Recently while looking for branches to air layer on the mango tree planted by my great grandfather many decades ago, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed several vines of “jumbee” (pronounced ‘joom-bee’) hanging from the ancient tree.

Jumbee/jumbie beads, also known as rosary peas, were introduced to me decades ago by my Caribbean friends. They told me the beads are thought to hold ancestral spirits & therefore must be handled with respect. Some wear the beads in jewelry to ward off evil spirits.

I can’t say whether the jumbee were the spirits reminding me of their presence that day, but let’s just say I very gingerly relocated them into the nearby undisturbed forest so that I could continue my work without concern for retribution. Better safe than sorry😉