What is Obeah in the Caribbean?

Obeah is a religious practice based on a combination of multiple religions—a creolization of religions, so to speak. It draws on elements of African religion

African religion

While some religions adopted a pantheistic worldview, most follow a polytheistic system with various gods, spirits and other supernatural beings. Traditional African religions also have elements of fetishism, shamanism and veneration of relics.

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Traditional African religions - Wikipedia

and also reinterprets and "Africanizes" Christian practices.

What are the beliefs of the Obeah?

The practice of Obeah is the belief that one can use certain spirits or supernatural agents to work harm to the living, or to call them off from such mischief.

What does Obeah name mean?

Obeah is perhaps the oldest of all Afro-Creole religions in the Caribbean. Its name is derived from the Ashanti words Obay-ifo or Obeye, meaning wizard or witch.

What is Obeah Trinidad?

Abstract Obeah, which colonial ordinances defined capaciously as “any assumption of supernatural power,” was a crime in Trinidad until 2000, and the law continues to make Obeah a punishable offense in most of the anglophone Caribbean.

Why is Obeah illegal in Jamaica?

Obeah was initially criminalised to protect slavery against uprisings; the current law was made to symbolise Jamaica's hostility to its African connections and to suppress poor people's religion.

Why Obeah Horrifies Caribbean People

What is Obeah in Wide Sargasso Sea?

Obeah (called "vodou" or "voodoo" in the French-speaking Caribbean), a folk religion indigenous to the Caribbean, casts a huge shadow over this novel, though whether its magic really works is up for debate. (Read more about obeah here).

Is Obeah legal in Trinidad?

Abstract Obeah, which colonial ordinances defined capaciously as “any assumption of supernatural power,” was a crime in Trinidad until 2000, and the law continues to make Obeah a punishable offense in most of the anglophone Caribbean.

What religion did the East Indian bring to Trinidad?

The East Indians brought to Trinidad a wide range of festivals and religious observances. For East Indians - both Hindus and Muslims - these celebrations were important. They allowed the immigrants to hold on to the values and principles which had sustained them for centuries.

Where did Voodoo come from?

Contrary to popular opinion, Voodoo (or voudou) is not a form of witchcraft or demonic worship. It is a folk religion originating from Haiti that came into being when Africans were captured and forced into slavery, causing their cultures and religious beliefs to collide with Catholicism.

What does Rahtid mean in Jamaican?

(Jamaica) A swear word, like damn or hell. quotations ▼

What is a pocomania?

The word Pocomania comes from the Spanish for “small madness.” Pocomania is a Jamaican spiritist religion whose worship services are characterized by singing, dancing, spirit possession, speaking in tongues, and healing rituals.

How many Orisha are there?

Yoruba tradition often says that there are 400 + 1 orishas, which is associated with a sacred number. Other sources suggest that the number is "as many as you can think of, plus one more – an innumerable number". Different oral traditions refer to 400, 700, or 1,440 orishas.

Where is voodoo practiced?

' Vodun is an ancient religion practiced by some 30 million people in the West African nations of Benin, Togo and Ghana. With its countless deities, animal sacrifice and spirit possession, voodoo — as it's known to the rest of the world — is one of the most misunderstood religions on the globe.

What are the beliefs of revivalism?

revivalism, generally, renewed religious fervour within a Christian group, church, or community, but primarily a movement in some Protestant churches to revitalize the spiritual ardour of their members and to win new adherents.

What race are Trinidad?

Among its neighbours, the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago stands out due to its ethnic makeup. The population of most Caribbean nations is mainly of African descent; similar to Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago is evenly divided between Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians.

Are there white Trinidadians?

White Trinidadians (sometimes Euro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or local-whites) are Trinidadians of European descent.

Where did most Indians in Trinidad come from?

Generally, most Indians in Trinidad and Tobago can trace their ancestors back to northern India, especially the Bhojpur and Awadh region of the Hindi Belt, which lies in the Gangetic plains, a plain that is located between the Ganga and Yamuna rivers and faces the mountain ranges of the Himalayas and the Vindhyas.

Who is famous for black magic in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea?

Obeah: The use of Black Magic in Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea by Amy Ferguson.

Who is Christophine?

A wedding present from the old Mr. Cosway to Annette, Christophine is a commodified woman, but is still fiercely self-willed. She provides a contrast to Annette in that she exercises complete independence from men and implicitly distrusts their motives.

What does the title Wide Sargasso Sea mean?

The title of the novel refers to the Sargasso Sea, a vast area of the northern Atlantic Ocean which is home to sargassum, a kind of seaweed. The Sargasso Sea is legendary for being an oceanic black hole, where ships get ensnared by huge forests of floating seaweed, or drift helplessly when the wind ceases to blow.

Should obeah be capitalized?

Obeah can be written with a capital O or a lowercase o. I prefer the lowercase o because it underscores that obeah is a “catchall”* term with a bricolage tradition.

What is a kumina in Jamaica?

Kumina is an Afro-Jamaican religion. Kumina has practices that include secular ceremonies, dance and music that developed from the beliefs and traditions brought to the island by Kongo enslaved people and indentured labourers, from the Congo region of West Central Africa, during the post-emancipation era.

What's it called when you only believe in one God?

monotheism, belief in the existence of one god, or in the oneness of God.