394 CUBA AND POBTO 1UCO 



dooism, and in the other Southern States of English 

 settlement ar. conjure. Its reflection in the Northern 

 States is called hoodoo. Furthermore, obiism and con- 

 jure on the one hand, and vaudoux and voodoo on the 

 other, are two distinct conceptions. 



The first is African witchcraft as actually practised by 

 negroes the world over. The second is the French con- 

 ception of imaginary witchcraft inherited folk-lore from 

 the days of ancient Gaul, something which all French 

 peasants believe to be, but which is not and has not been. 



Obiism, like all savage religions, is based upon belief 

 in evil spirits which can be invoked or propitiated by 

 gifted human beings. The conception of a benevolent 

 Supreme Being is not essential or necessarily considered ; 

 or if considered, he is all-good and needs no human pro- 

 pitiation, but the evil spirits are those which must be 

 guarded against or cajoled. Obiism is characterized by 

 four essential beliefs: (1) that certain human beings 

 can propitiate or influence the evil powers; (2) that evil 

 spirits are associated with serpents and reptiles; (3) that 

 the shades of the dead return to work revenge upon the 

 living; (4) that charms for good or evil can cast spells 

 upon the victim. 



The first and chief factor of this savage belief is the 

 witch-doctor or obi-man the voodoo-doctor of Louisiana 

 and the conjure-doctor of the South. His power lies 

 in the influence of his presence upon simple-minded folk, 

 and the faith he creates in the potency of his charms 

 and actions. He is usually a venerable man of hideous 

 mien, who goes about pretending to practise spells and 

 charms, and selling a few simple herb remedies. He is 

 undoubtedly a survival of the medicine-man found in 

 every tribe in Africa, and exercises a great power for 

 good or evil through his hypnotic powers. He may or 

 may not possess a knowledge of a few simple vegetable 

 poisons, as alleged. In exceptional cases he may cause 

 ignorant servants to administer poison or slow deranging 



