Since colonial days, the Guyana government would jail anyone known or accused of practicing witchcraft, voodoo, and obeah. It is now considering scrapping these laws, saying that they are no longer relevant.
Guyanese people are people born in the country of Guyana, which is located on the northern coast of South America and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Venezuela, and Suriname. Geographically, Guyana is part of the South American mainland, however, it is much more culturally similar to the Suriname and nearby island nations of the Caribbean such as Trinidad and Tobago as compared to the rest of South America.
In fact, Guyana is considered a Caribbean country even though it is not an island nation in the Caribbean Sea, as are most Caribbean nations. Obeah is a system of spiritual healing and justice-making practices developed among enslaved West Africans in the West Indies.
Obeah is difficult to define, as it is not a single, unified set of practices; the word “Obeah” was historically rarely used to describe one’s own practices. Diana Paton has contended that what makes up Obeah in Jamaica has been constructed by white society, particularly law enforcement.
Different Afro-Caribbean communities use their own terminology to describe the practice, such as “spell casting”, among the Jamaican Windward Maroons. Obeah is like other African diaspora religions such as Palo, Haitian Vodou, Santería, and Hoodoo because it includes communication with ancestors and spirits and healing rituals.
It differs from religions like Vodou and Santeria in that there is no explicit canon of gods or deities that is worshipped, and the practice is an individual action rather than part of a collective ceremony or offering. According to some early colonial accounts, Obeah differed from Myal in that Obeah was viewed as nefarious while Myal was a more positive influence.
Witchcraft, voodoo, and obeah have been a part of the Caribbean fabric of life since the Trans Atlantic Slave trade and enslaved Africans in the region. However, these practices and other forms of religion and spirituality were banned by slave owners because of the supposed power it had over them.
The country hopes to look at other alternative forms of punishment such as bail, seizure of travel documents, periodic reporting to police or other authorities, electronic monitoring or curfews, and conditional and suspended sentences, according to a statement from the ministry of legal affairs.
Just recently, Senegal started discussions on legalizing witchcraft to ease the burden on health care facilities in the country. The practice, which was punishable by imprisonment, has been a part of the culture so deep that even top officials and educated folks have been seen visiting witch doctors for ‘treatment’.
