Award-winning Jamaican filmmaker Sosiessia Nixon has released "Stew Peas," a new feature-length suspense film that brings Jamaica's enduring West African-based spiritual healing tradition, obeah, into sharp focus. The movie centers on a detective named Tessa, whose life unravels when her husband, Neil, appears to fall under the influence of their new maid, Marcia.

The plot takes a dramatic turn with the revelation that Marcia has been secretly adding her menstrual blood to Neil's food, specifically a traditional kidney bean and meat stew, a practice believed in obeah to act as a potent love potion. Nixon explained that this element of the story highlights a specific belief within the obeah practice: that a woman can "bind" a man in a relationship through this ritual.

"This film focuses on the persisting Jamaican obeah belief, that a woman could ‘bind’ a man in a relationship by serving him a meal of the traditional kidney beans and meat stew, which becomes a potent love potion when her menstrual blood is added," Nixon stated. The filmmaker hopes "Stew Peas" will initiate conversations about the complex relationship between Christianity and obeah in Jamaica.

Obeah, rooted in the country's African heritage, was outlawed by colonizers in the 1700s and remains illegal today. Despite its proscribed status, the tradition persists. "The practice of binding a man with stew peas remains very much taboo in Jamaica, and I wanted to open a conversation. I wanted to look at this belief system in depth," Nixon said.

Nixon, who hails from St. Thomas parish, often referred to as "obeah parish," stated that her upbringing in the region provided significant inspiration for the film. "Growing up in St Thomas, I was very much exposed to a lot of obeah," she shared.

Producer and actor Ava Eagle Brown, founder of Jamaica's Black River film festival, believes the film will resonate deeply with Caribbean audiences, both on the island and in the diaspora. "There is so much of us in this film, the things that make us Jamaican – especially if you’re in the diaspora … it brings you back home," Brown commented.

Brown, who also appears in the film, emphasized its connection to Jamaican identity and cultural nuances. The film's exploration of obeah touches upon a significant aspect of Jamaica's cultural and spiritual landscape, prompting reflection on the power of belief systems and their impact on personal lives.

"Stew Peas" thus serves not only as a suspenseful narrative but also as a cultural artifact, shedding light on a tradition that continues to hold sway in Jamaica, even as it navigates legal and social taboos. The film invites audiences to consider the enduring influence of ancestral practices and the psychological dimensions of belief.