ALTHOUGH MORE THAN A DOZEN Shango cult centers were visited in Trinidad, most of the data presented here I obtained from informants in a northeastern section (Belmont) and an eastern section (Lavantile) of Port of Spain; three towns along the Eastern Main Road: San Juan, Tacarigua, and Arouca -all within twelve miles of Port of Spain; and a rural section near Couva, a town situated thirty miles south of the capital.' All of my informants were lower class persons, most of whom had received only a few years of primary education and none of whom had graduated from or even attended secondary schools. Interviews occurred before, during, and after ceremonies, mainly in cult centers, but also along the street or road, in the car, in my home, and elsewhere. O'n several occasions I saw some of the preparations for healing rites and parts of actual procedures. I did not discuss healing with any informant until many other matters had been covered, including, usually, such topics as the dates of the center's annual ceremony, ritual paraphernalia, names of shango powers (gods), and the meaning of some rituals already witnessed. I began my first discussion on healing with a shango leader with whom I had established good rapport by mentioning casually some remedies given by a former president of the Pharmacists' Association of Trinidad.2 She was greatly amused at the mention of gereytoute, shandella, gully root, cousin mahaut, patte chien, and herb-a-femme, and she said, You know a lot about the old-time Creole remedies, don't you? She then proceeded to tell me about some of the remedies she uses. A number of the formulas in the early part of the paper were obtained from her; and, eventually, she gave me the procedures listed in 2C and 2e of Remedies which include rituals. In addition, she proved to be an excellent person for checking formulas given by other informants. Somewhat the same method was followed in obtaining the rituals given in I, 2a, and 2b under the same heading as above. These were obtained from a very knowledgeable male healer who began by discussing ingredients in a general way, went on to simple formulas, and, finally, gave several complex procedures. Formulas and rites were cross-checked. The combinations of ingredients used, especially for teas and baths, vary from informant to informant, but some items are widely favored for certain illnesses. Details vary also where rituals are used, but the main outlines of the rites are similar. The formulas and procedures given here are representative of the practices employed by half a dozen of my main informants and are known to and utilized to some extent by several times that number of minor informants.
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Mar 1, 1964
R S Pieters 
Open Access