In 1868, Trinidad passed a series of laws banning the practice of obeah. Obeah was defined as “the assumption of supernatural powers for the purpose of making money.” According to two books, New Negroes from Africa (Rosanne Marion Adderley) and African American Religious Cultures (Stephen C. Finley and Torin Alexander), Abojevi Zahwenu/Robert Antoine was convicted in 1868 of practicing obeah. His conviction was not because of his Rada religious practices but as a result of offering “supernatural assistance” to individuals. Papers seized from his home included lists of names of some of the “leading citizens of Port-of-Spain.” This 68 year old man was sentenced to jail time and lashes. Antoine, however, successfully appealed his conviction by arguing he functioned as a religious leader according to the beliefs of his followers. Furthermore, this law should not apply to him any more than it should apply to a Roman Catholic priest.
More laws were passed in 1921 banning many elements of African religious practices including public dance processions, singing or dancing in public and private yards and drumming. Fortunately, the Black Power movement in the 1970s finally changed the perceptions of these practices and showed the importance of these traditions to the culture and history of the island.
Finley and Alexander stated that the Rada community was small and limited to the extended family of Abojevi Zahwenu and close neighbours. They also concluded that today the Rada practice is being replaced by Yoruba traditions. Let’s prove them wrong!
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