Easter: Roots of Jamaican Paganism
Updated: Feb 26, 2020
Indigenous, Jamaican, religious, practices are known for harmonizing African beliefs with Euro-Christian traditions. Obeah, Rastafarianism, Revivalist, Pukumina are a few of the religious practices on the island that make use of the Christian Bible while at the same time incorporating African ancestral worship. Ever since their inception, these mixed religious practices have been abhorred by strict, Bible-based, Christians who believe that the retention of any form of African religiosity is unchristian, ungodly, sorcery, folk magic, the devil's religion, evil, and sheer paganism. There still exists today, the Jamaica 1898 Obeah Act which prohibits the practice of obeah. Although the Act rarely gets any court time these days, its mere existence speaks volumes and in the early 20th century, balm healers, revivalists, Garveyites and Rastafarians were prosecuted under this Act. The Act and the general societal attitude, are evidence that throughout the centuries, the Jamaican people have remained concerned with uprooting paganism through targeting African religious beliefs.
Yet one of the most glaring and celebrated forms of paganism in the Caribbean and in Jamaica does not stem from African religious practices at all. Co-opted, often disguised, and making comfortable bedmates are the European, practices and rituals which masquerade as the legitimate offspring of Christianity. In their ordinariness, baseness, and hedonism, many of these traditions which are associated with the Christian celebration of Easter, pay homage to and are the spawns of European paganism.
The Lenten period begins with Ash Wednesday (the ash symbolizing repentance) and culminates with Easter Day (the celebration of the resurrection of Christ).
This 40 days period is important on the Christian calendar as it harkens back to Christ's 40 days in the wilderness and his preparation for the cross. It is understood as a time for reflection, the denial of self and ego, fasting, consecration, penance and rededication of life to God's will. Many churches engage in Lenten practices by advocating that their members abstain from whatever pleasures they generally indulge throughout the year. Strict Roman Catholics abstain from eating meat and also curtail the amounts of their meals.
In pursuit of traditional Christian practices, the custom of eating fish instead of meats have taken root in the Jamaican culture and many families, whether Catholics or not, substitute all meats for fish during these 40 days. But many Jamaicans would not describe their abstinence from meats and their preference for fish as a denial of a pleasure or as abstinence. Eating fish at this time of year is simply a way to enjoy another protein source and to do so within the customs of the island. This is the time of year when the best variety of fish dishes are available. The aim of most people in making the switch to fish is to make the most of what is available. Overtime too, this has become a way of life.
To that end, if you find yourself in Jamaica during the Lenten period, it is wise to know the best fish places in town. My favorite place is Little Ochi. Little Ochi is located on the South Coast, directly on the beach front. This place consistently serves fresh seafood, prepared to order by a courteous staff. The food is delicious, the price is good, and nothing beats the atmosphere. See what I just did there? I got distracted from the main point: spiritual development through abstinence. Well, I did exactly what many islanders do. I focused on the fish rather than the motive behind having the fish. On the island, eating fish and seafood is hardly ever linked to the notion of abstinence, fasting or preparing to do God's will. Eating fish is simply another form of self-gratification. Taken by itself, the motive behind fish consumption is not paganist but to suggest that it is Christian within the wider Jamaican context, is false. Supporting evidence suggest that it may be a façade to cover up for other paganist practices.
Caveat: So as not to step on toes, let me say here before moving on, that for the Christian-minded, determined, Lent observers, the sand, the sea, the waves, the birds and the friendly people at Little Ochi are bound to bring to mind God's sovereign power as Creator. From sun up till sundown, the serene location can enhance meditation and reflection, even while one is crouched over delectable plates of festival, bammies and deep fried fish.
Let us examine a few Lenten practices to determine whether these rituals have to do with Christianity or with paganism.
I started by mentioning abstinence and I now want to revert to what happens before the abstinence begins. ( Bearing in mind of course that I have already shown above that the "abstinence" from flesh is really just an excuse to indulge elsewhere.)
Reggae Sum fest aside, Carnival attracts the biggest crowds on the island.
Hotels get booked out, airlines are in full business, designers are employed to make their best costumes, streets get locked down for miles and everything else comes to a stand still so that Carnival buses, loaded with alcoholic drinks can drive through the towns followed by revelers from all across the globe. Thousands of revelers. Perhaps millions. All solemnly gathered to celebrate Carnival; the beginning of the Lenten period.
Carnival was originally understood to mean a farewell to meats and flesh. It was the time for preparing the mind and body for the long days of abstinence. Yet, the blind can see that Carnival in Jamaica is anything but a farewell to flesh. If anything, it is the welcoming and overindulgence in flesh and base, primal feelings through the exposition of naked bodies, gyration and acts of lewdness. It is no wonder that in the same way that Jamaica experiences a high birth rate nine months after the Christmas season, there is also a spike in the birth rate, nine months after the Carnival period. Christmas babies and Carnival babies are a thing on the island. These babies tell us what is really happening during the Carnival celebrations. I dare say very little "farewell" is occurring. The high birth rate gives a vivid picture of what the commemoration of the beginning of the Christian Lent is. If we conjure that picture correctly, then we have painted a mental scene of what the orgies performed by Pagan worshippers in the temples of their gods and goddesses must have looked like. Instead of Christian, spiritual, abstinence, this is a portrayal of paganist promiscuity.
The word "Bacchanal" is closely linked with "Carnival" and organizers of Carnival events have labeled these festivals as "Bacchanal Carnival Festivals". Bacchanal derives from a European religion and Bacchus is the Roman god of agriculture, wine and fertility. Worshippers of Bacchus are Bacchanal. They glorify drunkenness, excesses and pleasure. Carnival, Bacchanal and the beginning of Easter are comfortable bedmates. See the picture clearly; This is European paganist orgy at most and a threesome in the very least.
Yes, Yes. I can hear rebuttals of "Nobody in their right minds would ever associate Carnival and Bacchanal with Lent." I take the point but only to an extent. Looking at what happens during Carnival and bacchanal, most people wouldn't automatically associate those events with the holy, Christian, Lenten period. Yet, this oversight is exactly how these pagan practices have continued to live on and thrive in disguise. I submit that, our readiness to turn a blind eye to European, paganist, practices is exactly how these practices have managed to circumvent the stigma of paganism that have been bountifully heaped on African religious practices. Yet the fact is that historically, Bacchanal, Carnival and the beginning of Easter are companions that continue to thrive in tryst, bearing the fruits of European paganism.
Maybe you thought that Carnival and bacchanal are pagans but certainly Easter is Christian. That somehow, if we rid ourselves of the pagans, Carnival and Bacchanal, then we would be left with the pure, unadulterated, Christian, "Easter." The truth is that name "Easter" was the name of the European, pagan, goddess of spring and renewal. Easter was never a Christian practice or Biblical festival and we will not find it mentioned in the Bible because it is not there. Easter like her bedmates, Carnival and Bacchanal, is a European Pagan goddess. This should come as good news for some Christians since at least this means that the three have not been involved in unequal yoking. But seriously, in what other ways, have Easter-practicing, Christians, unknowingly yoked themselves to pagan practices?
Let us look at some other Easter practices on the island. Take for instance "egg setting". How Christian is that? Eggs are focal at Easter. In some cultures, the eggs are painted or hidden in bushes for children to hunt for them. In Jamaica, people engage in the practice of "egg setting". In this ritual, an egg is broken in a glass of water in the wee morning of Good Friday. Around midday, (the time, Christ is believed to have been crucified), the person who set the egg "reads" the egg. Reading the egg entails looking into the glass to determine the shape that the egg has taken and discerning what this shape means for the reader's future. People have been known to look into the glass and see ships or airplanes which meant that they were destined to travel at some point in their future. Those who saw rings were to get married and those who saw babies were to give birth. Does this practice sound Christian or pagan? I can't say for sure but this egg-reading thing reminds me of the European divination practice of crystallomancy.
What stands out for me too is that the egg which is a focal point of the Easter celebration points to the pagan meanings of the names "Easter" and "Bacchanal" rather than to Christ on the cross. Both Easter and Bacchanal are god/dess of fertility and renewal. The egg at its core symbolizes fertility, and possibility of life. I get the argument that Christians intent is to borrow the name of this goddess, "Easter" and the meaning of the egg and to transpose them to represent Christian, spiritual, renewal and reemergence. Christians have been trying to do this for years and I humbly submit that these practices have only served to highlight and promote their pagan origins at the expense of Christianity. Frankly speaking, it is ludicrous to expect that an egg laid by a snake will hatch into a chicken simply because that egg is brooded by a hen. What is likely to happen is that the egg once hatched will grow big until it consumes the hen that brooded it. Similarly, the spawn of a pagan god would sooner see the demise of Christianity than become a Christian tool or ally. Put in Bacchanal language: new wine does not store well in old, borrowed, wine skin.
There are two more practices that are worthy of mention because of their popularity to islanders. They are the cutting of the physic nut tree and the eating of Easter Bun and cheese. Both practices originally made reference to the death and resurrection of Christ.
Consuming Easter Bun and cheese on Good Friday is a must for most Jamaican families. The Jamaican Easter Bun is a reinvention and I dare say, an improvement of the British Hot Cross bun. The Hot Cross Bun is made by placing the symbol of a cross in the middle of the dough before baking it. The cross is a visible reminder to Christians of the crucifixion. In Jamaica, the Easter Bun is spiced and fruitful but it does not have a cross imprinted on it. One might argue that this omission of the cross is a deliberate attempt to erase any memory of Christ and the crucifixion. Furthermore, the bun is eaten the entire Lenten period, which seems to suggest gluttony and indulgence rather than abstinence or focus on Christian spiritual growth. Of course, I am not saying that the bun in itself is pagan but I am suggesting that perhaps the removal of the cross from the bun is indicative of the non-Christian environs in which the bun is partaken. In the same ways that the consumption of fish and the setting of eggs during Lent do not necessarily evince a focus on Christ, the consumption of the Jamaican Easter bun does not recall the sacrificed Lamb. In other words, the adoption of these European practices does not further the cause of Christianity within the Jamaican context.
Perhaps the only Easter ritual that can be said to truly accentuate Christ's death and resurrection is the cutting of the physic tree. In Jamaica, the physic nut tree is believed to be the tree from which Christ's cross was made. When cut at midday, on Good Friday (day of Christ's crucifixion), the tree bleeds a red sap resembling blood. This sap is believed by islanders to be reminiscent of Christ's pierced side on the cross. This practice of cutting/bleeding the tree seems to be distinctly Caribbean and may have developed among the slaves who mixed their African beliefs with their new found Christianity. The result of this religious blend is a steadfast focus on the bleeding/dying Christ on the cross. It above all other practices, points to the sacrifice of a Beloved Son whose shed blood brings redemption to a sinful people.
If this is true, then we should give credit where credit is due and lay blame where it rightly falls. In our 40 days of reflection, from sunup till sundown, let us realize that African religions are not the only source of paganism nor is every African spiritual retention a detraction from Christ. Along the same vein, let us partake in proper and in-depth examination of the European practices that we have so readily adopted and allowed to parade as Christian disciplines, recognizing that these practices have been birth from and can only continue to engender European paganism. This Easter, let us not be distracted by foods, drunken by wine, or destined by eggs. Let us cut the tree of truth and unmask European paganism.
To find out how to make Traditional Easter Bun (as shown in the picture above) or Diabetic-friendly Easter Bun, watch the video below:
Until next time
Venture Out. Keep exploring. Travel Smart and Stay Safe.
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