TRIALS BY ORDEAL.
CHAPTER
55
XXXIII.
Negroes : superstition—Trials by ordeal—Flower-fence—Bible and key —A way to recover stolen property—Charm to prevent a scolding tongue—Jumbies—A night's adventure—The soldier's last jump— Jumbies calls—Betsey, the nurse—The haunted house—A cure— The drowning boys—The murdered woman—The jumby's revenge. IN
the former chapter
I
endeavoured to give some descrip-
tion of the doctrine of Obeah. There are also several mysterious rites current among the negroes on which they rely to find out a thief. One of these trials by ordeal is thus performed : they procure some of the leaves of the “ flower-fence," or “ Barbados' pride," (called by the negroes “doodle doo,") and lay them in a heap, in some peculiar manner, with a black dog (not a quadruped, but a small copper coin of about three farthings sterling, current in this island a few years ago) in the middle. They do not tie this bundle together, but by the manner in which it is placed they are enabled to raise it to the neck of the suspected person without its falling to pieces. The accused is then to say, (holding the bundle under their throat at the same time,) " Doodle doo, doodle doo, if me tief de four dog, (or whatever it may be that is missing,) me wish me tongue may loll out of me mout." If nothing takes place, the person is innocent, and the charm is tried upon another, until the guilty one's turn comes, when immediately their tongue hangs out of their mouth against their will. Another trial by ordeal (which, I believe, has formerly been practised in England, and has probably been taught them by the whites) is thus performed :—A door-key is placed between the leaves of the Bible, upon the 18th and 19th verses of the 50th Psalm, and the book is then bound tightly round so that the key cannot fall out ; care must be taken at the same time that the key is sufficiently large, that after