Duppies
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Click on image for a larger view Banbury, Rev. T. Jamaica Superstitions; or the Obeah Book. Kingston: Mortimer C. DeSouza, 1894. ‘Duppies’ are restless spirits of the dead that are believed to haunt the living. Though there are good and bad spirits, the ‘duppy’ is seen as malevolent because the good spirits cannot be seen. The good spirit is sometimes referred to as ancestral spirits, who are believed to be dead family members who still take an interest in the life of family members. Contrary to the good spirit, the ‘duppy’ is seen as the unnamed, unhappy, and restless dead human who is capable of doing harm. The ‘duppy’ can linger around or be summoned by an obeah-man or woman from the graveyard to do harm in exchange for payment of food or drink, especially rum. ‘Duppies’ are said to live at the roots of cotton trees and bamboo thickets, from where they emerge in the nights or at midday. According to legend, one can tell if a ‘duppy’ is around if certain signs are observed, such as:
It
is also supposed that certain precautions must be taken to ward off
or to avoid trouble with a ‘duppy’. When throwing out water at
night care must be taken to warn the ‘duppies’ before throwing
the water. Stones must not be thrown at noon or nights and one should
never sit at the threshold of a door as a ‘duppy’ will walk over
and injure you. Methods of getting rid of ‘duppies’ range from
cursing or calling “Jesus Christ” to nailing a horseshoe to the
house. Jamaican folklore contains a significant amount of ‘duppy’ stories in various forms. Jamaican sayings and proverbs also contain references to ‘duppies’; “Bull buck and duppy conqueror” and “Duppy know who fi frighten an who fi tell good night” are two such examples.
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