Edward Long on obeah and duppies

Planter-historian Edward Long's History of Jamaica (1774) described obeah men, the belief in duppies (ghosts) and funeral customs of enslaved Jamaicans.

1774 CE · 18.00, -76.95 · status: official

The account

Long was a vicious racist, and his account is hostile, but it is one of the earliest descriptions of Jamaican spirit belief, including the idea that the dead return to their homeland in Africa.

Connections in the atlas

• Tacky's Revolt and the first obeah law
• The rolling calf

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Edward Long
2. Wikipedia: Duppy