In This Promised Land
Spirituality
Stories
How do St. Thomas residents engage with African-derived religions and spiritual practices (ADRs)? What value is attached to ADRs in contemporary St. Thomas? What moral/ethical tensions surround different uses of ADRs? Where do ADRs fit in visions for the “new” St. Thomas? The following are excerpts from fieldwork conversations with several St. Thomas residents. For confidentiality purposes, all names below are pseudonyms.
Obeah
Learn more about Obeah here
“Me deh inna mi yaad. Mi bredda an’ a girl a have waa altercation. Eventually, di girl lef’. Come the next morning now, to my surprise, di girl come back inna di yard fi get har hair done. Me guh out weh mi bredda deh— pon di asphalt weh him did a mek [concrete] block. Four hours after, mi have a serious foot pain. Fi months. Mi guh different church fi deal wid it. One pastor seh mi step inna some powder. Mi couldn’t walk fi six months. Every one a di pastor dem a seh mi need fi see a healer. One pastor tell me, “Go back to the sender!” Suh mi guh to di girl granmadda. Di granmadda light fyah a mi doorway an’ tell mi fi jump over it three time. Yuh see when mi jump ova it di third time? Mi staat walk same time! It wasn’t fi me the trap set fah, it was fi mi bredda. If my bredda did walk inna it, him woulda dead! I lef’ town and come country and experience obeah. Mi neva know seh it real fi real until mi come a Sen Thomas. If me coulda work magic, mi woulda look out fi myself first. Mi woulda ensure seh mi rich an’ mi pickney dem alright. But dem use obeah fi wicked!”
“ Now, yuh see di people dem weh involve inna it, mi see dem as spiritual people wid higher knowledge. Annuh likkle time mi have encounta with spirits. An’ mi affi use prayer an’ wata ritual from mi physician [obeah man] fi deliva mi. A nuh likkle time mi enemy dem rise up against me and try mad mi. ‘But when di wicked came upon me to eat up my flesh they stumble and fell’ [biblical verse], nuh suh? Dem try send duppy offa mi already— mi couldn’t sleep a night time; cyaa get no peace. A mi physician help deliva mi.”
English Language Translation
“I was in my yard. My brother and a girl had an altercation. Eventually, the girl left. Come the next morning, to my surprise, the girl came back to the yard to get her hair done. I went out to where my brother was— on the asphalt where he was making [concrete] blocks. Four hours after that, I had a serious foot pain. The pain went on for months. I went to different churches to get it healed. One pastor said that I had stepped in some powder. I couldn’t walk for six months! Every pastor I went to said I needed to see a healer. One pastor told me, “go back to the sender [of the pain]!”. So I went to the girl’s grandmother. The grandmother lit a fire in my doorway and told me to jump over it three times. When I jumped over it the third time, I started walking instantly! The trap [curse] wasn’t set for me, it was set for my brother! If my brother had walked in it, he would have died! I left Kingston for the country and experienced obeah. I didn’t know it was real until I came to St. Thomas. If I could work magic, I would have taken care of myself first. I would have ensured that I was rich and that my children were alright. But they [St. Thomas natives] use obeah to do wickedness!”
“The people who are involved in obeah, I see them as spiritual people with higher knowledge. I have had many encounters with spirits. And I had to use prayer and water rituals from my physician [obeah man] to deliver me. My enemies have risen against me to mad me many times. ‘But when the wicked came upon me to eat up my flesh they stumble and fell’ [biblical verse], right? They tried to send spirits after me before— I couldn’t sleep at nights; I couldn’t get any peace. It was my physician who helped to deliver me."
“Watt Town? Watt Town pilgrimage? Poco people can have pilgrimage? Dem a Arab? Dem a Jew? Stupidness! Poco people can even read? I don’t know one Poco smady weh literate. Walk inna any Poco church and tell me if yuh can find five people weh can read. A bunch of illiterate and fool fool people! Sake a dem wi nuh have nuh grapefruit tree lef’ a Sen Thomas. Dem walk and pick all a di grapefruit dem inna di parish fi use fight duppy as dem seh. Sen Thomas people need fi leave all dis revival poco niggermancy business and find ways fi act modern and be productive.”
Lindo: “Suh yuh like di Revival ting?”
Chris: “Yea, it’s interesting.”
Lindo: “Mi stay far from dem people deh, enuh. When dem a gwaan wid dem antics mi nuh like deh near dem. Mi nuh si weh people get outta Revival.”
Chris: “But yo—”
Riley: “Yuh think mi coulda tek up miself and deh wid a girl weh guh Poco church? If mi guh fuck pan har mi probably wake up wid mi mouth lean and mi hood a drop off!”
Chris: “Okay, wh—”
Lindo: “A serious ting! Nuh waa none a dem. Mi fraid a dem. When dem a chant and mek one bag a noise yuh nuh know wah kinda evil dem a wuk. Dem just mek di parish look bad, bredda. Sometimes mi all shame fi tell people seh mi come from Sen Thomas cause as yuh seh dat dem start talk bout how yuh wuk obeah and one bag a’ fuckery.”
English Language Translation
“Watt Town? ‘Watt Town pilgrimage’? Revivalists can have a pilgrimage? Are they Arabs? Are they Jews? Stupidness! Can Revivalists even read? I don’t know one Revivalist who is literate. Walk into any Revivalist church and tell me if you can find five persons who can read— they are a bunch of illiterate and foolish people! Because of them we have no grapefruit trees left in St. Thomas. They have walked and picked every grapefruit in the parish to fight ‘spirits’, as they claim. St. Thomas people need to leave this Revivalism ‘niggermancy’ business and find ways to act modern and be productive.”
Lindo: “So, you like Revivalism?”
Chris: “Yea, it’s interesting.”
Lindo: “I stay far from Revivalists. I don’t like being near them when they’re doing their antics.”
Chris: “But you— “
Riley: “You think I could be with a girl who goes to a Revivalist church? If I were to cheat on her I would probably wake up to my mouth bent to the side and my penis falling off!”
Chris: “Okay, wh—”
Lindo: “It’s a serious thing! I don’t want to be with any of them. You don’t know what sort of evil work they’re doing when they’re chanting and making a lot of noise. Sometimes I’m ashamed to tell people that I’m from St. Thomas because as soon as you tell them they start saying that you work obeah and all sort of foolishness.”
Cynthia: “Sometimes yuh inna danger and yuh nuh know. Di kumina can reveal some tings weh yuh cyaa see. One night we have a kumina, and di whol’ night dis girl inna myal. An’ di girl a call Simon, she a call Simon fi work pan him and Simon start gwaan some way an’ a retaliate, yuh know? An’ yuh know it neva tek a time— if a nuh di same week I tink a di adda week— we realize man kill him dung by Prospect by the beach. An’ sumbady inna myal and want him fi work pan him di night and him a retaliate.”
Chris: “Why? Him did ‘fraid?”
Cynthia: “Ah don’t know wah happen, cause it’s supm weh him used to. Him a somebody weh born an’ grow yah but some a wi just really show off, yuh understand? An’ sometimes yuh see some tings like dat cut judgement offa yuh. Cause sometimes we a guh a di wrong place a di wrong time, an’ dat can help yuh out inna a way, yuh understand mi? Cause if him did come now, dem woulda cut and clear him. An’ mi nuh seh him wouldn’t die enuh but tings like dis— sometimes, sometimes God move inna mischievous ways an’ his wonders to perform. If him did just obey and do dat, yuh know what judgement woulda cut offa him? Him wouldn’t dead. And maybe him woulda dead but not dat same night. Because wi woulda know wah fi do. Cause sometimes yuh affi bruck waa coconut, bruck two likkle bakkle pon him, throw likkle wine pon him and likkle rum and clear him. “
Moses: “Mi hardly do red and black Kumina. An’ mi affi highly paid if mi guh deh suh, cause wi nuh play dem drum deh. Cause fi da kumina deh yuh a deal wid duppy— yuh a kill smaddy ar yuh a hurt smaddy deh suh. Yuh nuh mek nuh man suh yuh nuh fi tek nuh man life. Suh if yaa participate inna it dem supposed to pay yuh. Cause tomorrow morning when yuh look and a man dead out deh suh and yuh know seh a di Kumina cause dat, then yaa waa guilty person. Once yuh mix inna it, yuh involve. You understand? Dat a my take pan it”
Chris: “Suh if somebody seh dem a guh ask yuh fi play a red and black Kumina, how much—“
Moses: “Fi wa reason a di first ting! Who yaa plan fa, dat a di next ting. Weh dem duh yuh a di third question because if you cyaa analyze the ting di right an’ proper way, leave it!
Chris: “And if it nuh mek sense to you den yuh nah guh badda.”
Moses: “Right, right. Because some people only THINK seh a deh person deh do dem supm an’ dem a guh get rid a dem. Mi nah guh get involve inna dat.”
Luther: “Right yah now, red an’ black Kumina a judgement Kumina.”
Moses: “A judgement Kumina, yes! An’ when a man a guh pay yuh fi red and black Kumina, less than a hundred thousand yuh nuh fi tek cause a man life yuh a go at.”
Luther: “Dats why yuh affi tell dem seh, ‘Yo, yuh know seh a two million or three million fi deh wuk deh’, cause dem cyaa pay it— dem naa guh waa pay it! An’ because yuh nuh waa do the job yuh just give dem a big price and mek dem change dem mind.”
Chris: “Why do you think so many persons are afraid of Kumina?”
Cynthia: “Some a dem affi ‘fraid a it cause fi some a dem when people inna myal dem rip out dem deeds! You nuh know dat? Yea, that’s why; mi nah guh hide and tell yuh. Some people rip out deeds, man! Alright, Basil have waa aunty a Bush Hill. Shi gaa waa Kumina dead yaad fi dis man outta Yallahs and get deep, deep inna di myal. Suh when she inna myal now and a gwaan up, crowd come roun’ har now. She ready fi rip story now, ready fi rip story and one big crowd come roun’ cause dem waa hear di story. All of a sudden she a bawl fi dem carry har guh a har yard; she waa lef di kumina, shi waa leff di kumina. Yuh nuh know wah happen?”
Chris: “Wah happen?”
Cynthia: “Di killa boy come roun’! Di boy weh kill di man— him owna family— come roun’, ready fi hear di story cause him know seh a him kill di man! And she inna myal and pick up waa gwaan and tell dem fi carry har guh a har yaad! And a when she inna di car a guh back now she start talk. So yuh see in certain things, yuh affi shut yuh mouth nuff time when yuh see some supm cause some supm will cost your owna life. A nuh everything you can talk out inna certain tings. Some people just work and do weh dem affi do, cause certain tings cyaa talk. A nuh everybody love when people buss out dem story pon dem; dem nuh like when yuh buss it out at all.”
English Language Translation
Cynthia: “Sometimes you’re in danger and you don’t know. The Kumina can reveal things you can’t see. One night we had a Kumina, and for the whole night this girl was in myal [possessed by an ancestral spirit]. And the girl was calling Simon, she was calling Simon to work on him [do spiritual work on him] and he started to strongly retaliate. It didn’t take long— maybe it was in the same week or the next week— until we realized that men had killed him by the beach in Prospect. And someone was in myal and wanted to work on him that night and he refused.”
Chris: “Why? Was he afraid"?”
Cynthia: “I don’t know what happened, because it’s something [Kumina] that he was used to. He was born and grown here but it could be that he had too much pride. And sometimes things like that [Kumina] can remove curses from you. Because sometimes we are going to the wrong place at the wrong time and it can help us out to deal with that. If he had allowed the girl to work on him, they would have delievered him. And I am not saying he wouldn’t have died but sometimes God works in mischevious ways and his wonders to perform. If he had obeyed, you know what curses would have been cleared from him? He wouldn’t have died. And maybe he would have died but not on that same night when he died. Because we would have known what to do, because sometimes you have to break a coconut, break two [beer] bottles on him, throw a little wine on him and a little rum and deliver him.”
Moses: “I hardly do red and black Kumina. And I have to be highly paid if I’m going to do it, because I don’t play the drums for that kind of Kumina. Because for that Kumina you are dealing with spritis— you are using spirits to kill someone or hurt someone. You can’t create a man so you shouldn’t be taking a man’s life, so if you are participating in it you should be paid well. Tomorrow morning when you come to the realization that a man is dead and it is because of the kumina you played, you are a guilty person. Once you are a part of it, you are involved. That is my take on it.”
Chris: “So if someone is going to ask you to play a red and black kumina, how much—”
Moses: “For what reason is the first thing! Who you are playing the red and black Kumina for is the next thing. What they have done to you is the third question, because if you are not able to analyze the situation correctly you should leave it!”
Chris: “And if it doesn’t make sense to you then you won’t go ahead with it.”
Moses: “Right, right. Because some people only THINK that a specific person has done them wrong and then they plan to get rid of them. I won’t get involved in that.”
Luther: “Red and black kumina is an extremely serious Kumina."
Moses: “A very serious Kumina, yes! And when someone is going to pay you for red and black Kumina, you should not take less than a hundred thousand dollars (JMD) because you are going after a man’s life.”
Luther: “That is why you have to tell them, “yo, I am charging two million or thre million to do that work’, because they won’t be able to pay it— they won’t pay it! And because you don’t want to do the job you give them a high price that will make them change their mind.”
Chris: Why do you think so many people are afraid of Kumina?
Cynthia: “Some of them are afraid of it because for some of them, when someone is in myal their deeds get revealed! You didn’t know that? Yes, that’s why; I have no shame in telling you. Alright, Basil has an aunt in Bush Hill. She went to a Kumina dead yard [cultural event for the recently deceased] for this man in Yallahs and she was possessed by an ancestral spirit [in myal] . Whilst in myal, a crowd started to gather around her. She was ready to reveal something and a big crowd gathered around her because they wanted to hear the story she was going to reveal. Suddenly, she was crying for them to take her home; she wanted to leave so badly. You know what had happened?”
Chris: “What happened?”
Cynthia: “The killer was in the crowd! The boy who killed the man— his own family— came around and was waiting on her to share the story because he knew he was the one who killed the man! While she was in myal, it was revealed to her that he was there! It was when she was in the car on her way back home, that’s when she started to reveal that the killer was in the crowd. So, you see, for some things, you have to shut your mouth because some things will cost you your life. Not everything can be spoken about/revealed. Some people just do the necessary spiritual work and keep it moving because certain things cannot be revealed. Not everyone likes when their story/deed is revealed; they don’t like when you reveal it at all.”