Negroes: Superstition--Trials by ordeal--Flower-fence--Bible
and key--A way to recover stolen property--Charm to prevent a
scolding tongue--Jumbies--A night's adventure--The soldier's
last jump--Jumbies calls--Betsey, the nurse--The haunted house
--A cure--The drowning boys--The murdered woman--The jumby's
revenge.
In the former chapter I endeavoured to give some description of
the doctrine of Obeah. There are also several mysterious rites
current among the negroes on which they rely to find out a thief.
One of these trials by ordeal is thus performed: they procure
some of the leaves of the "flower-fence," or "Barbados' pride,"
(called by the negroes "doodle doo,") and lay them in a heap, in
some peculiar manner, with a black dog (not a quadruped, but a
small copper coin of about three farthings sterling, current in
this island a few years ago) in the middle. They do not tie this
bundle together, but by the manner in which it is placed they are
enabled to raise it to the neck of the suspected person without
its falling to pieces. The accused is then to say, (holding the
bundle under their throat at the same time,) "Doodle doo, doodle
doo, if me tief de four dog, (or what- ever it may be that is
missing,) me wish me tongue may loll out of me mout." If nothing
takes place, the person is innocent, and the charm is tried upon
another, until the guilty one's turn comes, when immediately
their tongue hangs out of their mouth against their will.
Another trial by ordeal (which, I believe, has formerly been
practised in England, and has probably been taught them by the
whites) is thus performed:--A door-key is placed between the
leaves of the Bible, upon the 18th and 19th verses of the 50th
Psalm, and the book is then bound tightly round so that the key
cannot fall out; care must be taken at the same time that the key
is sufficiently large, that after being placed upon the verses
mentioned, part of the handle or bole may be left out. Two
persons, the accused and accuser, balance the bound book by
placing the first finger of the right hand under the bole of the
key, and in this situation make use of the following incantation,
(as I suppose I must call it:) "By St. Peter, by St. Paul, you
tief me hog," (or whatever else it may be that is stolen;) the
accused answers, "By St. Peter, by St. Paul, me no tief you hog;"
this is repeated thrice by both parties. If the accused is
guilty, the key immediately turns, but if not, the charm is tried
upon all who are suspected, until the event takes place. What St.
Peter or St. Paul have to do with this, I could never learn, but
to me it seems very shocking to make a conjuring book of the
Bible. In respect to this part of superstition, the negroes are
like the natives of the east, who never lose anything without
trying some charm, either by balls of wax, grains of rice, or
something similar.[15] There is another curious way by which the
negroes endeavour to recover their stolen property. For example:
If they lose a fowl or a pig, or indeed any other article, and
they suspect it is stolen by their neighbours, they walk up and
down the street, calling out, "Let go me fowl--let go me fowl! If
you no let go me fowl, me tro grabe durtty upon you. Let go me
fowl, me say!" If the person who stole the fowl hears this
denunciation, he immediately looses it, in terror of the
consequences; but if the threat is not attended to, the owner of
the lost biped takes a dog (the same copper coin I have before
mentioned) and an egg, and proceeds to a burial-ground. Here they
look out for the grave of one of their friends, and depositing
the dog and the egg, make use of an incantation, and taking up a
little of the soft mould off the grave, depart. This mould, or
_grabe durtty_, as they term it, they sprinkle all about in those
streets where they think the suspected parties are more likely to
walk, believing, that if the thief passes over it, it immediately
causes his body to swell, and no medicine can give relief--death
alone can end their misery. So terrible to the negroes is the
denunciation, "Me tro grabe durtty upon you," that if possible,
they will restore the goods pilfered to the last particle.
They have several other charms, all of which they deem
infallible. When they fancy they are under the power of Obeah,
they procure a snake, kill and skin it; when the skin is
thoroughly dried, they bind it round their leg, and feel easier
in mind, supposing the one charm will counteract the other.
Again, if sent out of an errand, and they loiter about, to
prevent any scolding from their employers, they pick a blade of a
peculiar species of grass, and place it under their tongue, which
they believe has the power of preventing any angry words. This
also is done when they wish to escape punishment or detection.
I am aware that it is not the negroes alone who are given to
superstition--to using charms and observing omens; the Greeks and
Romans were famous for this practice; and in my own country,
among the lower classes, most of the old women have a cramp-bone
in their pockets, to drive away pains; the tip of a tongue, or a
stone with a hole in it, for luck; and a horseshoe nailed to the
door, to prevent the entrance of witches. Our seamen, too, are
strict disciples of superstition, and rear her many an altar. I
once heard a captain of a merchantman who trades to Antigua,
speaking of this subject, and laughing at the generality of
sailors for paying attention to this or that omen. "I don't
believe in anything of the kind," said he. "What can a dolphin,
or a Mother Cary's chicken, (the stormy petrel,) have to do with
a gale of wind? It's nonsense,--altogether nonsense. Of course,
though, it would be only a madman _who would whistle in a storm_
or sail on a Friday, if they could possibly help it!" I wished to
ask what poor Friday[16] had done, or if Eolus disliked
whistling.
All superstitious people, in every part of the world, are prone
to believe in the existence of imaginary beings; and while the
English have their ghosts, the Scotch their brownies, and the
Irish their banshees, the negroes have their jumby.[17] These
creatures, like all of their class, love to frequent churchyards,
lonely roads, and the margin of ponds. They are represented by
the believers in this creed to be very revengeful and malicious;
strangling children, knocking down people, frightening old women
into fits, and indeed, doing all the mischief they can. I have
heard that "Spring Gardens," the part of the town we reside in,
is a favourite spot for their ambulations; but I cannot say I
have as yet formed any acquaintance with these _fleshless_
beings. Many are the tales related of their exploits,--tales more
terrible than that of the poor ghost in "Hamlet," whose "lightest
word would harrow up the soul." But as I have too much love for
my readers, to wish to "freeze their blood," and all those other
dreadful threats his ghostship promised his hopeful son, I will
merely relate a few little incidents about these night-loving
people.
A servant who once lived with us had occasion to go a few miles
into the country after dark. Upon his return the next day, he
gave the following most frightful account of his night's
adventure. He said, that after getting a little way out of the
town, a string of jumbies met him, dressed all in white, who held
up their bony fingers at him in a menacing manner. He was very
much alarmed, he said, but determined to proceed as fast as he
could, without looking behind him; for if by any chance he had
happened to turn his head, they would have immediately strangled
him. Finding they could not get this advantage over him, they
went behind him, and "whispered soft and low"--"James! James!"
Although not over-pleased at this salutation, he thought it best
to bear it in silence, and hurry on as fast as he could.
At length he came to a pond, known by the name of "Tom Long's
Pond," which is always reckoned a favourite resort for jumbies--a
kind of Vauxhall of theirs, I suppose. Here he met with another
troop, who joined their comrades in tormenting him, until our
poor benighted traveller hardly knew what to do. Fear overcame
him, the perspiration streamed from off his brow, and his
excessive emotion caused "each particular hair to stand on end,
like quills upon the fretful porcupine." In this awful situation,
he remembered, that if he dispossessed himself of his upper
garment, turned it before the jumbies' faces, and then put it on
again, wrong side out, they could not hurt him. He tried this
remedy; and as soon as his dress was altered, his unpleasant
companions gave a loud scream, fled from him in every direction,
and left him to prosecute his walk in silence and solitude.
This is James's version of the circumstance. I, who was an
unknown, but attentive listener, could not help asking (so
wishful was I of gaining information upon this _important_
subject) if there was any great merit in turning his coat. "Oh,
yes!" was the reply; "jumbies can never hurt you, if you can only
have strength to turn your jacket." So, it appears, that whatever
may be the character of jumbies in other respects, they shew
their good sense in disliking _turncoats_.
During the first few weeks of my residence in this island, I was
staying upon an estate a few miles from the capital. Having for
some length of time seen nothing but the "sky above and the sea
below," it may be imagined how happy I was once more to tread
_terra firma_; and I lost no time in exploring this, to me, new
world. In these rambles, I was attended by my servant, a
rosy-cheeked English girl, who gave utterance to her surprise at
tropical scenes and tropical customs, in like sentences to these:
"Lawk, ma'am!" "Well, I never!" "Lawk-a-daisy-me!" One day we
wandered far and wide; and after many devious routes, my
attention was at last attracted by the appearance of a cluster of
trees. I am very fond of these ornaments of the vegetable world;
I love to watch the play of the sunbeams upon their leaves--to
listen to the melody of the gentle gale, as it whispers among
them; and when in this "far, far west," they greeted my eye with
their verdant foliage, I was anxious to make their acquaintance.
Upon a nearer approach, I found they formed a complete fringe to
a kind of rivulet; they were mangroves, and very beautiful they
looked. We walked by the side of them for some distance, and at
length came upon the high-road, which crosses the rivulet. Here
we fell in with a few larger trees, of a different species; and
near to them was a spring of water. A soothing silence reigned
around, occasionally broken by the murmuring of the breeze, the
buzzing of those pigmies of the feathered race--the
humming-birds, or the coo of the ground-doves, those constant
frequenters of all sylvan spots. Now and then, the faint hum of
human voices broke upon the ear, as the slaves were returning
from the cane-fields, it being near the close of the day.
Altogether, I was quite pleased with the spot, and hardly knew
how to leave it. As I was returning to the house, with "pensive
steps and slow," I overtook the driver, one of the head slaves
upon the property. With the native politeness which many negroes
possess, he pulled off his hat, with "How d'ye, missis?" his
black sparkling eyes, his white teeth glistening through his
thick lips, his ebon complexion, and his large straw hat,
rendered him quite a novelty to me. I remarked to him, what a
pretty spot the spring was situated in, and thought it must be
very serviceable to the estate. "Yes, missis," rejoined he; "it
one pretty 'pring 'nough; but me no like to go dere much at
night." I asked the reason; it brought the following tale:--"Some
time aback, one soger buckra run away from de barracks. He was
gone long time, till at last sombody go tell upon he where he go
hide. De soger cappen send two oder sogers to go look for he, an
bring he to town; bery well, dey find he, an was going to fetch
he back to town, when, just as he get to dis 'pring, 'fore de
oder sogers no war he go do, he jump, bram! right into de 'pring;
an by de time dey manage to get he out, he go dead; so eber since
dat time, jumbies come see soger's jumby, an dey 'top here an
make dance; so we no lub to come here much self."
A similar circumstance has been related to me by the attorney of
the estate. A negro belonging to the property, who for several
months had given way to idle, dissolute habits, at length so far
forgot himself as to become a runaway. After being absent for
some time, intelligence was brought to the attorney that he had
been seen skulking about the capital; and accordingly, other
negroes were despatched to endeavour to find him and bring him
back to the estate. Their undertaking proved successful, the
runaway was secured, and the party set out upon their journey
home. Upon the road the man remarked--"He wished he could die,
for he had no cause to run away, and he should be ashamed to meet
his friends, for he knew not what excuse to make," and proceeded
in this strain until gaining the "spring," at the entrance of the
estate; he gave a sudden start, and before his companions were
aware of his intentions, he had leaped into the water. By the
time assistance could be procured, the man was dead; and his
friends had the melancholy office of burying his swollen corpse.
The negroes have an idea, that if a jumby calls them, and they
return an answer, they will very soon die. I have often called a
servant by name at night, and could get no answer, when I was
well aware they must have heard me; and upon asking them the
reason have had the following reply given me--"Me no no, missis,
it was you; me tink it one jumby calling me."
If a child is born with a caul it is preserved with religious
veneration. My milk-woman came to see me one day with her two
little babies; the little creatures had each a small black bag
tied round their necks with a piece of black ribbon. I asked the
mother what this was for; she said they were both born with
cauls, and that if it was not always kept near them, the jumbies
would strangle them the first time they were left alone; nor was
this all, for if they did not wear it upon their persons, they
would see the jumby (or spirit) of every one that died.
I mourned to think how superstition prevailed in these parts,
what then was my surprise upon soon after taking up an English
newspaper of late date, to see the, following advertisement:--"A
child's caul to be disposed of, _a well-known preventive against
drowning, &c. Price, ten guineas._ Address, post-paid, to A. B.
C., to the care of Mr. Evans, Hyde Park newspaper-office, 42,
Edgware Road!"
Had I not seen and read this myself, I could not have believed
it. While we write and talk of the superstition of the negroes,
although we mourn that its influence should extend so far, yet
there is greater allowance to be made for them from want of
education; but that such an enlightened people as the English
should put such an advertisement in a public paper is almost
incredible. A certain preventive against drowning!--why,
superstition in her gala days could not have furnished a more
striking instance of her power! That any rational creature should
believe such an assurance is astonishing. I firmly hope, for the
honour of my country people, that the _ten guinea_ advertisement
remains unanswered.
I had an old nurse living with me a few years ago, an African,
but who had been brought to this island as a slave when she was
about ten years of age. She is a firm believer in jumbles, and is
one of those privileged people who, it is said, can talk to these
gloomy beings, and, by some potent charm known only to
themselves, hinder them from playing any mischievous trick. For
this reason she was frequently called upon to use her art, when
the jumbies troubled any of the little negroes. When this was the
case, she went into a room by herself, and entered into a
conversation with the invisibles, and by some means or the other,
succeeded in drawing them away. No one else, who has not a
similar power, dares to remain by; for they believe if they did,
the jumbies would blow upon them, and throw them into a fit, or
else cause their immediate death. Betsey, for that is her name,
like most of her class, is very fond of talking to herself, and
one day I remember hearing the following soliloquy. It was about
some lady in the island who wore false hair and false teeth:--
"Eh, eh! you eber hear such a ting as that tho', dat missis hab
one sombody's hair, all curly curly, so tie it on he head, an say
he b'longs to he; an den dat no all self, for he hab one
sombody's teeth too! Eh, eh! me wonder how he like, me no go do
so, war for? s'pose jumby cum an say, gib me me hair, gib me me
teeth, war me go do den; jumby no like people com take der tings
away." I ought here perhaps to remark, that when negroes are
talking, they seldom use but one of the genders, and that the
masculine, in direct opposition to Lindley Murray.
It is also a very prevalent opinion among the negroes that if
they beg one of their dying friends to "trouble" any one they
dislike, (that is, for his spirit or jumby to appear to him,) the
jumby, which they expect to rise on the third day from death,
will do their bidding, and that the person so haunted can never
take rest until he himself dies. Their opinion respecting the
immortality of the soul is, as far as I can understand it, this--
that if a person die one day and is buried the next, during the
succeeding night, the spirit, or as they term, it the "jumby,"
rises, and either goes to heaven, or, if during life they have
committed any crime, or met with a violent death, wanders about
the earth, until by prayers, fumigations, or something of the
kind, it is laid to rest.[18]
When a jumby haunts a house, they get a coal-pot, upon which they
place a quantity of pepper, salt, _nuno_, (the wild basil,) part
of a horse's hoof, and a little brimstone. This coal-pot is set
in the middle of the house, with the back and front doors open,
and is allowed to burn until after midnight; at the same time,
they stick over the doors and windows, and in the corners of the
house, bunches of "milk-bush," another wild plant. This ceremony
always takes place during the night, but they allow the bush to
remain until it withers. Whilst these articles are burning, the
friends who are assembled in the "haunted house," and the
residents themselves, are employed in "cursing the jumby,"
telling it to "go where he com from," "that if he one good
somebody he would hab been at rest," &c.; and just as the clock
strikes twelve at midnight, the windows are opened, and a
quantity of water thrown out to wet the "jumby" and send it away,
for as long as the coal-pot continues burning, they believe the
jumby cannot pass through the house, but is still lurking about
the yard watching for an opportunity of getting in.[19] Strange
as this may read, it is firmly believed in, and actually
practised up to the present time, not only by negroes, but by
many of the better sort of people.
When a negro wishes a jumby to hurt his enemies, he makes use of
various charms to effect his purpose; one of which the following
anecdote will illustrate. About two years ago, two black boys
went to a pond at the head of the town, to water a horse. The one
that was riding the animal carried it far into the pond, and by
some mishap or the other, fell off. His friend viewed him
struggling in the water; he saw him sink, and rise to the
surface,--again he disappeared; and although the spectator of
this melancholy scene was but a very little fellow, he leaped in
to his assistance. But oh! the frenzied grasp of death! well may
it be said, "What pain it is to drown!" or, in the words of the
homely proverb, "A drowning man will catch at a straw,"--the
dying boy saw the hand stretched to his aid; and grasping the
proffered palm, both sank to rise no more. Some person residing
near the pond gave the alarm, and by means of drags, the bodies
were recovered.
A relation of one of these poor boys had an ill-feeling towards
an acquaintance, with whom she had quarrelled, and she thought
this a good opportunity of injuring her enemy. Under pretence of
plaiting this woman's hair, (towards whom the ill-feeling
existed,) she contrived to cut off a good portion of it, which
she placed in the hand of the boy, just before the coffin was
screwed down, at the same time pronouncing the word "remember."
The consequence of this was, (as my negro informant related it,)
"de pic'nee jumby trouble he so, (meaning, I suppose, the
relation's adversary,) dat he no no war for do, till at last he
go out of he head, an' he neber been no good since."
If any one is murdered, and the murderer is not discovered, the
jumby of the victim cannot rest, but is continually roaming about
the spot where the bloody deed was committed, or else tormenting
the perpetrator of the crime, until they are obliged to confess
the fault. I have heard an old woman talk of a murder, which was
committed some time ago, where the spirit of the murdered woman
pointed out to her friends the person of her destroyer. It
occurred upon an estate called "Jonas's," and as "brother
Jonathan" lately said of a most improbable tale, "is
extraordinary, if true." A female slave upon the property was
suddenly taken ill, and before medical aid could be procured, she
died. There was strong suspicion that she met her death by
swallowing some deleterious drug; but who tendered the "poisoned
chalice," none could tell. The next day the body was to be
consigned to the tomb. It was customary at that period to bury
the slaves about the negro houses, and porters carried the coffin
upon their shoulders to the grave. At the time appointed the
company assembled; the porters took up the coffin, and the
procession formed. But, lo! instead of going to the grave, the
men commenced walking very fast in an opposite direction; the
walk increased to a run; the company in amaze called after them
to know the meaning; "It's the jumby in the coffin," was the
reply of the porters. On, on they went, up to the "buff," (as the
negroes call the proprietor's house,) down again,--round the
negro houses, here and everywhere, the jumby carried them.
The two white overseers upon the estate came to inquire into this
mysterious proceeding. Upon being told the circumstance, they
laughed at it, and said it was the porters' nonsense; that if
they would put the coffin down, they (the overseers) would take
it up and prove it was no jumby running them. This proposition
was joyfully agreed to, and the coffin shifted to the shoulders
of the overseers. Once more the procession formed, and they
started for the grave; but this time it was worse than ever; the
jumby obliged the white men to run with their burden, until they
nearly fainted with fatigue, and caused them most lustily to call
out for the former bearers to relieve them.
Again the porters commenced their melancholy office of carrying
to the grave a corpse that would not be buried. The same ground
was again passed over, but no effort of theirs could lead them to
gain the intended place of burial. At length, forced on by the
jumby, they made up to a negro house, the door of which was shut;
and before they could ask for admittance, the coffin was impelled
through it, breaking it into pieces, and was dashing forwards
against the face of a man, the only inmate, who, frightened and
horrified at the encounter, was endeavouring to effect his
escape. This at length he accomplished, but not before he bore
upon his head and face the marks of a jumby's revenge. The open
door gained, he fled as if ten thousand demons were hanging upon
his steps, while the corpse, satisfied at having pointed out its
murderer, bowed itself upon the bearers' shoulders, and then
allowed them to carry it quietly to its last resting-place.
Time flew on, and no tidings of the murderer were heard, until
about six months had elapsed, when a party of negroes went into a
copse to cut wood. They had almost penetrated through its tangled
mazes, when they thought they saw something lying under the
brushwood; and upon a nearer approach, discovered it to be the
man who had fled from the attack of the jumby. He was in a dying
condition, and according to the old women who related the
circumstance, "He face 'top most like one buckra, all _whitey
whitey_, from de jumby licking he so;" a great compliment to us
whites! But to return to our story. The negroes picked him up,
and carried him home, where he lived long enough to confess, that
a quarrel having arisen between himself and the deceased woman,
he procured "something" from an Obeah man, which he put into some
soup, and which caused her death.
Like everything else, my story has an end; and now let me ask my
readers what they think of it? I am sure they will join with me
in deploring that superstition has still so many votaries. Oh!
that her reign was at an end! Yet there are some negroes who are
getting over the dread of these things. An old woman remarked one
day, "Missis, me hear of jumby, but me neber see dem; me can't go
say dere non ob dem, but me say, if one sombody do good, God will
neber let dem hurt you; an we ought to pray, dat wen we go dead,
He will gib us some place ob rest."
------
[15] The manner in which these East Indian charms are tried is as
follows:--When a trial by wax is agreed upon, a number of persons
write their names upon scraps of paper, including those of the
parties who may be suspected. These scraps are enclosed in balls
of wax, and are thrown into a bason of water; those which float
at the top are opened, and whatever name is written therein is
believed to be the thief. When an ordeal of rice is tried, a few
grains of that article are placed upon the tongue of the supposed
culprit: if the party is innocent, the rice, when chewed, mixes
with the saliva, and is expectorated of a milky consistence; but
if, on the contrary, guilty, no power can moisten it, but it
comes out a dry powder. I should not feel at all surprised at
seeing this last charm turn out true, for of course the natives
firmly believe the truth of it, and the guilty one's conscience
must upbraid him, and his emotion probably parch his mouth. With
regard to the _wax trial_, I cannot so readily account for it.
Mr. Forbes, in his "Oriental Memoirs," mentions seeing both of
these charms, as well as many others, (being nine in number,)
tried; some of which are sanctioned by the British authorities.
He goes on further to state, that in _all cases_ where he was
present, they came true. I could not take upon myself to
discredit what this clever and ingenious writer says; much, very
much may be attributed to the effect of a strong imagination,
which most Eastern nations possess.
[16] The dislike to this day is supposed to arise from the
Crucifixion.
[17] The term "jumby" is applied to all supernatural beings.
[18] A similar idea to this still exists in the Department Indre,
France. The inhabitants believe that after death the soul of the
deceased flies about the apartment where the dissolution took
place, seeking some cranny by which to escape to heaven. For this
reason, as soon as any one is supposed to be near death, the
friends of the dying person take care to remove every vessel that
contains liquid, fearing the soul may fall in, and thus be lost.
In Scotland, something of the sort seems to be believed in among
the lower classes; for when a person is in the last agonies, the
doors of the house are set open, that the soul may find no
impediment in the way of its escape. The ancient Jews, according
to Dr. Lightfoot, were of an opinion that the soul of the
deceased hovered about its former tenement until after the lapse
of three days, when it sought the regions of bliss or misery.
[19] This ceremony is performed nightly until the house is so
thoroughly fumigated that the "jumby" quits in despair.