African Religion and Christianity in Grenada

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AFRICAN RELIGION AND CHRISTIANITY IN GRENADA Author(s): PATRICK POLK Source: Caribbean Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 3/4, THE SPIRITUAL BAPTISTS, SHANGO, AND

OTHERS: AFRICAN-DERIVED RELIGIONS IN THE CARIBBEAN (SEPT./DEC. 1993), pp. 73-81Published by: and University of the West Indies Caribbean QuarterlyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40653861Accessed: 11-03-2015 20:00 UTC

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73

AFRICAN RELIGION AND CHRISTIANITY IN GRENADA

by

PATRICK POLK

The shadow is what we see; We do not see the results, The results are coming, father of Openness. - Odulrosun - .!

The continuance of traditional African religious practices in the New World has been the focus of much scholarly attention. Haitian Voudou, Cuban Santería, and Brazilian Candomblé have become celebrated examples of the persistence of African culture in the Americas. The precise relationships between Afro-American religious practices and those of Africa (past and present), however, remain unclear. While it has been demonstrated that African peoples in the New World created and maintained, quite early on, intricate and well-developed social institutions based in part of African practices, there is not enough data to make broad generalizations about the processes through which these institutions were formed. This paper is an abbreviated addition to our knowledge of Afro- American religions and, in particular, Afro-Grenadian religious practices.

In 1498, while on his third voyage, Columbus sighted the island of Grenada and claimed it for the Spanish Crown. However, Grenada was not colonized by Europeans, until the seventeenth century when the island came under the dominion of the French. In 1763, as a result of the Seven Years War and the Treaty of Paris, the island passed into the hands of the British who maintained colonial authority until Grenada achieved inde- pendence in 1974. Although possessed by the French and English in succession, today the island is predominately populated by peoples of West African descent. Thus, many Grenadians, the majority of whose ancestors came to Grenada as slaves or as or indentured labourers, believe Africa to be a primary source of their cultural heritage treating the subjects of Africa and things African with great deference. Not surprisingly, one finds in Grenada numerous social practices which may be traced to West Africa. The most notable of these practices are religious traditions commonly referred to as Shango or African work.

African Work

Shango in Grenada represents a structured and internally coherent system of religious belief which is derived primarily from traditional religious practices of the Yoruba of Nigeria. In Shango ceremonies the Yoruba language is often used, although not always



74

understood, and Yoruba deities such as Eshu, Shango, Ogun, Yemanja, and Oshun are invoked by their devotees. A central aim of Shango ceremonies is to induce physical and psychic possession of worshipers by the Orisha. It has been suggested that the origins of shango in Grenada is directly linked to the arrival, in 1849, of over 1,000 indentured Yoruba labourers from Ijesha, Nigeria (Smith 1965: 34; Simpson 1978:82). These Nigerians settled in relatively closed communities and continued many of the traditions of their homeland. Over time, as members of these communities and their descendants moved to other parts of the island, their religious practices (Shango) gained popularity throughout Grenada. The practice of Shango gradually replaced forms of African-based ritual such as Nation Dance which were once prevalent on the island but which did not include spirit possession (Smith 1965:34). On Grenada's sister island, Carriacou, which did not receive large numbers of free Yoruba immigrants, Nation Dance or Big Drum is still celebrated. (Smith 1965:34; Pollack-Eltz 1970:818). Shango is not unknown on Carriacou, however, and Shango specialists are occasionally brought from Grenada to perform spirit possession ceremonies (Hill 1977:384).

The majority of Grenadians who practice Shango rituals do not, claim however to

worship the African deities exclusively. They are often affiliated with Catholic and Protes- tant churches. The most popular Christian organizations seem to be the numerous inde-

pendent Baptist sects found on the island. Two Baptist groups commonly called Shango-Baptists also acknowledge the existence of African spiritual entities (orisha).

In 1889, Hesketh J. Bell (1970:3975) an Englishman who some years earlier had briefly resided in Grenada, published the following account of a "wanga temple" he had dis- covered near a hot spring while exploring the island:

We soon arrived at a clump of bush and calabash trees, in the midst of which had been erected a small thatched shed, surrounded by bamboos stuck into the ground and bearing long flag-like strips of red or white cotton stuff. From the queer-looking odds and ends disposed about the place, I made sure that I was in a temple dedicated to some mysterious rites and ceremonies, and, in fact, my guide informed me that frequently Africans, old Creoles and sometimes coolies, came here to pray and dance. Around the shed were bamboos, disposed so as to form seats, and at the

upper end was erected a small altar, on which was placed a most mysterious collection of objects. A broken cutlass was stuck into the ground between a thick tumbler and an empty oil bottle, while in front of



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it were two earthenware native-made jugs, one filled with flowers, the other with kola nuts; and next to this, presenting a striking incongruity, was erected a rough wooden cross, looking anything but at home in that outlandish company.

In a second passage, Bell (1970:28) describes a typical pilgrimage which Afro- Grenadians made to one of the water sources sacred to Mamadjo (the Water Mother or Mermaid, said also to be Yemanja):

First came four or five stalwart Negroes carrying pink, red and white flags, followed by a group of old women, dressed up in red cotton frocks, with veils of the same material covering their heads, and topped with a chaplet of some green feathery creeping plant, which grows in profusion in the high woods. Then came more elderly females, similarly clad in blue cotton, all dancing frantically to the sound of most bar- barous music, which followed them. Three or four men carried in their hands large empty gourds, covered over with a loose network of small porcelain shirt-but- tons, which they kept continually shaking, thus making a loud rustling sound, serving as an accom-

paniment to a wild sort of song or refrain, yelled out in the most minor of minor keys by the whole of the assistants. The rear was brought up by an indis- criminate gathering of negroes, all dancing furiously, and all decked with sprays of the same green creeper. Questioning one of these followers, I learnt that the

procession was on its way to the Grant Etang, the supposed home of a "Mamadjo" or siren, whom they were going to propitiate by sundry sacrifices of goats and fowls, in order to obtain from her a few showers of rain, which were sadly needed for the young corn just planted.

Once pilgrims have arrived at the Grand Etang, the old women of the procession would commence an endless prayer or incantation, addressed to the Mamadjo, ac- companied, no doubt by the sacrifice of a black goat and some white fowls, and the siren. Once considered



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satisfied, the ceremony would conclude with an African dance to the inspiring sound of the tom-tom, lasting till day-light, when all would peaceably return to their avocations, and would, most likely, be seen next Sunday hurrying to their church, dressed out in their best toggery (Bell 1970:29).

We are indebted to Bell, as such descriptions of practice in Grenada are quite rare. In contrast to the large amount of scholarly work compiled on the religious practices of Afro-Caribbean people on other islands (Haitians, Cubans, Trinidadians, Brazilians, etc.) there is little reference to similar practices in Grenada.

African Work is another Kind of Work

During the last week of July, 1990, I observed most ritual activities of a three-day religious celebration which occurred near Greenville, Grenada.2 The celebration was described variously by participants as a "Shango" or "Thanksgiving feast." I was told that events such as this are considered to be African woik though they may be sponsored by a

Spiritual Baptist church. They occur seasonally ,are closely associated with the agricultural cycle, and are usually dedicated to the Orisha. At such feasts, members of the general community, not just the church sponsoring the ceremonies, gather to share food, distribute candy to children, pay homage to the Orisha, or to simply enjoy the festive atmosphere. The feast with which I am concerned here was sponsored by the members of a Shango Baptist church whose leader is well-known as a strong "worker" of the African "powers". The event was held at the home of the leader of that church, was officiated by him, and was dedicated to the Orisha Shango, Ogun, and Oshun.

Acknowledging incongruities between the practice of African religion and Protestant Christianity, the church leader intimated that African woik is, indeed, another kind of work differentiated from Christian work, but African and Christian work stand together under God. The two sets of ritual may be of separate origins, but, in the eyes of the people, they are not incompatible. Rather, they are understood to be complimentary. Members of the church express their religiosity through the recognition and practice of the rituals of two

major religious cults, the cult of the Orisha based upon Yoruba traditions; and the cult of Christ derived from primarily Protestant sources.3 Each set of beliefs has its own ritual

requirements which must be observed and maintained.

On the first morning of the Thanksgiving, members of the church formed a procession which made a short pilgrimage from the home of the leader to a hot spring located nearby. I was unable to attend this portion of the activities, but was informed that the members of the church had presented themselves in full regalia, carrying banners and flags before them as they marched and sang. The spring at which they conducted ceremonies, I suspect the



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same one where Hesketh Bell found his "wanga temple" .

After processing to the wann springs, a ritual space was prepared in front of the church leader's house and near numerous bamboo poles bearing small, colorful flags which invariably mark the residences of Shango practitioners. Working quickly, several members of the church constructed a four-cornered bamboo structure which had a centre-pole. A

plastic trap served as its roof. Four large earthenware pots were set at the base of the centre-pole; two containing flowers and two containing holy water. Alongside these vessels were placed a bell, a bible, and several white candles. Also at the base of the centre-pole were a few small jars containing honey, herbs, flour, and kernels of corn. Leaning against the centre-pole was a well-sharpened cutlass of the kind nearly every farmer in rural Grenada carries. This temporary sacristy and its accoutrements were to be the locus of nearly all ritual activity during the three days of the Thanksgiving feast.

It is significant that the structure for African work was situated opposite the group's concrete Baptist church (which is located behind the home of the leader and his extended family). Symbolically, the locus of the two sets of rituals are separated; mediated by the house of the leader. Furthermore, to one side of the house there is a small altar for the Egun (ancestors) consisting of two small earthenware vases, a metal blade stuck into the ground in front of them, several candles, and a small plate of food. According to the leader, maintenance of such a shrine for the Egun (based upon the Yoruba ancestor cult) is not directly associated with African work such as Shango (worship of the Orisha). Instead, Egun is regarded as a familial cult in which it is recognized that the spirits of one's ancestors, though dead, must still be actively treated as family. Christ and the Orisha, however, are said to be divinities and must be acknowledged accordingly.

The religious practices of the leader and his followers are best understood as a federa- tion of cults (Orisha, Christ, Egun, and perhaps Mamadjo) ; distinct and internally coherent sets of behaviour each having their own temporal and spatial obligations which are held together as a system by the behaviour of individuals who find the continuance of such distinct practices to be both affective and logical. With regard to the study of the religious behaviour of groups such as this, Sandra Barnes (1989:21) suggests that investigations

"need to start from the premise that several religious traditions may coexist in one context, and that participants may be bi-religious, and to work through the complexity that ensues from these reoriented perspec- tives."

While separate religious traditions may coexist or be juxtaposed without merging, they also influence one another. Stephen D. Glazier (1985:49) has noted that "Whenever two or more religious traditions exist in proximity, there is a tendency for these traditions to



78

merge". There is also a countervailing tendency for each tradition to remain separate. Thus, within the practices of both the cult of Christ and the cult of the Orisha in Grenada, one may detect elements which have crossed the boundaries between the two. Such elements, however, appear to be minimal. Just as in Hesketh Bell's account of the "wanga temple" the cross appears to have been placed in juxtaposition to seemingly African elements, the Shango Baptist church is located behind the leader's home, while the ritual space for the Orisha was built in front of his house. In fact, it was stated that African work should not be

performed in a SpirituaL Baptist church. Connections between these two sets of practice are neither shared ritual elements nor sacred objects, but the expression of faith by individuals who simply believe in both.

The cult of the Orisha, as maintained by the members of the church and demonstrated by the celebrants during the Thanksgiving festivities, displays ritual characteristics which make it possible to discuss Yoruba religion as a metacultural phenomenon. Throughout the New World, peoples of African and non-African ancestry continue having meaningful religious experiences through observance of Yoruba-based sacred traditions.

In Grenada the manifestation of this reality which remains most memorable occurred when a male member of the church became possessed by the Orisha Ogun, the Yoruba god of war and iron. The episode described below took place after a goat and three chickens had been sacrificed to Ogun and following several hours of drumming kept nearly continuous by a battery of drummers who rotated in and out of position behind three drums. It also came in the wake of other possessions by the same Orisha. The individual in question, a man of impressive physical stature became possessed by the deity while taking a break from drumming.

The man was standing to one side of the bamboo structure and shaking a bead covered gourd (bolie) when he suddenly screamed and hurled himself backwards into the crowd. Several observers held the man up and thrust him into the centre of the structure. There, one of the leader's ritual assistants tied a length of red fabric around the possessed man's waist and another length of blue fabric around the man's head. The possessed man then strode deliberately around the perimeter of the structure shaking hands with members of the audience, but his eyes did not seemed to focused on them. The deity had a strong grip. He

grasped each observer's hand in the same manner in which one welcomes a guest to one's home. Upon completion of this circumambulation, the possessed man began to dance in front of the drummers, allowing the sound of the drums to lead the movements of his body. After a short while he moved to the centre-pole where he picked up the cutlass. Weapon in hand, he shifted to a more aggressive dance step keeping time with the martial beat of the drummers. Dramatically, he swung the cutlass as if he stood alone against an army: over his head, to his left, to his right, to the front. Occasionally he would place its point against his skin and press firmly as if to show that its sharpness was no danger to him, or charge the



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audience, striking the blade against the comer poles of the structure as if warning the people crowding too closely that they had no such protection. Several times, he took position directly in front of the drummers and violently slashed at the air above them, the blade passing perilously close to their heads. Finally, he placed the point of the blade in his mouth and held the cutlass firmly with his teeth. He then acrobatically lowered himself slowly and self-assuredly to the ground. As he lay there, his sweating flesh resting on dirt hardened by dancing; cutlass rising upward out of his mouth, it was obvious that he had power over the weapon. It seemed to be an extension of his body.

The possessed did not rest long. He soon stood up, placed the cutlass against the center-pole, and left the structure. Moments later, he returned with several pieces of wood and a few charcoal embers taken from the fire-pit where animals sacrificed earlier in the day were being cooked. He placed the wood directly in front of the drummers. Carefully protecting the shining coals with his hands, and periodically blowing them, he ignited the kindling. As the flames rose, he danced over the fire, demonstrating his mastery.

The allure of the Orisha is that their essence is actively demonstrated. While Ogun danced before the drummers, several women to the left of the musicians began to talk loudly. Silently, the possessed man reached down into the failing flames before him and drew out a handful of glowing embers. Turning to the women, he threw the coals directly at them. Two drummers found this development humorous and began to laugh. A few seconds and another handful of embers later, Ogun had the drummers 's attention as well. When an Orisha is present that Orisha must be appropriately honoured He/she cannot be ignored.

After refocusing the attention of his audience, the possessed man slowly placed his bare feet into the remaining embers, he stood there a moment and then stepped out. He repeated this several times, moving in and out of the coals unharmed. Finally, he lay down on the ground and rolled back and forth over the embers. His point was well taken. Ogun has complete control over fire. The flames which cook the sacrifices made in his honour and which burn those who anger him have no effect on Ogun.

Ogun is not understood as only a "hard", "hot", and "cutting" deity. He also has the ability to 'cool" those who pay him homage. This was clearly demonstrated by what the possessed man did next. As the drummers maintained their steady beat, he ran out of the structure and to the house of the leader. When he returned, he was balancing a large barrel on his shoulder. This he carried into the structure and placed it firmly beside the centre- pole. He then dipped his hands into the barrel and brought forth water. First he doused the



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fire he had built, then he splashed water on the centre-pole, in the four corners of the structure, and on all of the ritual objects. Then he turned towards the drummers and the audience. With cupped hands, he threw water on the drummers, who did not miss a beat, and splashed the audience with a divine raia Next, he picked up the barrel and carried it around the compound splashing water against the buildings. It is believed that Ogun may kill and burn, but he also can bless and bring coolness. Only when the leader called the possessed man back to the structure and persuaded him to stop his wordkdid Ogun depart and his devotee was allowed to fall exhausted into the arms of church members.

This episode, while perhaps unusually dramatic, was only one of numerous possession sequences occurring during the three-day celebration. Again and again, the Orisha descend- ed upon the heads of worshippers their presence made evident through resulting ritual behaviour.

Over the centuries, African- American peoples in the New World have developed and maintained lasting forms of religious expression. They have neither abandoned traditional African forms nor have they completely refused to accept Judeo-Christian forms of expression. Instead, they have created systems in which both co-exist in a state of dynamic equilibrium. In Grenada as in Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and Brazil - separate religious traditions have been purposely and logically juxtaposed and are relied upon, as parts of a complex whole, for inspiration and "salvation."

NOTES

1 . These lines come from the text of one version of Odu Irosun within the corpus of Yoiuba If a divination narratives. It was recorded by William Bascom and published in Sixteen Cowries, p. 347.

2. Research was made possible by a grant from the Foundation for Field Research.

3. The term 'cult' , as used here, refers to a subset of ritual and belief within a religious structure, most often focusing upon the worship of specific spiritual entities. For instance, the cult of the Virgin Mary within Catholicism or the cult of Ogun within Yoruba religion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Sandra T. 1989 Introduction: The Many Faces of Ogun. In Africa's Ogun, ed. Sandra T. Barnes, pp. 1-26. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Bascom, William. 1972 Shango in the New World. Occasional Publication, African and Afro- American Research Institute. The University of Texas at Austin. 1980 Sixteen Cowries. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Bastide, Roger. 1978 The African Religions in Brazil: Toward a Sociology of the Interpretation of Civilisations. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.



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Bell, Hesketh J. 1970 Obeah: Witchcraft in the West Indies. Westport, Conn.: Negro Universities Press. Originally published in 1889.

Brizan, George. 1984 Grenada: Island of Conflict. London: Zed Books.

Glazier, Stephen D. 1985 Syncretism and Separation: Ritual Change in an Afro-Caribbean Faith. Journal of American Folklore 98: 49-62.

Hill, Donald R. 1977 The Impact of Migration on the Metropolitan and Folk Society of Carriacou, Grenada. New York: Volume 54: Part 2. Anthropological Papers of The American Museum of Natural History.

Pollack-Eltz, Angelina. 1970 Shango-Kult and Shouter-Kirche auf Trinidad und Grenada. Anthropos 65: 8-14-832.

Simpson, George Eaton. 1978 Black Religions in the New Worlds. New York: Columbia Univer- sity Press.

Smith, M.G. 1965 The Plural Society in the British West Indies. Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univer- sity of California Press.

Thompson, Robert Farris. 1984 Rash of the Spirit. New York: Vintage Books.



African Religion and Christianity in Grenada

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