Voodoos and Obeahs offers a careful documentation of the history and ethnography of Voodoo and reveals the connection of both Haitian Voodoo and Jamaican Obeah to snake worship (ophioletreia). In Jamaica, Obeah is the general term to denote those Africans who in the island practice witchcraft or sorcery. Williams includes numerous quotations from rare documents and books on the topic. This work goes into great depth concerning the New World-African connection and is highly recommended if you want a deep understanding of the dramatic historical background of Haitian and Jamaican magic and witchcraft, and the profound influence of imperialism, slavery and racism on its development. Williams is best known for his anthropological writings about African and Caribbean people, which include Whispering of the Caribbean, Whence the "Black Irish" of Jamaica?, Psychic Phenomena in Jamaica and Africa's God. Preview on www.vamzzz.com

Voodoo and obeah are distinct from one another, both in origin and practice, and to understand the force and influence they originally exercised over their devotees, we must disassociate them from the myriad of other forms of magic that have impinged themselves upon them. The author spent a vast amount of time in Jamaica, studying the people, seeking out practitioners and sought to extend his knowledge. He has spent nearly twenty-five years culling the works of others, gleaning the facts from the fiction. This volume is a result of his research and observations.

Just as fetishism was for a long time accepted as a generic term covering all that was nefarious in the customs of the West African tribes, so in the popular mind today, Voodoo and Obeah are interchangeable and signify alike whatever is weird and eerie in the practices of the descendants of these same tribes as they are Just as fetishism was for a long time accepted as a generic term covering all that was nefarious in the customs of the West African tribes, so in the popular mind today, Voodoo and Obeah are interchangeable and signify alike whatever is weird and eerie in the practices of the descendants of these same tribes as they are.