Review of Obeah: A Sorcerous Ossuary by Nicholaj Frisvold

First he shone a light into the dark reaches of Palo. Next he opened the gates to the red realms of Exu and Pomba Gira in his works on Quimbanda. This weekend I got the pleasure of reading yet another of Nicholaj Frisvolds masterwork expositions on a magical tradition that has, till now, remained largely hidden.

In Obeah: A Sorcerous Ossuary, Frisvold lays open the world of Trinidadian Sorcery and gives us a glimpse into a this rare and wild tradition. We find here a practice that is more individualized and less formal than traditions like Santeria. Included here are rituals dealing with the Anima Sola, Papa Bones, Anansi, and Sasabonsam.  The encounter with Catholicism is fascinating and takes on a very different, if more diabolical tone, than in most other ATR’s. Of course, as is the case of Hoodoo, there is much more to the “Lord of Darkness” than a mere evil being.

Although, like most ATR’s Obeah is an initiatory tradition, with the Obi being passed from one person to the next, there is much here for the Sorcerer to study and learn from. I can almost guarantee that anyone with an interest in the grimoire magic will be taking a stab at the Kabalistic Banquette of Lemegeton, initiation or not.