This companion book to Psychic Phenomena of Jamaica goes into much greater depth as to the New World-African connection, and adds more material about Afro-Caribbean religion in Haiti.
The primary strength of this work is the careful documentation of the history and ethnography of Vodun.
Williams includes numerous quotes from rare documents and books on the subject.
All things considered, this is required reading if you want to understand the background of Haitian and Jamaican Vodun, and the profound influence of imperialism, slavery and racism on its development.
Voodoo and obeah are distinct from one another, both in origin and practice, and to understand the force and influence they originally exercised over their devotees, we must disassociate them from the myriad of other forms of magic that have impinged themselves upon them.
The author spent a vast amount of time in Jamaica, studying the people, seeking out practitioners and sought to extend his knowledge.
He has spent nearly twenty-five years culling the works of others, gleaning the facts from the fiction. This volume is a result of his research and observations.
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