How To Call A Backoo: De Man In Ya Belly
Folklore is important to the understanding of a particular society as it is not only an example of the traditions that have culminated within the society, but also its history. Folk culture and by extension folklore is more of a system of local cultural reworkings that individuals and social groups use to make sense of the circumstances in which they live. This phenomenon can be well understood through the various supernatural beings which are often spoken of in Barbados such as the steel donkey, the Heart Man or the one most prevalent to this blog today, the backoo. Indeed, this blog will explain not only the features of this monster but also the circumstances surrounding its creation by the Barbadian populace.
Backoo sculpture
Baccoo. Photograph. The Caribbean Camera. March 3, 2022
Whilst the backoo (bakoo, bachoo, bakru) existed in other countries in the Caribbean such as Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago (where it is called buck) and Suriname, its main features remain the same from country to country. The backoo is an ugly, wretched deformed man that enters a person’s body and lives inside the belly of its victim often sent by someone whom they had wronged. This causes immense pain, bloating, flatulence, involuntary bowel movements and various other manners of intestinal mayhem. However, its torment did not end there, it would also speak in tongues, cause hallucinations and offset the balance of whoever was party to its misfortune, this incessant torture would not stop until the individual had gone mad or righted the wrong that they had done. In addition, the backoo is always associated with wealth gain, whether it be via making a deal with a backoo for riches, or using it to extort or regain money from individuals (Pires, Strange, Mello 2018)
There are some slight variations between the Guyanese, Surinamese and Trinidadian versions and the Barbadian interpretation of a backoo. In Guyana, there are several folk tales about backoo, particularly of Boysie and Boya, two backoos from West Bank Demerara whose stories give the impression that backoos abounded everywhere akin to spirits (Avad S. 2017). They also detail many individuals catching these monsters in cork bottles and unleashing them on their enemies, while some folktales depict protagonists burying the bottle or throwing it into the sea or river. These features are prevalent in both Surinamese and Trinidadian folklore as well, it is said that if you are walking or swimming and see a corked bottle, DO NOT OPEN IT, a backoo might be inside waiting to infect you.
In order to understand the difference in folklore between Barbados and its counterparts it is important to understand the origin of the backoo in a historical and social context. Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are all countries with large East Indian and African populations due to indentureship and slavery respectively. Little people spirits are not unknown in African culture such as the Akan mmoatia or in Indian culture as seen in the kumbhanda of Buddhism, therefore it should not be so surprising that the syncretic backoo would emerge from such a similar feature of two cultures (Pires, Strange, Mello 2018). However, African and Indian race relations have been contentious at the least and outright violent at its worst and this shows in the physical description of the backoo. Indian people in Guyana and Suriname describe the backoo with African features, Africans describe it with Indian features, it is well documented that storytelling has often used ethnic descriptions to demonize a particular group, therefore conveying that they each thought of the other as a demon, monster or pest (Pires, Strange, Mello 2018).
According to Barbadian historian Trevor Marshall, the introduction of the backoo into Barbadian society began around the 1920-1930s, he states that by the time he was born in the 1940s, it was an established aspect of Barbadian folklore. He explains that when East Indians began immigrating to the country around the 1910s, they began the practice of selling products from door to door as many continue to do today. This was an effective business model because most of the products they sold initially could only be bought in town. Getting to town was difficult for most Barbadians because of the lack of roads and transport and therefore the salesman was a welcome change.
Now, in the early 1900s it was often difficult for black Barbadians to pay for these products due to low wages and low employment. Therefore they often bought these items on credit. However, if they did not pay it is said the Indian seller would send a backoo on you (Marshall 2022).
While the money feature still rings, the way the folklore is told in Barbados exemplifies the large racial disparity between the two groups in this country wherein backoos were no longer around us but rather a weapon which the East Indians used to collect money. It is very likely that the legend of the backoo was brought over by Afro-Guyanese immigrants who came to the country and as such, due to their shared experience as black people were able to ingratiate themselves into Barbadian society far quicker and spread their version of the backoo which was adapted to the unique Barbadian experience.
While tales of the backoo have dwindled over the decades, it had been a vivid part of the 1900s for the country and forever memorialised in the folk song Conrad. The demon in ya belly which can cause you almost every problem known to man exists in the memory of everyone who knows their tale, that includes you reader. Though you now know its contentious origin and history, perhaps it might be best not to uncork any bottles anytime soon.
Bibliography
Marshall, Trevor. Personal Interview. 8 October 2022
Pires, Rogério Brittes W., Stuart Earle Strange, and Marcelo Moura Mello. “The Bakru Speaks: Money-Making Demons and Racial Stereotypes in Guyana and Suriname.” Brill. Brill, May 1, 2018. https://brill.com/view/journals/nwig/92/1-2/article-p1_1.xml?language=en.
S., Avad. “BACOO/Buck, Caribbean Folklore.: Mythology & Folklore .” Mythology & Folklore | aminoapps.com. AminoApps, September 21, 2017. https://aminoapps.com/c/mythfolklore/page/blog/bacoo-buck-caribbean-folklore/aJj4_w6c0ua5L08MkVjNo3R12zjqKNYXYd.