Meaning
An Afro-Jamaican spiritual tradition of healing, spirit possession, and protective ritual, brought and preserved by enslaved Africans. Historically framed as the benevolent counterpart to obeah: where obeah was cast as harmful 'science', myal work was healing and 'catching' or undoing evil, often through drumming, dance, and possession by ancestral spirits. It fed into later traditions like Revival and Kumina.
Examples
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Di old people talk bout myal an healing.
The old folks talk about myal and healing.
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Myal work fi ketch an tek weh di evil.
Myal work is to catch and take away the evil.
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Drum an dance carry di myal spirit.
Drumming and dance carry the myal spirit.
Origin
Of West/Central African origin; among the oldest recorded Afro-Jamaican religious terms, feeding into Revival and Kumina. See [[obeah-man]], [[kumina]], [[revival]].
How it’s used
An Afro-Jamaican healing/spirit tradition, historically the benevolent counterpart to obeah. See [[obeah-man]], [[balmyard]], [[kumina]].