Slave medicine and Obeah in Barbados, circa 1650 to 1834

2000 (Jerome Handler) “Slave medicine and Obeah in Barbados, circa 1650 to 1834.” Nieuwe West-Indische Gids–New West Indian Guide 74: 57-60.

This article describes the medical beliefs and practices of Barbadian slaves. Author discusses the role of supernatural forces in slave medicine, the range of beliefs and practices encompassed by the term Obeah, and how the meaning of this term changed over time. He emphasizes the importance of African beliefs and practices on which Barbadian slave medicine fundamentally rested. In the appendix, the author discusses the early use of the term Obeah in Barbados and the Anglophone Caribbean.

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