Duppy is a word of African origin commonly used in various Caribbean islands, including Barbados and Jamaica, meaning
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...
or spirit.
[Jamaican Folklore , Duppy](_blank)
The word is sometimes spelled duffy.
It is both singular and plural. Much of Caribbean
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...
revolves around duppy. Duppy are generally regarded as malevolent spirits who bring misfortune and woe on those they set upon.
They are said to mostly come out and haunt people at night, and people from around the islands claim to have seen them. The "Rolling Calf" (a scary creature said to have chains around its body),
[Jamaica Folklore , Rollin Calf](_blank)
"Three footed horse", and "Ol' Hige"
are examples of the more malicious spirits.
In many of the islands of the
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc be ...
, duppy are known as ''
jumbies''. Barbados also uses the word duppy and it holds the same meaning as it does in Jamaica.
Origins
Originating in Central Africa, the duppy is part of Bantu folklore. A duppy can be either the manifestation (in human or animal form) of the soul of a dead person, or a malevolent supernatural being.
But the word duppy more likely originates from the
Ga language
Ga is a Kwa language spoken in Ghana, in and around the capital Accra. There are also some speakers in Togo, Benin and Western Nigeria. It has a phonemic distinction between three vowel lengths.
Classification
Ga is a Kwa language, part ...
as most of the African folklore and culture in Jamaica comes from the
Ashanti people
The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asa ...
(a similar Kwa speaking people also from Ghana). In the Ga language of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
, ''Adope'' literally means dwarf, but in Ghanaian folklore spirits are dwarves. It could also originate from the special Akan day called ''Dapaa'', which takes 9 days after the 1st Monday of the Akan month ''Fwodwo''. However, in Jamaica, they celebrate this 9 day tradition after someone dies. It is called "9 nights" in which they believe it takes 9 days for the spirit to return to the ancestral land. On Dapaa, it is believed that the ancestral spirits return to their homeland, a shared belief with Jamaica. The word Dapaa could have had vowel changes and became the present day ''Duppy'', to mean ancestral spirit.
In
Obeah
Obeah, or Obayi, is an ancestrally inherited tradition of Akan witches of Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo and their descendants in the African diaspora of the Caribbean. Inheritors of the tradition are referred to as "obayifo" (Akan/Ghana-region ...
, 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.
See also
* ''
Ascalapha odorata'' – Species of moth known in the vernacular as a "Duppy Bat".
* ''
Dybbuk
In Jewish mythology, a (; yi, דיבוק, from the Hebrew verb meaning 'adhere' or 'cling') is a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished ...
''
*
Madam Koi Koi
Madam Koi Koi (Lady Koi Koi, Miss Koi Koi, also known in Ghana as Madam High Heel or Madam Moke and in Tanzania as Miss Konkoko) is a ghost in Nigerian and African urban legend who haunts dormitories, hallways and toilets in boarding schools at ni ...
*
Mami Wata
Mami Wata (Mammy Water), or La Sirene, is a water spirit venerated in West, Central, and Southern Africa and in the African diaspora in the Americas. Mami Wata spirits are usually female but are sometimes male., p. 1.
Attributes
Appearance
T ...
*
Tikoloshe
In Zulu mythology, Tikoloshe, Tikolosh, Tokoloshe, Tokolotshe, Thokolosi or Hili is a dwarf-like water sprite. It is a mischievous and evil spirit that can become invisible by drinking water or swallowing a stone. Tokoloshes are called upon ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Duppy Stories from sacred-texts.com
{{Ghosts
Caribbean legendary creatures
Ghosts
Jamaican folklore