I went to the tiny Bedik tribe in remote southeast Senegal to learn about their myths and dreams. In the village of Iwol, chief Jean Keita told me about a special instrument they used to tell if a person has come back from the dead as a baby.
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| The tiny Bedik tribe has a small round instrument that tells if the new born is a reincarnation of a deceased relative. Bedik tribe, Senegal, Africa |
Chief Jean Baptiste Keita:
I myself had a dream about a dead ancestor coming
back into my family.
My dead father come to me in a dream and talked with
me. Some days after the dream, my wife
delivered a baby. When the baby was
born, he started crying. Crying. Crying.
We saw the baby is not ill, but he’s crying. What can be
the cause of that?
In our village we have this small round instrument, maybe
something like a small wheel. When we put that instrument on the wall, if it
ever adheres, if it gets stuck when it is thrown against the wall, it means the
dead parent, the dead person has come back.
If ever it falls down, it means it’s not him.
So we took that instrument, threw it against the wall.
It stuck.
Journal
thoughts:
Interesting that the Bedik use a
circular instrument to determine whether the new born is a deceased relative. I
immediately thought of the serpent which in some myths forms a circle as it
eats its own tail thus representing rebirth, reincarnation.
