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    • The fascinating ghosts and monsters of Jamaican folklore Global Voices
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    The fascinating ghosts and monsters of Jamaican folklore Global Voices

    Harry Posted on

    Front Steps of Duppy Church, Mile Gully Jamaica. Photograph with Adam Cohn on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

    Jamaicans in general can’t really “get” Halloween. This seasonal event, popular in the United States and parts of Europe, have origins Ancient holiday marking the end of the year in Celtic tradition SamhainIt can be traced back to the eighth century and even to ancient Roman times. Somewhere along the line, tradition merged Christian beliefs with All Saints’ Day (November 1, also known as All Saints’ Day) and All Souls’ Day (November 2).

    However, Jamaicans’ aversion to Halloween appears to be influenced not only by cultural differences – as with Valentine’s Day, it is often considered just another imported, commercialized “Americanism” – but also by their Christian beliefs in particular.

    A Jamaican complained:

    Fundamentalist church leaders and their followers, especially See Halloween Priests such as Father Sean Major Campbell have a different view: “Trying to oppose Halloween celebrations is tantamount to imposing one’s own religious beliefs on others. “The church must devote time to promoting equal rights and justice for all.”

    Young Jamaicans have begun to embrace the event as a fun event, with themed parties and costumes. Party supporters also see this as a way to make money; A recent event called “Scream” was reported to be a huge success:

    Regardless, Jamaican folklore is full of stories about “duppies” (ghosts or spirits) and scary monsters. Many of these have their roots not in Christian tradition but in African enclosures. Obeah.

    One of the scariest characters is the Rolling Calf, which sometimes manifests as: a shapeshifterthe spirit of a particularly evil person, such as a murderer or even a butcher. With fiery red eyes, he rolls (wanders) along country roads at night, drags a rattling chain, and is sometimes depicted as half-man, half-animal, usually a goat or cow.

    Many of these fearsome figures in Jamaican legend have been commemorated through art and popular music. For example Rolling Calf subject of a poem with Louise Bennett-Coverley Other legendary fools have also been immortalized, such as the Black-Hearted Man (Miss Lou), who wandered across the island in search of victims’ hearts and was often used as a warning to children to be wary of strangers. Bunny Wailer’s song. Some of this predatory figure still relevant – and is still feared today.

    Meanwhile, storytelling contemporary artist Richard Nattoo recently described the Mumma River character in a series of pictures:

    She is a type of mermaid who wanders around a specific area around the Flat Bridge over the Rio Cobre in Jamaica, luring people into the depths of the river. old bridgeBuilt by enslaved Africans in the 18th century, this building has curiously been the site of many car accidents. Mumma River is also the subject a poem By Lorna Goodison.

    One of the most well-known legends of the island Annie Palmer“The White Witch of the Hall of Roses.” The Montego Bay house where he allegedly committed evil deeds has become one of the island’s biggest tourist attractions. The story evolved from a popular story twentieth century noveland historical facts do not fully confirm this, but the somewhat lurid narrative has become an essential “two-faced story”, reenacted almost daily for tourists:

    While many people reject the Halloween tradition, do Jamaicans still believe in replicas?
    A dramatic incident recently hit the local news: Spanish Town residents were convinced that a duppy was present – or perhaps a ghost of some kind. he was throwing stones He was allegedly provoked by the presence of an 11-year-old child. were in the same city another story It’s about a tailor’s shop and more stone-throwing, this time by its angry, deceased owner.

    Other paranormal experiences are regularly reported, especially in the popular Jamaica Star tabloid. These often include stories shapeshiftingand so called duppies caught on video.

    The story of Duppy Church sends chills Down the spines of the Jamaicans. Destroyed St. George’s Anglican Church is located in a densely wooded area of ​​Mile Gully in the Manchester parish; his congregation reportedly abandoned IT because of the harassment. There are many stories around the church and taxi drivers are afraid to stop there, especially at night. It is said that if you pass by the church at night you can hear the organ playing:

    Whether Jamaicans believe in ghosts or not, there are more than enough stories to tell on Halloween.

    Harry
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