Duppy

Duppy is a Jamaican Patois word of West African origin meaning ghost or spirit.^[1] Much of Caribbean folklore revolves around duppies. Duppies are generally regarded as malevolent spirits.^[1] They are said to come out and haunt people at night mostly, and people from the islands claim to have seen them. The 'Rolling Calf',^[2] 'Three footed horse' or 'Old Higue'^[3] are examples of the more malicious spirits.

Origins

Duppy folklore originates from West Africa. A duppy can be either the manifestation (in human or animal form) of the soul of a dead person, or a malevolent supernatural being.^[4] in Obeah, a person is believed to possess two souls - a good soul and an earthly soul. In death, the good soul goes to heaven to be judged by God, while the earthly spirit remains for three days in the coffin with the body, where it may escape if proper precautions are not taken, and appear as a duppy.^[4]

Pop culture references

The term "duppy" has been featured in various musical works from the Caribbean. According to Lee "Scratch" Perry, after Bob Marley wrote the song "My Cup," Marley was complaining to Lee that he was too "successful" and was being plagued by hangers-on and leeches, referring to them as duppies in the context of 'human vampires' (as in scroungers). Lee apparently consoled him by saying, "Look, we'll sort this out- we are duppy conquerors." Bob then proceeded to write "Duppy Conqueror". The term "duppy" is also referenced in the song "Mr. Brown." Several other Jamaican artists have recorded songs that refer to Duppies, including Bunny Wailer's "Duppy Gun", and Ernie Smith's "Duppy Gun-Man". Yellowman released an album titled Duppy or Gunman.^[5] There was also a Drum & Bass single written by the duo Chase & Status called "Duppy Man" featuring Capleton's vocals from his track 'Slew Dem', with the track "Top Shotta" on the b-side. It was released on the Breakbeat Kaos label in 2005. In 2008, Jamaican dancehall artist Demarco had a hit with the single "Duppy Know Who Fi Frighten" on the well-known "Shoot Out" riddim. Duppy is also the name of a three piece indie/electro group from Deptford, London. Collie Buddz sings about "duppies" in his song "Sensimillia".

Although not very popular in Jamaica, a Jamaican Black Metal band, Orisha Shakpana, has a song called "The Offspring of Gashanami", which talks about the Rolling Calf duppy as though there are more than one, and they can be seen by drunks. They were conjured up by a misanthropic obeah man.(Gashanami is an African bull-god of venegance and is also misanthropic).^[6]

Common enemies in the Acclaim video game Shadow Man (available for Nintendo 64, Sony Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, and PC) are called duppies. They appear as cadaverous humanoid creatures that attack at close range with their claws and from a distance by vomiting projectiles of green goo.

The term "duppy" is also used in Neil Gaiman's 2005 novel, "Anansi Boys".^[7]

The "Duppy" was also featured on the television show Amazing Stories in episode 13, entitled "The Sitter". In this episode a duppy is discussed between a Caribbean woman and the 2 boys she has been hired to babysit. She tells the boys about the duppy in order to prevent them from acting mischievous.^[8]

References

Further reading

Beckwith, Martha Warren (1929). Black Roadways, A Study of Jamaican Folk Life. Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press. 

External links

• Duppy Stories from sacred-texts.com

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