Myalism (Jamaica historical)
Historical Jamaican Afro-syncretic religion; precursor to Revival Zion and Pukumina.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — historical Jamaican Afro-syncretic religion.
Profile facts
In context
Myalism crystallised in 18th–19th-century Jamaica from West African (especially Akan) traditions. Largely transformed into Revival Zion and Pukumina by the 19th century. Mainstream voluntary tradition.
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 18th c.Myalism emerges in Jamaica
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
| Title | Type | Reliability | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obeah Acts: Producing and Policing the Boundaries of Religion in the Caribbean — Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism (2009) | Academic | Secondary | — |
| Some Examples of the Practice of Obeah by West Indian Immigrants in London — Folklore (1978) | Academic | Secondary | — |
Sources
- Various Caribbean Studies academic work search ↗
- Obeah Acts: Producing and Policing the Boundaries of Religion in the Caribbean — Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism (2009) — https://doi.org/10.1215%2F07990537-2008-002 open ↗
- Some Examples of the Practice of Obeah by West Indian Immigrants in London — Folklore (1978) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F0015587X.1978.9716086 open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
- 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: academic sources. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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