Description
O'Neal examines what British writers knew or thought they knew about Obeah and discusses how their perceptions of black people were shaped by their perceptions of Obeah. Translated or interpreted by racist writers as a devil-worshipping religion, Obeah came to symbolize the brutality, savagery and superstition in which blacks were thought to be immured by their very race. For many writers, black belief in Obeah proved black inferiority and justified both slavery and white colonial domination.
The English reading public became generally convinced that Obeah was evil and that blacks were, at worst, devil worshippers or, at best, extremely stupid and credulous. And because books and stories on Obeah continued to promulgate either of the two prevailing perspectives, and sometimes both together until at least the 1950s, theories of black inferiority continue to hold sway in Great Britain today.
About the Author
Eugenia O'Neal is an independent writer and researcher. Originally from Tortola, British Virgin Islands, she now lives in Grenada.
Book Information
ISBN 9789766407599
Author Eugenia O'Neal
Format Paperback
Page Count 440
Imprint University of the West Indies Press
Publisher University of the West Indies Press