Zombie (A)

As in the case of Jombie or Jumbie, Zombie originates from a branch of the Bantu language especially of the kongo-ngola group in which there is the good nsambi 'God' and the evil nsumbi 'Devil'. Carried across from Africa to Dominica in various Central and West African language sub-groups, nsumbi became Jumbie, Jombie or Zombie in its Creole form. Good and evil were under the same spiritual power constantly tussling for a balance between the two. Songs and religious practices celebrated the contest, but over time only the Jombie/Zombie, the evil spirit, was remembered. In early folklore this Jombie/Zombie could affect your health while you were asleep at night or wreck your good fortune. Practitioners of Obeah were supposed to be able to drive the spirit out or make it affect others. In certain cases, an individual who was drugged by an Obeah practitioner at the request of a client, and who suffered brain damage as a result of the spell, could become a Zombie or 'living dead'.

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