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Jan 22, 20232 min

Folk Spirits

Updated: Aug 1, 2023

There are folk spirits that exist within Grenadian culture and heritage.

Dwenn

This is the spirit of a child who dies before the child is baptized. This leaves the child to wonder abandoned. The Dwenn has no face, has a small mouth, and wears a wide hat. The Dwenn is known for tricks and can trick other children by lying by the roadside and asking for help.

Source: triniinxisle.com

Jumbie

Jumbie is the ghost of a dead person who can influence living humans. The Jumbie roams around within the first forty days after death especially during the night. There is a myth that this has resulted in persons being fearful of passing by cemeteries in the night.

Lajabless

This is the spirit of a beautiful woman who walk the streets at night luring men to their death. Lajabless wears a long dress or skirt and a floppy hat. She has one foot that is a cloven hoof instead of a human foot. She is usually seen walking along lonely roads during the night where she lures men. Those men who are lured are killed.

Source: Indigenous peoples literature

Ligaroo

The Ligaroo or Lougaroo is the male counterpart of the Soucouyant (Read here). The ligaroo is male and is usually a man who turns himself into an animal and objects. It is believed that males sell their souls to be able to get the ability to turn themselves into animals. Animals include dogs, donkeys and fowls. Objects include cakes.

Mama-Maladie

This is the spirit of a ghost of a woman who died during childbirth. The child remains inside of the dead woman. She preys other women by luring them with the cries of a child to open their doors and let her into their house.

Books that you can purchase on Amazon to learn more:

Caribbean Twilight: Tales of the Supernatural : Viechweg, Clyde, Editing and Consulting, Hercules, Photography, Llpix: Amazon.ca: Books

Under the Moonlight: A Collection of Grenadian Foklore: Viechweg, Clyde: 9781982098582: Books - Amazon.ca

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