Obeah is one of several religious and magical traditions brought to the Americas by the people of Africa. Like Vodou, Obeah has suffered the persecution of being perceived as a malignant magical practice by Western societies. These perceptions are fed by fear of the Obeah practitioner’s supposed knowledge of poisons and curses and use of dark, buried charms and blood sacriices. The name “Obeah” relates to bad magic rooted in the Ashanti people, whose magicians practiced Obi (good) and Obeah (bad) sorcery. Obeah has more in common with Hoodoo and Juju than with Vodou and Santería or even Palo. Vodou and Santeria center on venerating the loa and orisha (and in Santería’s case, a pantheon of Catholic saints as well), going so far as to use possession as the source of spiritual power. Obeah respects the loa and orishas but keeps them at arm’s length, treating them as guides, advisers, and sources of spiritual energy for sorcery and enchanting while avoiding the personal commitment and spiritual intimacy of possession. More than any other belief system to emerge from Africa, Obeah has a fractured and contentious past that often put practitioners in conlict— sometimes violently—with other religions and among themselves. Currently, for example, there is open conlict between Obeah magicians and practitioners of Myal in Jamaica—Myal is a variant of Obeah that has adopted the Santería tradition of incorporating Catholic saints in their worship in seeking to attain a deeper and richer connection with the spirit world.

Practitioners of Obeah employ both plant- and animal- based reagents in their sorceries and enchantments. Those most often used within the Zobop are based on animal blood. While there is no magical difference between animal blood and other reagents, painting the ritual circles in blood has a psychological and emotional impact on the practitioner.

Papa Ebenezer walks the dark alleys near Revolution Square, pickpocketing unsuspecting tourists. With bits of cloth, jewelty, or food wrappers, Ebenezer will put curses on his victims then request payment in order to lift them. His curses are mere illusion and annoying watcher spirits, as his “entertainment license” limits such magic.