(Sunday Chronicle May 28th 1972)
Have you ever seen a flaming red ball circling over a village hut that houses a three month old baby?
If you have not, be on the lookout and you may be lucky to see one.
But you might want to know what is this flaming red ball?
It is the popular Ole Higue known for sucking the blood of infants in order to remain longer alive.
But Ole Higue is a traditional Guyanese folk character, one feared very much by young mothers.
At a wake night recently a friend told me how his child was sucked by an Ole Higue.
As you know wake nights are places where you hear these weird stories.
His story goes that at first he did not know what was wrong with is ailing child.
But one morning he found smears of human blood on his steps which aroused his suspicion.
That same day his wife took the baby to an old negro woman who bathed her with sweet smelling herbs
The woman confirmed their fear that Ole Higue had indeed interfered with their child.
What an absurdity in this atomic age?
But according to older folks living in country areas near abandoned sugar plantations Ole Higue does exist.
There are oral tales still remembered by them of dangerous encounters to catch Ole Higues.
Their history in this country dates back to the days of slavery when superstitious practices were rampant.
In the dark country nights every moving light was thought to be an Ole Higue and the old African and Indian women were watched with suspicion.
The art of sucking was imparted by ancestors of that very demoniac nature.
Infants are Ole Higue victims .
In order to hear of a new birth they walk around the village selling brooms and sugar-cakes while secretly watching the houses.
They take note of the home, its surroundings and movements of the people before they plan their entry.
But every poison has its antidote.
To detect Ole Higue, mark a long line with a white chalk across on the road or pathway where one will pass and walk.
If she comes, curses and turns back bet a dollar she is one.
If she crosses the line and continues the journey, you have wronged a dear old lady.
In this way many of them are caught in the country areas.
And women will justify the fact by keeping their babies hidden from macabre looking old women.
Should you enter pleasant homes and notice a broom stuck with dried pointers hung on the ceiling , take note it is a precaution against Ole Higue.
In other homes un -boiled rice is scattered in front of the bedroom where the baby sleeps .
If the rice is found in a heap the next morning certainly Ole Higue was trying to get at the baby.
The rive serves as a preventative and signifies danger for them.
Human blood seen the next morning in front of a home proves that the sucked baby was endowed with a charm to resist Ole Higue.
The wasted blood depicts that Ole Higue left in an angry mood.
If she flames into a ball, it depicts her agony and her choking desire for water for a skilled person had found her skin on a tree and had soaked it with peppered water.
Are there Ole Higues around nowadays? (M.R.MONAR).
