Why does the often maligned Caribbean obeah tradition endure?

The practice, which merges pre-Abrahamic African religion, Christianity, and indigenous Caribbean features, has been stigmatised in the region

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Babus, Fakis, Sangomas – these are a few of the names of spiritual or mystical healers and practitioners found all across the African continent. A version of the tradition they follow, obeah, made its way to the Caribbean among enslaved populations, from West Africa. Today, obeah endures, despite colonialism and the adoption of Christianity across much of the Caribbean.

This week, I spoke to our Caribbean correspondent, Natricia Duncan, about the tradition, and a new Jamaican film that highlights aspects of obeah. Our conversation revealed to me that obeah, something I knew very little about, was in fact uncannily familiar.