More then 400 years ago, when the Maafa ("holocaust" in Swahili, African dialect)
started, millions of Africans were ripped off from their motherland for the
inhuman slavery in the New World. In the face of ferocious onslaughts by their
merciless masters, the slaves developed their native religions into mental
defence means now known as Voodoo (Vaudou), Lucumi, Palo and many others.
But one of the most powerful and the most dreaded of them all is Obeah,
which despite its long running existence is almost unknown outside Caribbean
as just the name itself provokes fear amongst those who knows about it.
Even between trusted individuals it's referred not by its true name Obeah,
but rather as Black Magic or simply Magic in order to avoid unwelcome consequences.
The following is an interview taken from a Caribbean magician originating from
the island of Trinidad. This person is NOT an Obeahman, but the occult skills
were needed exclusively for protection of this person's family against
supernatural menaces and therefore could be referred to as White Magician.
Please note that neither names nor close personal events will be disclosed
for safety reasons (read the interview for more details). Therefore the
interviewer will be referred as
HSM (Horror Style Magazine) and the
interviewee as
WM (White Magician).
HSM: What are the origins of black magic in the Caribbean?
WM: During slavery black magic was used on slave masters, by the African slaves.
This type of magic is said to be the worst type of witchcraft in the world,
causing the greatest effects upon the victims. In Africa witchcraft is known by
the name Ju-ju (or Juju) and in the Caribbean it evolved into the black magic
known as Obeah (pronounced Oh-beer). However it must be noted that in most
cultures there is some form of witchcraft in existence from the Jewish,
Indian, Spanish to Chinese and many others.
HSM: What effects will a person, that has black magic cast on them, feel?
WM: With Black Magic the practitioner often wants the victim to feel that the
ailment befalling them is a medical complaint, so the common methodology is
to proceed very slowly with minor ailments before then gradually building up
to more serious complaints. Animals and insects also could be summoned in the
most isolated places to affect the victim. Some powerful magicians from the
secret orders even have power to transcend their spiritual beings to different
locations and harass the victim at their will.
The effects of black magic are wide ranging, minor effects include a person
feeling symptoms of itching, water pouring on their head or headaches.
Whilst greater effects include rashes, weight loss, choking, constant
tiredness, nausea, mental instability and painful death.
HSM: What objects if any are used to perform Black Magic?
WM: A great variety of objects are used to perform the Black Magic from hair,
clothing, body secretions, dolls and animal scarification. One of the more
important ways to focus spiritual energy upon a person is his/her personal
information, including names, dates and times of birth and such. As a result
in the Caribbean amongst the older generation, it is often taboo to reveal
details about your person, in a bid to prevent being targeted.
The Cemetery is also a key way to focus dark powers upon a victim. Often a
practitioner of this evil art would visit a cemetery, stand at the grave of
the person that they require assistance from and recite some form of enchantment
using a personal item or even a sacrifice. At this point they will then command
the spirit as what to what they want done. This would be performed between the
hours of 1-3 in the morning as it is when the spiritual energies of the dead
are at their most power.
HSM: How does someone learn how to use this sort of power?
WM: A person does not have to be a which, a wizard or a shaman to perform
black magic. Just reading a book that teaches the dark arts is enough for
a gifted person to gain some low-level skills in evil practices. However,
the ultimate power belong to Obeahmen from Secret Orders, that perform these
sort of enchantments but they also often practice something even more
powerful called the Black Art.
HSM: So how does 'Black Art' differ from ‘Black Magic’?
WM: The Black Art involves the writing of Hebrew scriptures to create
powerful seals that focus and guide evil spiritual power on a designated
area or to a person. These seals can sometimes be found written in
sacrificial blood or red ink placed on plaques or walls.
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