Duppy is a word of African origin commonly used in variousCaribbean Islands, includingThe Bahamas,Barbados andJamaica, meaningghost or spirit.[1] The word is sometimes spelledduffy.[2]
It is both singular and plural. Much of Caribbeanfolklore revolves around duppy. Duppy are generally regarded as malevolent spirits who bring misfortune and woe on those they set upon.[1] They are said to mostly come out and haunt people at night, and people from around the islands claim to have seen them. The "Rolling Calf" (a scary creature said to have chains around its body),[3] "Three footed horse", and"Ol' Hige"[4] are examples of the more malicious spirits.
In many of the islands of theLesser Antilles, duppy are known asjumbies. Barbados also uses the word duppy and it holds the same meaning as it does in Jamaica. It is also used inMulticultural London English, meaning to "kill" someone/something.[5]
Originating inCentral Africa, the duppy is part ofBantu folklore. A duppy can be either the manifestation (in human or animal form) of the soul of a dead person, or a malevolent supernatural being.[6] But the word duppy more likely originates from theGa language as most of the African folklore and culture in Jamaica comes from theAshanti people (a similarKwa speaking people also from Ghana). In the Ga language ofGhana,Adope literally means dwarf, but in Ghanaian folklore spirits are dwarves. It could also originate from the special Akan day Dapaa, which occurs 9 days after the first Monday of the Akan month Fwodwo. However, in Jamaica, they celebrate this 9-day tradition after someone dies. It is called "9 nights" during which they believe it takes 9 days for the spirit to return to the ancestral land. On Dapaa, it is believed that the ancestral spirits return to their homeland, a shared belief with Jamaica. The word Dapaa may have undergone vowel changes to become the present dayDuppy, to mean ancestral spirit.[7] InObeah, a person is believed to possess two souls—a good soul and an earthly soul. In death, the good soul goes to heaven to be judged by God, while the earthly spirit remains for three days in the coffin with the body, where it may escape if proper precautions are not taken and appear as a duppy.[6]
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