A well-known plant used in the practice of voodoo on the island of Nevis is the Dieffenbachia sp., whose sap causes temporary paralysis of the larynx. Literally one’s vocal cords are shut down for a period of time. Some farmers use the sap to ward off theft by rubbing it on their fruits and vegetables – an exhausting task. Rewards are great however when a ‘cursed’ villager, the thief, is found to be speechless.
These wonderful memories of storytelling have impacted me up to this day. My greatest joy is in telling exciting stories to the guests at our guesthouse in Montserrat, and seeing the awed looks on their faces. My stories are usually funny but sometimes eerie, and are based mostly on island legends and folklore. Some however are culled from my own personal experience with the paranormal.
And while the argument can be made that comparable methods are employed in many ceramic settings worldwide, at times the hand and body movements of the African potters (not to mention the familiar sound of ‘sucking the teeth’ for emphasis) were simply identical. In particular, watching the pounding of the wet clay prior to use with a wide-based wooden pestle convinced me that heritage practices can be retained within the physical memory of the human body, and have been transmitted from mother to daughter across time and space.
-
- 133 Comments on Dancing with the Dead No. 13
Tagged caribbean, culture, curse, Folklore