Martha Warren Beckwith's 1929 ethnography of Jamaican folk life, based on fieldwork among rural informants across four visits between 1919 and 1924. One of the earliest sustained academic studies of Black folk culture in the Americas, it devotes dedicated chapters to the burial of the dead and the nine nights wake, to the spirit world and duppy belief by name, and to Obeah practice, including the calling up of a duppy from the grave.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Tier 1 because this is a sustained academic ethnography based on multiple seasons of fieldwork, one of the earliest such studies of Black folk culture in the Americas and still cited in later scholarship on the same folk religion. Placed at this atlas's top tier alongside its other peer scholarly monographs. NotesBeckwith, a Vassar folklorist, made four fieldwork visits to Jamaica between 1919 and 1924, working directly with rural informants. Public domain, full text and page images at archive.org. Chapter VI, "The Burial of the Dead," covers the nine nights wake; Chapter VII, "The Spirit World," covers duppy belief directly, including named figures such as Rolling-calf, Three-foot Horse and Long-bubby Susan; Chapter VIII, "Obeah," covers calling up a duppy from the grave. Used here as the atlas's second, independent source on duppy belief, alongside the Encyclopedia of Religion entry already cited.
Citation
AuthorMartha Warren Beckwith
PublisherUniversity of North Carolina Press
Publication Year1929
URLhttps://archive.org/details/blackroadwaysstu03beck
Source TypeEthnography
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Americas directly: "studies of Black folk culture in the Americas, it devotes dedicated chapters to the burial of the dead and the nine nights wake, to the spirit world and duppy belief by name, and to Obeah practice..."
Claims Backed By This Source (15 claims)
This source backs 15 claims across the atlas. As facts: 11 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 2 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 holds.
- Mythical Creatures, 6 claims: 3 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 2 general references.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.