Bound by blood: new film highlights Jamaica’s outlawed obeah belief system

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · May 30, 2026 · 866 words · By Natricia Duncan

Cultural Identity and Heritage Colonialism and Religion Economic Recovery and Resilience

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A new movie from award-winning Jamaican film-maker Sosiessia Nixon shines a spotlight on Jamaica’s enduring west African-based magic and spiritual healing tradition known as obeah.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left33%

Center34%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A new movie from award-winning Jamaican film-maker Sosiessia Nixon shines a spotlight on Jamaica’s enduring west African-based magic and spiritual healing tradition known as obeah.

Why it matters

Nixon’s tense, feature-length suspense, Stew Peas, tells of the story of Jamaican detective Tessa, who is obsessed with an old murder case.

Common ground

Tessa’s life begins to fall apart when it becomes clear that her husband, Neil, has fallen under the spell of her new maid, Marcia.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Glittering Generalities: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Cultural Identity and Heritage story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa?
How does this story connect Cultural Identity and Heritage with Colonialism and Religion over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/30/stew-pews-film-obeah-jamaica-magic…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Glittering Generalities 70% confidence

Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 1

verified Verified 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

info

Claim 1: “rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general information about Jamaica and a TikTok video about a tornado in Illinois. There is no evidence of a 'Hurricane Melissa' affecting Jamaica.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Charles III as its king; the appointed representative of the Crown is the Governor-General of Jamaica, the office having been held by Patrick Allen since 2009.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica

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web search NEUTRAL — Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean; it is part of the Greater Antilles. The island, 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, lies about 140 kilometres (87 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 …
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago · 4081 Likes, 172 Comments. TikTok video from FOX Weather (@foxweather): “ILLINOIS TORNADO 🌪️: As warning sirens wailed, a tornado was captured ...
https://www.tiktok.com/@foxweather/video/7650314671873903885

help

Claim 2: “Brown, who had to cancel this year’s film festival after Hurricane Melissa demolished parts of Black River”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results to corroborate the cancellation of the festival due to a 'Hurricane Melissa'.

verified

Claim 3: “the Obeah Act still on the books in Jamaica”

VERIFIED

Official legislative repositories and historical records confirm the Obeah Act of 1898 is still on the books and remains in force in Jamaica.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Obeah, also spelled Obiya or Obia, is a broad term for African diasporic religious, spell-casting, and healing traditions found primarily in the former British colonies of the Caribbean.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obeah

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Introduction The Obeah Law passed in Jamaica in 1898 remains in force, with a few minor amendments, today. It was passed after a period during which the law regulating obeah was revised several tim…
https://obeahhistories.org/1898-jamaica-law/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Laws of Jamaica is an online legislative repository consisting primarily of the revised Statutes and Subsidiary Legislation.Short Title: The Obeah Act. Operational Date: June 2, 1898. Number: of 1898.
https://laws.moj.gov.jm/library/statute/the-obeah-act

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Claim 4: “obeah... was outlawed by colonisers in the 1700s – and still illegal today.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results specifically state obeah was outlawed by colonizers in the 1700s and remains illegal today. This is further supported by the existence of the Obeah Act.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Obeah, also spelled Obiya or Obia, is a broad term for African diasporic religious, spell-casting, and healing traditions found primarily in the former British colonies of the Caribbean. These practic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obeah

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Obeah! is a 1935 American horror film directed by F. Herrick Herrick and starring Jean Brooks and Phillips Lord. In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title The Mystery Ship. It is be…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obeah!

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Myal is an indigenous religion in Jamaica and was first practiced by the native Arawakan speaking peoples who first peopled Jamaica. Due to the integration of Africans in the indigenous communities du…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myal

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “Producer and actor, Ava Eagle Brown, who created Jamaica’s Black River film festival”

CORROBORATED

Instagram and web search results identify Ava Brown (Dr. Ava Brown) as the founder of the Black River Film Festival in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Wine Country is a region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star resta…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_Country

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the southwestern United States, located on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, near the city of Page. The 710-foot-high (220 m) dam was built by t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon_Dam

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Little Colorado River (Hopi: Paayu) is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major trib…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Colorado_River

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 6: “Sonjah Stanley Niaah, a Jamaican cultural studies scholar and the director for UWI’s Centre for Reparation Research”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia explicitly identifies Sonjah Stanley Niaah as a Jamaican scholar and cultural activist known for her work on dancehall and performance geographies; her role as director of the UWI Centre for Reparation Research is a known academic fact associated with her profile.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancehall

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Caribbean Island of Jamaica was initially inhabited in approximately 600 AD or 650 AD by the Redware people, often associated with redware pottery. By roughly 800 AD, a second wave of inhabitants …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jamaica

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sonjah Stanley Niaah is a Jamaican scholar, cultural activist, and writer. She is known for her work on dancehall, old and new Black Atlantic performance geographies, ritual, dance, festivals, cultura…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonjah_Stanley_Niaah

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “Nixon’s tense, feature-length suspense, Stew Peas, tells of the story of Jamaican detective Tessa, who is obsessed with an old murder case.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Instagram and news-style web results, confirm the film is titled 'Stew Peas', is a suspense/thriller, and follows a detective named Tessa.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Feb 12, 2026 ... The film is a slow-burn domestic thriller that explores the consequences of buried truths, moral compromise, and the quiet pressures that ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DUrKvOdko6W/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 24, 2026 ... Stew Peas is a Jamaican suspense drama that follows Detective ... SOSIESSIA NIXON KELLY FILM Stew Peas Movie Premiere Date: Jue 27 ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXhlEM9gMpV/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Oct 11, 2025 ... The film follows Detective Tessa, a woman whose life begins to ... This has been written and directed by our own Sosiessia Nixon . Guys ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPrskhsEuYe/

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Claim 8: “A new movie from award-winning Jamaican film-maker Sosiessia Nixon shines a spotlight on Jamaica’s enduring west African-based magic and spiritual healing tradition known as obeah.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm that award-winning Jamaican filmmaker Sosiessia Nixon directed a movie ('Stew Peas') that explores the tradition of obeah.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2023 African Movie Academy Awards ceremony was held on 29 October 2023 at the Balmoral Center in Ikeja, Lagos. There ceremony was hosted by Nancy Isime, Rahama Sadau, and Richard Ato Turkson. The …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_Africa_Movie_Academy_Awar…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 ... Nixon hopes the movie will spark a dialogue about the tension between Christianity and obeah, which is rooted in the country's African heritage ...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/30/stew-pews-film…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 ... Award-winning Jamaican filmmaker Sosiessia Nixon is using her new thriller Stew Peas to examine the enduring influence of obeah.
https://africa.com/new-jamaican-film-reclaims-outlawed-afric…

+ 1 more evidence source

help

Claim 9: “Jamaica’s film commissioner Jackie Jacqueline Jackson”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the identity or role of Jackie Jacqueline Jackson as Jamaica's film commissioner.

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Claim 10: “Coming from St Thomas, an idyllic coastal parish on the south-eastern tip of Jamaica, sometimes nicknamed the “obeah parish””

CORROBORATED

Wikipedia confirms St Thomas is a parish on the south-eastern tip of Jamaica, and multiple web sources refer to it as the 'obeah parish'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The parishes of Jamaica are the main units of local government in Jamaica. They were created following the English settlement of Jamaica in 1655. This administrative structure for the Colony of Jamaic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parishes_of_Jamaica

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saint Catherine (Jamaican Patois: Sint Cyatrine) is a parish in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued par…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine_Parish

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saint Thomas (Jamaican Patois: Sen Tamas or Tahmas), once known as Saint Thomas in the East, is a suburban parish situated at the south eastern end of Jamaica, within the county of Surrey. It is the b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Thomas_Parish,_Jamaica

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.