Duppy Know Ah Who Fi Frighten :: Duppy Whisperer Patwa Play

“If a widow does not wear red underwear during the crossing over of her husband’s spirit she will be visited by his duppy.” Why exactly do I need to learn this?

This is why. Jamaica has a rich history and the culture here is strong. We’ve spent a lot of time learning about Jamaican myths and proverbs and I had been questioning why. Well, let me just say that I would have been extremely lost watching the patwa play “Duppy Whisperer” if it hadn’t been for all those patwa and cultural lessons over the past few weeks.

I was recently invited to Kingston by my host sister to see this play with her and some of her co-workers. Everyone was dressed to perfection as we loaded in my host uncle’s coaster and headed down the mountain into town. It felt like I was 17 again and on my way to prom. Everyone was laughing and having a blast the entire ride. I was also laughing, but half of the time I didn’t know what I was laughing at because the patwa was being spoken to quickly for me to decipher. But that’s okay. I got the general gist of it.

Speaking of not understanding patwa, I suppose I should explain what a duppy is. Duppy is what Jamaicans calls the ghost or spirit of the dead. There are all kinds of myths about duppies and how to prevent them from coming back to haunt you. Knowing all of those myths certainly came in handy during this play.

In true Jamaican fashion, we arrived at 8:20pm for an 8:00pm show and my host sister says, “We’re early!” I couldn’t help but laugh. We were shuffled into the theater as the show was going on and of course were not able to sit together. I ended up being seated front and center so I didn’t mind. The play was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was hysterical from beginning to end and so full of culture. I impressed myself with how much I understood. Between the patwa and the cultural references, I would have been completely lost just a few short weeks ago. Big ups to our training staff for teaching us so much.

This play was yet another way that Jamaica continues to surprise me.

xoxo, Leah