East Indian and South Asian immigrants first arrived in the Caribbean as indentured servants in the nineteenth through the early twentieth century. They worked primarily on the sugar cane plantations, taking the place of enslaved Africans in places such as Trinidad and Guyana. Mahabir provides a colorful account of beliefs in supernatural beings present in the Caribbean transplanted from East Indian folklore. This very slim volume is illustrated on every page with original paintings by artist Aneesa Khan, a Trinidadian art teacher. Mahabir combines scholarly sources and musings on popular culture with anecdotes collected through field research to compile a tiny bestiary of Indo-Caribbean folk figures. Rather than an ethnographic analysis or academic encyclopedia, Mahabir has written a light-hearted, readable storybook of a lesser-known diasporic group’s beliefs about the spirit world. This book is not without its flaws, but the chosen topic lends it a uniqueness that is not to be overlooked.
Only five supernatural beings are discussed in this book: the raakhas, the churile, the saapin, Dee Baba, and the jinn Sheik Sadiq. Even readers with very little background in East Indian folklore will recognize the common motifs of the demonic snake woman and the wish-granting spirit confined to a bottle. Each chapter is divided into 1) a general description of the spirit, 2) testimonies from elderly East Indians, 3) a comparison with spirits in other folk traditions, 4) films and other media featuring the spirit or something very similar, and 5) notes for readers, which sometimes contain additional anecdotal material or are merely explanatory.
Mahabir’s descriptive sections for each folktale lack context and are bereft of background information on how the narrative was compiled and constructed in its published form. The author employs an omniscient voice in the third person, speaking in generalities, and presents each description in the language of fact rather than belief. Some of his statements are so simplistic as to be irrefutable, and none of the descriptions provides any analysis on the origin of folktales, their importance, how they are typically retold, or how they relate to other belief systems in the Caribbean. Each description is around two paragraphs in length and states the physical characteristics of the supernatural being in question as well as tells how the creature typically interacts with humans—usually rewarding, frightening, or punishing them.
The testimonies given are perhaps the most interesting section of the book, but again are devoid of context. We are only given a name, age, and city for each speaker. Some of the testimonies contain metanarrative that gives clues as to context, but this is a rarity. We are led to believe that Mahabir collected these testimonies himself, and it is a shame that they are not elaborated upon with additional ethnographic data. Only two to three testimonials are given for each spirit. Some are reported incidents (marked as “retold”) and some are firsthand accounts of encounters with the supernatural. Occasionally they contain very interesting details about ethnobotany, folk medicine, and kinship terminology, but again, this data is not framed within any sort of context.
The "Similar Creatures" section is divided into two segments: similar creatures within the Caribbean and similar creatures in other cultures. The similarities these comparisons are based upon are about as vague as can be: the author compares leprechauns with the jinn, for example, because both are wish-granting and can vanish at will. The technique of cherry-picking homologous features of folktales from around the globe feels very dated and does not truly contribute to the book’s content. The comparisons within the Caribbean are more insightful. Mahabir connects the guardian spirit Dee Baba with the Trinidadian Papa Bois, and in other instances attempts to clear up confusion about seemingly similar spirits for his readers.
The remaining sections for each supernatural being, "Films on Similar Spirits" and "Notes for Readers," appear to comprise the author’s own musings on folklore and popular culture. The quality of these sections is inconsistent and they are too brief to examine the material in great detail.
The illustrations that adorn every page are colorful and fairly well-executed, but seem to be drawn more from the artist’s imagination than from any sort of research. Unfortunately, they do not enhance the informational content of the book or clarify the narrative. Sometimes the formatting is awkward and a few of the images are too similar to provide good rhythm and contrast. Considering the page space that illustrations consume, it is rather unfortunate that more care was not taken in planning their relationship with the text.
Mahabir’s bibliography consists of twenty-one sources, two of which are his own works, nine of which are websites, including “Encyclopedia Mythica.” Although the introduction claims that "Information on supernatural creatures in the Caribbean of Indian origin has been documented for the first time...in this book," scholarly works on the religion and culture of the Indo-Caribbean diaspora do exist. What is unique about the book are the testimonials included. A more thorough approach to the documentation and analysis of such testimonials would be a worthy contribution to folklore research in the future. I would not recommend the book, as it is currently written, for academic libraries or researchers, although it might prove useful for introducing younger students to folklore, particularly to the use of testimony.
--------
[Review length: 878 words • Review posted on August 25, 2011]