Artist Kristie Stephenson Brings “Duppy” Tales to Island SPACE

On October twenty ninth, the Island SPACE Caribbean Museum, on the northeast finish of Westfield Broward Mall in Plantation, hosted a Malloween and Caribbean Folktales Night time. 

Held over the Halloween weekend, the family-friendly occasion celebrated folklore and tradition throughout the Caribbean archipelago crammed. The performances had been interactive viewers actions and shows from notable artists. Nadine Taylor carried out a puppet present, Maxine Osbourne showcased strikes and routines from Kumina, and Roxanne Vailes dressed because the legendary Satan Girl to inform tales.

Close to the top of the occasion, Jamaican artist Kristie Stephenson unveiled a everlasting chalk mural depicting an amalgamation of varied folklore. Specializing in Caribbean ghost or “duppy” tales, within the piece Stephenson synthesized facets of Jamaican, Bajan, and Southern Antillean tradition.

Jamaican Rolling Calf

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On the forefront of Stephenson’s chalk drawing was the Jamaican Rolling Calf, or because it’s recognized in Barbados, the Iron Donkey. “I assumed it was very fascinating that this character was current in several folklore,” muses Stephenson. “Nevertheless it is sensible,” she rapidly acknowledges, “all of us have such comparable ancestry.” The rolling calf is considered the spirit of a malicious man just lately deceased, a landowner, or a butcher. 

It doesn’t take lots to spark a enjoyable truth about folklore or to get Stephenson to disclose an noticed connection she has found from her analysis or the Folktales Night time itself. She will effortlessly transition from an interview topic to a storyteller, diving into the prevalence of chains throughout legendary creatures, and sharing directions on the way to defend your self from duppies (the reply is salt).

This adoration of story seeps into her paintings. Within the rapid background of the Rolling Calf is a cotton tree, which in keeping with Stephenson, is a type of nexus for the supernatural. “It’s the dwelling palace of spirits or duppies,” she explains. A truth she realized from a narrative instructed by an aged girl in Westmoreland. 

Much less outstanding within the piece are the three-legged horse and the Ol’Higue. The three-legged horse is usually ridden by Whooping Boy, a specter who patrols woody areas and makes a definite whooping sound. He carries a whip and breathes sizzling air on its victims to kill them. The owl represents the Ol’Higue. In accordance with delusion, the Ol’Higue was a female spirit that sucked the life out of newborns. To get round, she would shed her pores and skin and take the type of an owl, flying by way of the night time.

Parts of Safety

Ending the piece are the weather of safety – the moon and the crossroads. “Moonlight is a deterrent for these creatures,” Stephenson explains. “These tales had been often instructed underneath a full moon, when it was most secure.” Crossroads or an intersection had been stated to be protected areas, and by crossing an intersection, the haunted traveler would have the ability to evade their spectral pursuer.

For Stephenson, the Malloween and Caribbean Folktales Night time is one other notch in asserting Afro Caribbean satisfaction. She recounts the story of Anansi, “In Africa, Anansi was a god, however when he got here to the Caribbean he misplaced his god-title and needed to depend on methods. It speaks to individuals who have misplaced one thing and discover their technique to struggle again in opposition to systematic oppression,” she explains, making one ultimate connection between our trendy plight for the acceptance of African-influenced tradition and the battle of our ancestors to keep up their sense of self amidst the horrors of the Trans-Atlantic slave commerce.