Definitions for obeah
ˈoʊ bi əobeah

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. obeah, obinoun

   (West Indies) followers of a religious system involving witchcraft and sorcery

2. obeah, obinoun

   a religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery; practiced in parts of the West Indies and tropical Americas

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. obeahnoun

   A form of folk magic, medicine or witchcraft originating in Africa and practiced in parts of the Caribbean.

2. Etymology: Origin uncertain. Apparently from a Caribbean creole, probably ultimately from a West African language. The OED points to abià, obìa.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Obeah

   Obeah, or Obayi, is a series of African diasporic spell-casting and healing traditions found in the former British colonies of the Caribbean. These traditions derive much from traditional West African practices that have undergone cultural creolization. There is much regional variation in the practice of Obeah, which is followed by practitioners called Obeahmen and Obeahwomen. Obeahmen and Obeahwomen serve a range of clients in assisting them with their problems. A central role is played by healing practices, often incorporating herbal and animal ingredients. It often also involves measures designed to achieve justice for the client. These practices often make reference to supernatural forces, resulting in Obeah sometimes being characterised as a religious practice. Obeah is said to be difficult to define, as it is believed by some to not be a single, unified set of practices, since the word "Obeah" was historically not often used to describe one's own practices.Obeah developed among African diasporic communities in various British Caribbean colonies following the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It formed through the adaptation of the traditional religious practices that enslaved West Africans, especially from the Ashanti and other Tshi-speaking peoples, brought to these colonies. There, they also absorbed European influences, especially from Christianity, the religion of the British colonial elites. These elites disapproved of African traditional religions and introduced various laws to curtail and prohibit them. This suppression meant that Obeah emerged as a system of practical rituals and procedures rather than as a broader religious system involving deity worship and communal rites. In this way, Obeah differs from more worship-focused African diasporic religions in the Caribbean, such as Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santería and Palo, or Jamaican Myal. Since the 1980s, Obeah's practitioners have campaigned to remove legal restrictions against their practices in various Caribbean countries. Variants of Obeah are practiced in the Caribbean nations of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Turks and Caicos Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Virgin Islands. The practice can also be found outside the Caribbean, in countries like the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Obeah

   Obeah is a form of Jamaican folk magic and spiritual belief system that incorporates various practices and rituals. It is believed to have originated from West Africa during the slave trade and has since been adapted and incorporated into Caribbean culture. Obeah encompasses a wide range of practices including divination, spell-casting, healing, protection, and influencing spiritual forces. It often involves the use of herbs, charms, and other objects believed to possess magical properties. Obeah practitioners, known as obeahmen or obeahwomen, are believed to have the ability to manipulate spiritual energies for both positive and negative purposes.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Obeahnoun

   same as Obi

2. Obeahadjective

   of or pertaining to obi; as, the obeah man

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Obeah

   Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo. Obeah is practiced in Suriname, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Guyana, Barbados, Grenada, Belize, The Bahamas and other Caribbean countries. Obeah is associated with both benign and malignant magic, charms, luck, and with mysticism in general. In some Caribbean nations, Obeah refers to folk religions of the African diaspora. In some cases, aspects of these folk religions have survived through syncretism with Christian symbolism and practice introduced by European colonials and slave owners. Casual observation may conclude that Christian symbolism is incorporated into Obeah worship, but in fact may represent clandestine worship and religious protest. During slavery, Obeah was directed against the European slave masters. However, with the rise of Christianity, Obeah is considered a taboo, and the term has pejorative associations.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Obeah

   See Obi.

Matched Categories

1. • West Indies
   • Cult

Anagrams for obeah »

1. bahoe

2. bohea

How to pronounce obeah?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say obeah in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of obeah in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of obeah in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=obeah
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Obeah
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obeah
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obeah
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=obeah
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=obeah