Genies

written Friday, 13 July 2007

 

 

Today some of my villagers told me that our village is full of bad genies, and that there are dragons (yes, the fire-breathing kind) living in the bush.   I'm not sure if they were trying to warn me against them, or if they just thought I'd be interested to know about it.  They told me that genies live in trees and water, and you can find out if there are bad genies around by going out late at night and looking for signs such as sparks or strange noises.

 

One of the men told me about a genie he had seen: he was traveling along the road one day when he passed a man dressed in a white boubou and carrying a sack.   The man's feet were turned around so that the heels were in front and toes in back.  He greeted the man, but the man did not respond (incredibly rude here).   Then the man reached up and grabbed the branch of a tree, pulled himself up, and disappeared!

 

My villager knew then that it was a genie he had seen, and he was afraid that it meant he was going to die.   But so far, nothing has happened to him.