Obeah as is sometimes called Obi, Obea, or Obia is a term used in the Caribbean to refer to a sort of folk magic, sorcery, witchcraft and religious practices developed among West African slaves, especially those of specifically of Igbo origin.
However, Obeah in Jamaica was only associated with the Akan and their rebellions that Igbos did not take part in. It would seem that all forms of Obeah is similar to other Afro religions including Palo, Vodou, Santería, and Hoodoo. Obeah is practiced in a number of countries including Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean nations.
It is often associated with both benign and malignant magic, charms, luck, and with great mysticism in general. In some Caribbean nations, Obeah just simply refers to folk religions of the African diaspora. Casual observation may conclude that in modern Obeah practice even some Christian symbolism is incorporated into it, but in fact may represent clandestine worship and religious protest.
During slavery, Obeah was directed against the European slave masters. However, with the end of slavery, Obeah became considered taboo, and the term has pejorative associations.
Different countries have different ways of performing Obeah, some requiring animal sacrifices, human blood strange concoctions and even belongings of persons the dark art is targeting. For some Obeah is just a religious practice and is used to keep the performer in good luck but the majority of Obeah is practiced nowadays with the intention of harming someone else.
