Lajabless on Board!

by Telfor Bedeau

One of the most popular stories in Grenadian folklore is that of Lajabless, a female spirit which is portrayed as a tall woman wearing a broad-rimmed hat and long dress reaching to the ground. Her face is a skeleton’s skull and her fingers are like the claws of a chicken hawk. One of her legs is human while the other is that of a cow. When she walks her feet never touch the ground but are a few inches above it. Therefore, it is easy to identify her by putting one’s head low to the ground and looking to see if the feet are grounded. If the test proves positive, the Lajabless disappears. If it is a real woman then the observer has to make an apology, as she feels greatly insulted!

Lajabless (from the French, La Diablesse ) changes herself into a beautiful woman and haunts the country roads at night for the prime purpose of luring men into the forest where they get lost. She then makes herself invisible and laughs at them while they try in vain to find their way out. She is afraid of dogs and tobacco smoke, so if a man lights his pipe or cigarette in the presence of the beautiful lady he is walking with at night, and she is a Lajabless, then she disappears with a loud scream.

It is said that Lajabless originated from the angels who were thrown out of Heaven with Satan after they rebelled against God. These fallen angels were scattered throughout the earth and changed into spirits of different types, one of them being Lajabless. She lives in abandoned places where huge boulders are covered with vines, thorns, bamboo, silk-cotton trees, and gru gru, a species of large palm, the trunk of which is covered with hard, sharp prickles about four inches long.

When vehicles began to move along the roads of Grenada, the Lajabless realized it was something she could not cope with, so she left for the remote areas. One group, learning there were no vehicles on one of the Grenadine islands, decided to emigrate there. Changing their shape to look like normal women, they took passage on a ship. The captain was glad when this group of apparently wealthy women boarded his ship with their huge trunks or “canisters” as they were called in those days. During the voyage, the sea became very rough and the ship rolled heavily. The passengers huddled themselves below deck while the contents of their canisters rattled ominously.

The ship survived and made port safely. The passengers praised the captain for his skill and paid him well, but he was a bit disappointed when they paid him in all coins rather than notes. This made his purse very heavy but he said nothing. The women took their canisters and left, refusing all offers of help. Neither did they tell anyone where they were going to reside. The captain did not care, since he had already gotten his money, which he kept in a separate purse. Later on, when he went to count the total amount of money he made on the voyage, he found that the money he received from the group of strange women was missing. Instead, the purse which had contained it was now filled with bones. He raised an alarm and everyone went in search of the women, who could not have gone far by then but were nowhere to be found. It was then the captain realized he had transported a group of Lajabless.

It is many years since Lajabless has been sighted, and the reason given for her disappearance is that civilization has scared her away. She is afraid of vehicles, aircraft, radios, and the smell of exhaust fumes. She therefore went to hide in the remotest areas of earth waiting for the day when civilization will crumble and the earth becomes natural again.

This story first appeared in the May 1998 issue of Caribbean Compass

Flamboyant trees are blooming and everywhere I see Scarlet blossoms, bursting forth from wide umbrella trees Seems to me this year they’re late, Perhaps it is because I wait Each season with anticipation For trees to bloom. My expectations Increase as busy years fly past For any year could be my last.

Sailing along Grenada’s lee, I look right so that I will see Flamboyant red on coast and hill So beautiful, but then I thrill When Pouis bloom in brilliant yellow Bright and brazen, nothing mellow Or subtle in these forest trees, But if perhaps this does not please Aesthetic senses, there’s the pink, Also a Poui. Oh I think That truly ‘I will never see More beauty than a tropic tree.’

Sweet scented waxen Frangiapani

Plumeria, Shower of Gold, so many Others to delight my heart, As one tree fades, another starts,

Gaudy, delicate or bright, These lovely trees simply delight, My eyes, my spirit, my whole being, I find such joy in what I’m seeing, So Thank You God that I can be In gardens full of tropic trees.

— Nan Hatch