knowledge of good and evil
Not much going on at the construction site today. We ran out of cement. The sand delivered was "dutty sand" according to Bro. John who is Trinidadian and also from Yonkers. So I continued to help clear out the weeds. Took a break and wandered the woods alone discovering the land. I walked along some very narrow, sometimes non-existant trails left through the bushes, and came across a stream that flowed from a water supply dam. It was a bucket of water compared to some of the dams I have seen in New York. It was thrilling to to wander off alone in the bushes.Since not much else happened, I'll share some of the Krio I've learned,
and some stories of witchcraft.
| I de go? (E day go) | - Are you going? |
| tinap | - Stand up |
| sidom (The O is written as a backward C) | - Sit down |
| wot i na yu name? | - What is you name? |
| wot i na da time? | - What is the time? |
| a de go | - I am going |
| a de kam | - I'll be back in a moment |
| Papa God | - Heavenly Father or Father God |
| boku (or boku boku for emphasis) | - a lot |
| small (or small small) | - a little |
| a tel God tenki | - I thank God |
| abada-abadi | - Who knows when? |
| Usay yu di go | - Where are you going? |
| usay yu komot | - Where are you coming from? |
| we fo do? | - What to do? |
We're on our way!
Witchcraft. Well aside from the constant blackouts, Africa is a dark continent because of the "powers of darkness". There's witchcraft, black magic, fetishism, sorcery, cannibalism, etc. In particular, there is a belief in what's called a "Mamed Spirit" (Mermaid Spirit); also known as mami wata. These spirits are as you guessed it, half human, half fish, and make their kingdom under water. They ocassionally send messengers in human form to attack and make people as their own. For a spirit to attack you, there must be a "point of contact". Say you found a ring laying around and you picked it up and kept it for yourself. A spirit will approach you at a later time in the form of a human and ask you for the ring it lost. This now is the point of contact. The kingdom of darkness has a hierarchy and it is possible to move up the ranks depending on how faithful you are in you duties. Witchcraft is abundant in the provinces. Shenge I have heard is very popular for this. Apparently everything we see in movies are all true. I condemned it all to foolishness and was quickly chided for it. Of course I had witnessed demonic attacks and deliverance from demons when I was growing up in India, but somehow it all seemed false to me. Here is a true story that was narrated to me:
There was a young girl about 13 years of age in Shenge who had been initiated into witchcraft, and she had been practicing it without her parents knowledge. She had advanced to the position of "Queen of the Coast" in the villiage she was in. She later moved from that village to another village, and this girl got really sick. Apparently, in the spirit world, when she moved, her throne was taken by another spirit, and both these spirits had been warring with each other. She had another male friend in the spirit world who had an aeroplane (a broomstick). He came and rescued her, but two other spirits captured her and tied her up to a particular tree. She began getting frail, and deathly, and had pains in her stomach. After much coersion and prayers, she confessed to her deeds. Some years ago, she had been asked to sacrifice someone to the spirit world. She sacrificed the two little kids born to her father's second wife. While in the spirit world, the spirits cut up the meat and boiled it before they ate, she being the queen, threw up a piece of raw meat in the air and caught it with her mouth. The piece of meat went straight down her throat without being chewed first, and had been lodged in her stomach. In the real world, these two children soon became sick and died. The reason why she was tied up now was because it had been time to sacrifice someone else, and she promised to sacrifice her mother, but later repented of it and refused to give up her mother. When she was asked who had tied her up in the spirit world, she gave names of real people who she had been in contact with. When these people were approached, they gave the same story. When they were asked to release her, they refused. The only way she was released from this bondage was through prayer, confession, and a conscientious decision to renounce witchcraft. I will have the opportunity to meet this girl next in two weeks. I will TRY to ask her myself if it's possible.
posted by bthomas24 @ 4:16 PM
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