Oh...My...God...

We are going to keep most fashion talk off of here, but this is really something. By Japanese designers Destroy Babylon, who also make tube socks that say just that.

Duppy Cousin?

As you should already know, this blog doubles as the Chicago division for The International Center of Duppy Research. Our team is hard at work digging deep into Jamaican folklore through dusty newspapers, microfilm, children's books, and documents that we can still access through our alumni JSTOR accounts. Dedicated to finding every piece of the puzzle, we have stumbled upon a missing link from the Caribbean brought to our attention by Soca legend Michel Montano's Trinidadian Thriller video Jumbie. A Jumbie, or Jumbee, in some ways follows the story of the Duppy but with transformations across the Black Atlantic that resulted in different demons than the Jamaican version. Mermaids, possessed animals, and witches are some common themes among Caribbean folklore, but in other places such as Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, the spirit of a dead person not yet descended into the afterlife by way of minibus* takes on different forms. In some ways, the Jumbee has a more mysterious and complex history, with more rules laid out as far as what form the demons will take. In Guyana, a Backoo is the spirit of a baby who died before being named which are known to look like short men with large eyes, long limbs, and who are absent of kneecaps. The spirit feeds off bananas and milk, and is stuck inside a glass bottle until released. Overall, the main factor separating the Duppy from the Jumbee are the influence of both Amerindian and European folklore which have altered things especially in places like the Dutch Antilles and Montserrat. While our resources are still being pulled (see picture above), our anonymous informants at Wikipedia tell us a few tips for living a Jumbee-free life:

• leaving a pair of shoes outside your door; jumbies don't have feet and would spend the entire night trying on the shoes to get them to fit before moving onto you.
• leaving a heap of sand or salt or rice outside your door; jumbies are compelled to count every grain before the sun rises.
• when coming home late at night, walk backwards so that the jumbie would be unable to follow you inside.
• if one is being chased by a jumbie, cross a river, as they cannot follow over water
• Leave a rope with many knots by your door step. Jumbies love to try to untie knots, so they will forget about you while trying to untie the knots.

Our people are being sent all over the world and the internet in search of more information for our readers to raise Jumbee awareness so you don't end up victim of ruckus. To those who dare confront ether a Duppy or a Jumbee, make sure you bring plenty of rum for both enjoy the sweet taste of fermented sugar cane.


* Winkler, Anthony C. "The Duppy". Akashic Books, 2008.

Q:

A: Yes.

You Know How I Feel About Uncleanly Reels

Yabby U - Peace (from Beware 1978)

While my favorite Vivian Jackson track is probably Run Come Rally (from the great Jesus Dread collection), this is more summer friendly, less Sodom and Gomorrah talk. It's good for walking around the yard and pulling weeds while your broke ass is trying to earn some money because you can't find a real job. I speak from experience, I played this album non-stop when I used to do yard work for neighbors. While the echo on the sax makes me pretty happy, nearly all Yabby tracks I've heard (and I've got a sizable amount) have a stoned by a lake of fire vibe. Meaning your eyes are heavy, and Duppies appear even more terrifying and evil. The smoke never fully erased the demons in the magnetic tape while this man was in the studio. Make note he often had some of the sickest muddy low ends this side of Zion/The Heart of the Congos.

And I Had Unquestionably Turned Duppy

That is the strange thing about turning duppy: at first you don't know it. Your duppy floats out of your dead body and you look around and think, "Boy, dis is funny! I slip and drop on de ground, but I feel better now!"

I, Myself Are Smiling

The Gaylads - Simple Way of Living (from Soul Beat 1967)

Been rocking the fuck out of this song lately. So good for summer. Rudeboy Rocksteady for your BBQ where no shoes, no shirt gets you service. Duppies on the other hand gets you nothing.

Duppies 101

So I think it's about time for me to elaborate on the mysterious Duppy, something I've been rambling about on this here blog. This is only the start of your education, a continuing guide to Duppy awareness so you too can warn off the restless spirits, or if needed hone them to do your own evil bidding.

Dennis Alcapone - Duppy Serenade 1971

"According to Lee "Scratch" Perry, 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."
-from the Wikipedia entry for Duppy

From drinking the alcohol used to clean the tape machines, to both burning down and flooding the remains of the studio, tales of a young Lee Perry at the Black Art are always full of strange bouts of eclecticism. Not so out of the ordinary were the times when Perry would blow weed smoke on the reels to expel the demons from the recordings. Duppies are of great importance to Jamaican folklore, the original source steaming from the West African Bantu language. Duppies are thought to the the restless spirits of the dead, who remain unhappy and unnamed in the afterlife. These aren't the ghosts of relatives coming back to visit their living loved ones, just restless spirits capable of doing harm. An Obeah man or woman may summon a Duppy with bribes of food or drink, specifically rum, and some claim methods of expelling these spirits from peoples lives.



Ernie Smith - Duppy or Gunman 1974

Joseph (pictured above), an Obeah man of Manchester is one of those that claim to possess powers strong enough to expel a Duppy. "Well you know I will take out duppy and demon out anybody because I am also an exorcist. Well, one day dem tell me that a duppy was in a young boy up the road so I take up my crystal ball and go up there. Well, when I reach I see about 70 people gather around and tell them to move. I look at the boy with the demon and realise that is the duppy of a Indian stillborn baby was in him. Anyway, I chant it out of him and when the people who gather around see what I do dem nearly faint! Dem know dat anybody who conquer a coolie duppy must powerful!"



Yellowman - Duppy or a Gunman 1982

There are several kinds of Duppies, including the Ol' Higue (a witch of sorts) and the Rollin Calf, a demon in animal form...


Me deh pon has’e me kean tap now,

For Tahta John a-dead,

De oda nite one rolllin’-calf

Lick him eena him head.


It is a long story me chile,

Me really kean tap now.

Yuh musa hear sey Tahta los’

Him black an wite bull cow?


T’ree nite an day him sarch fe it,

Couldn’ fine it noan tall,

Soh tell nite-afore-las’ him sey

Him hear one cow a-bawl.


Him meck fe Figgins’ open-lan;

Doah him an dem noh gree,

An see de bull dah-lie dung under-

Neat’ one gwangu tree.


Him teck a rope an tie de bull,

An dem him bruck a stick

An him layba de po’ cow back, me


Tan a-yard an hear de lick.

Him start fe lead i home, but wen

Him tun roun fe goh call,

Him see de sinting two y’eye dem

A roll like tunda-ball


Him goh fe halla, but same time

Him feel a funny pain,

An wen him look eena him han,

De rope tun eena chain


Massa, him fling i wey an run,

Him hear de sinting laugh,

It wasn’ fe him cow at all,

It was a rollin’ calf!

Him jump Bra Caleb wire fence,

Him faint as him ketch home,

An since him come back to himself

Him dis a-twis an foam.


Mek kean tap, is a obeah man

Dem sen’ me fe goh ketch,

Me feel me y’eye a-jump him mighta

Dead long before me ketch.

-Louise Bennett "Rollin Calf"



Demarco - Duppy Know Who Fi Frighten 2008

There are warning signs to be aware of the presence of a Duppy. If your dog howls at night for no apparent reason, a spirit could be lurking. Getting a spiderweb across the face while walking though a forest is a general sign of Duppies, so be careful wandering around at night. Nailing a horseshoe to ones house is one way to warn them off, as is cursing "Jesus Christ!" when these signs occur.

Do not go wandering around the graveyard with a bottle of Captain Morgans looking for Duppies, leave that up to the professionals. It is very easy to be injured by a Duppy.


Go here for more info on Duppies and Jamaican folklore

Oh My!

Combo Sampuesano - La Soberana (from VA - Cumbias Para Bailar ?)

In my new neighborhood of West Pilsen/Almost Little Village/mini Little Italy/Whatthefucksville, they play Cumbia inside the Dunkin Doughnuts all day everyday. It's open 24 hours too. It's always Mexican Sonidero stuff, though I have heard lots of Damas Gratis blasting out of cars. No complaints here. Don't even wear headphones when I'm walking anymore. I pulled this track from a big messy folder of mp3s and was reminded of the lack of Colombian stuff in the soundtrack to my daily wanderings. Mas acordeóns, menos teclados.

Can't claim to know much about this one, but I've seen Combo Sampuesano come up in some mixes by Rupture and Sonido Martines. The Disco Fuentes site turned up this awesome cover too, though I'm not sure it has anything to do with this band. It works I guess, the girl on the cover is rocking a Pollera dress at least. There is some weird little murmering going on in the background that seeps through the accordion takeover. Did the German ships filled with these funny looking boxes crash on the Colombian coast because of Duppies?! I'm looking into it right away.

I Fear no Pestilence

Buju Banton - Murderer (from Wake Up Show Freestyles vol 1 2001)

Man, before the other day I hadn't heard this great Buju joint since like 8th grade. It wasn't till a few years later that I really got into Jamaican music but I heard this track in some skate video back then and loved it. I never actually had it in any form except on that VHS tape, and was reminded of it now almost 9 years later by a great mix by El Canyonazo of Gnawledge fame in which he dropped this sucker. Thanks a lot, I just finished college today and needed some middle school nostalgia or something. Really though, this version of the Banton classic is great and the lyrics are a favorite. The duppies have really been leaving me alone lately, that's good I think.

Damn look at Buju's shady ass in the Ferrari!

Happy All the Time

Joseph Spence - There Will be a Happy Meeting in Glory (from Complete Folkway Recordings 1958)

"Can you read music, Spence?" He replied, "No, I cannot read music." "How did you learn this song?" Indicating the book, he said, "From this book, mon. There's a lot of funny songs in this book. Lot of funny songs." "But if you can't read notes, how did you learn the melody to this song?" The response which typified Spence's personality, "I's talented."

-The Nassau Guardian March 19th, 2004

Caught between the great Bahamian sponge blight and the microphones of Alan Lomax sat a man who never heard recordings of himself, never had a drivers license, and quite possibly never met another guitarist. The finger styles of Joseph Spence are one of the most extraordinary examples of self-learned musicianship these ears know, making most "outsider" artist sound like guitar instructors in comparison. The backing to Spence's playing could be attributed to a number of things, including his years as a sponge hooker as a teenager and later on a stonemason, giving him great strength in his hands. His thumbs wrapping on his guitar were the key, as was his strange tuning style and complete blindness to musical notation. While certainly American blues rings a bell, his music was usually almost always about happiness rather than sorrow, hence the words "Happy All the Time". I'd closer relate his music to Christmas Carols, something he enjoyed immensely. Sitting on the porch playing guitar constantly only stopping to ride around on his bike, Joseph lived a full life in Andros and later Nassau with his wife Louise. He had breif success with some touring near the end of his life, but remains largely unrecognized. I really can't think of many people I'd rather hang out with, and really can't think of much music as good as the recordings of Joseph Spence.

Not a duppy in sight here!

For more Spence stories, read this excellent article from the Nassau Guardian.

Mouth Noises and Aqua Duppies

The Ring Craft Posse - Waterford (from St Catherine in Dub 1972-1984 released 2004)

Felt the need to throw up the strangest track from Sly and Robby's great underwater Dub group. You know how Timbaland does that beat boxing thing to find a rhythm, and leaves it in the track? That stuff happens here too, with plenty of tape delay. The weed smoke wasn't able to reach these duppies crawling through the Caribbean Sea.