THE PORTRAIT OF A JAMAICAN HEALER: African Medical Lore in the Caribbean

THE PORTRAIT OF A JAMAICAN HEALER: African Medical Lore in the CaribbeanAuthor(s): LEONARD BARRETTSource: Caribbean Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 3 (SEPTEMBER 1973), pp. 6-19Published by: University of the West Indies and Caribbean QuarterlyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23050210 .

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THE PORTRAIT OF A JAMAICAN HEALER:

African Medical Lore in the Caribbean

INTRODUCTION

Few upper-class Jamaicans will admit that the island still has its roots in ancestral Africa. This stems mainly from what Katrin Norris calls "lack of

identity." The average citizen, with respect to his cultural roots, is as emotionally unstable as the waves of the Caribbean that wash the shore of this

little island. This situation is not wholly his own making; it stems more from the problems of acculturation. Since the slave emancipation, every effort has

been expended by missionaries and other Europeans to rid the Jamaican of his

African ancestry, so that, for instance, he grows up studying the history of

England, and little of himself, and his history. The islander, seeks with all his mental energy to learn 'good' English, yet he finds it totally impossible to communicate with 90 percent of the people without his native language, Creole.

Thus the member of the Jamaican elite knows little of his real African tradition

and consequently cares little about it.

However, the mass of Jamaicans who have had little or no formal education

remains close to the lore of the African forebears. Although the Jamaican

peasant has had little contact with Africa since his ancestors arrived on the

island, his world-view is still nurtured by the culture which was brought to the

island with the slaves. In spite of the fact that tribal origin has most often been

forgotten, African religious beliefs, speech patterns, family life, personal

habits, and dress style persist. Even the elites, who emulate the English way of

life to a fault, are not quite able to rid themselves of their African cultural roots.

For instance, the veneer of their adopted culture generally is no protection to

them in times of psychic distress; in such crises they generally return to seek the advice of the representatives of their African ancestry, the ancestry they

sought so eagerly to deny.

One of the important areas of African retention in Jamaica and the

Caribbean as a whole is that of folk medicine. The descendants of the African medical practitioners — the medicine men — have never lost their influence over the Jamaican mind. Herbert G. DeLisser, a native of Jamaica and

probably the first to clearly distinguish the function of the legitimate African

priest from the work of the sorcerer within the Jamaican slave system, wrote:

Both witches and wizards, priests and priestesses, were brought to Jamaica in the days of the slave trade, and the slaves recognized the distinction between the former and the latter. Even the

masters saw that the two cla^s were not identical,... (Herbert G.

DeLisser, 1913,108).



7

Their influence touches the highest stratum of the society. There are few

Jamaican elites now alive who can truthfully say that their lives have never

been affected in some way by this type of healer. A particular individual might not have had personal contact with them, but if pressed hard enough he

generally admits that either his parents or some of his relatives have been

cured or helped in some way by an African practitioner. The writer recalls

quite vividly a medical doctor and graduate of a prestigious British university, who, on learning of the author's plan to study the healer, Mother Rita, declared

with all sincerity "the woman saved my life!" He then proceeded to tell the story. As a small boy his older sister (age five) died of vomiting sickness and following her death, he too came down with the illness. The family became

greatly alarmed because all the professional treatment that was available had

not saved his sister's life. His father, a school teacher and a catechist in the

mission church, could not openly associate himself with the folk specialists in the community, but his maternal uncle was a believer in the folk tradition and his mother was also very sympathetic to them. This uncle prevailed upon the

father to consult Mother Rita. He finally decided, and under much secrecy he

went for consultation. One bottle of medicine was all that was necessary. The

doctor in question is convinced that it was through the work of this folk healer

that his life was saved. Numerous stories of this type could be told among Jamaican elites but few are as honest as the doctor in acknowledging these

experiences.

This paper will discuss the history of one of these healers in the Jamaican

setting, her personality, healing techniques and influence in the folk tradition of Jamaica. There is at present, a growing interest in the techniques of primitive medicine. Some of the important contributions in this field can be found in the

writings of Ervin H. Acherknecht Bulletin of the History of Medicine XI,

1942 (503-21); also in the recent volume edited by John Middleton, Magic, Witchcraft and Curing, American Museum Source Book in Anthropology,

1967; and Victor Turner's Lunda Medicine and the Treatment of Disease,

Rodes-Livingstone Museum Occasional Papers, No. 15, (1964) and by the

same author A. Ndembu Doctor in Practice, 1964. Monographs have appeared

from time to time discussing aspects of Caribbean healing lore but few have

given details about the healers themselves. Among the most notable of these

are Martha Beckwith's Black Roadways: A Study of Jamaican Folk Life,

1929; John J. Williams Psychic Phenomena of Jamaica, 1934; and George E.

Simpson "Jamaican Revivalist Cults", Social and Economic Studies, No. 5,

pp. 321-442, (1956).

THE HISTORIC SETTING:

Driving south of Kingston on the main highway which leads through Spanish Town, (the old capital of Jamaica), through May Pen and Mandeville, one will before long arrive at the great mountain divide overlooking the Pedro Plains. The area, about 30 sq. miles, includes the towns of Santa Cruz and Black

River. At the foot of this mountain is the large Alpart Aluminum factory; to the

south is Blakes Pen, the community in which one of the oldest balmyards in Jamaica is to be found. (A balmyard is a healing centre specializing in herbal

medicine, a place where the sick are bathed in herbal mixtures.)



MAMMY FORBES, THE HEALER



9 The Blakes Pen balmyard is of special significance in this area because it

has been in continuous operation for over one hundred years under the

leadership of two women: Mammie Forbes and her daughter, Mother Rita.

Although this paper is concerned mainly with the daughter, Mother Rita, it will

be useful to say a few words about the founder, Mammie Forbes. (As far as this

writer knows only Martha Beckwith of Vassar has mentioned her in print

(Beckwith: 1929,171-173), and it was she who published one of the only known

photographs of her).

The mother of Mammie Forbes was an African slave who is said to have

been an expert in bush remedies, but seems to have given up her practice when

she was converted to Christianity in the 1860 Revival. In 1871, merely a

generation after the emancipation and ten years after the Great Evangelical Revival in Jamaica, her daughter, the young woman who later was to be known

to thousands as "Mammie Forbes" received her call to heal the sick. She was a

member of the local Anglican Church, but like many Jamaicans in her time, she

became dissatisfied with the coldness of its ritual. One night an angel appeared to her holding a bundle of herbs and commanded her to 'rise up and heal the

people.' She left her husband's house and was led by the angel to a cave in the

bush not far from her home, where she spent seven days in fasting. During

these days of seclusion, many of the herbs that were to be her trademark were

revealed to her. Her daughter recalled that each day when her husband visited

her, there would be a new pile of weeds in the cave. During this time she amassed 77 different weeds, at the same time acquiring knowledge of their medical properties. Along with the knowledge of these weeds, the ritual

accompanying her future work was also revealed. She was told to build a

tabernacle with certain dimensions; she was also told what kind of dress to

wear, and the proper ritual colours, and the right time of day for healing. The

rituals were to be performed barefooted. Even the cost of her service was

revealed to her by the angel. (At the beginning it was three cents per person.)

After returning from her wilderness experience, and with the help of her

husband, she carried out all she was commanded to do. The angel later gave her

instructions to dig a large pool in the balmyard, ten square feet wide and five feet deep from which a healing fountain would rise. This fountain was to be dug

without metal tools, only by the hands of women. One hundred years later at the

time of this writing, the excavation is there but no fountain has yet appeared.

The present mother explained that the water has never appeared because of the

breaking of a taboo by her mother, but she expects it to appear at any time.

Mammie Forbes performed the work of healing for 59 years. She died in 1930. She was highly respected and is still remembered by the people of St.

Elizabeth and Manchester. The work continues to prosper in the hands of her

daughter, Mother Rita Adams.

Mother Rita:

Mother Rita is at present 87 years of age and like her mother, she is tall and

stout. Her complexion is fairly light and she has an hypnotic gaze and a dominant personality. She has been married but lost her husband some 15 years ago. They had three children: two girls and one boy. Mother Rita was one of



10 several children born of Mammie Forbes, but she alone followed her mother's

profession.

Her role as a child was that of a 'medium.' During her early childhood she

received dreams and visions which she related to her mother. She reported that

during her elementary school days she would become possessed by the spirits and had to be sent home, returning to school as she put it only 'when the spirit was through with me'. As a child, she received the vision of the exact year her

mother would die and the exact place where she should be buried. Her mother

accepted the vision calmly and asked her to mark the spot with a stone. Mammie Forbes is buried at that very spot. Mother Rita related that from

childhood she was dedicated to the work of the Lord. Being a sickly child from birth her mother promised God that if her daughter was healed, Rita was to be dedicated to His service. So as a promised child she had no other choice.

While working as her mother's medium, a husband was picked for her by her mother, but as she was so dedicated to spiritual things, she was not interested in marriage'. Nevertheless she finally gave in and became the wife

of Mr. Adams who later assumed the role of her faithful co-worker in the

balmyard. She has continued her mother'6 work for 41 years and has not yet retired.

THE BALMYARD

To better understand the work of the Jamaican healer let us see the setting of the balmyard.

The Blakes Pen Balmyard is located on a 17 acre plot of land owned by Mother Rita. This area, Pedro Plain, is mostly dry, consisting of red laterite soil with a high content of bauxite mixture heavily eroded in spots leaving bare rocks. Unlike many other yards, there is no enclosure. One enters the yard by a rocky path which leads up a small incline to a plateau. Half way up the hill is a

square concrete terrace with four poles, one at each corner, each bearing a red, white and blue flag. This symbolize the four winds of the earth. The writer later discovered that this square was of important ritual significance as will be discussed later. About fifty yards from the ritual square one enters the balmyard through what looks like a Japanese Torii Gate. Beyond this entrance is the compound which includes the home of Mother Rita, a chapel and a kitchen; two balming huts, one for men, the other for women; the fountain in which there is no water, and two seal grounds, each with a flag pole used for working' or dancing in the spirit. The house is made of concrete blocks, consisting of a verandah on which waiting patients sit; a living room which serves as a Consulting room for Mother Rita and her patients, and two bedrooms. The Chapel is also made of concrete and holds about 100 people. It consists of wooden benches without backs, a table with various ritual items, a platform on which a raised lectern sits for preaching. Three drums hang from the side of the tabernacle's wall, one bass and two trebles. The chapel may be entered by anyone of three doors, one to the south, one to the east and one to the west. The two power seals' with their poles are located at the entrances of the southern and eastern doors.



11

A Day at the Balmyard:

The founder of Blakes Pen Balmyard was told by the angel that worship was to occur each day at 5 a.m., 12 mid-day and 5 p.m. Although this pattern

continues, the services are not now attended by many converts. However, a few

of the old faithfuls still carry out this pattern of worship but with diminished fervour. The main religious exercises now take place on Monday which is a day

of feasting, and Sunday, a day of worship and healing. Along with this pattern is

the private consultation and balming which takes place every day.

A fasting service at the Balmyard is conducted on Wednesdays during the

hours from 5 a.m. to 12 noon. From 9 a.m., members begin to gather at the

'yard' from neighbouring districts. Some walk as far as 15 miles. About 9:30, the drummers enter the chapel and begin to play on their drums which serve as

church bells calling the faithful to worship. At 9:50 Mother Rita appears at the entrance of her house dressed in white. White is the favourite colour for this

ritual. On this occasion, eight of her faithful members accompanied her from her house to the chapel. As she enters the eastern door, the congregation stands

and recites the Lord's Prayer. She mounts the podium, recites a short prayer and sits down. Three members: two women and a man sit in front of the podium

facing the congregation. After the singing of several songs, Mother Rita takes her place at the pulpit and exhorts the members to 'watchfulness'. Then follows

a communion service of bread and water. (It was explained by her that the

Nominal churches use wine in communion but the Revivalists use water.) The

communion service is based on the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer of the

Church of England. Precisely at 12 noon, the mother declares, "We break our

fast in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." She then drinks water from a cup. One of the old converts said to be 94 years of age, takes a cup of water and pours some out at each of the three entrances, making a wide turn

counterclockwise as she pours the remainder of the water at the altar, thus

marking out the four winds of the earth. This is also a sign of purification. The

formal service now ends, the converts prepare to leave the tabernacle to 'work'

or dance on the 'seal ground'. After the closing prayer and benediction, Mother

Rita leads the congregation, accompanied with singing and drumming and all

circle the flagpole immediately in front of her house. She moves

counterclockwise until all the members form a circle, then the 'travailing'

begins. The words 'travailing', 'working', 'trumping', and 'dancing', all carry

the same meaning. They refer to the peculiar ritual found in Pukumina and

Revivalist cults where the members shuffle in a circle counterclockwise, bending forward and backward from head to waist, chopping the air with both hands while at the same time emitting a hissing or grunting sound. The sound is the result of inhaling and exhaling the air with a kind of explosion of the lips. A leader stands in the circle of the ring and acts as prompter; he responds to the

circling band with the flagging of his hands, moving around the circle. This leader of the dance is sometimes called the 'warrior' shepherd and, as the name

implies, he, and the members are literally at war with the evil spirits that are

present. The more vigorous the 'travailing' the greater will be the success in

healing the sick.

Those members who fall in spirit possession prophesy and in this peculiar state, their words are carefully heeded by the spectators. They may warn of



12

still-births, poisonings, imminent earthquakes, hurricanes or sudden deaths by

witchcraft. The travailing develops an atmosphere of tension which later abates in the process of consultation and balming designed to protect the

petitioners from the evils that have been thus revealed. 'Trumping' may

continue for hours depending on the dimension of the evil influences discovered

during possession. Some members may remain under possession for a day and

a night. This situation required that some of the members assist those

possessed all day or all night to protect them from the injury which could well

result from something such as a fall in their unconscious state.

The travailing ritual at Mother Rita's yard was of short duration. It lasted

only an hour and a half. Toward the end of the dance, four members take cups of

water, walk through the 'Torii Gate' out to the square with the four flags, and

throw the water into the square. It was later explained that they had received a

revelation of some kind, and that this ritual was the means by which potential conflicts were resolved. This water ritual resembles the practice of pouring libations in African traditional ritual, however there is a basic difference in attitude. Whereas, African libation is poured directly on a spot in an

atmosphere of reverence, this was done by simply throwing the water in the

direction of the square and then quickly returning to the seal ground. Two of those who carried the water to the flag square threw it with their backs to the

square. That is, they threw the water over their shoulders. A member explained

this as 'cutting and clearing destruction.'

While these activities are going on, the rest of the members are still at the 'seal' listening to the reading of the scriptures. Some move about under possession, some are calling on angels, while others speak in unknown tongues. At the end of the dancing the members march to the eastern pole, encircle it, read a scripture, make individual turns counterclockwise and re-enter the

chapel for another short ritual which ends the day's formal worship.

Mother Rita does not take part in the 'travailing'. Her age does not permit

expending the energy needed for this part of the ritual. However, she does stand

on the verandah, humming the songs and calling out certain phrases to the

'trumping band.' I hear her say, 'throw it out', throw it out of the city', or

'watchman', 'watchman beware'. Although not sharing in the dance she is actually directing it.

Healing in the Balmyard:

Since there were many people awaiting to consult the Mother, she did not

participate in the last part of the formal service. Without changing from her white dress she sat down in her chair and began her consultation. During the consultation she was kind enough to invite the author into the room and

provided a chair toward the rear where he could see the healer's face, but only

the backs of the patients. Many of the patients were unaware of the author's

presence. As the patients entered and sat down in front of the healer, she began her diagnosis in a rather informal manner. There were 15 patients attended to that afternoon. One young woman from Kingston, a secretary, suffered with a

pain in her stomach. She had gone to several doctors and had taken a series of

X-Ray tests at the University Hospital, but no cure. She was advised to see Mo

ther Rita. There was another woman from Washington, D C., who had returned



13

to Jamaica in order to consult the Mother. The rest were from the surrounding districts of Blakes Pen.

All persons who needed consultation were instructed to take an herbal bath

before meeting Mother. The cost of the bath was fifty cents, paid in silver coins. The author was allowed to take this bath mainly to observe the procedure. The

bath house was a simple enclosure with a wooden frame covered at the four

sides with corrugated zinc sheets, commonly used as roofing in Jamaica. The

patient entered the enclosure and undressed. A small enamel tub filled with

herbal mixture sat in the center of the enclosure with a stone slab beside it on which the patient stood. The bath-man appeared and asked that fifty cents in coin be thrown in the bath. This done, the patient was commended to assume a

squatting position. With a towel in hand, the balmer applied the water mixture to the patient's back with a 'sponging operation' from the head to the waist, reciting the 23rd Psalm. The patient then stood and the sponging continued from the waist down to the heels. The same procedure was done from the face

down to the toes, reciting a new Psalm. Much attention was paid to the back and

thighs of the patient where the balmer administered vigorous blows. After all the parts of the body had been thoroughly sponged and vigorously slapped, the

balmer made the sign of the cross from the nape of the neck to the waist

crossing at the shoulders in the back, repeating this in the front, but this time

moving the cross from the right shoulder to the toes of the left foot and from the

left shoulder to the toes of the right foot, while repeating "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning now and ever shall be world without end. Amen." The incantation is timed to conclude with the words "world without end" at the toes. The patient is then asked to dry lightly and is advised not to take a bath for 12 hours, so that the medical

properties of the herbs can be absorbed into the pores.

The Balmer on duty the day the author took his bath, was Mr. Willie Peart.

Willie was 60 years old and has been with Mother Rita for more than five years. On request, he agreed reluctantly to name as many of the weeds as he could

recall from memory. He was reluctant because this was forbidden information

to an outsider. Some of the weeds mentioned were yellow sanders, cash

marrior, sweet sop bush, sower sop bush, willow bush, Rosemarie weed, Lkka

bush, candle wood, leaf of life, High John the Conqueror, soap bush, ballad

weed, Rickkie Rocher bush, wild cinnamon, semencaontra weed. He explained

to me that some of the weeds revealed to Mother had no name. It was explained

that no roots were used in preparing baths because, as he put it, "the leaf of the

tree is for the healing of the nation."

Once all the weeds and bushes are gathered they are placed in a large pot.

14 gallons of water is boiled down to a consistency of 10 gallons which takes one

hour at high boil. Many of the weeds used must be sought at great distances

from the 'yard'. Special men are engaged in gathering these weeds from as far

as 15 miles away; they bring them to the balmyard early in the morning or

during the night.

A diagnosis may take from 15 minutes to half an hour. The following observations are examples of Mother Rita's approach in diagnosing a patient's illness along with the remedy prescribed.



14 1. A woman of about 50 years of age. The Healer looked steadily into her

face, glancing now and then toward her legs. Then she began to question her at

a rapid rate in the following manner: "How long have you had that pain in your

head? Pain in your joints? Pain on one side of the womb? You feel sickly all over the body? Feel like you want to die?

(The answers to these questions must also come rapidly because Mother

works in a set rhythm and can become perturbed if there is too much hesitation

on the part of the patient. Also note that she does not ask 'if' there is a pain in the

head. She knows that there is pain. The author has never heard one patient deny

her statement).

When the questions were concluded, Mother reached for her paper and

pencil or called out to her helper the prescribed weeds. For the above case they

were:

Button wood weed, sweet cup weed, half leaf of aloes, juba bush; boil in 5

pints of water to 5 half pints; mix this with Gilby's wine. Take a half glass daily.

2. A woman from Brompton District, 30 miles away. "Let me see your

tongue. How long have you had pain in the centre of your back? You are weak

all over? Your entire nerve-system is short? You will kill yourself?

The remedy was written down secretly.

3. A woman who came on behalf of her Mother. She brought her Mother's

handkerchief. Mother Rita took it in her hands, concentrated a moment and

then said:

"Your mother suffers with pain in both legs. It is her kidneys. She suffers

with a pain in her sinuses; pain in her womb. She has the disposition of

confusion. She has cancer in the womb. I cannot cure her, but I make her feel

better.

Remedy: a bottle of High John the Conqueror's oil. Anoint the hands daily

making the sign of the corss. Sprinkle a little around the room, repeating the

23rd Psalm.

4. Another woman. "You have pain in the back, pain in both feet, itching in the womb.

Remedy: one bottle of womb tablets (no brand name); susumber bush,

button weed, sweet cup weed, three leaves of the leaf of life, wild grape bush, water grape bush, womb weed, three chips of bitchwood. Boil in 9 pints of water to 9 half pints. Mix with Gilby's wine. Take one half a glass 3 times daily."

5. For sick baby. Semen contra bush, two sprigs of aliba weed, two sprigs of susumber bush, two sprigs of button weed, two sprigs of blue fever grass. Mix

with brandy, a bottle of Virol compound (a patent medicine with high iron content).

6. Another child about 7 years old. She felt the child's stomach. Her

diagnosis: The child fell from a tree and dislocated her womb. After much

prompting the child admitted that she fell some 3 weeks before coming. This

was not known to the child's parents.



15

Remedy: Womb weed, garden bitters, bladder weed, horse bath, button

weed, strong back weed, leaf of life. Boil 7 half-pints of water to 3 half pints. Also a bottle of Indian Root pills.

7. A man who suffers from insomnia. The Healer questioned him about a

recent court case in which he was involved. She said: "The evil powers are still

with you from that court case."

Remedy: "Buy some black cat incense and burn in the bedroom; this will clear up the destruction that is following you."

By 4 p.m., the Healer had consulted 15 people, mostly women and children.

She was now tired, and told the rest of the patients to return the following day. A

woman who had waited about 2 hours began to complain that her body was

seriously ill and that she was afraid to leave without attention. The Healer

became slightly annoyed but finally yielded to her plea.

Mother Rita then relaxed a bit and called for food and refreshments. She also suggested that something be prepared for the author. Despite his mild

objection, a tray of food and soda was brought in, and while eating he began

questioning her about her ability to 'discern' a patient's illness. She stated that

it was much better to demonstrate her ability by diagnosing the author himself. He welcomed this experiment. Taking her position in her chair, Mother

suggested that the author sit in the patient's chair. She gazed at him, then,

suddenly she pointed to his right leg, saying "you suffer from a pain in that leg. Sometimes the calf of your leg tightens up. This gives you a pain in the right groin and pain on the right side of your head. You must pay attention to it or it

could cause trouble later." This diagnosis was remarkably correct. The author

had severely damaged his right leg in a soft-ball game while attending a conference in Colorado the previous summer. During this period, he performed

his duties only with the support of a pair of crutches. It took six months to heal,

but there was now no sign of limping, only an occasional tightening up of the muscles which at times proved very painful. During this research trip, the

author had experienced no pain. As a matter of fact he had almost forgotten

about the injury; however, Mother Rita actually touched the very area in which

the muscles tightened on occasion. Also, there were the periodic pains on the

left side of the head. With this demonstration, the author became a believer,

and conviction increased as he tested her clairvoyant ability with other

incidents.

SOME CONCLUSIONS

There is no need to defend the system of folk medicine in this paper. The

literature on this subject is full. Descriptions of primitive medicine and methods of healing form the subject matter for many anthropological monographs. This paper attempts only to give a portrait of one of many such

healers in Jamaica, but in this case one who occupies a unique role in Jamaican

history of a hundred years' duration.

Mother Rita, like her Mother before her, is the direct descendant of African

folk healers and her balmyard is the counterpart of traditional healing centres

in Africa today. The author recalls his visit to the Akonnedi Healing Center of



16

Larteh, Ghana, where he was introduced to the single most important traditional healer known in the nation, Nana Oparebea, the High Priestess of

this Center. Her influence extends over the population from the former Kwame

Nkrumah to the lowliest peasant of Ghana. Here the author observed the herbs

and their preparation and was informed that 99 different herbs were used in the

baths. Along with healing, the center was a training school for future herbalists, both men and women. The methods of Nana Oparebea and Mother Rita are so

similiar that one is amazed at the purity with which the African tradition apparently has been retained in Jamaica despite the rigour of slavery.

The literature about Jamaica recorded evidence of the work of the

medicine man early in the period of slavery. They were then called myal people a name which designates those who work in herbal medicines as opposed to the

obeahman who was the sorcerer. To this day, the two roles are separate though each is just as influencial today as it was during slavery. The African techniques of healing have rooted themselves in Jamaican culture to such an

extent that the trained physician is still perceived as secondary to the "Black doctor" as he is known, especially in rural districts.

AN ANALYSIS:

A cursory analysis of the influence of these specialists in African Medicine in Jamaica will close this paper. First, we must realize that the African system of curing was the only method known to the slaves and their descendants. (Incidentally, many of the herbs which were familiar in Africa were also to be

found in Jamaica) The healing methods of these doctors consist largely of herbal medicine administered both internally and externally. They also used

powders, seeds, roots, juices, leaves, and countless other talismans. The African specialist may make use of massages, needles, bleeding and various other things, but above all he uses the ritual of incantation. In this way the Healer and the patient become empathetically involved. He performs the

functions of both a doctor and a pastor. To this day the average Jamaican is

subconsciously afraid of the trained physician and the thought of being cut off from his friends and relatives in a hospital room is frightful enough for him to depart this life in haste. Even those of the common people who are reconciled to the idea that a trained doctor is useful will find more healing virtue in the doctor's preliminary scrutiny of their bodies, especially in his work with the stethoscope than in the medicine he prescribes. In many cases the patient will seek to find out the nature of his illness in order to inform his favourite herbal ist. It should be clear, then, that healing to the African as well as their descend ants in Jamaica consists not merely in medicial treatment but ritual. One with out the other is perceived to be useless.

The second reason for the influence of the African method of healing in Jamaica is due both to the scarcity of trained physicians and the peoples' perception of them. Until very recently (since the opening of the University of the West Indies), there were few medical doctors. The few that were available to the rural peasants were located many miles away from the peasant communities. It took long hours on horse back and by donkey to reach the office of a doctor. And to be transported there by motor vehicle was prohibitive in cost, even if one could be found. On the other hand, many peasants still perceive



17 the trained doctor to be an elite far removed from their social level, someone

who lacks the sensitivity demanded in order to cure them. His social distance, his professional language, his opulence and in some cases, his insolence sets

him apart from his humble patients. This perception (though often mistaken as this writer well knows), is sufficiently strong to create an adverse attitude in

the minds of many a common man. So he generally seeks out the folk healer

with whom he feels at home.

The third factor contributing to the influence of the folk healer in Jamaica

is that he does benefit his patients and in most cases, his medicine is inexpensive. One reason for his success is the high incidence of psychosomatic illness in the Jamaican community. Thus a large proportion of the illness are

brought about by stress conditions. The socio-economic conditions for the vast

majority of the country folk keep them almost permanently at subsistence

level. With little hope for a brighter future, and given the pressures of merely

continuing to exist, anxiety mounts and the body becomes susceptible to minor

aches and pains which over a period of time develop into more serious illness.

Therefore the magico-religious functions of the balmyard become a source of

help to people in such conditions. The accessability of these yards and the

relatively free advice of the specialists are highly suitable to the man who does

not even have respectable apparel to wear to a doctor's office.

This is not to say that it is only the poor who visit the African specialists. This is far from the truth. The marginal Jamaican elites whose jobs with an expatriate company are rather tenuous also frequently make use of these

specialists. Here again we can mirror the uncertainty of life in a developing

country. The author has seen many an elite of the "Mercedes-Benzs" type at

these specialists, coming to 'firm-up' his position with the use of certain oil or to perform some rituals which will give him assurance and confidence in his work.

We may conclude then that the descendants of the traditional African

medicine men have retained an important place in Jamaican society from

slavery to the present. Far from having diminished, the herbalists role has re

mained extremely important to a large segment of the peasant population and

has at lease effectively touched the majority of the elite. The lack of trained

physicians and the peasants' faith in the herbal-ritual treatment will assure

their influence for generations to come.

SOME AFRICAN RETENTIONS

Some aspects of African retentions in Jamaica:

1. As in Africa, the people in Jamaica believe that sickness is caused by spiritual forces and they speak of sickness as the 'thing'. Many see sickness as

the intrusion of outside forces brought on either by the breaking of God's will or the evil work of enemies. Except in the case of death by old age, every human

tragedy is suspect.

2. As in Africa, healing to be effective, must be both herbal and ritual. That

is why the peasant is more interested in what the doctor does with his

stethoscope than he is in his prescribed medicine. The balmyard' is the place where herbs and rites are wed in the traditional African pattern.



18

3. As in many areas of West Africa, water has important healing values.

The balm in herbal juices and the promised fountain in the balmyard are examples of the power of water. In Jamaica, revelation of healing streams

form a common part of the folk culture.

4. Ritual colors are important in African traditional religion. Victor Turner deals extensively with this aspect of color classification in African ritual in his book The Forest of Symbols. Turner shows that certain colors have

certain associations, red for instance is connected with initiation, white with purity and black with death. In the Jamaican context — not much has been done in color analysis; but a wide field is there to be explored. For instance there seem io be an important connection between African color classification and color use in the Jamaican balmyard. White as we have seen is used in fasting rituals; red is a symbol of life and also danger. Black is the predominant color for death, both in Jamaican folk religion and in Haitian Voodoo. The other color which dominates the religious ritual of Jamaica is blue, but it seems to be related to white and symbolizes energy, strength and courage. A detailed study in the framework of binary opposition may yet yield some important religious insights in these color classification in Jamaica.

5. An important African retention of ritual customs is in the concept of left and right. In most West African societies the left hand is considered impure. The right hand is considered pure; thus it is bad manners to give something to a person with the left hand.

This concept finds expression in religious ritual by the direction of all movement to the right. In Jamaican folk ritual counter-clockwise movement expresses this concept. One cult leader explained that, to clear pollution and evil, one must move from left to right. In the religious dance, one moves counter-clockwise to 'clear up' the evil in the balmyard and thus lift the evil from the patients.

6. As is the case in African rituals, possession is the high point of religious ceremonies in Jamaica. It is the sign that the gods and spirits are present. It is the medium of revelation and also serves a cathartic function for the one who is

possessed. The state of possession is highly desirable in the balmyard and serves as an important sign of contact with the spirit world.

7. The use of the drums needs no elaboration in African religious ritual. And it should be sufficient to say that a balmyard in Jamaica without its drums and drummers would be rare indeed. Even if there is no accomplished drummer, the rituals without the drum would seem ineffective.

8. Dreams and visions have important roles in the healing lore of Jamaican cults as they have in Africa. The two healers discussed in this paper were

greatly influenced by dreams and visions. The founder of the balmyard received her call in a dream. Her successor began to receive dreams even as a

child and she related many more' recent dreams to the author. On the basis of the importance placed on dreams it is undoubtedly true that the most important decision-making process in cult movements in Jamaica is the dream or the vision.



19 This list of African retentions could go on and on but the above seems

sufficient for our purposes in this short paper.

LEONARD BARRETT

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Acherknecht, E. H. "Problems of Primitive Medicine" Bulletin of the History of Medicine XI p. 603 — 521, 1942.

2. "Natural Diseases and Rational Treatment in Primitive

Medicine," Bulletin of the History of Medicine XIX (No. 5), 1942.

3. Asprey, G. F., and Thornton, Phyllis "Medicinal Plants of Jamaica," The West

Indian Medical Journal University of the West Indies, pp. 2 — 4, 1953.

4. Beaubrun, Michael "Psychiatric Education for the Caribbean". The West Indian

Medical Journal, University of the West Indies, Vol. XV, No. 1, pp. 52 — 62, 1966.

5. Beckwith, Martha Warren, Black Roadways (North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Uni

versity of North Carolina Press), 1923.

6. DeLisser, H. G., Twentieth Century Jamaica, Kingston, 1913.

7. Evans-Pritchard, E., Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the A/and" (London: Oxford University Press), 1937.

8. Hughes, C. C., "Hygiene and Public Health in Non-Literate Societies, Paper

presented at the Conference on Medicine and Anthropology at Arden House,

Harriman, New York, 1961.

9. Lessa, W. A. and Vogt, E. Z., eds. Reader in Comparative Religion (Evanston:

Row, Peterson and Company), 1958.

10. Mbiti, John S. African Religions and Philosophy (New York: Frederick Praeger), 1960.

11. Rivers, W. H. R., Medicine, Magic and Relition (London, Oxford University Press), 1924.

12. St. John, Sir Spencer, Haiti and the Black Republic, London: Smith Elder

and Co., 1884.

13. Simpson, George Eaton: Religious Cults of the Caribbean: Trinidad, Jamaica

and Haiti, Puerto Rico; Institute of Caribbean Studies, 1970.

14. Turner, V. W. "Lunda Rites and Ceremonies" (Occasional part of the Rhodes

Livingstone Museum N.S.) No. 10. Livingstone Zambia, 1953.

1 5 'Ndemba Divination: The Symbolism and Techniques (Rhodes

Livingston Papers, No. 11) Manchester University 1961.

1 6 The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndemba Ritual (New York,

Cornell University Press.



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THE PORTRAIT OF A JAMAICAN HEALER: African Medical Lore in the Caribbean

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