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As far as I'm aware "Obeah" is used in certain parts of the West Indies, such as Jamaica and Trinidad, to describe the practices of witches and magicians. Its usage is a bit like "hoodoo", and a person who works sorcery is generally known as an "Obeahman". There's plenty of Reggae and Calypso songs about them.
Caribbean countries colonised by Catholic nations, such as Haiti, Cuba and Brazil, tend to have well-defined syncretic new world religions that blend African religion with Native American practices, Catholicism and whatever else. Countries colonised by Protestant nations, such as Jamaica and Trinidad, tend not to have such well-defined syncretisms. African belief didnt mesh as well with Protestant Christianity as it did with Catholicism, and the syncretism didnt take in the same way.
However, the African practices, folklore, beliefs and magic didnt entirely disappear either. They survive as folk magic, in a lot of cases divorced from a religious context much like hoodoo, and these tend to fall under the catch all term Obeah. The word is often used pejoratively and has similar negative connotations to the word "witch" in medeival Europe.
As a form of practice, it's probably best thought of as a Jamaican form of Hoodoo, rather than a religion like Vodou or Santeria. I seem to remember Kenneth Grant mentioning it in his book Cults of the Shadow, and making it out to be a Serpent Cult or something, but y'know, it's Kenneth Grant. Is there anything that he doesnt think is a Serpent Cult?
Having said that though, a lot of stuff goes on, and there probably are forms of Obeah that are more religious in tone and have their own unique mysteries. But short of going to the Caribbean and looking for people willing to talk to you about it, I doubt you'll find much information. |
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