Encyclopedia of African Religion

(Elliott) #1

Thompson, R. F. (1993).Face of the Gods:Art and
Altars of Africa and the African Americas. NewYork:
The Museum for African Art.


OBEAH


Obeah, also and better known as the Comfa reli-
gion, is practiced by an undetermined number of
African descendants in Guyana, South America,
regions of the Caribbean, and the southern United
States. Grounded in primarily Bantu cosmology,
Comfa is expressive of the Guyanese history of
enslavement, European colonialism, and African
cultural nationalism. Popularly synonymous with
Comfa is the wordObeah, used mainly by non-
practitioners. The wordObeahderives from the
Twi conceptobeye, which means that which can
do work but is not seen. Still some nonpractition-
ers become Obeah clients in search of perhaps
their only access to immediate power over life’s
manydifficultiesandtraumas.Onemightbeheard
exclaiming: “Is wuk, she wukObeahfa mek dah
man stay home with she.” Understandably, then,
linguist Kean Gibson assesses the foundation of
this African-derived religion as “[t]he use of iden-
tity symbols as sources of motivation and great
personal power” (p. 224).
Unlike the religions of the Anglicans and Roman
Catholics in Guyana, Comfa is dynamic and
decentralized, and it draws from eclectic African
worldview and Guyanese nationalist sources and
therefore might be best called a faith system
instead of a religion. The Comfa system has nei-
ther centralized administrative hierarchies nor
permanent physical sanctuaries. Nonetheless, the
Comfa Service or Work is the bedrock ritual and
is held at the homes of pastors/leaders, practition-
ers, and clients alike—similar to the more widely
practiced preburial “Wake” rituals held at the
homes of the deceased or their families.
Comfa pastors and practitioners alike claim
andfacilitate,invaryingdegrees,powertohealand
harm through engagement with celestial and
terrestrial spirits. Celestial spirits comprise God the
father, Jesus Christ, Angels, and Biblical prophets
and Saints, all of whom form a foundation for the
Celestial Spirits, who chiefly comprise personal
and national Ancestors. Other terrestrial spirits
employed in the Comfa system include the Old


HigueandtheBacoo.TheOldHigueisafemalefig-
ure infamous for marauding for the blood of
children and animals, and the Bacoo is a dwarfed
malefigurewhoisinvisible,mischievous,andoften
obtainedfromneighboringSurinamtobringwealth
totheComfaorObeahclient.
A Comfa service or work is organized for one
of three main purposes. A Thanksgiving service is
held to thank God, Jesus, or any other celestial
force for life’s blessings. Terrestrial services are
held to venerate a family ancestor to bring
appeasement or for help in resolving an inter-
necine conflict. In the third instance, one desiring
personal success, or protection from harm, may
sponsoraserviceforoneoftheancestralspiritsin
the following order of prestige: British, Spanish,
Indian, Chinese, African, Dutch, and then
Amerindian—a pantheon mirroring the culture-
national demographic of Guyana’s promotional
identityasa“nationofsixpeoples.”Accordingly,
one who seeks wealth venerates the British,
Spanish, or Indian—society’s historic (socioeco-
nomic) power holders. The least influential of
these spirits is that of the Amerindians, who for
their minimal engagement with colonial and post-
colonial society are not viewed as embodying the
power sought by Comfa or Obeah practitioners
and clients.
As in most systems of Ancestor veneration,
Comfa divination is practiced through a dynamic
body of rituals and symbolism, including music,
drums, foods, drinks, clothes, colors, scents,
dances,dreams,andvisions.Animportantdynamic
of this system is its relatively communal and
democratic values. During a service, dinner, or
banquet, any individual observer might criticize
the execution or use of a particular dance, music,
object,orprocedureeventothedispleasureofthe
ritualleader.Insuchasystem,participantsplayan
active role in the preservation and innovation of
the Comfa worldview.
The use of Comfa for good as well as bad and
its adoption of the colonial hierarchy highlight
a characteristically African negotiation of evil
forces. According to Comfa practitioners, out of
evil can come good.
Comfa characteristics reveal the same funda-
mentalworldviewelementsasthosefoundinmany
African, but particularly in Bantu, Niger-Congo
cultures. Perhaps most illustrative is that many

472 Obeah

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