I remember when I was a little girl in Jamaica we were sent home from school because a coffin with four “dranco’s >(our sweet Jamaican patois!), Vultures was spotted in the area and it was said to be sent by de Laurence looking for Mr Brown, read my post L.W. deLaurence!!! Read without fear. Countless stories of de Laurence were told in Jamaica and he  is credited to date on the development of Jamaican Obeah. I once met a woman who told me that it was de Laurence who taught her Obeah, I asked her how, since he had died in 1936  when judging by her looks she may have just been born probably around the time he died. She told me that she had written to him, (he had a catalog company in Chicago, which was ran by others after his death) and had requested to be a student of his. According to her this was when she was sent materials with instructions of what she should do and on how she would begin training. She went on to tell me about some of her training, which seemed to me to be odd and scary, lol. She was instructed to lay on her bed in the dark on certain nights and wait in silence, she had to make sure that everyone in the house was asleep and she was told that whatever she saw or heard she should not fear. I am guessing that this was some kind of initiation. She went on to tell me some more of what she experienced which I will not reveal here. She is well-known in her community a Obeah woman with great powers. As per her story she had a cow, her one and only cow which was used to take care of her and her children after the death of her husband, the cow was stolen and it was told to her who stole the cow. One of the area boys was the culprit, so she went to him and told him to return her cow. Well missa man denied it and of course no cow was returned.

Miss Myri, that was her name, decided to teach him a lesson wid obeah, so she did what she knew best and it was not long before the young man was seen and heard walking through town saying “Moo!, Moo (making the mooing sound of a cow) ah me thief miss Myri cow!, the story is very known in her parish in Jamaica and I asked her if this was something that he did all the time, she said there are times when he is “normal”, and another time when he goes around mooing, she defended her actions to me, saying that she was justified in what she did because this was her one cow and her only source of income and she did warn him before she put on de obeah..true story, well according to her and others who knows her and the young man …mi nuh know wha fi sey …being  the proverbial doubtful Thomas, although I have even witnessed greater than that..

I was in Africa some time ago and my husband who is a Babalawo (high priest of Ifa) and I were having a discussion about Juju, and so he told me a story of his Oluwo, the person who trained him in Ifa, in Osun State Nigeria. He said that there was a time his Oluwo called him and decided to show him the power of a particular leaf, something that was just growing wildly in the bushes. The Oluwo sent him to pick the leaves and so he went, when he brought it to the Oluwo he was told to dry the leaves and pound it out to powder, after that was done, the Oluwo proceeded to add certain things, which also can be found in nature to it and it was burned in the form of an incense while incantation was chanted by the Oluwo as they watched it burn. My husband told me that the Oluwo told him to watch what would happen before the night was out, him sey money came to the Oluwo from the east, west ,north and south, moneyyyy, lolol, (power deh ah Africa enuh!)…he was warned however that such practices should only be done when there was dire need for it, it should never be abused, Never! I have seen incredible things.  Powers de bout…..   suh come mek we chat!

 Obeah in Jamaica is very common and there are practitioners all over. Many of the practitioners claim that they have supernatural abilities from healing to releasing a prisoner from his jail cell. Charms are apart of the Obeah mans claim, amulets to ward of evil or even death. Obeah is seen by most to be evil, and anyone who is called a Obeah man or woman is looked upon as a devil worshiper. In truth Obeah has been around since the beginning of time. In Jamaica it is called Obeah, while in Haiti it is Voodoo which came along with the slaves from out of Africa, places like Togo and Guinea, and is practiced today in Haiti. Juju as it is called in west Africa, Witchcraft as it is known as around the world and Roots to the African-Americans. Of course the names of these spiritual magical practices differs according to language and cultures.  It is denounced by the Church as Hersey (dem practice it de most) and in olden days anyone branded as a witch would be burnt at the stakes!..lawks!!

It is easy to fear that which one does not understand. Hollywood, media and religion has done the most damage to the minds of people who do not understand these practices, yet it is there, plain as day in the Holy Bible The most popular and influential book of all times. There is the story of  King Saul who sought the help of a Witch/Medium 1st Samuel: 28

When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a spirit [a] coming up out of the ground.”
“What does he look like?” he asked.
“An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19 The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”   As well as with the story of Saul before he was King seeking divination from the prophet Samuel.

In the book of Matthew chapter 17: 1-8 Jesus speaks to the dead

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

And it is written in Leviticus 20:6, “I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.”

and also in  Deuteronomy 18:10-12, God advises the Israelites to reject the practices of the people living around them. Using His strongest language yet He says: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.”

SUCH CONTRADICTIONS!!, Or is it??..Is it the Church’s way of controlling the mass through fear yet injecting the truth in some areas of the book, or are they just confused..ok mek mi nuh challenge the church, caws fi dem obeah very strong..lol.

There is much validity to these practices, but the road the practitioner threads depends on that person’s character. There is nothing to fear from practitioners of the art of these crafts, it is the wickedness of human beings who abuse power given to them by the creator of All for the service of humanity. There will be a part two to this post, mi nuh done! we going deeper and I have great stories to tell!.