GUHZUM UP DEH WID DI JONESES

OBEAH BOOMS UPTOWN

Crystal Harrison & Paula Gordon, Star Writers
If you think uptown stores are missing out on the booming obeah business, think again.
A recent trip made by THE WEEKEND STAR team to a prominent store in the Kingston 8 area literally raised eyebrows, and caused jaws to drop in disbelief based on the products that were being sold in the ‘uptown store’.
With prices starting from $380, perfumes such as ‘Success Water’, ‘Prosperity’, ‘Mr Success’, ‘One Drop of Love’, ‘Money Grabber’ and ‘Do as I Say’ were readily available.
Some of the other nicely packaged items on display included candles of different colours and sizes, sprinkling salts and body oils with prices starting from $180.
Among the candles were some labelled ‘Fast Luck’ and ‘Controlling’, also on display was an instructional chart giving the different candle colours and meanings.
Interestingly, during THE WEEKEND STAR’s visit to the busy store, our team was just in time to meet an ‘obeah man’, who is also a taxi operator, and his wife who were purchasing their monthly supply of products.
A member of the team, acting under the guise of a worried woman who just lost her lover, approached the obeah man’s wife for advice. The reporter was told by the wife that she lost her man because she was not giving him enough sex.
“Don’t worry yourself, just buy two pink panties and go a sea fi two mornings and bathe wid a blue rag, when yuh bathe with the blue rag just remember to leave it there. Yeah man, fi di two mornings remember to use a new rag each time and when you do dat just give me call. Si mi number here,” the obeah man said.
When contacted later by THE WEEKEND STAR for a comment, a supervisor at the store said that they were merely in the business of selling candles and perfumes and that the store is not an obeah store.
She explained that persons from all walks of life visit the establishment, including Catholics, Anglicans and Methodists.
She did, however, say that almost all Jamaicans believe in obeah but they do not give advice to persons who are interested in buying a product for specific reasons.
Meanwhile, when THE WEEKEND STAR made checks with Deputy Superintendent Altemorth Campbell, who is attached to the Flying Squad, he explained that the practising of obeah is illegal.
“The practice is illegal, but it cannot be hearsay. The police have to get evidence for court. If convicted an individual is liable to a fine not exceeding $100 or be imprisoned for a term not exceeding 12 months,” Campbell said.