic, 156. Aztec people, 20. Chin, 2. Clrendon prh, Jmic, 149, 225. Congo, 6, 8, 50, 80, 83, 84, 100, 101, 103, 104. Connors Hill, 18, 19. Cub, v, 81, 82, 83, 98, 116. Dfur, 7. Dhomn tribe, 30, 31, 34, 38, 40, 45, 83! 90, , '209T Dur, 14. Dink tribe, 11. Dominic, 187. Dry Hrbour Mountins, Jmic, 158. Dutch, 26, 41, 55, 56. Egypt, 2, 3, 4. 14, , , , 118, 132. Ejghm tribe, 16. Ekoi people, 15, 16. Elei Edd tribe, 16. Englh, 27, 33, 39, 55, 56, 79. "3, Ewe-speking people, 56, 57. Bdgri, 16, 57. Bkitr See Bnyoro. Bntu people, 3, 11, 13, 50. Bnyoro or Bkitr people, 9, 10. Brbdos, 117, 118, 182. Buchi plteu, 13. Benin, 12, 16, 53, 135. Bight of Bifr, 41. Bini people, 16. Blue Mountins, Jmic, 183. Bonny, 40. Brss, 9, 16, 41, 44. Brzil, 81, 83. Budu, 4. Bur tribe, 14. Cmeroons, 6, 15, 50, 132. Cpe Cost, 18. Cpe Verde, 132, 198. Cp Hitien, 75. Cyenne, 61. Chlde, Fnto people, 18, 135. Fernndo Po, 6. Fezzn, 15. Fid See Whydh. Fons tribe, 100. French, 36, 41, 48, , , 73, 74, 78, 85, 89, 101, 218. Fulni people, 9. Gmbi river, 228. Gn' people, 9. Germn, 55. Gold Cost, 34, 40, 57, 62, 113, 130, 134, 143, 144, 147, 159, 178, 199, 209. Grnd, 117, 137, 138, 139. Grnd Popo, 43, 49, 79. Guins, 81, 83, 135. Guine, 23, 24, 25, 29, 32, 52, , 61, 103, 104. Hbbes tribe, 91. Hiti, 52, , 210, n, 212, 213.

270 250 INDEX Hnover prh, Jmic, 225. Huss people, 9, 13, 14. Hut-du-Cp, Hiti, 76. Hvn, Cub, 83. Hindu people, 2, 20, 21. Hope river, Jmic, 156. Ibo people, 17, oi. 104, 136. Ijw tribe, 6, 16, 17. Indi, 2, 20, 201. Jmic, xvi, xvii, 58, 70, 71, 72, 81, 83, 88, 96, 106, , 118, 11o, 120, 121, 130, 133, 135, 136, , 213, 214, 215, , 220, 222, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232. Juid See Whydh. Ktsin, 14. Kingston, Jmic, 172, 189, 207, 225, 226, 230, 231. Kengw, 10. Kon, 14. Koromntin people, 57, 113, 119, 143, 163. Lgos, 24. Lngo people, 9, 104. Le Cp, Hiti, 59, 75. Liberi, 9. Louin, 57, 81, 83. Mmpon, 131. Mnchester prh, Jmic, 149, 224, 225. Mnderville, Jmic, 208, 225. Mndingo or Mondongue people, 78, 80, 104, 198. Mrtinique, 22, 58, 59, 61. Msi people, 11. Muritius, 137. Mediterrnen, 16. Mondongue See Mndingo. Montego By, Jmic, 148, 166. Mornt By, Jmic, 166, 172, 194, 196, 235. Morne Rouge, Hiti, 71. Mujuzi river, 4, 10. Mumuye tribe, 14. Ngos tribe, 100, 104. Nndi people, 11. Ntl, 6. Ntchez, 20. Nembe, 12, 16. Nigeri, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 82, , 179- Niger river, 5, 179, 228. Nimbi people, 41. Nkwerri, 12. Normndy, 59. Ogowe, 50. Omi-Akeni, 17. Owerri, 17. Pbir tribe, 14. Ppine, Jmic, 192. Pr, 59. Peru, 2. Petit Gove, Hiti, 68, 71. Popo, 40, 48, 114. Port Antonio, Jmic, 166, 195. Port-u-Prince, Hiti, 58, 72, 104. Portlnd prh, Jmic, 194, 198. Porto-Novo, 52, 54, 55. Port Royl, Jmic, 221, 225, 226. Portuguese, 34, 43, 56. Providence Mountin, Jmic, 199. Richmond, Jmic, 208. Retirement, Jmic, 158. Rop, 13. Sbe, Sbi, Sby or Svi See Why dh. Shr, 6. S' Leone, 57. St. Andrew prh, Jmic, St. Ann prh, Jmic, , 225. St. Ctherine prh, Jmic, 225, 228. St. Chrtopher, 117. St. Dvid prh, Jmic, 188. St. Dorothy prh, Jmic, 225. St. Elizbeth prh, Jmic, 143. St. George d'elmin, 26. St. George prh, Jmic, 194, 195, 225. St. Jmes prh, Jmic, 148, 149, 172, 234. St. John prh, Jmic, 225. St. Luci, 101. St. Mry prh, Jmic, 113, 163, 225. St. Thoms in the Est prh, J mic, 225. St. Thoms in the Vle prh, J mic, 225. Sn Domingo, 61, 71, 78, 89, 90, 93, 100, 101, 102, 103, 134, 209. Senegl, 7. Shilluk tribe, 11. Sierr Leone, 24, 82. Slter's Hill, Jmic, 151. Slve Cost, 20, 40, 43, 53, 56, 57, 62, South Crolin, 81, 83. Spnh, 55, 57, 58, 61, 68, 71, 115.

271 X 251 Spnhtown, Jmic, 189, 193. Sudn, 15. Surinm, 90. Switzerlnd, 58. Tngnyik, 82. Tombi, 17. Trelwney prh, Jmic, 148. Trinidd, 139. Tshi-speking peoples, 57. Ugnd, 7. 8, , 49- United Sttes, xvii, 58, 59, 73. i<», 136, 178, 230. Vere prh, Jmic, 225. Victori Nynz, lke, 4, 5, 6. Volt river, 30, 209. W Kikyu tribe, n. West Indies, xvi, xvii, 56, 57, 61, 80, 88, 101, 102, 11o, 119, 135, 136, 137, 178, 202, 209, 228, 229. Westmorelnd prh, Jmic, 148. Whydh, 18, 20, 22-55, 56, , 67, 69, 94, 100, 105, 106, 178, 210. Windwrd Islnds, 61, 137. Winnebh, 19. Xvier See Whydh. Yoro, 14. Yorub, 16, 17, 18, 53, 55, 122, 209. Zimbbwe, 135. Zulu people, 11, 129.

272 Index B Topics. Accompong, Koromntyn Supreme Be ing, 143, 145, 199, 214. Adid, serpent deity, 17. Amzons, femle, 56. Annsi, Ashnti spider, 11g. Annsi Stories, xvi, 119, 142. Ancestor worship, n, 12, 13, 15, 20, 38, SO, 53, , M5- Aru-Ng, serpent deity, 16. Asse, erth goddess, 131, 142. Audowido, rinbow deity, 55. Bedwrdm on Jmic, 156, 157, 159, 215. Birth-snkes, 4. Bobowsi, priests, 19. Bonsm komfo, witch-doctor, 130. Boston College Librry, 108, 228, 237. Botkimon, priest, 6. Brujos, Cubn sorcerers, 83. Folk lore, Ashnti, 119. Folk lore, Jmic, 142. Gytri, Ved text, 2. Genes, 3. "Got without horns," humn scrifice, 73, 75-78, , 86, 88, 89, Hbtu, mulets, etc., 14. Hbtu pwpu, snke chrm, 14. Hmitic influence, 4, 8, 18. Hoodoo See Voodoo. Hougn, Voodoo leder, 91, 92, 93. Humn scrifice, 38, 44, 49. See lso "Got without horns." Idgbe, serpent deity, 16. Idoltry, 20, 21, 74, 102, 106. Islm or Islmm See Mohmmedn- Clend dnce, 60, 61, 68, 69, 176. Cnnh customs of Dhomey, 38. Cnniblm in Hiti, 72, 74, 75-78, 79, 80, 82, 84, 89, 101, 104, 107, 213. Chic dnce, 61, 62, 69, 88, 171. Congo dnce, 61, 82. Crocodile cult, 40, 82. Dbo, serpent deity, 35. Dmbll, serpent deity, 97, 98, 100, 104. Dnh or Dnhgbwe, feth snke, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 48, 100. Djwi-j'hnu, serpent deity, 18, 19. Don Pedro rite, 68, 69, 71, 73, 78, 82, 97, 98, 104, 105, 106, 107, 210, 213. Duppy, Jmic ghost, 88, 151, 154, 155, 182, 208, 220, 236. Enky, deity, 10, 11. Enkyy Enky, deity, 10, 11. Ezi-Aku, serpent deity, 16. Fndngo dnce, 61, 171. Feth, xvi, 24, 25, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38, 42, , , , 101, 102, 104, 113, 119, 122, 132, 133, 188, Jesuits, 24, 25. Jesuit Reltions, 25. Ki Serki, serpent t Dur, 14. Leoprd cult, 38, 82. "Long pig," humn scrifice, 73, 107, 213. Mon, Fernndo Po demon, 6. Mhou or Mu, Dhomn Supreme Being, 45, 100. Mmloi, Voodoo priestess, 63-66, 76, 88, 211. Mrrige to serpent, 26, 47, 48. Melim, feth, 14. Minto dnce, 176. Mmoti, "little folk," 218, 219. Mohmmednm, 14, 74, 90, 91, 122, 191, 197, 198. Monothem, 122, 212. Mylm, 72, 11o, 136, , , 163, 165, 167, , 180, 181, 183, 186, 190, 191, 192, , 200, 202, 207, 213, 214, 215, 219, 220, 230, 234, 235, 236. New Moon rites, 4, 7.

273 INDEX 253 Ob or Aub, 109, 110, 118. Obssi Nsi, erth goddess, 15. Obssi Osw, Sky God, 15. Obyifo, witch or wizrd, 120, 121, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 145, 146, 200, 210, 218. Obboney See Ssbonsm. Obeh or Obi, xvi, xvii, 96, 98, , , 213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 219, 226, 229, 230, 236. "Obi-wter," 135. Ochumre, Yorub deity, 55. Odom See Voodoo. Ogidig, serpent deity, 16. Ogugu, womn's feth, 17. Okomfo, priest, 130, 145, 146, 147. Olokun, Yorub Supreme Being, 16. Olos, Yorub lgoon-goddess, 18. Onyme, Ashnti Supreme Being, 123, 131, 143. Ophioltry See Serpent worship. Pnthem, 53. Pploi, Voodoo priest, 63-66, 76, 77, 78, 88, 104, 211. Prde, 3. Pedro dnce, xv, xvi. See lso Don Pedro rite. Pocomnm in Jmic, Polterget, 218, 219, 220. Polythem, 53, 123. Priests nd priestesses of serpent cult, 4, s, 6, 7. 8, 22, 26, 32, 35, 40, 47, 48, 49- Python worship See Serpent QuetzlcotI, serpent deity, 20. worship. Rcil migrtions in Afric, 8. Rinbow snkes, 4, 55. Rin cult, 14. Revivlm in Jmic, 148, 157, 158, , , 207, 215, 220, Roufc-rouko, 6. Ruhng, Bnyoro Supreme Being, 10, 11. Ssbonsm, Ashnti demon, 129, 130, 132, 144, 145, 146, 199, 200, 214, 218. See-que-h-nee, Dhomn ncestor worship, 38. Seh, Dhomn Supreme Being, 38. Selwng, serpent deity, 4. Semitic influence, 4, 8, 11o. Serpent cult nd worship, 1-2 1, 22-55, , 132, 210, 211, 212. Shdow, Jmic spirit, 149, 150, 152, , 155,»56, 188, 208. Shngo, Egb deity, 43. Shrk cult, 40. Snke temples, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 24, 27, 32, , 38, 39, 42,.44, 45, , 49- Sumnkwfo, medicine mn, 127, 130, 13', 132. Sun worship, 2, 4, 20, 35. Supreme Being, 9, 10, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 26, 33, 35, 40, 45, , , 123, 124, 127, 131, 143, 212, 214. T Kwesi, Ashnti deity, 124, 125. Tno, Ashnti deity, 123, 124, 125, 127. Tchng, feth, 118. Tiger cult, 34, 35- Ved of Indi, 2. Ventriloqum, Voodoo or Vudu, v-xvii, 4, 35, 38, 45, 52, , 108, 171, 178, , 210, 211, 212, 213. Wldenses, 58. Wng, feth, 81, 118.

274 Index C Individuls nd References. Agjh, king of Dhomey, 40, 45. Alvrez, Emmnuel, 24. Amlkir, Jmic Obeh mn, 183. Anderson, Dvid, 199. Andrde, Mnuel, 242. Atkins, John, 29, 30, 237. Aubin, Eugene, xiv, 102, 103, 104, 105, 242. Bnbury, R. Thoms, 149, 150, 151, 200, 201. Brcly, Alexnder, 188, 243. Brreir, Blthsr, 24. Brskeet, Jmes, 242. Bsden, G. T., 237. Bstin, Adolf, 245. Budin, Pere, 52, 53, Beckwith, Mrth Wrren, 208, 245. Bedwrd, Jmic revivlt, 156. Bell, Hesketh J., 137, 138, 139, Bicknell, R., 225, 226, Bird, M. B., , 228, 245. Bornd-Cnl, Hitin President, 86. Bonito, Wilfrid, 208. Bonneu, Alexndre, 242. Bons1, Stephen, 83, 84, 85, 86, 243. Bosch, F., 237. Bosmn, Willim, 26, 27, 28, 29, 41, chief, 70, 71, 106. Bowler, Lou P., 134, Brguez, Pere, Brested, Jmes Henry, 237. Briult, M., 237. Bricourt, J., 69. Bridges, George Wilson, 176, , 224, 225, 226, 245. Brosses, Brown, Chrles des, 33, 237. J., 243. Browne, Ptrick, 180, 245. Browne, W. G, 132, 237. Bruce, Jmes, 237. Brugsch, Henri, 237. Brunet, L., 48, 49, 238. Buchnn, Cludius, 229, 231, 232, Budge, A. E. Wll, 238. Bullock, J. Mxwell, 87. Burdett, Willim, 183, 245. Burton, Richrd F., 40, 41, 42, 43, 57, 238. Cmeron, Normn Eustce, 135, 136, 245. Crdinl!, A. W., 218, 245. Crvjl, John, 120. Crvjl, Peter, 120. Cejes, Pul, v, vi. Celie, Mmn, Voodoo mmloi, vii, ix, xv, 97, 98. Chrlevoix, Pierre F. X. de, 243. Chulmer, Chrles, 25. Chrtller, J. G., 144. Chrtophe, Hitin Emperor, 57. Cly, Henry, 192. Clemen, Crl, 3, 238. Clevelnd, Grover, 131. Confucius, 38. Cook, E. M., 201, 245. Cooksey, J. J., 52, 238. Cooper, Thoms, 246. Cundll, Frnk, 143, 224, 246. Dle, Andrew Murry, 241. Dlzell, Archibld, 34, , 56, 238. Dpper, O., 25. Dvynes, Willim, 33. Dv, Beckford, 104, 195, 197- Dv, H. P., 243. Dene, John Bthurst, 3, 238. De Lser, Herbert G., 144, , 159, 246. Dennett, R. E., 121, 122, 238. Des Mrch, Reynud, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27. Desplgnes, Lou, 91. Desribes, E., 43, 44, Dorsinvil, J. C, 70, 71, , 101, 243. Doyley, Edwrd, 108. Driberg, J. H, 9, 198, 238. Du Chillu, Pul Belloni, 238. Duncn, John, 35, 36, 37, 238. Duncn, Peter, 228, 230, 231, 235, 246.

275 INDEX 255 Durkheim, Emile, 69. Du Terte, Pere, 102. Est, Dvid Jonthn, 234. Edwrds, Bryn, 108, 143, 200, 229, 246. Ell, Alfred Burton, 18, 19, 46, 47, 56, 57, 121, 122, 238, 243. Emerick, Abrhm J., 96, 153, 154, , 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 219, 220, 246. Endor, Witch of, 109. Eyre, Edwrd John, 195, 235. Frrow, Stephen Septimus, 17, 18, 20, 21, 121, 238. Ferud, L., 238. Ferdinnd IV of Spin, 120. Ferguson, R. H., 172, 173, 174. Filler, F. X. de, 59- Fo, Edourd, 48, 238. Forbes, Frederick, 37, 38, 39, 50, 209, 238. Frzer, Jmes George, 10, 13, 55, 239. Freemn, Thoms B., 36, 239. Froude, Jmes Anthony, 79, 243. Fuller, Stephen, 109, 164, 177, 178, 197, 223, 228, 246. Grdner, Willim Jmes, 143, 147, 148, , 172, 207, 220, 221, 224, 225, 232, 246. Gmier, J., 239. Gunt, Mry, 246. Gyle, Robert Edwrd, 195. Geffrrd, Fbre, 86. Gelele, king of Dhomey, 44. George III of Englnd, 222. Gillen, Spencer, 10. Gordon, George Willim, 194. Green, Smuel, 172, 246. Gurney, John Joseph, 192, 193, 246. Hddon, A. C., 12, 239. Hmbly, Wilfrid Dyson, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 81, 132, 239. Hmmett, Willim, 230. Hstings, Jmes, 239. Hzrd, Smuel, 243. Holl, A. C., 11, 239. Holly, Arthur W., 95. Hopkins, E. Wshburn, 239. Hovelcque, Abel, 47, 48, 239. Howrd, Esme, 108. Howrd, Robert Mobry, 108. Howey, M. Oldfield, 3, 19, 239. Hull, Ernest R., 20, 21. Hurel, P. E., 239. Huskson, W., 167, 168, 169, 170, 171. Jmes I of Englnd, 110. Jeckyll, Wlter, 246. Jevons, Frnk Byron, 11. Johnston, Hrry Hmilton, 81, 82, 83, 136, 239, 243. Jons the Prophet, 156. Jones, Willim, 198, 199. Josephine, Empress of Frnce, 58, 59. Kupinipini, medicine mn, 10. Kene, John, 167. Keller, Albert Gllowy, 241. Kingsley, Mry H., 44, 50, 51, 118, 119, 121, 122, 239. Kitching, A. J., 9. Knibb, Willim, 246. Lbrthe, Pierre, 35. Lbt, Pere, xiv, 22, 23, 24, 25, 61, 102, 198, 239. Lfyette, Mrqu de, 59. Lfitte, J., Lebrun, Sieur, 68. Lee, H. C., 58. Leger, J. N., 80, 243. Le Herse, A., 45. Leonrd, Arthur Glyn, 11, 12, 13, 240. Leslie, Chrles, 180, 222, 223, 246. Levy-Bruhl, Lucien, 11, 240. Lew, Mtthew Gregory, 147, 148, 186, 187, 246. Lindsey, Thoms, 198. Lippert, Julius, 240. Livingston, Willim Pringle, 50, 119, 120, 247. Long, Edwrd, 108, 180, 181, 221, 247. Long, Edwrd Beeston, 108. Long, Jne Ctherine, 108. Lou XVI of Frnce, 59. Lubbock, John, 240. Lunn, John, 165, 166, 247. Mckie, Peter, 10. Mdden, Richrd Robert, 189, 190, 191, 247. Mdiou, Thoms, 71, 243. Mlte-Brun, M., 48. Mngin, Arthur, 240. Mngin, Eugene P., 240. Mnning, Willim, 192, 193. Mnnington, George, 88, 89, 243. Mnsong, "Three finger Jck," 182, 183. Mrett, R. R., 121. Mrryt, Joseph, 247. Mspero, Gston, 240. McCre, Hrry, 247. McLeh, Alexnder, 52, 238. M'Leod, John, 35, 240.

276 256 INDEX Meek, C. K., 13, 14, 240. Meinhof, C, 1, 240. Menes or Mrim, king of Egypt, 151. Menzies, Alln, 51. Merwin, Bruce W., 86, 87, 88, 243. Millpugh, Arthur C, 212, 213. Mornd, Pul, 243. Moreu de Sint-Mery, Mederic Lou Elie, 58, , 69, 70, , 79, 80, 90, 93, , , 243. Morgn, Henry, 108. Moses the Prophet, 3, 109, 156. Npoleon Bonprte, 59. Nssu, Robert Hmmill, 50, 51, 52, 178, 240. Newell, Willim W., 57, 58, 243. Newlnd, H. Osmn, 210. Niles, Blir, 57, 244. Nord, Mme., 85. Norr, Robert, 32, 33, 34, 240. Nugent, Mri, 247. Ogilby, John, 25. Ogilvie, Willim, 198. Okomfo-Anotchi, feth priest, 121. Oldhm, C. F., 1, 2, 240. Oliver, Jmes, 199. Olivier, Sydney, 88, 219. Prsons, Elsie Clewes, 101, 102, 244. Pedro, Jen Philippe, 71. Perry, Willim Jmes, 240. Peter of Lyons, 58. "Peter Pindr" See Wlcot, John. Petrie, W. M. Flinders, 240. Phillippo, Jmes Murcell, 193, 247. Poll, Nichols, 29. Price-Mrs, Dr., xiv, xv, 69, 70, 89, 90, , , 106, 211, 212, 244. Prichrd, Hesketh, 79, 80, 95, 244. Prichrd, Jmes Cowles, 240. Pullen-Bury, B., 186. Riney, Willim, 199. Rmpini, Chrles, 196, 197, 198, 199, 247- Rttry, R. Sutherlnd, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 151, 152, 216, 218, 219, 247. Rtzel, Friedrich, 240. Renny, Robert, 183, 247. Reville, A., 241. Richrdson, A. E., 179. Rilnd, John, 226, 247. Robespierre, Mximilien, 59. Roscoe, John, 4, 10, 241. Rose, G. H., 247. Rougemont, Frederic de, 241. St. John, Spencer Buckinghm, 72-78, 79, 99, 212, 244. Slomon, President of Hiti, 78. Smuel, Peter, 229, 230, 247. Svine, Albert, 69, 244. Syce, A. H., 241. Schlegel, J. B., 20. Schmidt, Wilhelm, 70. Schweinfurth, Georg, 11, 240. Scot, Reginld, 11o, 241. Scott, Sibbld Dvid, 247. Sebrook, Willim Buchler, vi-xvi, 82, 91, 92, 96, 97, 98, 99, 102, 212, 244. Seligmn, C. G., 14, 241. Shore, Joseph, 247. Simon, Antoine, x, 85, 86. Simpson, Alexnder, 199. Sinclir, Augustus Constntine, 235, 247. Skertchley, J. A., 44, 45, 46, 241. Slone, Hns, 113, 179, 180, 247. Smith, Edwin W., 241. Smith, Grfton Eliot, 2, 241. Smith, Willim, 32, 33, 241. Smith, W. Robertson, 241. Snelgrve, Willim, 30, 31, 32, 56, 241. Spencer, Herbert, 50, 241. Stm, N., 241. Stephen, Jmes, 187, 188, 248. Stewrt, 184, 185, 248. Summer, Willim Grhm, 241. Summers, Montgue, 11o. J., Tlbot, D. Amury, 133, 242. Tlbot, Percy Amury, 14, 15, 16, 17, 242. Theocritus, Grecin poet, 128. Thoms, Northcote W., 242. Toussint l'ouverture, 101. Trelwney, Willim, 222. Tremerne, A. N., 15, 242. Trouillot, D., 71, 91, Trudo, king of Dhomey, 34. Tylor, Edwrd B., 20, 242. J. 1, Underhill, Edwrd Ben, 248. Vn Gennep, Arnold, 242. Vussiere, Pierre de, 59, 244. Venn, John, 228. Vinson, Julien, 242. Wke, C. Stnilnd, Wllon, M., 41. 1, 19, 242.

277 INDEX 257 Wshington, George, 108. Wtson, Richrd, 248. Wetherford, Will Duke, 56, 244. Weeks, John H., 242. Werner, Alice, 242. Westermnn, Deitrich, 242. Whidden, B. F., 58. Wilberforce, Willim, 176, 224, 248. Wildmn, J. B., 192. Willims, Alexnder, , Willims, Cynric R., 166, 248. Willims, Joseph John, 120, 142, 143, 144, 248. Wilson, J. Leighton, 39, 40, 132, 242. Wimpffen, Bron, 68. Wolcot, John ("Peter Pindr"), 222. Wood, J. G., 109. Wright, J., 244- Yellow, Gbriel Amkiri, 17. Young, Robert, 248.