By Johnny Coomansingh
In Trinidad and Tobago, there are many published articles about the practice of Obeah. Some of the headlines, to cite a few, include “A trip to the Obeahman when all else fails…,” – “Moruga haunted by Obeah, Witchcraft,” – “Cops probe ‘Obeah threats’ to licensing officers in Tobago,” -“Woman, 56, in court over Obeah claims,” – “Last ‘Obeah’ tree stands tall in Tobago, attracting tourist attention,” and “Search on for Tobago man who called on Obeahmen to “deal” with licensing officers.”
Trini calypsos also contain lyrics that make mention of the practice of Obeah. One such calypso titled ‘Obeah’ written by Ato Williams and sung by Terri Lyons provided a peek at what people conceive as Obeah:
Granny say girl you have to guard yuh life;
Some people out dey them eh really nice;
As soon as yuh get likkle success;
They smiling wit’ you but inside they really vex;
So yuh have to protect yourself and be covered;
‘Cause yuh happiness to dem is a bother;
So they cockin’ their ears to know yuh business;
So they know how much potion they need to mix.
Cause they wukkin’ Obeah;
Watch them…Some of them envious people like Obeah;
Trust meh, Obeah.
Dr Winston Bailey, ‘aka’ The Mighty Shadow in his album Is The Pan In Me (01/09/2014), sang a calypso titled: ‘Obeahman.’ A few lines in his lyrics briefly explains his concept about Obeah:
A little boy, name Conoroy;
Accusing mih, rel seriously;
He say he feel, dat I does deal;
I asked him why, he telling lie;
He say yuh singing nonsense;
But people love yuh nonsense;
Is obeah, is obeah, yuh wukking obeah;,
Yuh looking like ah boo-boo;,
Yet mih sista love yuh;
Is obeah, is obeah, yuh wukking obeah;
Obeahman! Answer the question!
True or not, yuh dealing with Satan!
Whether you know it, accept it, believe it, or believe in it, the practice of Obeah seems to be alive and well in Tobago. In recent days, the dailies have reported that police officers are searching for Obeahmen in Tobago. These Obeahmen seem to be hiding from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). The TTPS claims that the Tobago Obeah men are wukking Obeah on them.
This scenario emerged because of the apparent ‘highhandedness’ of Licensing Officers from Trinidad who have been conducting roadblocks and sharing traffic tickets like rain! Many vehicle drivers became angry after they received tickets along with demerit points. The upset drivers gave the clarion call for the officers to go back to Trinidad, or else! Some have resorted to Obeah to chase the officers straight back to Trinidad.
In the article, “Cops probe ‘obeah threats’ to Licensing officers in Tobago” published in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, Elizabeth Gonzalez filed this report on August 01, 2024:
“Resistance among Tobagonians over ongoing joint anti-crime exercises on the island has resulted in death threats against Licensing officials, leading to a police investigation. Assistant commissioner of police, Collis Hazel yesterday said Tobago police are working to locate one man seen making threats in a video and once found, he will be arrested.
As tensions mounted, calls for all obeah practitioners on the island to unite against the oppression of licensing officers were made. In one video, a man later identified as Harry Hercules lit candles and placed red ixoras (flowers) around an animal head carcass, while saying, “Kill them.” Threats to “kill” and “deal” with the officers through obeah were also circulated via voice notes and videos. Guardian media met up with Hercules, who claimed to be an obeah man, in Roxborough. He said people in Tobago East were ready to summon their ancestors to fight. He said: “Real jumbie for them. I’m not stopping and I’m going right in. Real jumbie for them.”
Who knows what these Obeahmen in Tobago could summon and bring to pass concerning the licensing officers. In my discussions with friends, some of them relate that “Some Tobago people eh easy nah …” It is well-known that there are some places in Tobago that many people even fear to mention.
Speaking to his supporters at a political meeting, the present prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago made reference to the village of Les Coteaux: “I from Mason Hall in Tobago. Mason Hall very close to Les Coteaux.” I have no idea about what really happens or is practiced in Les Coteaux. He was speaking about what could or would happen to Patrick Manning, the former leader of the Peoples National Movement (PNM). Apparently, there was bad blood between the two individuals. Concerning Tobago, it does not stop there.
The story is told that a young man who grew up in Sangre Grande, became a policeman, and perished in Tobago. As far I know, this fellow used to hang out in our neighbourhood when we were children. He even ate of the coconut bake my mother made. However, after joining the police force he exhibited a radical change. He became aloof and arrogant and distanced himself from us.
Suddenly, for whatever the reason(s) he was transferred to Tobago. No one knows the trauma that a young man from Tobago suffered at the hands of this horrible policeman. All we heard was that the young man’s mother “fixed” the policeman good and proper. He ended up in hospital because his stomach painfully expanded when the tide rose and contracted when the tide fell. He did not last long. No one really knew how he died. Such stories come up for discussion from time to time.
As a cultural geographer, I come across many concepts, beliefs, traditions, and religions. I am now beginning to assess the secretiveness of the cultural landscape in terms of the artifacts, sociofacts and mentifacts. Nevertheless, as a child I was afraid to even mention the labels given to some of these beliefs. We were made to literally fear and avoid some religions and some of the people who practiced those religions.
Although quite poor, my mother was very particular about what we ate, and from whom we received food or ‘delicacies.’ She told us that we must not eat anything offered to idols and to be careful about the people who prepared such foods. She had her reasons and we obeyed her to the letter because we knew that she had what Trinis know as ‘goat mouth.’ We knew if we contravened her warnings it could result in us getting hurt or find ourselves in serious trouble. We were made to listen and obey.
In one of my true stories published in Caribbean News Global (CNG) titled Granty, the Brown-Skin Gyul, and the Obeah Man, I spoke about the machinations of Obeah.
This story just scratched the surface about the ‘arts’ practiced in Obeah. I believe that my godmother who helped Granty find an Obeahman was a quasi-Obeahwoman. Why was she so interested in all kinds of potions and powders? An old man who used to assist her with her cocoa estate once said to me, “Dat woman eh good nah.” He probably knew something about her that I was too blind to see. It could be that he knew much more about her ‘obeahristic’ dealings with ‘ketching’ people to do her bidding.
In his 1966 ‘Road March’ album, Dr Francisco Slinger ‘aka’ The Mighty Sparrow, Calypso King of the World presented his song Obeah Wedding. Below is a clip from the song:
You making yourself a pappy show Melda;
You making yourself a bloody clown;
Up and down the country looking for Obeah;
And your perspiration smell so strong, well;
Girl you only wasting time;
Obeah wedding bells don’t chime;
And you can’t trap me;
With necromancy.
Obeah is at the basic level, a religion. Lindsay Haines in his article ‘Obeah Is a Fact of Life, and Afterlife in the Caribbean’ published in the New York Times (September 10, 1972) conveys a cornucopia of information concerning the practice of Obeah. The excerpt below is but a snippet of what Haines posits:
“Obeah is a private pursuit, something just between a fellow and his fears. Since obeah is technically illegal on most islands, its believers maintain a conspiracy of silence. Caribbean obeahmen live in seclusion in the bush, out of the eye of the law, which is forever on their trail. They speak in unknown tongues, which not even they can always understand. Their powers can both heal and harm and are for hire by rich, poor, black and white.
Obeah (or Obecyahism) is not to be confused with the formalized rites of Haiti’s more familiar voodoo. Obeah has no creed or organized service of worship. In the language of the Ashanti, obay’fo meant wizard, and obi in East Africa meant sorcery or fetishism. The etymology has been traced to ancient Egyptian mythology in which ob (or aub) mean serpent. Moses warned the Israelites not to recognize the demon Ob, translated in the Bible as divinator or sorcerer.
Whatever its sources, obeah drove the West Indian sugar magnates right up the plantation walls. When Africans were shipped to the New World, they were forced to relinquish language, culture and religion. Black magic they managed to cling to, perhaps because represented revenge and hope to them …
Most planters eventually learned at first‐hand about the power Obeah had over their slaves. The latest European medicines were useless against the slave who moaned, “I obeahed. I goan die.” Without any apparent physical symptoms, the African turned his face to the wall and “pined away.”
Despite the cultural imperialism orchestrated by the colonialists on Caribbean islands, the secretive practice of Obeah has remained and will not go away too soon. Many Caribbean people still believe that the Obeahman has within his power the ability to render someone invincible, resuscitate the dead, cure all diseases, protect individuals from the consequences of their crimes, and cause great harm to anyone he wishes.
Putting their faith and hope in the Obeahmen or Obeahwomen (Seerwomen) sometimes do not always result in desirable outcomes. I once had a high school sweetheart whose mother went to consult with a Seerwoman about her reddened swollen breasts. The Seerwoman told her that “…somebody do she bad.” Not long after, the woman died. It was breast cancer. Those were the days when non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cancer were extremely stigmatized in Trinidad. No one wanted anyone to know that they were suffering from ailments that could spell death.
In the culture of Trinidad and Tobago, we live with a host of belief systems, one of which is Obeah. Because it is so secretive, many are dubious that the practice exists until an outburst is what has recently happened in Tobago.
Much of what the ‘man in the street’ knows about Obeah amounts to just ol’ talk, hearsay and gossip. Nevertheless, it seems that Obeah is alive and well in Tobago. There are those who swear, that Obeah works … like a charm.
