I'll admit, often I may have a look of mild skepticism on my face (I swear it's not my full-on skepticism face- if you know me, you know the one), and that's totally a product of my upbringing and education. I think about the scientific method being applied to these situations, or even just alternate explanations, and don't quite understand why everyone's so eager to ignore other ideas and revel in the idea of genies and sorcerers. But then again, many very well-educated people believe in miracles, which also inspire skepticism. I try not to discount everything or dismiss it out of hand. But when someone says that a rainman can make it rain during a drought, I want to ask if this man has ever turned down a commission, along with questions about barometers and trick knees that ache before the rain. I usually hold my tongue, because my friends are perfectly willing to acknowledge that things like this don't happen chez les blancs so I can't understand.
Yikes, I totally don't mean to sound snotty. I really love hearing the stories, they're always entertaining and occasionally mystifying. Even while my brain is working on theories of what really might have happened I'm fully enthralled because people here are such good storytellers.
A friend told me the story of his father and uncle. His father was a very successful man and moved away from his home village to work. He would send money to his parents (my friend's grandparents) and "grande famille" under the care of his brother. He would include specific instructions on what the money should be used for, like building a nice house for their parents and other good things of a similar nature, and the brother kept him updated on all the progress he made. Eventually, my friend's father wanted to go back and visit his village and family. So he told his brother he was coming and started to plan a trip. Unfortunately, he suddenly became ill and had to cancel. Some more time went by, and he tried again, planning the visit with his family. Again, he got violently sick and couldn't go, but as soon as he cancelled the visit he felt better. This happened a couple more times, and he was getting frustrated. He went to a number of doctors and none of them could find anything wrong with him. So one day when he was feeling well he impulsively decided to go to his village. When he arrived, he found that his brother had not done any of the work he had said he'd done. The brother had simply taken the money for himself, using it for motos, women, and other things he wanted. My friend's father was furious, and swore he'd take action against his brother. That very week, though, before he could do anything, he died.
My friend is convinced that his uncle was paying a sorcerer to keep his father away from their village, and eventually had him killed, to protect himself and the money he stole.
My friend is convinced that his uncle was paying a sorcerer to keep his father away from their village, and eventually had him killed, to protect himself and the money he stole.
That is just one story of the dozens I've heard, and it's the most memorable because it was a pretty good friend who told it to me, it was his own father, and he said his father could afford to go to good doctors, all of whom said he was healthy. That's one of the more mysterious stories I can tell offhand. I'll try to remember more for later posts, if anyone's interested.
I'm not saying I believe in wak (despite the constant barrage of anecdotal examples), but it might be something like my theories about miracles- just because I think there are physical explanations doesn't mean they're any less real or any less important for the people involved.
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