obeah

[oh-bee-uh]

noun

1. a form of belief involving sorcery, practiced in parts of the West Indies, South America, the southern U.S., and Africa.

2. a fetish or charm used in practicing obeah.

obeah

/ ˈəʊbɪə /

noun

1. another word for obi 2

Word History and Origins

Origin of obeah¹

1750–60; compare Gullah, Jamaican English, Guyanan English, Sranan óbia magic, charm; < a West African language, though precise source unclear; compare Twi ɔ-bayifó sorcerer (compound with -fo person), Igbo díbìà folk healer (compound with dí- expert in)

Example Sentences

The magical systems evoked in much of this folklore, like obeah, have their roots in African religious and spiritual practices.

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Butterflies are a relatively harmless vice, but giant moths are like heroin: “The moth eater is always moved to begin again,” an obeah woman tells Xavier.

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He studied anthropology at Harvard University and published several papers on Afro-Jamaican folklore and obeah, a spiritual practice combining Christian and African rituals.

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Thus, there gathered a loud convocation of such of our number as claim familiarity with appropriate rites of burial—a meeting of palaver-men, Christian New Lights, obeah priests, and new-made cunning-workers.

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It also corresponds with the obeah of the West Indies, the ubio of the Efik race, a charm put into the ground to hurt or kill.

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Related Words

• religion 
• worldview