Dem Jamaicans (part three)

 Duppy's (or Duppies) are new one on me ......

Duppies Can Come In Many Forms

... they are a Jamaican / Caribbean phenomenon .... partly linked to the practice of Voodou and Obeah magic.

I came across them in a report, that one of them had stopped motorway construction work in Jamaica in August 2020. The work was a part of China's expansion across the globe via its $1tn “Belt and Road Initiative”, via the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which is constructing the May Pen to Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000 in Jamaica.

The worker and members of his team had gone to cordon off a grave site, that had been disturbed by the motorway construction work a few days earlier. Local residents had protested about the manner in which the work had gotten under way. They told the press that several graves had been disturbed during the process.

While he was cordoning the disturbed graves, a large green lizard had run out and got up inside the mans trouser leg .... he frantically tried to dislodge it, and assisted by both residents and colleagues, had searched for the lizard in his clothes, eventually stripping down to just his trousers and boots. The offending lizard was then spotted and killed.

The man who first spotted the lizard assault ran to other workers shouting, "Nobody nuh go ova deh suh. One big ol' green lizard deh pan di man pants a go up." While a local woman laughingly said, "A di duppy, di duppy deh want back it nest ... a di duppy man. Catch back the duppy gi mi." [Translation 1: 'Nobody go over to the site. One big old green lizard the mans pants it went up the leg.' Translation 2: 'He's the duppy, the duppy wants back it's nest ... he's the duppy man. Catch back the duppy and give to me']

Now local beliefs are that a duppy is the ghost of a deceased, and some believed that the ghost of one of the disturbed graves had returned in the form of the green lizard to show the worker that it was offended. An elderly resident watching said."Unuh see how duppy dem down ya? A di duppy let out pon him. All dem a tek off the lizard, di lizard hang on."  [Translation: 'You see how duppy they are down here? And the duppy let it out on him. All of them are taking off the lizard, but the lizard hangs on.']

Another local man said "A fuss me eva see a green lizard do a man suh. All when the lizard free him still a run towards that man. The lizard know a nuh the residents dem trouble dem place." [Translation: I was fussed whenever I saw a green lizard not a man. When the lizard freed himself he still ran towards that man. The lizard knows it's not the residents who are troubling their home.]

Fortunately the worker wasn't hurt, apart from his dignity, and like his colleagues, joked about the encounter afterwards. However the duppy worked, because CHEC officials said that no more work is to be done on that leg of the highway construction, until they have properly consulted with the residents.