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by Wayne Campbell
“A people without knowledge of its past history, origins and culture is like a tree without roots.” – Marcus Garvey,
The Racist History of the Obeah Laws
The adage faith kills or faith heals is a timely reminder of the hold that those involved in necromancy have over society.
Keeping a stranglehold on our culture is not unique to Jamaica; is also quite widespread throughout the Caribbean,
all of which were once part of the plantocracy of European colonization.
Many of the laws that made obeah illegal during slavery were part of the ‘slave codes’ and expired when slavery was abolished. However, most Caribbean islands replaced them with other laws criminalizing obeah after becoming independent.
Trinidad’s Summary Punishment Ordinance of 1868 made obeah punishable by whipping and imprisonment for men and flogging only for women. Interestingly, the anti-obeah clauses were removed from the law in 2000.
In Guyana, an ‘Obeah Suppression Order’ was passed in 1855 and obeah was included in anti-vagrancy laws from 1893.
In Barbados, there is no current legal prohibition on the practice of obeah; The Vagrancy Act of 1840 which had made it similar to a vagrant’s deed was repealed in 1842.
In Jamaica, the Obeah Act 1898 makes it unlawful to be a ‘person practicing Obeah’, which it defines as: ‘any person who, in order to carry out any fraudulent or unlawful purpose, or for gain, or with intent of intimidating a person. , uses or pretends to use any occult means, or claims to possess any supernatural powers or knowledge.’ Most Obeah laws authorized flogging for men as punishment.
Obeah was originally criminalized to protect slavery against insurrections; the current law was made to symbolize Jamaica’s hostility to its African connections and to suppress the religion of poor people.
Obeah was first made illegal in 1760 as part of a sweeping repressive act passed in the wake of Tacky’s Rebellion, the largest uprising of enslaved people in the 18th-century British-colonized Caribbean .
Tacky’s Revolt or Rebellion (1760–1761) is considered the most important British Caribbean slave rebellion of the eighteenth century, and second only to the Haitian Revolution in comparative resistance. It began in the north-central Jamaica parish of St. Mary.
The law was a direct response to the fact that the leaders of the rebellion were counseled by people of obeah who tried to give them courage, solidarity and spiritual protection.
The call to roll back the Obeah Act is often made in light of the law’s racist origins. In practice, the law was used almost exclusively against poor Jamaicans, mostly blacks but sometimes Indians.
Spiritual self-preservation is not limited to so-called guard rings; rosaries are also used to ward off evil spirits mainly by those in the upper echelons of society.
This practice stems from the period of slavery throughout the Caribbean during which Roman Catholicism was the dominant religion of Europe.
In case your memory of the story may be a little fuzzy; between 1838 and 1917, European governments allowed their Caribbean planters to import some 500,000 Indian indentured servants from India to work on their sugar plantations.
The arrival of these bonded laborers was in direct response to the so-called labor shortage stemming from the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies in 1838.
Popular Culture
Popular culture can be understood as a set of products, practices, beliefs and cultural objects that dominate society.
Popular culture has the ability to influence those individuals it encounters and includes various elements of a culture from music to dance, movies, literature, fashion.
It includes everything that is believed and consumed by most people in any society.
Popular culture cuts across socio-economic and political lines. However, we often view popular culture negatively; this is not always the situation. Socialization begins with the family.
However, most families are dysfunctional and this adds to the problems facing society at large given the high rate of murder and misconduct among our people.
The school is expected to continue the socialization process; however, the current education system is not impacting a significant number of students, especially our boys.
In contrast, it seems that popular culture is influencing our students more than the education system. Given the inequities of the education system that have worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic, this is not surprising.
Policy makers should bear in mind that schools operate in a gendered regime and as such expectations are different for the sexes.
Understandably, this is problematic for policy makers as efforts are being made to close the learning gap as well as the learning poverty of the current education system.
While it is concerning, society should not be surprised that our students are being ‘guarded’ as they pursue their educational interests. Our students are interpreting what they see the adults around them doing.
The practice of obeah has been glorified in popular culture. Among the popular dancehall songs that address this issue are ‘Guard Up’ by Insideeus and Intence by Yahoo Boyz.
As we celebrate Emancipation Day, it is imperative that we are aware of our history as we plan ahead for the future. We must never forget the history of our indigenous peoples who disappeared due to genocide committed by Europeans.
As a region, we must raise our collective voice for reparations and hold accountable those European powers that commit crimes against humanity in the Anglophone Caribbean.
Undoubtedly, the task of the current generation is to ensure the realization of economic independence. Emancipation Day should be a day of reflection.
The war continues.
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and/or gender issues. [email protected] @ WayneCamo © #EmancipationDay #Jamaica60 #CARICOM #AnglophoneCaribbean
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