Here's happens after you die

LaBun, the famous Bume tribe storyteller in Ethiopia explained to me that when a person dies, he becomes the devil trickster with skin like a rock and a single horn. 

Even though he lives underground, the trickster can cause great mischief for the living. 

Do thoughts of a deceased person haunt you? 

Bume tribe, Omo region, Ethiopia, Africa

Mursi tribe elder confirms my photo-illustration perfectly depicts God.

"Is there a God?" I asked the Mursi tribe elder.

This is my illustration of God as described to me on my first trip to the Mursi tribe in 2001.  Mursi tribe, Omo River Valley, Ethiopia, Africa.

That was one of the questions I asked the elders, shamans, chiefs, storytellers and witch doctors of Africa's most remote tribes.

"Yes, there is a God," said the Mursi elder. "He is powerful. He has no legs and has a rainbow colored chest. And he flies through the air." Then the elder emphasized, "And he can kill a man instantly."

Mursi tribe elder explaining God. Mursi tribe, Omo River Valley, Ethiopia, Africa.

On my last trip to the Mursi in 2014, I showed elders at the distant village of Belle my illustration. Without hesitation, they said, "Yes, that is God." There was no doubt.

In 2014, a Mursi elder in Belle village confirms that my illustration perfectly depicts God. Mursi tribe, Omo River Valley, Ethiopia, Africa.

Bedik Ancestors live below the Tree of Souls

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From my upcoming book 

We All Have Five Fingers  

My Quest with the Bedik Tribe

 (While I went to listen and learn about the African roots to my beliefs and religion, I learned something far less lofty about myself.)

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.

Hermann Hesse, Baume

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Bedik tribe village of Iwol in remote Southeast Senegal

 

Janis: "Chief Keita, you mentioned that the Bedik pray. Please tell me how you pray."

Chief Jean Baptiste Keita: "When we pray to the sacred Baobab tree or to the Fromager tree, the prayers are directed there and from there the God transmits the prayers to our dead ancestors.

" So you see, trees are sacred to us, we Bedik.

"For example, if you consider that sacred big Baobab tree which is measuring 33 meters and a half, it was planted on the tomb of dead Keita, the Keita family. The Keita family was the first to settle here. It was the Keita family, which was buried there.  Now you know that there is a tomb under the sacred baobab. 

"At the beginning of every year we go and say prayers around the tree, to implore our ancestors." 

How I met Wassily Kandinsky during my current teenage development

In creating the illustrations of the remote African tribal myths and archetypal dreams I've recorded over the past 16 years, I have two struggles:

This is my first attempt to create the mystical feeling I experienced with Mbahuma, the highest ranking Himba tribe shaman near Epupa Falls, Namibia.

1) create an accurate depiction of the story the elders, chiefs, storytellers, shamans and witch doctors told me in a way that Westerners can understand; and 

2) create an illustration that not only attracts the viewer's attention, but also has a spiritual presence.

After looking at a number of Kandinsky paintings, this was my effort. Mbahuma told me that his shamanistic powers came through to him through his toe from his deceased uncle, who was also a powerful shaman.

At this point I feel like a teenager in my development stage of creating these myth images. But then I look at early works by Kandinsky and Chagall to see that they too developed and matured along their artistic path.

Visiting an African Disneyland-like Museum of our Modern Beliefs

God wanted to give human beings their fullness right from the beginning, but they were incapable of receiving it, because they were still little children.

Against Heresies

St. Irenaeus (125-203 A.D.)

 

Chief Jean Keita, Bedik tribe, Senegal, Africa.

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Bedik tribe, Iwol village

Chief Jean Baptiste Keita:

-->"Our village was founded more than 900 years ago.  It was the first village which have been settled all around here.  The first one here.  And it has been in continuous existence until today.

(While the Bedik had a designated historian who I met on my first Bedik trip, it wasn’t until very recently they had any written language, French. I don’t know how the chief arrived at 900 years and forgot to ask for an explanation. But if Chief Keita was accurate about the age of Iwol village, that’s about the time Angkor Wat was completed and the second crusades got underway. )

"What makes the village so different is the specificity of the place. It is really wonderful here. You can see it is surrounded by big mountains, with big trees, sacred trees. 

"And you see, there are many sacred symbols here. You heard yesterday about the baobab tree, and the sacred Fromager tree here.

Sacred site, Bedik tribe, Iwol village, Senegal, Africa.

"We are Bediks. We are animists. And for that, we preserve our ancestor’s way of life. And Iwol is the only village which has preserved its tradition.  It’s been the same since ages.    It hasn’t changed.

 

"We are the only people that have remained rooted in their traditions. We are the only ones who have preserved in tact our tradition. 

"And we live only in this place.  We are quite restricted.  We are not numerous, we Bediks."

Bedik village of Iwol, Senegal, Africa.

Personal journal thoughts: 

  

Was this the religion of our ancient ancestors? Did storytellers like Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad and Constantine whisper their variations of the Bedik stories I heard into followers’ ears just like players in the telephone game?

My being tingled with the pure joy of mystery. There was more here than I could see and immediately understand.   

I certainly was in a Disneyland-like museum of our modern beliefs.

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Remote Suri Tribe: woman caused The Fall of Man but with a twist

Ethiopia's Suri tribe Chief Bolugedung told me the ancient story about how originally man had a direct connection to God. But the woman broke the link.

Chief Bolugedung wears a baboon skin hat indicating he is one of the two major chiefs, Suri tribe, Omo region, Ethiopia.

Chief Bolugedung explains: "There was two first persons, a man and woman. Originally, they have a rope up to the sky which came down to earth. 

"Man and woman could climb the rope any time to visit with God. The only rule was man and woman could not bring anything with them when climbing the rope to visit God.

Woman working flour on a grinding stone, Suri tribe, Omo region, Ethiopia, Africa the Birthplace of Modern Man.

"One day the woman decided to bring her stone, the stone women use to grind flour. (Grinding stone.) As soon as she started to climb the rope, it cut. The rope fell to the ground. Man and woman also fell to the ground.

"So after that, the two persons had to stay here on the earth. They don't have a rope to climb up to God. From that time they have to only live here."

My image of the Suri Fall of Man story. Suri (Surma tribe), Omo region, Ethiopia, Africa.

So the remote Suri, in Africa, the Birthplace of Modern Man, say that the first man and woman had a direction connection to God. But they lost it. They disobeyed. And it was the woman's doing. 

From everything I've learned, I conjecture this Suri story is older than the Fall of Man stories in the Bible.

Procrastination cured by sleepless night

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, couldn't go back to sleep, and finally got up to do something productive? 

Single small figure walking between thatched-roof huts in the Bedik tribe village of Iwol, Senegal.

This morning I got up at 2:30 AM and started writing the first chapter of the Five Fingers Myth Project. After 15 years of studying with the most remote tribes in Africa it's about time to write.

As part of their initiation into manhood these Bedik boys must run all day for one month through their village of Iwol, in Senegal, West Africa

www.FiveFingersProject.org
www.jmiglavs.com

My new website born from 15 years of learning from remote African tribes

These Konso tribe children gave me a hard time because I only knew 20 Konso words (and I had to look at my cheat sheet for most of those). But that didn't stop us from having lots of fun together.  We all have five fingers.  Konso tribe, Ethiopia, Africa.

On my first trip to Ethiopia's remote Omo region, the Konso tribe elders were telling me about their myths, stories, beliefs and archetypal dreams.
 
After several hours of a lively interview, I asked what advice the elders would give to world’s leaders. Now, you need to know that at that time, these guys had heard about Europe but only vaguely knew about the United States.  So world leaders to them mostly meant the elders and chiefs of neighboring tribes.

After a long silence, one elder slowly, deliberately replied: “We’re all made by God. We are all the same, no matter what tribe or what we believe.” 

He then raised his hand with outstretched fingers: “We all have five fingers.”


We all have five fingers inspires the Five Fingers Project.

With those simple words spoken in Ethiopia, near the very place where anthropologists first dug up bones of our evolutionary ancestors, my project, my life's purpose, my life's mission was born. 

Now, after 15 years of hearing tribal storytellers in the human Garden of Eden—Africa, the place DNA and anthropologists say all of us humans originated—I have no doubt those living stories confirm that the Konso elder was right in many many ways. We all have five fingers.

Now I would like to share my personal experiences with the myths, stories and archetypal dreams I learned from Africa's most remote tribes.  And in honor of the Konso elder's insight, I call this body of work The Five Fingers Project.

Please visit the web site born from 15 years of work. www.FiveFingersProject.org

Amazingly, the beliefs of the Mursi tribe nursing mother (Left) have many similarities to Christian beliefs represented by The Virgin as Queen of Heaven by Hans Baldung Grien (Right). We all have five fingers.

Any comments, insights and suggestions are much appreciated. 

First Story Project: I faced a drunk, agitated, gun-totting Mursi who wanted money.

Mursi warrior with the ubiquitous AK 47 and wooden stool, Omo region, Ethiopia. Note the scarification on his arm. The Ethiopian government tried to outlaw scarification as it could be a badge of honor showing how many people from another tribe he has killed.

You might have read: the Mursi tribe is the fiercest of Ethiopia’s Omo tribes. I’ve heard some tourists are afraid to visit them, or stay only for a short time. I simply wanted to confirm the myths, stories and archetypal dreams I heard from elders, shamans, chiefs, witchdoctors and storytellers on previous visits to the tribe.

On this trip I decided to stay in remote Belle Village, which had a huge picture-perfect mountain in the background.  Then came lengthy discussions—sometimes not so friendly, to negotiate a camping fee for our week’s stay for my guide, driver and me.

Mursi tribe Belle village in Mago National Park, Omo region, Ethiopia.

Everything was going great. But toward the end of our time in the village, the Mursi—men and women—started drinking village-made spirits. In the morning the would-be chief staggered over to demand I pay more, five times more than what we had agreed upon. Naturally, I smiled, told him what a great chief he was and replied, “No.”

The next night the Mursi were drinking again and making lots of noise. Not able to sleep, I worried what would happen in the morning when we were scheduled to leave. All these drunken Mursi carried loaded AK47s. And they wanted more money.

After we packed our camping gear in the morning, I told the belligerent chief that I would pay him away from the village, about 100 meters down the dusty road. I didn't want intoxicated gun-toting Mursi warriors becoming agitated for any reason. 

Frankly. I was a bit surprised that the usually arguementative chief agreed.

As I watched Andu, my guide, lead the wobbling chief down the trail away from the camp, I thought to myself, "Paying the unarmed chief alone, away from the others, is probably the best decision I've made today."

My guide Andu leads the the drunk chief alone out of the village as I had asked. I didn't want a bunch of  drunk gun-toting warriors becoming agitated when I paid the money we had agreed upon.

When I handed the money to the chief, he was too inebriated to count the the stack of dirty and torn birr notes. Having no one else, he asked my guide in the back seat to count the payment. Obviously he didn't really trust my guide either.

What happened when I gave cameras to remote tribes

For my First Stories (Undiscovered Myths) Project, I live with and study the Myths and Archetypal Dreams of Africa's most remote tribes, including the Mursi.

Since tourists flock to Ethiopia's remote Omo region to photograph the Tribes people, especially the Mursi women with the lip plates, I thought it would be fun to give Nikon cameras to the Mursi. My original idea was for the Mursi to photograph tourists as they photographed the Mursi, like everyone looking in a photographic mirror. Unfortunately, no tourists came to Belle, the remote village where I chose to live for a week in January of this year.

So what subjects did the Mursi--who are considered by far the most fierce of the Omo tribes—photograph for the first time in their lives? Well, duh, they photographed each other. 

Actually, the very first subject was me while taking a photograph of the first Mursi photographers. This was the first time they had ever held a camera.

Even the elders got into taking photographs. It did take this guy 3 snaps before he figured out he had to take his finger off the front of the lens.

No one did a selfie.

My personal Mursi guard, Mamoosh, became very popular with the ladies when he had the camera. 

My guide Andu, said that he had never seen the Mursi so "calm" as during our visit. Usually, the Mursi—the fiercest of the Omo tribes—are constantly agitating for something, like money.

My Faucet and Counting Blessings

Today I turned on the faucet to wash a dish. As the water poured of the faucet, my thoughts wandered to the Hammar family in Ethiopia's Omo region I photographed on a previous Myth Project trip. 

The older girl walks with her younger brothers about four miles round trip each day to get water. Each and every morning, they crunch through the parched landscape to water their cattle and fill containers for the family's daily needs. Four miles every day for water. 

All I had to do is turn on the faucet. Another blessing to count. 

The Myth Project: We All Have 5 Fingers

My favorite African village, the Konso tribe community of Busso, at the edge of Ethiopia's Omo region.

When he understood that I was recording his tribal myths and archetypal dreams, this Hammer elder invited me into his cozy home. He said that I must be very smart to write down all the stories he told.

The Myth Project:
Beginning in 2000, I journeyed to the most remote tribes in Africa to interview the elders, chiefs, shamans, storytellers and witch doctors about their myths and archetypal dreams. I wanted to see what lessons their oral stories offered about the mysteries of life, about how to live on our tiny planet and about Man’s big questions—like what happens after we die, where did the first person come from and is there a god?

I conjectured that these oral stories and collective tribal dreams arise from the deepest wellspring of our (Man’s) being.  After all, DNA tells us that we as modern man, all walked out of Africa. So it makes sense that we took these stories with us stored somewhere deep in our beings.

When I started The Myth Project, my goal was simply to record the stories so that they would not become extinct. Tourists, seeking something, were flooding over the tribes, for ever changing their traditional ways of life. Anthropologists tell me I am the only person who has ever recorded the oral stories of all but one of the 13 tribes I visited.

During a half dozen intense trips I collected massive amounts of information and photographs. Then I set The Myth Project aside to gain perspective. During these last four or five years of Project hibernation, I kept thinking about the answer a Konso tribe (from Ethiopia’s Omo region) elder gave when I asked what advice he would offer to world leaders. In 2001, this elder didn’t have much of a global concept of countries and cultures. He knew about neighboring tribes.

Yet his advice to world leaders truly moved me: “All people in the world are created by God. We’re all the same, we all have five fingers,” he said holding up his hand, “even if we have different beliefs (religions).” 

That simple statement profoundly shifted my focus for The Myth Project. Now the questions that haunt me are more like: What can these myths teach us high-tech modern man? How can we use these stories as a springboard to realize that “We all have five fingers, even if we have different beliefs”?

In order to better understand tribal life, I usually camped in my tiny tent at the edge of the village or was invited to live in an elder's home. This is my humble home for four weeks at the edge of a Suri tribe village in Ethiopia's Omo Region.