![]() The fact that some obeah men take money for their services means they are sometimes accused of preying on the vulnerable by profiting from their superstitious beliefs and poverty. Obeah men are still very popular in rural areas but are viewed in many urban communities nowadays as immoral. Obeah practitioners (known as ‘obeah men’) can be hired to use their spells and rituals to bring good or bad luck. It’s a form of black magic and people will turn to obeah to put a curse on an enemy (or protect themselves against one), to bring themselves luck, or to be healed. Obeah is a belief system that is officially outlawed, although nowadays it's rare for anyone to be convicted for adhering to the practices. As duppies are capable of doing both good and evil, many rituals on the island arose as a way to appease these spirits. After death, one of the souls goes up to heaven and the other stays on earth. A duppy is one of two souls that a person has. ![]() The Nine Nights ritual was traditionally practised to ensure the dead person’s ‘duppy’ did not come back to haunt the living. Traditionally, the person will be buried after the ninth night, once the celebrations have finished. Friends and relatives will meet and celebrate the life of the person who has passed, and the gatherings are normally very lively and fun. Hand-clapping and percussion are an important part of Jamaican Revivalist ceremonies © mauricioalvesfotos / Shutterstock Nine Nights RitualĪlthough many Jamaican death rituals are dying out nowadays, the ‘Nine Nights’ ritual is still going strong – it’s an extended wake that lasts nine days and traditionally involves music, anecdotes, lots of food, and plenty of rum. This is done to invite possession, and once the spirit is inside its physical host, it becomes an adviser to the ‘flock’, interpreting messages in tongues. So it makes sense to keep these spirits happy – and Revivalists choose to do this by praising and worshipping them using traditional dances and songs.Īs with any religion, there are of course different branches of Revivalism, but generally speaking a Revivalist ritual involves lots of singing, drumming, dancing, hand-clapping, and foot-stomping. Unlike European Christianity, Revivalist Christianity in Jamaica doesn't believe in a separation between this world and the next, meaning spirits can affect the material world and, by extension, our lives. Revivalism is based on Christianity, but with an African twist – the attitudes towards nature and spirituality are influenced by African religions, as is the style of worship. Jamaican Revivalism is a mix of European and African religious traditions, turned into something uniquely Jamaican.
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