GUIDE OF SÉDHIOU - Cesie

that “Africa has its mysteries” which cannot be explained in a
rational way. There are hundreds of oral animist traditions
which hold a lot of secrets: natural objects can be seen as
spirits as well as invisible phenomena and practically
everything that can’t be explained and is therefore given a
magic meaning. Spirits are all around, good and bad ones, and
only people with the sixth sense can perceive them. They can
take over all sorts of
appearances and sit as
owls in Baobab trees,
the “houses of spirits”.
According to certain
villagers it is not
recommendable to be
on the street at 2
o’clock in the morning if
you want to avoid a meeting with the devil himself. How to
recognize him? Take a look at his feet: if the toes point into
the wrong direction, run as fast as you can!
And be careful with your hair, your personal signature or a
picture of yours- in case it gets into the wrong hands, your
soul might be possessed and enslaved forever. But there are a
lot of natural mystics with good effects: during a marriage in
the raining season a grey sky is threatening the guests? A lady
with special mystic gifts might pray the rain away while the
men are heavily discussing if such a practice is Muslim or
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