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LES ESPRITS DANS LE FOLKLORE INDO-CARIBEEN

LES ESPRITS DANS LE FOLKLORE INDO-CARIBEEN


{Que nous leur attribuyions des pouvoirs béné- ou maléfiques, nous connaissons les Loa du Vodoun, et nos Dorlis, Volan, Soukougnan, Giablès, Lou-garou, Tounè an chyen, etc.

Moins connus sont leurs equivalents indo-caribéens, qui existent pourtant, et agissent dans l’aliwondaj. C’est l’objet d’une recherche entreprise par le Dr Kumar Mahabir.

Si vous pouvez y contribuer, mais faites-le nous savoir !} {{J.S. S.}}

{{INDIAN FOLK LORE SPIRITS IN THE CARIBBEAN}}

Usually elderly grandparents can narrate stories of encounters with spirits like Saap-in, Raa-kas, Dee Baba, Chu-ra-ile, Jinn, etc. [see below for details].

I am working on a book on these spirits for which I need informants and short-story writers, as well as illustrators/artists.

This is a seminal research project that will influence the re-writing of literature on Caribbean folklore, which has so far only documented the exploits of Douens, Soucouyants, La Diablesses, Li Garous, etc.

Credit will be given to all those who contribute to the project.

The following are character sketches of five Indian folklore spirits in the Caribbean :

(1) Saap-in - a woman with blue veins in the shape of a snake on her inner thighs, back or spine. At a certain time of the year when the moon changes, she turns into a snake on her bed in the night. All her husbands (about seven) die through mysterious circumstances. The shape of the snake comes to life at the time each husband dies.

(2) Raa-kas - a deformed demonic newborn child with long nails, vampire-like teeth, and long hair covering all four limbs. Its eyes, posture and movement are like that of a tadpole. This type of child has to be killed at birth by the midwife, or else, it would pounce upon the mother's neck, puncture her throat, and escape by leaping through the window.

(3) Dee Baba - Protector of the land from dangerous forces. He has to be fed periodically with biscuits, white rum, a black rooster, sardines and cigarettes. Some sources say he is a white man with a cork hat riding a horse like a colonial slave-master. Some say he is a black rooster; others say he is a black dog.

(4) Chu-ra-ile - the spirit of a pregnant woman who has died while giving birth, or has committed suicide during pregnancy. She is depicted with long hair draping over her face, roaming the streets nights. She has an aborted baby in her arms that has some semblance of a cat/kitten. Her unborn child can be heard crying for milk like a cat in the dead of the night.

The Churaile’s likely victims are pregnant women whom she possesses out of envy.

(5) Jinn - a spirit of Middle-Eastern origin which takes the form of fire. There are good and bad jinns. Some holy men become the medium of good jinns through which people with problems are counselled, advised and healed.

Bad jins wreak havoc on innocent people.

{{Dr Kumar Mahabir.}}

Images (cliquez pour agrandir) :

_ 1. Dr Kumar Mahabir, Trinidad & Tobago.
_ 2. Spirits, Courtesy Driskell Center
_ 3, 4, 5 Tableaux afro-caribéens de Wilfredo Lam, Cuba.
_ 6. Sculptures, Ganga Mahabalipuram, Inde

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