Ten, Ten The Bible Ten : Obeah in the Bahamas

Dr. Timothy McCartney
Nassau: Timpaul Publishing (1976)

SECTION II
ASPECTS OF SLAVERY (Continued)


"A very small modicum of the Subsidy of which the country was unfairly deprived in 1880 would be this; at present the salaries in this colony are a disgrace to the Imperial Government.

“But in any case. if I have not grossly exaggerated the state of the country, I have made out a case for a Royal Commission which ought to be sent out as soon as possible. In order to be effective it should sit with closed doors and be armed with large powers enabling it to protect all prisons giving evidence before it, and to punish severely anything like intimidation and Boycotting of witnesses. Neither should it confine its operations to Nassau, but should visit every one of the Out Islands and see the state of things for itself.

"If this were done, there might be some hope of wiping out this blot on the Imperial escutcheon…

"The opening of the House of Assembly is a great day for Nassau, but the ceremony is rather trying to one's sense of humour. One tries to behave with decency and look impressed, but it is very difficult to help laughing.

"Even funnier is a meeting of the Lower House, or 'ouse' as some of its members call it. Every member is allowed to speak twice on the same matter, and he generally does. The speeches are often remarkable for an amount of unconscious humour that is truly delicious. At one meeting of this August body I heard a member make an ingenuous confession that I think can never have been surpassed outside the walls of the Palace of Truth. He was speaking to a Bill before the House to prohibit the employment of children under the age of twelve in the Sponge Fisheries. After dilating for some time upon the duty of perserving these young lambs from corruption, and saying over and over again that every worldly interest ought to be as nothing in comparison to it, be concluded thus: 'And besides, gentlemen, I do not think this Bill it'le injure the sponge trade. If I thought it was likely to prove bad for trade, of course I would vote against it,' The honourable member sat down amidst much laughter, to his very great amazement."

Sir Etienne Dupuch writes: 45 "At the turn of the century we lived in a complex society; every man had a place and every man was expected to know his place. There were three main groups - the coloured people at the bottom, the Bahamian white, largely descendents of Loyalists who left the United States during the American War of Independence, and the British official class." Sir Etienne continues "The coloured people were split in groups determined entirely by degree of colour, starting with black at the bottom, through off-black, dark brown, browny light brown, high yellow and near white." These divisions of colour, social class, nationality and race caused insecurities among all groups. "Naturally, following the yearning for upward mobility, those who aspired to social advancement, even within their own set limits, got their bearings from the beacon that shone at the top - thence, the deep-rooted British and white-orientated value system." 46 This value system not only applied to the blacks. Although the British Government official group accepted an element of the white wealthy Bahamian socially, they were all officially classed as colonials, which laced them always below the Englishmen. Thus, for Bahamians, black, white and in-between, becoming British was the single most important pre-requisite to attaining self-esteem and status. In this process, then, was an attempt by Bahamians to place less emphasis on their African heritage. Thus, during this post-slavery period and up to only recently, Bahamian blacks tried to be as British,

45. DUPUCH. Etienne, Sir. "The Tribune Story", Ernest Benn, London.
46. McCARTNEY , T. O -'Neuroses in the Sun". Executive Printers Ltd., Nassau. Bahamas. 1971.

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(with as much "whiteness" as possible) culturally, politically, economically, educationally and legally.

The stifling of the majority black populations' basic African heritage, the economic stronghold on them by a white oligarchy and the psychological bad-image of the Bahamian black, created a powerless, passive and somewhat pathetic individual.

It is peculiar to the Bahamian people that this passive acceptance of deprivation and discrimination continued up to the early 50's. In other countries, deprivation, discrimination and injustices have the opposite effect—that of protest, organization, solidarity and agitation for basic human rights!

Probably the greatest single factor to *the progress of liberation by the majority ethnic group were those 'mixed' Bahamians who totally denied their African heritage by finding more 'exotic strains' and by living in a style that they thought would project them as "white" or "cultured". The higher educated blacks and these displaced "mixed" were set to in fighting and confusion, with the white ruling class, dividing and threatening the majority blacks who were held in an 'economic bind'. This white-black condition, the lack of unity of purpose by the blacks, and the basic mistrust among them, perpetuated their condition as 'third class citizens in a country where they were not only in the majority, but the "sweat of their brows" were essential for the life line and well being of the very country where true freedom was denied.

The past twenty years in the Bahamas, as elsewhere in the world, though, have seen some important changes:

(1) Economic
The traditional activities of fishing, sponge harvesting and farming now fall a long way behind international banking and tourism as the Bahamas' principal source of revenue and employment.

In 1972, some 11/2 million tourists visited the Bahamas, spending a total of over $285,000,000. Efforts are now being placed on expanding the industries of agriculture and fisheries, and other industries are encouraged by a special Act of Parliament.

Grand Bahama island is the most industrialized island and has become one of the world's largest oil trans-shipment sites.

(2) Political *
In 1956, a Resolution in the Bahamian House of Assembly prohibited racial discrimination in public places. Bahamian whites and blacks still maintained their rigid social system, although the influx of white expatriate professionals was beginning to bridge racial and social gaps.

The general strike in 1958 by taxi cab drivers against tour companies almost crippled the country. The two newly formed political parties, the Progressive Liberal Party (P.L.P.) and the United Bahamian Party (U.B.P.) (the then ruling party), plus the newly formed unions, were beginning to make their presence felt. The Secretary of State for the Colonies was sent urgently to the Bahamas. Reforms moved from male suffrage to universal suffrage by 1962. By far, the

Note: For a more comprehensive review of Bahamian political development see "The Quiet Revolution" by Doris Johnson, Family Island
Press 1972., and the author's "The Relevance of Black Power in the Bahamas" in "Is Massa Day Dead - Ed. Orde Coombs. Doubleday & Sons, 1974.

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[For table which did not reproduce well, go here]

COMPARATIVE RETURNS OF SPONGE GRAPEFRUIT, ORANGES, COCONUTS AND SISAL EXPORTED 1906-1910

This record of comparative returns shows that sponge was the most valuable export for the islands during this period.
In 1906 the export value was:
Sponge - £115.527 ($346,581); Grapefruit - £ 1,837 ($5.511); Oranges - £783 ($2349); Coconuts - £7 10 ($2,130); Sisal - £ 40,140 ($120.420).
By 1910, the export value had increased for:
Sponge to 110,740 ($332,220); and Sisal to 42,057 ($126,171). Whereas grapefruit, oranges and coconuts had shown a marked decrease.

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two most significant changes in the political structure of the Bahamas came in 1967 when the Progressive Liberal Party was elected to office—a black government over a black majority; and on July 10, 1973 when the Bahamas gained independence from Britain.

(3) Social
The Bahamian today experiences no type of racial or social discrimination. It has been reported that there are some instances where there is black discrimination against white—be this as it may—there is no place in the world where one would find somebody hating or not liking somebody!

Mixed marriages, social and racial intercourse (lots of the other kind of intercourse too!) unlimited job opportunities, in all areas, are commonplace.
The proximity to the United States still plays, as in days of yore, a very important part on the everyday life of the Bahamian. The constant bombardment of the mass media, the high influx of tourists and tourism (the bedrock of the Bahamian economy), has it's negative aspects and have brought pressure on the Bahamian family and on the Bahamian's value system. Viz:

( 1) Unstructured families and the single female family unit appears to be on the increase; so is illegitimacy.
Statistics* for 1973 give the following:

Total number of births = 4,221
Illegitimate births = 1,646

Thus, 38.99 per cent of the total births for 1973 were illegitimate.

(ii) The poor economic world conditions have sent unstable economic waves to the Bahamas. For the first time, in the history of the Bahamas, there is high unemployment with the cost of living constantly raising.

(iii) The tourist industry utilises both parents in work situations. Long working hours and unusual shifts cause the lack of proper supervision for young children. It is significant that, at the time of writing, crime is on the increase and is cause for great concern. For example, out of 790 offenses ** in crime from the 5th January, 1974 to the 30th November, 1974, ranging from drugs to robbery, violence and murder,

21 offenders were over 20 years
1 offender over 19 years
2 offenders were 21 years
766 were between the ages of 11 years and 17 Years old.

(iv) The Bahamian male does not assume responsibility for the many children he fathers and spends much of his time from one mistress to the next or in the constant pursuit of the tourist female (called "Watergates" in the local vernacular). The Bahamian female, the mainstay of Bahamian society (which is matrifocal anyhow), is becoming more aggressive, educated and assuming more professional responsibility. Evidence of this can be found by the increasing top positions in the Government Civil Service held by Bahamian females, and the opportunities taken by many of them in furthering their education, as evidenced by their participation in

* Department of Statistics. Bahamas Government Printing.
** Unofficial statistics from the Commissioner of Police given to members of the Bahamas Christian Council at a meeting the 6th May, 1975.

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many adult courses given. Bahamian females are now earning and saving more than their husbands, which the Bahamian male, with the already mother complex, is further "castrated". The Bahamian male must assert and perpetuate his masculinity by becoming a "stud", especially to the tourist female, mostly white.

(v) The educational orientation has changed. The Bahamas still follows the British system of education. Formerly, most Bahamians went to England or Europe to school (there are no universities in the Bahamas as yet). Today, more Bahamians attend schools in the U.S.A.,and are caught up with the many anxieties of that country. Hence, many movements that attract black Americans are attracting black Bahamians. Black awareness, and the search for identity, change from Christian to Moslem and other Eastern religions and non-believers add to the confusion and confrontation of the majority Christian Bahamian society, and the more conservative older Bahamian.

Considering the Bahamians' development, then, from Columbus' time to the present, the quick transition from isolated "islands in the sun" to an independent nation, taking it’s place in a highly technological, fast moving world, has definitely set the atmosphere for the revival and practise of Obeah, which was originally utilised to discover, explore and find answers for the individual and collective Bahamian society anyway.


Since writing this book, the College of the Bahamas has been formed and offers a two year “Associate” degree.

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