Each week we profile a famous voodoo priest or priestess, telling their story and recalling their most powerful spells in a moment to highlight the true power of this misunderstood art. This week we are exploring the story of Pa Neezer, a contemporary voodoo priest and obeah man from Trinidad.
In this, our third installment, we’re looking at a man of more modern times, proving that even in the modern age, voodoo is still relevant. He was born Ebenezer Elliot in Trinidad and became famous by combining Voodoo with Obeah. Similar to voodoo, Obeah has an African heritage and refers to both benign and malicious magic. The similarities don’t end there either because, as a result of popular culture references and negative publicity, most people only know about the darker side of Obeah, which only covers a small percentage of what the practice is all about.
Pa Neezer used the positive aspects of both religions to become a powerful healer, and unlike other Obeah practitioners, he always refused to use his power to help people who wanted to inflict pain or confront any of the darker spirits. . He was a deeply spiritual and gentle man and had no interest in associating with devils and demons. As a result, for most of three decades, while he was respected, he was never feared.
The reason Pa Neezer was so unique is that not only would he not confront or take advantage of evil spirits that he himself refused to place in voodoo. His specialty was raising curses, which meant that he became much more specialized than almost any other practitioner of voodoo that we have seen. I focused on those who had been put under a curse or helping people who had simply fallen out of favor with the Ioa. It is from this belief that he became the most eminent healer in the entire island of Trinidad. Voodoo religion states that illness is the result of being attacked by a malicious Ioa and Neezer would confront the demon spirit, he would draw it out and heal those affected with a series of incantations and ceremonies. He was so successful that most of the residents of Trinidad came to him before going to the hospital, a true indication of the faith people had in him, his ability and his compassion.
Neezer’s work ethic was legendary. He often saw several hundred patients a day and worked every day of the week. However, the one thing that set him apart from previous priests and priestesses we’ve seen was the fact that he used his gift to become extraordinarily wealthy. This has led cynics to suggest that he was a fraud, but in truth, were it not for the fact that he was able to achieve the desired results, it would have been very difficult for him to maintain success for so many decades. It is also true that he did not just use the funds generated for personal wealth, as he invested much of his earnings in the Obeah, Orisha and Voodoo religions, helping to maintain a link with the country’s African heritage that endures. . even today.
