_Obeism._--Can any of your readers give me some information about _obeism_?
I am anxious to know whether it is in itself a religion, or merely a rite
practised in some religion in Africa, and imported thence to the West
Indies (where, I am told, it is rapidly gaining ground again); and whether
the _obeist_ obtains the immense power he is said to possess over his
brother negroes by any acquired art, or simply by working upon the more
superstitious {60} minds of his companions. Any information, however, on
the subject will be acceptable.