OBB 
tion, in the {nails and flugs, which deftrey its leaf-buds, as 
foon as they appear. . 
OB MA, in Geography, a town of Japan, in the ifland 
of Kimo; 25 miles E. o faki. ; 
OBA E, a harbour on the eaft coaft of the ifland 
of Otaha. 
BAN, a fea-port in the parith of Kilmore, and county 
of Argyle, Scotland, is fituated on the fhore of a fine bay, 
in the found of Mull, and fecured from the weftern ocean 
This bay is of a femicircular 
one on the north, and another 
by a trading company belonging to Renfrew 
ee The example being followed by 
eltates, gave every en- 
couragement in their power to promote its increafe, efpe- 
cially by granting building-leafes upon the mo liberal 
terms. It was particularly indebted to two brothers of the 
name of Stevenfon, who fettled in it in 1778; and by their 
induftry and {pirited exertions, not only accumulated hand- 
fome fortunes for themfelves, but highly promoted the good 
of the neighbouring country. Oban is admirably adapted 
for trade, and is peculiarly well fituated for a fifhing ftation. 
Thefe, however, are but inferior confiderations to the great 
national benefits, which might be derived from its excellent 
harbour and road-ftead. It feems formed by nature, and a 
combination of many important advantages, to become the 
principal place of trade for the Highlands of Scotland, and 
f Oban are immenfe rocks of 
breccia, or pudding-ftone, compofed of difierent forts and 
fizes of rounded pebbles. Some of the pebbles are quart- 
zofe, others porphyritic, granitic, {chiftous, and calcareous 3 
and the whole are cemented together very firmly by a black 
lava. Other {pecimens of volcanic minerals are abundant in 
this neighbourhood. few rocks of this fort are ex- 
cavated to a vaft depth, particularly one about half a mile 
fouth from the town. is indeed feems to indicate recent 
volcanic irruptions. According to the parliamentary re- 
turns of 1811, the parifhof Kilmore, which 1s of {mali ex- 
tent, contains 175 houfes, and 821 inhabitants, who are 
chiefly refident in Oban. Beauties of Scotland, vol. v. 
Pennant’s Tour in Scotland, 3 vols. 4to. Lond. 1790. 
OBANA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Afia, in Af- 
fyria. Prtol. 
OBARENI, a people who inhabit a confiderable part of 
Armenia, near the river Cyrus. _ 
OBBA, a town of Africa, in Mauritania Cefarienfis. 
OBBEDIN, in Geography, a town of Walachia; 4 miles 
N.W. of Krajova. 
OBE 
OBDORSKOT, a town of Ruffia, in the government of 
Tobolfk, on the Oby, near its mouth, whither the Sa- 
mioedes bring their tribute; 508 miles N. of Tobolfk. N. 
lat. 66° 10’. E. long. 67° 14’. 
OBEAH, a fuperftitious pratice, or a kind of forcery 
or witchcraft, as the term imports, prevalent among the 
Negroes in Jamaica, and which has fo powerful an effect as 
to bias, in a confiderable degree, their general condu@, dif- 
pofitions, and manners. Mr. . Edwards has given a par- 
ticular account of this practice, deduced from the refearches 
and cetail o r. Long. e term obea, ofjah, or obia, i 
{uppofed to be the adjeGtive, derived from the noun fubitan- 
tive ofe, or obi; and the words obea-man or woman denote 
thofe who prattife obi. 
ofes, by divine authority, forbids 
inquire of the demon 04, 
wizard, divinator aut forcilegus: and the wom 
is called Oub or Ob, tranflated Puthonifla ; and Oubaios was 
the name of the bafilifk or royal ferpent, emblem of the fun, 
and an ancient oracular deity o The term, 
pofed to be thus derived, is now 
Co) icans who in that 
craft or forcery, comprehending alfo the clafs of perfons, 
«© Myal-men,’’ or thofe who, by means of a narcotic 
de with the juice of an herb, 
from then 
> 
native Africans, which have not one or more of them. The 
e ft crafty are thofe who ufually attra& the 
greateft devotion and confidence: befides the advantage de- 
The deluded Negroes, who are unfufpectiing 
believers in their fupernatural power, become voluntary ac- 
complices in this concealment; and the ftouteft of them 
tremble at the fight of the ragged bundle, the bottle, or the 
egg-fhells, which are ftuck in the thatch, or hung over the 
oor of a hut, or upon the branch of a plantain-tree, to 
deter marauders. In cafes of poifon, the effects of it are 
night hours. 
og, he applies immediately to the obeah-man or w 
k 
is fet?? for the thief; and as focn as the latter hears the 
