Benny Bunter

Well-known member
The only info you really get about this stuff is from the Jamaican press and sites like dancehallmag.com that are so scandalous and tabloidy it's impossible to know what's really going on
 

forclosure

Well-known member
I wish there were more people on here into this stuff it's fucking brilliant, miles better than rap at the moment
i don't know if i'd go as far to say it's miles better but yeah this stuff is great but of course you could say it's cheating cause of cause as the Jamaican man here i'd say this stuff is great
 

forclosure

Well-known member
I just tweeted that Squash video 'cos the obeah is so funny, without watching it all. All those nice people who followed me for psychoanalysis are in for a bit of a shock. Should wipe out the follower count I reckon.
those people need a shock to the system that's one of the many problems with twitter if you do one thing its expected you do that forever any slight divergence is an aberration to the system
 

catalog

Well-known member
i like that 2nd squash one more than the first. the first one is too much, like they are playing at it. the 2nd one is more revealing, they are in new york? and filming in some kind of outdoor shopping mall area? i like the shots where they are all circled round the hennessey bottle in their white trainers.

that green leaf riddim is good- prefer the tommy lee sparta version. he's got a very beautiful mournful but sweet voice.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
I sent that Squash video to a mate, he messaged back:
think the turban worn by the obeahman in that video might be an instance of the enduring influence of Delaurence "Hindoo Magic" on JA obeah.

DeLauence was a guy who sold mail order magical goods and grimoires (occult books) from his base in Chicago across the US South and the Carribean so was quite influential on US hoodoo (folk magic rooted in black communities) and presumably obeah. The same sort of figure turns up in the film Country Man so presumably it's some sort of cultural archetype.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Obeah is weird. Vodou and Santeria/Lukimi are very well documented, organised religions on their native islands but obeah is nothing like that. It's hidden, largely invisible. I assume it's something to do with Catholic vs Protestant nations.
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
I sent that Squash video to a mate, he messaged back:
think the turban worn by the obeahman in that video might be an instance of the enduring influence of Delaurence "Hindoo Magic" on JA obeah.

DeLauence was a guy who sold mail order magical goods and grimoires (occult books) from his base in Chicago across the US South and the Carribean so was quite influential on US hoodoo (folk magic rooted in black communities) and presumably obeah. The same sort of figure turns up in the film Country Man so presumably it's some sort of cultural archetype.
Very interesting. Did you see this video with the obeah scamming ritual at the beginning? He's wearing a sort of turban as well.

 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Obeah is weird. Vodou and Santeria/Lukimi are very well documented, organised religions on their native islands but obeah is nothing like that. It's hidden, largely invisible. I assume it's something to do with Catholic vs Protestant nations.
It's still outlawed in Jamaica.

"Although Obeah remains a popular practice among those of African ancestry, it is still frowned upon by society, and widely practiced in secrecy. In fact, Obeah has been outlawed in Jamaica since 1760 after Tacky’s Rebellion...

Variations of Obeah are practiced in the Bahamas and in several Caribbean nations. Obeah was decriminalized in Anguilla in 1980, Barbados in 1998, Trinidad and Tobago in 2000, and St Lucia in 2004. In Guyana, the government recently announced its intention to remove the crime of Obeah from the criminal code.

Last year, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck advocated that a new law to protect vulnerable people from being fleeced by those who exploit their beliefs and suggested that there were moves afoot to repeal the 1898 Obeah Act. Chuck’s remarks in Parliament ignited a firestorm of abuse on social media, and he clarified his comments, denying that the government wanted to make the practice of Obeah legal."
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Cheers, I had no idea. Not aware of many (any?) contemporary sources on it in Jamaica which is unsurprising in light of that information.
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Cheers, I had no idea. Not aware of many (any?) contemporary sources on it in Jamaica which is unsurprising in light of that information.
Just found this pdf of a book called Creole Religions of the Caribbean: An Introduction from Vodou and Santeria to Obeah and Espiritismo, (New York University Press, 2003). Looks interesting.

 

catalog

Well-known member
Cheers, I had no idea. Not aware of many (any?) contemporary sources on it in Jamaica which is unsurprising in light of that information.
What's brilliant about a lot of the culture is how it considers the written word wrong. Like 5%ers as well. Distrust of writing it down. No book.
 
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