¨˜”°º• LOA Times 2006 : Global NewsRoom •º°”˜¨
-
Merry Meet To All,
¨˜”°º• LOA Times 2006 : Global NewsRoom •º°”˜¨ is here to share Interesting News Articles from around the Globe. New Articles will be updated periodically. Feel free to read & share your views, leave a comment if you like...
Blessed Be,
Oceanos -
`They Say I Ate My Father. But I Didn't'
Barely school-age when relatives labeled her a witch, Naomi found herself cast out on the streets. Her story is a common one in Congo.
By Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writer
August 29, 2006
KINSHASA, Congo — Naomi Ewowo had just lost her parents when her family branded her a witch. She was 5.
After her mother and father died unexpectedly less than a month apart, Naomi's care fell to relatives who struggled to cope with the tragedy. They sought counsel from a neighborhood "prophet," who warned that a sorcerer was hiding in their midst. Soon all eyes turned on the family's youngest, most vulnerable member.
"They blamed me for killing my parents," said Naomi, now 10, nervously swinging her short legs under the seat of a chair. The girl eventually was cast out by relatives and lived on the streets until she moved to a rescue center three months ago.
"They say I ate my father. But I didn't. I'm not a witch."
On a continent where belief in black magic and evil spirits is common, witch hunts are nothing new, usually targeting older, unmarried women. But in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there's a new twist to this ancient inquisition. A majority of those said to be involved in witchcraft and sorcery are children, and such allegations against them are the No. 1 cause of homelessness among youths.
Of the estimated 25,000 children living on the streets of Kinshasa, the capital, more than 60% had been thrown out of their homes by relatives accusing them of witchcraft, child-welfare advocates say. The practice is so rampant that Congo's new constitution, adopted in December, includes a provision outlawing allegations of sorcery against children.
A rise in religious fundamentalism, revival churches and self-proclaimed prophets is one cause. More than 2,000 churches in Kinshasa offer "deliverance" services to ward off evil spirits in children, the group Human Rights Watch says.
"Some prophets who run these churches have gained celebrity-like status, drawing in hundreds of worshipers in lucrative Sunday services because of their famed 'success' in child exorcism ceremonies," the group said in an April report.
But chronic poverty is the real culprit, some experts say. Decades of dictatorship, instability and war have unraveled the nation's social fabric, tearing apart traditional family and tribal support systems. It's no coincidence that the vast majority of accused children come from poor, broken homes. Most are orphans or have lost one or both parents to divorce or abandonment.
When relatives are unable or unwilling to cope with an additional mouth to feed, they may look for ways to get rid of the child, said Charlotte Wamu, a counselor at Solidarity Action for Distressed Children, which assists street children. In Africa, kicking out a family member, even a distant relative, is considered shameful, but allegations of witchcraft provide a convenient and hard-to-disprove justification.
"It's always the stepmother who finds witchcraft in the stepchild, not in her own," Wamu said. "The sorcerer is your dead brother's child, never yours."
Naomi, the only child of her father's second marriage, said his family never accepted her or her mother.
When Naomi's parents died in 2001, relatives took her from one prophet to another searching for a way to cast out her "evil spirits." Sometimes the exorcism consisted of a quick prayer, other times it was more involved.
One preacher locked Naomi in a room for three days without food or water, the girl recalled. "I wanted to try to sneak some water, but I thought that would only make my problems worse," she said.
She was probably right. Child-exorcism ceremonies can include brutal treatment, including beatings, burnings and the use of saltwater, orally and anally, to "purge" the children, the group Save the Children says.
One self-described prophet in Kinshasa, Pakoki Keni Emmanuel Suliman, began an interview with a robust prayer and ended it with a sales pitch for black-market diamonds, which he kept tucked inside his wallet.
From his Promised Temple church, which he runs from his home, Pakoki showed off one of his clients.
"Did you let the evil spirit back inside you?" the burly, bearded preacher bellowed at a quivering 9-year-old boy. "You must confess! Tell the truth! Then I will pray for you one more time." The boy dutifully confessed that since his last exorcism he had "killed" two people. His older brother has been treated several times as well.
Pakoki said he never accepted money, though relatives were required to buy white sheets, at $18 apiece, which were waved and draped around the children during the exorcism.
"I pray and they are cured," he said.
The forced confessions leave many children confused and guilt-ridden.
"They start to believe they've done something wrong or that they really are witches," said Evariste Kalumuna, head of the rescue center that took Naomi off the streets. He said that when he disciplined the children, they sometimes threatened him with their so-called powers.
"They say: 'Look out. I'm a witch. I'll hurt you,' " Kalumuna said. "Believe me, if they really were witches, I would have been dead a long time ago."
When asked recently, Naomi at first insisted that she didn't believe in witchcraft. Later, she accused her paternal grandfather of sorcery, saying he visited her and her mother in their dreams.
With a low, raspy voice and intense almond-shaped eyes, Naomi is a natural storyteller, reenacting her mother's death-bed scene as though it were the plot of one of the Nigerian soap operas she occasionally gets to watch on television. She imitated her mother's frail voice crying out the grandfather's name before dying.
Such dramatic tales have worsened relations with the family.
"We're convinced she's a witch," said Rachel Nazombo, 25, Naomi's eldest half-sister.
Naomi's eight half-siblings share two cramped rooms in an eastern Kinshasa slum. Proudly displayed on the living room wall is a magazine advertisement for something the family can only dream of: a Western-style kitchen, with a stainless steel oven and wood-paneled cabinets.
The siblings say the death of their father and Naomi's mother is proof of witchcraft. Even in a country where life expectancy has dropped to 42 years because of disease and poverty, premature death is often difficult to accept. Two deaths occurring so close together can only be caused by an evil spell, the family members say. -
What is their evidence against Naomi? Local preachers and prophets confirmed their suspicions, they say. And a 3-year-old cousin once screamed Naomi's name during a nightmare. According to the family, Naomi also confessed to witchcraft when confronted during a family meeting a year ago.
When told that Naomi denied being a witch, Nazombo shook her head.
"She's hiding herself," the sister said. "You don't understand how tricky people who live in the night can be."
After her family threw her out, Naomi survived on the streets by selling what little extra clothing she had. Later she sold charcoal and resorted to robbery before being brought to the center by an outreach worker who had found her.
Wamu, her counselor at the center, began visiting the family to discuss reunification. Relatives stiffened when they saw Naomi and Wamu approach. Some refused to even look at the girl.
On a recent evening, Wamu returned for her fifth visit, this time without Naomi.
"The family should live together," she pleaded.
"We want to help her find a better life, but first she must cast out the bad spirits," Naomi's older half-brother responded. "She refuses to be helped."
Before accepting Naomi, the family wanted several preachers to verify that she was not a witch. Wamu discouraged the idea, knowing that eventually they would find a prophet who claimed to see evil spirits. Instead she emphasized the family's obligations to the girl.
They sat quietly for a moment. "We know it's our responsibility," said Flory Nazombo, 23, the eldest male in the family. "She's our sister. We can't abandon her." He promised that someone in the family would visit Naomi to discuss coming home.
Wamu nodded and wrote out her telephone number for the young man. It was the opening she had been looking for.
As she left the home, Wamu was flush with hope, though fewer than half of attempted reunifications succeed.
"I think we made some real progress tonight," she said. "It went well."
Three weeks later, no one from Naomi's family had visited her. The brother had not called. And Wamu was making plans for a sixth visit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
" A rise in religious fundamentalism, revival churches and self-proclaimed prophets is one cause. More than 2,000 churches in Kinshasa offer "deliverance" services to ward off evil spirits in children, the group Human Rights Watch says.
"Some prophets who run these churches have gained celebrity-like status, drawing in hundreds of worshipers in lucrative Sunday services because of their famed 'success' in child exorcism ceremonies," the group said in an April report. "
Are children to become demonized as the new "Liberals"? -
Malaysia museum holds paranormal exhibit
By EILEEN NG
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A Malaysian museum will let a U.S. research team from Ripley's Believe It or Not conduct scientific tests on genies, ghouls and other paranormal items on display in an exhibition to determine whether they are real, an official said Friday.
The three-month "Mysteries, Genies, Ghosts and Coffins" exhibition at the Sultan Alam Shah Museum in central Selangor state has drawn criticism since it began July 4. Some accuse it of being un-Islamic, while others have denounced the items as fakes.
The exhibition has drawn tens of thousands of visitors. Officials say the approximately 100 items on display include a preserved mermaid; the shrivelled skeletal remains of a half-woman, half-snake; a goblin trapped in a bottle; and other creatures from Malay folklore.
Amzah Umar, chairman of the Selangor Museum Board, said the organizers and the owner of the exhibits have agreed to Ripley's request to examine the items.
"They have written to us for permission to analyze the items. A team from U.S. will be coming to conduct scientific tests," he told The Associated Press. "This will put to rest any allegations that the exhibits are fake."
He didn't say when the tests would be conducted.
Syed Abdullah Al-Attas, a popular ghost hunter and head of the Paranormal Seekers Malaysia group, on Wednesday lodged a police report against the museum, demanding the exhibition be shut down immediately because the exhibits were merely replicas and animal carcasses.
The items belong to religious teacher Safuan Abu Bakar, who was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper on Friday that he planned to bring a "langsuir" - a deadly Malay banshee - to life in three weeks to silence doubters.
"We are currently facing opposition from religious bodies but I will bring the exhibit to life. I will place the langsuir on a tree and bring it to life to let observers see it fly and screech," he was quoted saying.
Safuan could not be reached for comment.
Amzah stood firm on the museum's decision to hold the exhibition.
"Our exhibition is aimed at educating the public on the existence of the supernatural world. It is not against Islam. We should take it as education and entertainment," he said.
The exhibition is expected to end Oct. 4, but Amzah said the museum may close it by Sept. 15 ahead of the Ramadan fasting month for Muslims, who make up about 60 per cent of Malaysia's 26 million population.
"It's not proper to hold such an exhibition during fasting month," he added.
The museum has said it expects a million visitors to the exhibition. -
ThatÂ’s the spirit, folks!
By ELAN PERUMAL
Photos by T.K. LIM
ARE you one of those who have been rattled by too many ghost stories of the olden-day kind – and other tales of the supernatural – told by your grandparents and other elderly relatives in the best storytelling traditions, as a result of which you have spent many a sleepless night?
An image of the female 'jenglot' on display.
Here is an opportunity to keep a date with genies, ghosts, flying coffins and other such objects that are associated with the supernatural.
Make your way to the State Museum in Shah Alam and you can acquaint yourself with some of them, including the creatures of Malay supernatural folklore such as toyol, langsuir, jenglot, puchong and nyai bolong.
More than 70,000 people, comprising both young and old, have visited the museum since the Mysteries, Genies, Ghosts and Coffins exhibition was launched on July 4.
It is the first time in the history of the museum that such eerie artefacts – which the museum authorities claim, are alive – are being displayed for public viewing.
The 'langsuir', one of the ghosts widely believed to exist by the Malay community, is among the exhibits.
“All those creatures, such as ghosts and genies, that are displayed in glass cases, containers and bottles are real and alive.
“They have been captured and 'immobilised'so that visitors can have a closer look at them,” said acting museum director Mohd Lotfi Nazar.
Ustaz Safuan Abu Bakar, the owner of the genies and ghosts, had kept the supernatural beings under control so that visitors would not be troubled by their presence, Lotfi said.
He added that he had personally touched them.
“The toyol, which looks like a doll, is actually alive and it smells like a corpse if you take it out of the glass case. How can it produce such a stench if it is not alive?
The 'toyol' smells like a corpse, according to Lotfi.
“I also spotted its fingers bleeding,” he said, adding that the exhibition offered a unique experience to visitors.
Lotfi said all those living creatures that were exhibited, as well as some of the other exhibits which belonged to Safuan, had been brought from his private museum in Kuang.
Besides the Malay genies and ghosts, he said, replicas of a cheongsam ghost from China, Balinese grave, homes of bomoh, gory trees and branches shaped like snakes, were also exhibited.
Also on display is a yellow Volkswagen which had often been often sighted at the end of tunnels along the Karak, Ipoh and Jelapang highways.
“A tombstone has been placed inside the car to tell visitors that this car has caused many fatal accidents,” he added.
Safuan, 48, a Sufi religious teacher from Kuang, said he and his team had been stationing themselves at the exhibition centre from 10am to 10pm daily so that there would be no untoward incidents.
A bottle in which a genie is said to have been trapped.
Safuan, who is also a spiritual healer and claims to have received a holy tongkat from Puteri Gunung Ledang during his 10-day meditation retreat on the mountain 15 years ago, said he had mastered the art of capturing and trapping the supernatural creatures.
He said he had gone to the mountain after the princess appeared to him in a dream.
“Since then, I have been seriously involved in this field of the 'seen and unseen', as a result of which I have been collecting various artefacts that are related to genies and ghosts.” Safuan said.
He added that most of his living creatures were brought from Indonesia while some came from Thailand.
Together with his 15-man team called Paranorma – which means “beyond the normal” – he had been actively involved in ghostly adventures that required them to stay in haunted grounds for several nights, Safuan said.
He said he feared no evil power as he had strong spiritual conviction and believed nothing was more powerful than the Almighty.
“As I'm using the mystical powers to overcome evil, I have nothing to fear,” he said. -
Ustaz Safuan to bring ghoul to life
By WANI MUTHIAH
SHAH ALAM: The owner of the supernatural items on display at the Sultan Alam Shah MuseumÂ’s Mysteries, Genies, Ghosts and Coffins Exhibition insists the objects are genuine.
And to prove it, he will bring one of the exhibited ghouls to life in three weeks' time.
Safuan: ‘I will bring the langsuir to life and let it fly’
Religious teacher Ustaz Safuan Abu Bakar, who is also the founder of the Kuang-based Nurul 'Ala Museum, refuted allegations that the items on exhibit were fakes.
Selangor Museum Board chairman Datuk Amzah Umar said a research team from popular television show RipleyÂ’s Believe It or Not would carry out tests on the exhibits.
He said they had written to the museum asking permission to examine the allegedly supernatural items on display.
“We are currently sorting out minor details and when all this is done, we will know when they’ll be down to carry out their work,” Amzah told reporters at a press conference here yesterday.
Some of the items displayed at the exhibition are supposedly Malay ghouls such as toyol, langsuir, jenglot, pochong and nyai bolong.
Local paranormal investigator Syed Abdullah Al-Attas, who heads the Paranormal Seekers Malaysia (Seekers) group, had alleged that the exhibits were not real but replicas and animal carcasses.
“How can they make such allegations when they took only two hours to examine the exhibited items?” Safuan asked at a press conference organised by the museum yesterday.
According to Safuan, the research methods used by Seekers were neither scientific nor academic.
“They did not prepare any reports or carry out DNA tests on the exhibits. The Seekers are lying and we should be the ones suing them,” said Safuan.
Safuan also said he would bring the items to “life” in three weeks at his premises in Kuang to prove their authenticity.
“We are currently facing opposition from religious bodies, but I will bring the exhibits to life,” he maintained.
“I will place the langsuir on a tree and bring it to life to let observers see it fly and screech,” he added.
Meanwhile, Syed Abdullah said Seekers had lodged a police report against the museum at the Ampang Jaya police station on Wednesday night.
Among other things, the report stated that the exhibition should be shut down immediately as the museum was cheating the public by displaying non-authentic items. -
interesting
-
Merry Meet Alex,Originally posted by alexkusu:interesting
I wish i can go to the Sultan Alam Shah Museum in central Selangor state. Its very interesting to me too.
Blessed Be,
Oceanos -
Selangor!!!
Hmm.... another destination to mark hahaahha -
Practitioner of ancient folk healing advertises on TV
By David A. Fahrenthold, WASHINGTON POST
CHELSEA, Mass
THE healer's commercial turns up occasionally on Spanish-language television here, slipped in among spots in which a telephone calling card hops around a giant map of Latin America, or in which a young girl's ear-splitting shrieks describe getting satellite TV channels Gratis! Gratis! Gratis!
His ad, in contrast, starts out so somberly it appears that it should be for antidepressants. "If it feels like the roof is falling in on you ..." a voice says as a picture of a woman with head in hands is shown.
Then, things get a little weird: The commercial shows a statue of the Virgin Mary, another statue of an Indian in a headdress, a plate with apples arranged on it. The announcer talks about brujeria — witchcraft — love, and a man called Hermano Santa Cruz.
"Money comes in, and good luck returns," with his help, the ad promises. Then, in the manner of any good personal-injury lawyer, the commercial ends by showing the addresses and phone numbers for two local offices.
"Brother Holy Cross" is probably not the only person in Greater Boston laying claim to a centuries-old tradition of religiously tinged folk healing, which has survived in America's Latino diaspora despite years of hoaxes and scams perpetrated in its name.
But he does seem to be the only one with his own commercial.
"I'm always leery about people who do things like that," said Elizabeth de la Portilla, a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, after she was told about the ad. De la Portilla has studied practitioners of these healing traditions, who are often called curanderos after the Spanish verb curar, to cure.
A bit of background: Experts say there are many folk-healing traditions in Latin America and the Caribbean, born out of the collision of Old World and New World religious beliefs and medical traditions. Historically, the healers were used by rural people who didn't have access to doctors, or by people who were seeking treatment for conditions that modern medicine didn't recognize, such as a baby made fussy or ill by the evil eye.
Now, de la Portilla and other experts said, the healers are still sought out in some Latino communities around the United States, often for physical ailments as well as problems with relationships and work. They can offer prayers, teas made with mint, chamomile or other herbs — or simple talking.
"People want magic. What they don't understand is that there is no magic. It's work," said de la Portilla, explaining that often a healer's most powerful skill is asking questions and helping clients talk about their problems. "The point is to get you to heal yourself."
Or, as Bertha Valdez, a curandera in San Antonio, said: "All the problems are inside of our head, OK?"
But one thing about their profession hasn't changed: Because healers are supposed to be located through family connections or word of mouth, it is still considered bad form to advertise. People who do, often through ads in Spanish-language newspapers or appearances on talk radio, are often thought to be scam artists who promise healing but really just want to fleece their clients.
So, then, to ask Hermano Santa Cruz himself. One of the addresses in his commercial is in Chelsea, a heavily Latino suburb of Boston. The Chelsea office turns out not to be an office at all but a ground-floor apartment decorated with Christmas ornaments and weavings of the Virgin Mary.
The first time a reporter visited, he was ushered into a back bedroom, where a man wearing a white doctor's coat sat behind a small table. The healer said he was too busy to talk. He said he would call. He did not call.
The next day, though, when a reporter called back, Hermano Santa Cruz said he had five minutes.
He explained the kinds of things people sought him out for: problems at home, problems with children, "strong negative energies." He talked about the kinds of healing he offers: repetitions of Catholic prayers, and treatments using sunflowers and apples and white sugar.
"There are people who believe" in these methods, said Hermano Santa Cruz, who said he is Colombian. "There are people who don't believe. It's like religion."
And the most important question of all: Why is someone in his line of work advertising on television?
To this healer, though, the apparent cardinal sin didn't seem to be a big deal.
"Porqu no?" he asked. "Why not?" -
Girl in Wales finds lucky whale vomit
BANGOR, Wales, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A vacationing 10-year old girl is set to become 3,500 pounds -- about $6,633 -- richer from a lump of whale vomit she found on a beach in Wales.
The Sun reported Melissa Cathcart of St. Helens, Merseyside, England, was beachcombing on an island when she came across the waxy substance known as ambergris, also called "floating gold."
Ambergris is used in perfume production to slow evaporation and is worth 10 pounds a gram.
"We recently heard on the radio about ambergris, but when Melissa found some I couldn't believe it!" said Kay, the girl's mother. Kay had reportedly taken the 350-gram lump to the SeaQuarium in Rhyl.
Experts suggested the lump of ambergris probably floated from the Pacific before shoring up on Shell Island, Gwynedd, North Wales. -
Thursday September 14, 9:27 AM
Wiccan Sign Allowed on Soldier's Plaque
The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan won state approval Wednesday to place a Wiccan religious symbol on his memorial plaque, something the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had refused.
"I'm honored and ecstatic. I've been waiting a year for this," Roberta Stewart said from her home in Fernley, about 30 miles east of Reno.
Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, was killed in Afghanistan last September when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his helicopter. Four others also died. Stewart was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
He was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize and therefore prohibits on veterans' headstones in national cemeteries.
But state officials said they had received a legal opinion from the Nevada attorney general's office that concluded federal officials have no authority over state veterans' cemeteries. They now plan to have a contractor construct a plaque with the Wiccan pentacle _ a circle around a five-pointed star _ to be added to the Veterans' Memorial Wall in Fernley.
"The VA still has not determined yet if a Wiccan symbol can go on the headstone," said Tim Tetz, executive director of the Nevada Office of Veterans Services. "But we have determined we control the state cemetery and that we therefore have the ability to recognize him for his service to his country."
Wiccans worship the earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves good witches, pagans or neo-pagans.
The Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration allows only approved emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones. Over the years, it has approved more than 30, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, United Moravian Church and Sikhs. There is also an emblem for atheists. -
Witches call up magick in Mexico's Los Tuxtlas: Hexes and blessings are muttered in the same breath where witchcraft is a way of life
By DAI HUYNH
Houston Chronicle, 2006
CATEMACO, Mexico - The witch is cloaked in a black gown with a Chinese
yin-and-yang sign, representing the moon and sun. Dark and light.
Through lace curtains, a shaft of light casts an eerie glow onto the
altar. A spindly, wooden red devil dominates the table, towering over
the potbellied Hindu elephant deity Lord Ganesha and statuettes of
Merlin, Buddha and Shiva.
This is the room where Ignacio Cobix casts spells of life and death,
love and spite.
His timber house is a block from Lake Catemaco, where Mexicans come for
boating, fishing, bird-watching and spiritual cleansing. Catemaco is one
of three major villages in the Los Tuxtlas region south of the port of
Veracruz. Like neighboring San Andrés Tuxtla and Santiago Tuxtla,
Catemaco is shaped by virescent volcanoes and magic realism. Here, hexes
and blessings are muttered in the same breath.
Myths and legends flourish as lushly as the waterlilies in the lagoon:
Tales of water spirits. Tales of la Virgen del Carmen. Tales of the devil.
"You have bad energy around you,'' Cobix tells me in Spanish. "You need
a cleansing.''
Tonight is supposedly ideal for an aura cleansing. The magic will be
strong when midnight ushers in the most important day of the year for
the residents of Los Tuxtlas.
"The people believe that the first Friday in March is the first day of
creation, the first Friday in history," local anthropologist and
raconteur Raymundo Gonzáles says. "It's a potent day for magick. All the
high witches are here for the gathering tonight."
Every year, witches convene for the annual Brujos Convention in
Catemaco, an area many regard as the center of magick.
Mexicans believe there are three types of magick: black, white and red.
Curanderos practice white or red magick, using plants or the spiritual
world to heal. Most feared are the brujos, or brujas if female, who
practice black magick.
Curanderos, or shamans, are bound by the law of nature and karma to
never do harm. But brujos, the powerful witches, answer to a darker creed. -
The devil's cave
"Brujos can put curses on people. They make bad things happen, and from
what I've seen, it works," says John Todd, a Houstonian who lives in
Veracruz.
"In Mexico, there are three levels of illnesses. The first is spiritual.
The second is emotional, such as sadness, and the third is physical. In
the United States, people turn to doctors and pills to treat physical
illnesses. But they don't treat the emotional and spiritual. Mexicans
believe you must treat all three."
I had asked my guide, Andrés Huesca Tapia, to find a brujo. He laughed,
pointing to the young men on dusty motorcycles zooming up and down the
road to Catemaco.
"Pick one," he said. "Those men are roving billboards for the brujos.
They're everywhere."
Now we find ourselves in a waiting room, commanded by a woman with ebony
eyes. She introduces herself as Ignacio Cobix's confidante, housekeeper
and mother.
"I knew from the start my son was gifted," she says. "A mother just
knows these things. Even Mel Gibson came seeking his advice. He was in
Catemaco, filming a movie about the Maya. You wouldn't recognize him,
unshaven with a thick black beard. I didn't care for it. But I
recognized his eyes. He has beautiful blue eyes."
Almost everyone in Catemaco claims that Gibson "was here." And maybe he
was. It's a dime-size town, divided by winding roads and houses with
peeling paint. At the center of social activities is Lago de Catemaco, a
massive bowl of water formed millions of years ago by now-extinct
volcanoes. With peaks poking through gray mists, the sierra casts an
eerie aura over steel-blue water.
I am sitting on a creaking chair, waiting for the brujo. Minutes later,
a young man with puppy eyes walks out of a side room and waves us
inside. Sitting behind a writing desk is the gran brujo, sober and
boyish in appearance.
"A brujo can never marry," his mother had told me earlier. "My son can
have relationships, two at the same time if he wishes. But he can never
wear gold jewelry. Ever."
Gold is a symbol of vanity. Wearing it would anger the spirits and drain
him of his power.
Where he's most powerful, Cobix says, is in his cave, about an hour's
boat ride across the lake. Last year, German journalists filmed him
there, performing a ritual. He shows pictures of the cave, surrounded by
vines.
Caves are cradles of mysteries. According to local legend, the devil's
cave is somewhere in Los Tuxtlas. It leads from the real world to the
world of the dead.
"We can go there," Cobix says. "I'll charge only 2,000 pesos. Usually
it's more."
Seeing my stunned look, my guide intercedes and tells Cobix that I can't
pay $200.
Cobix nods his head, understanding, but doesn't budge, so we leave.
"Come back tomorrow," he says on our way out the door. "I'll do an aura
cleansing. You need it. Normally I charge people 300 pesos. For you, 200
pesos." -
Witches' sabbath
Catemaco cools at night. The mountain air fans the boisterous crowds at
the Brujos Convention at a park outside town.
Onstage, dark-eyed beauties in beaded Aztec costumes perform songs and
dances. Their male partners glisten with energy, stomping across the
stage with bravado. The music continues well past the witching hour.
Wispy white tents flank the stage, belonging to various brujos, sages
and curanderos. Aside from a few dollars for parking, entrance to the
festival is free.
"Spiritual cleansings cost 100 pesos," says the gate attendant, "the
same as tarot readings."
I opt to scout the stalls, where charms are sold. Rabbit's feet.
Horseshoes. Coyote talismans. Leather bracelets. Jet amulets. Clay
totems. Red pillows for love and good luck.
"Witchcraft is a corrupted word," my guide says. "When the Spaniards
arrived, they converted wishcraft into witchcraft. It's not so much
witchery as wishing for something." -
The movie star
The next day we drive to Santiago Tuxtla, nearer Veracruz. We pass
tobacco fields in San Andrés Tuxtla, where tourists can visit one of
several factories to see how the large, floppy leaves are cured and
rolled into prized cigars.
With its serene, bone-white colonial main square, Santiago Tuxtla
attracts those curious about El Negro, an ancient Olmec sacrificial
stone believed to channel powers.
El Negro is only one reason to visit this old village, where men pass
the afternoon beneath swaying coconut trees, playing cards. Mexico-based
author David Lida, who wrote about the witches of Los Tuxtlas, had
suggested that I call on an ancient woman known as Doña Julia. Of all
the brujos, she had made an impression on Lida.
But first, El Negro and Shirley MacLaine.
"Shirley MacLaine was here. She heard about its power. She wept when she
placed her thumb on El Negro's forehead," says museum director Juan José
Palagot Perea, standing in front of the oblong stone sculpture with a
flat, almost baby face.
I've heard many versions of this story. Some people say the New Age
guru-actress actually lay on El Negro, face up with her arms to the side
for full effect.
"No, no, she didn't do that," Palagot says, chuckling. "She simply
placed her thumb here."
He directs me to put my left thumb about an inch from El Negro and close
my eyes.
Seconds later, darkness is colored by pulsating red light. I feel
lightheaded. And in my mind's eye I am flying high above mountains. Are
these images induced by sunlight pouring from a window overhead? I can't
be sure.
My guide, Andrés, is next. Descended from Aztecs, he has high cheekbones
and tanned features framed by lustrous, long, inky curls. A former
professor, he traded his job in Mexico City for the slower pace of a
small fishing island in Veracruz.
Andrés starts to cry, a quiet shower that lasts five minutes before he
opens his eyes. Embarrassed, or overwhelmed, he turns, waving us away.
"I'm sorry, so sorry" he says. "This is too much. I need to go outside
to get some air."
When Andrés returns, the museum director smiles and nods his head
knowingly. "I didn't tell you beforehand what you might see because I
wanted you to discover for yourself," he says. "Some people see the
color red, others pyramids. Some even sense they're flying over a great
expanse of hills back in time. And others see a cave with a man, El
Negro or one of the ancients."
Leaving the museum, I spot another Olmec stone head in the main square.
It's a colossal figurehead with a helmet over flat, jaguarlike features
and bulbous lips. Even now, this ancient civilization, the oldest in
Mexico, has a hold on the people of Veracruz.
As we wave goodbye to the museum director, I remember to ask about Doña Julia.
"Ah, yes, she was one of the greats. But she's no longer here," he says.
"She died last year." -
The lady shaman
For several months, Gibson and his crew shot the Maya epic Apocalypto
near Nanciyaga. The movie set was still up when we drove into the
private nature reserve. It's easy to see why Gibson chose this
dew-drenched rain forest on the northern shore of Lake Catemaco.
Nanciyaga is one of those places where you can be one with nature but
not in the wild. The reserve is riotously lush with native fauna, a rain
forest with the luxury of a restaurant and nearly rustic cabins for $75
per night, which includes mud facials, mineral baths, boating and other
activities. Nanciyaga attracts Mexican crooners and movie stars seeking
to renew mind and spirit.
"People come here to be close to nature," guide AgustÃn Rafael DomÃnguez
says. "But they also want to be spiritually healed. Magic is a tradition
we have had for generations. We were told magic exists. Some people
don't believe. I don't know why. It's not the magic they see in the
movies. It's more about the aura, the energy between nature and man.
Herbs and plants have the ability to cleanse us, cure us. Why is that so
hard to grasp?"
Eager to illustrate his point, he takes me to the wooden hut of Asunción
Ixtepán, one of three white shamans who perform aura cleansings, or
limpias, at Nanciyaga.
Dressed in a flowing white dress against the jungle backdrop, Ixtepán
exudes Mother Earth. She directs me to follow her through a beaded
curtain into the hut, where there is an altar laden with colorful
pictures of saints and wooden crosses. I feel at ease, unlike the
sensation that washed over me when the brujo Cobix performed the aura
cleansing.
Warmth rather than dampness. Lightness rather than weight. Cobix had
rubbed an egg over my arms, neck and head, then brushed a long bundle of
leaves over my body while whispering an incantation that I couldn't make
out. Afterward, he instructed me to throw the egg on the side of the
road to get rid of the malady. He took the 200 pesos, then sent me on my
way.
Ixtepán turns me to her. She places her hands on my head. Warmth
radiates from her to me. A mother's womb. She starts to pray:
"Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, please protect her, give her a house,
food and a job. Let nothing go amiss in her household. Remove all bad
spirits. Luck be with her."
She finishes by brushing herbs and citrus leaves along my back and
shoulders. The leaves feel soft and cool. Their heady fragrance makes me
think that perhaps this is something like aromatherapy or herbal medicine.
"Now, be strong and go in peace," says Ixtepán, placing an herb-filled
amulet in my hands.
Life is ironic. I learned later that the picture on the amulet is of St.
Ignatius, in Spanish Ignacio, the same as the brujo Cobix. -
'Jenglot' to be monitored 24/7 for movement
-by Zuhaila Akmar Mohd Sedek -
WILL it move or won’t it? This is what paranormal investigation group Seekers are determined to establish after bringing the now-famous ‘jenglot’ back to their Ampang headquarters for observation last Friday.
Seekers head Syed Abdullah Al-Attas said the three creatures have been placed in a room and will be filmed around the clock until Sept 28.
The team hopes to see some movement by the creatures to prove that they are alive.
“The slightest move is enough for us,” said Syed Abdullah.
“We will then have visual proof that these creatures are alive.”
The ‘jenglot’ is believed to be a creature of vampiric origin in Indonesian and Malay culture and mythology.
Standing between one to three feet tall, it has charred skin, long black hair and sharp fangs.
The creatures were borrowed from Famewell Venture Sdn Bhd director Abdul Molok Karim.
Syed Abdullah said certain superstition states that when the ‘jenglot’ is in the possession of someone else other than their owner, extra care has to be observed to ensure that they aren’t damaged.
“The supposed penalty for breaking this rule is death,” he said.
The creatures were handed over to Seekers after a Press conference at Muzium Seni Asia in Universiti Malaya last Friday.
Also present was Indonesian supernatural expert Muhammad Idrus, who said the existence of man-made ‘jenglot’ in Indonesia was widespread.
“They are sold to people who use them to scare people from stealing fruits from orchards or to ‘safeguard’ a venue,” he said.
He hopes the ‘jenglot’, which is undergoing DNA testing at Universiti Sains Malaysia, won’t turn out to be a fake.
“It may affect the credibility and reputation of the paranormal investigating community,” he said.
Seekers will be auctioning off a 60cm by 30cm gypsum cast of a footprint, believed to belong to a ‘bigfoot’, which was taken during an expedition at Kota Tinggi, Johor, several months ago.
The print is expected to draw the interest of local and international paranormal enthusiasts.
Bidding begins at RM100,000.
Proceeds of the bidding will be shared between Seekers and Singaporean paranormal group Singapore Paranormal Investigators to buy investigative equipment such as heat cameras, sensors, thermometer and to upgrade their computer systems. -
wah...jenglot
-
hmmm DNA testing of the jenglot...
i m sure that the scientist does not have a genomic (DNA) library of jenglot and have to make new one.
maybe by studying the cells of these jenglot will provide direct evidence that these creatures are indeed alive
-
DNA to shed light on 'jenglot'
Universiti Sains MalaysiaÂ’s forensic expert Dr Zafarina Zainuddin had agreed to a request by Seekers, a paranormal group, to run a DNA test.
Syed Abdullah Al-Attas, the head of the group, claimed the creature was first found in Indonesia in 1972. A jenglot is a vampire-like creature resembling a small human with long hair. It is being shown at several museums, including the ongoing Pameran Misteri, Jin, Hantu dan Keranda at Sultan Alam Shah Museum, Shah Alam. “We had obtained the owner’s permission to examine the creature and had them X-rayed. One showed the presence of bones in its arms,” said Syed Abdullah. “We want to know if this creature is for real. The owner bought the jenglot in Indonesia for between RM5,000 and RM30,000.” Zafarina, who had examined the teeth of a 2,000-year-old human artifact discovered in Gua Niah, Sarawak, last year, said she needed a month to examine the jenglot. “From the naked eye, the creatures looked like they were constructed. “The hair looks like it was implanted while the body parts pasted together. The teeth are not as old as the body parts.
What I can do is run a DNA test on samples of the hair and bone, and see if they match any living species in the data bank. That should take a month. I hope it will shed some light on the creature.” Syed Abdullah also hoped that someone would agree to examine a Bigfoot footprint they discovered in Kota Tinggi, Johor, several months ago. He said they had approached a few research organisations, including one in Singapore, but their efforts were hampered by high cost. “We can’t afford to carry out the test as it costs thousands of ringgit. If there’s an expert willing to help us, we welcome it.” -
Supernatural powers that be
PHILIP DOWA writes how sorcery and witchcraft affects people today.
WITCH CRAFT or sorcery is an age-old practice from ancient times passed on through generations into the modern era.
In Papua New Guinea, sorcery haunts almost everyone, from the powerful elite in Waigani to the hamlets in the remote areas of the country.
In ancient Bible days, and throughout civilization, the belief in sorcery is real and those that possess such powers were respected and feared by the societies.
The west cannot pretend that the practice has faded because it has taken on new forms under the labels of fortune telling, shaman and astrology.
We also have our own versions like the “tumbuan culture” at Aromot Island in Siassi, the “sanguma meri” in Chimbu, the “Kaisoho” in Miline Bay, the “sut man” of Kubalia in the East Sepik, the “kukurais” of Madang and the “vada” in Central province.
Any unexplained death, or an illness without proper medical explanation, and sudden deaths from heart attack can be blamed on sorcery and witchcraft.
People are also accused of using witchcraft to gain employment, win favors, attract women, advance in sports and education.
Recently in the Nawaeb District, six men were arrested and charged by police for practicing sorcery and witchcraft.
One of them, Wawaringna Hanim of Gain village in the Erap-Wain Local Level Government council admitted that he was responsible for three deaths.
However, the Lae District Court Magistrate, Posain Poloh struck out the case and others related to cargo-cult in the area because the facts surrounding the issues was considered vague or outdated.
Because it is hard to prove these cases through the legal justice system, many areas of the country have resorted to local justice, and that is payback.
In many parts of Papua New Guinea, people suspected of practicing the dark powers have been subjected to painful harassment and death through local justice, and the community accepts the verdict.
When I interviewed Mr Hanim, he admitted being responsible for the death of three men in his area.
“Mi kilim tripela man pinis na igat sampela istap yet em mi bin ting long poisinim,” (I have already killed three people and there are others on the list that I have planned to poison).
Proving guilt in sorcery case will remain a problem in the country because of the issues of material evidence and eyewitnesses.
The case of Hanim and Nawaeb District experience remains an unsolved mystery even against his admission of guilt.
Sorcery involves supernatural powers and while the physical world cannot deliberate on that which is done in secrecy, it will continue to hunt and haunt many Papua New Guineans.
The issue cannot be interpreted by the Western law which, is based on hard evidence to be produced against a cultural belief that sorcery was used to commit a crime.
And the mystery remains and will continue to test the law of the land because people believe that it cannot solve sorcery.
Like sorcery, cargo-cult is a developmental issue which also involves supernatural powers to the extreme of brainwashing people.
While the rich and the powerful have access to much material wealth and service, the have nots seek the same.
In urban areas, a number of people in recent years resorted to pyramid schemes to get fast money, while in rural areas people believe in gaining material wealth through spiritual means.
The 300 plus people from two village, including the Kasin village “Menstruation Cult” led by Malamba Kifea and Patsepa Bangere to the Sadau “Skull Cult” is a result of the lack of basic infrastructure development.
Villages want to have the basic services like proper road, imported store goods at affordable price, good aid post and school for their children.
Mrs Kifea plainly summed up during an interview that they saw wealth and money through the cult.
“There was money and cargo delivered to us when we first opened up our eyes,” she said
She added: “However, it was only when the practice was made public that all good things left us.”
These are similar experiences shared by many cargo-cult movements in the country. Most cults originate from very remote areas of Papua New Guinea.
A common trend you find is that these villages do no have access to goods and services in their area and being deprived, they believe in illusions and other means to avoid the reality of the hardships they face.
The three villages are in the Wain-Erap Local Level Government Council, close the Nawaeb District Headquarter, which is about 90 kilometers from Lae and another 20 kilometers from the Highlands Highway.
Yet the accessibility into the second city is about 6 to 8 hours walk from the respective villages into Boana Station.
The 320 villages were charged by the Nawaeb Police and are doing community work around the District Headquarters at Boana station. -
Groups find colorful bird in Colombia
By LAUREN DAKE, Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia - A colorful new bird has been discovered in a previously unexplored Andean cloud forest, spurring efforts to protect the area, conservation groups said Monday.
The bright yellow and red-crowned Yariguies brush-finch was named for the indigenous tribe that once inhabited the mountainous area where it was discovered.
For conservationists the discovery of the species came at a crucial time — the government has decided to set aside 500 acres of the pristine cloud forest where the bird lives to create a national park.
"The bird was discovered in what is the last remnants of cloud forest in that region," Camila Gomez, of the Colombia conservation group ProAves, said on Monday. "There are still lots of undiscovered flora and fauna species that live in the area."
The small bird can be distinguished from its closest relative — the yellow-breasted brush finch — by its solid black back and the lack of white marks on its wings.
"There are about two to three new birds found in the world every year," Thomas Donegan, the British half of an Anglo-Colombian research duo who discovered the bird in January 2004, told The Associated Press on Monday. "It's a very rare event."
To access the bird's isolated habitat, Donegan and partner Blanca Huertas regularly hiked 12 hours into the nearly impenetrable jungle, depending on helicopters to drop off supplies at mountain peaks 10,000 feet above sea level.
"We first went to Yariguies about three years ago," Donegan said. "It's a huge patch of isolated forest that no one knew about, not even in Colombia."
The new finch, the size of a fist, is native to Colombia's eastern Andean range and considered by its discoverers to be near threatened and in need of close monitoring to prevent it from becoming endangered.
One of the two birds caught by the team was released unharmed after they took pictures and DNA samples, while the other died in captivity.
Donegan said this was one of the first time researchers were able to confirm a new bird without having to kill it.
The last new bird discovery in Colombia was a Tapaculos species found in the south last year.
With as many as 1,865 different species, Colombia has long been considered a bird watchers' paradise, albeit a risky one because of the country's four-decade-old civil war.
In 1998, rebels kidnapped four American bird watchers who were later found unharmed -
wow
its so colourful
nice nice. -
wah new birds new flowers Wonder what part of the world yet to be found by humans