Stew Peas is a tense, feature-length suspense film by Jamaican filmmaker Sosiessia Nixon about detective Tessa, whose obsession with an old murder case coincides with her life falling apart. Tessa’s husband, Neil, becomes influenced by their maid, Marcia, and the plot turns when Marcia is revealed to be adding a secret ingredient to Neil’s food: her menstrual blood. The film centers on Jamaica’s west African-based obeah belief that a woman can bind a man by serving kidney beans and meat stew, made into a potent love portion when menstrual blood is added. Nixon aims to spark dialogue about tensions between Christianity and obeah, which is rooted in African heritage, outlawed by colonizers in the 1700s, and still illegal today. The practice remains taboo in Jamaica, and Nixon cites upbringing in St Thomas, sometimes nicknamed the obeah parish, as inspiration from exposure to obeah experiences.
#jamaican-cinema #obeah #caribbean-spirituality #christianity-vs-traditional-beliefs #suspense-thriller
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