There
are historical accounts that tell of some simple objects that were magically
prepared, and then when people approached these objects, they heard them speak
and foretell events that later came true.
And
below I put several examples of this:
1. Father Labat was a
Dominican missionary who lived in the end of 17th century and he told the
following story:
« In 1698, one of our black women had
been ill for a long time of a malady unknown to our surgeons, and as I
suspected slow poison, I forbade her to receive any medicine from any one
except our own surgeon.
One evening,
I was told that there was a black man in her hut giving her medicine, (as had
been forbidden). I immediately took steps to chastise and drive him away. As I
approached the door of the hut, I stopped, and looked through the wattle work
of which the hut was built, at what was going on.
I saw the
sick woman extended on the ground on a mat, a little figure of earthenware was
on a little altar in the middle of the hut: the black man ‘doctor’ was on his
knees before the figure, and seemed to pray with much attention.
After a
little, he took a ‘cony’ (a half calabash) in which he had some fire, put some
gum (resin of Bursera Balsamifera) on
it and incensed the idol. At last, after several incensings and prostrations,
lie approached it, and asked it whether the black woman would recover or not. I
heard the question, but not the answer.
The black
woman, who was the most interested person, and several black men who were
nearer than I, heard it, and began immediately to weep and cry. At this moment
I threw open the door, and entered with five or six others.
I caused the
sorcerer, and also some of the spectators who did not belong to our village, to
be seized. I took the figure, the censer, the medicine bag and all the paraphernalia:
and I asked the black woman why she cried, she answered me that the devil had
told her she would die in four days, and that she had heard his voice come out
of the little figure. The other black men (spectators) affirmed the same.
To undeceive
them, I said that it was the black man ‘Doctor’ who had spoken in a counterfeit
voice, and, that if the devil had been there to reply to him, he would also
have warned him of my presence, and intention of catching him. Then I had the
‘Doctor’ ‘seized up,’ and given about 300 lashes of the cat. He yelled like
mad, and our black men begged me to let him off; but I told them sorcerers did
not feel pain, and that he only yelled to mock me.
Then I had a
seat brought, set the figure upon it, and told the ‘Doctor’ to pray the devil
to deliver him out of my hands, or to carry away the figure; and, that if he
did not do one or the other, I would give him some more of the cat.
The black
men who were all now assembled, trembled, and told me the devil would kill me,
and they were so convinced of this stupidity, that nothing I could say would
persuade them otherwise.
At last, to
shew them I feared neither the devil nor sorcerers, I kicked the figure in
pieces, and smashing up all the sorcerer’s equipage, I put all into a fire; and
having burnt them, threw the ashes into the river. It seemed to me that this
slightly reassured the black men.
But the
annoying part of this adventure was that the black woman actually died on the
fourth day, may be her imagination had been struck by the reply of the devil,
or perhaps she felt that her illness ought to carry her off about that
time. Anyhow, I took care to confess her
and had the consolation of seeing her die a good Christian. »
2. Father Labat also
told the following story that was told to him by Monsignor Vanbel who was the chief of a Danish factory on
the island of Saint Thomas:
« A black man convicted of being a
sorcerer, and of having caused a little figure of earthenware to speak, was
condemned in 1701 by the judge of the island to be burned alive.
Monseigneur
Vanbel, meeting him on the road as lie was being carried to execution, said to
him:
- “Well, thou canst not make thy
little figure speak again, it is broken!”
The black
man replied:
- “If you like, Sir, I’ll make the
cane you hold in your hand speak!”
This
proposal filled every one with astonishment!
Monseigneur
Vanbel asked the judge who was present, to delay the execution for a little, to
sec if the black man could do as he said, which was allowed.
He gave the
cane to the sorcerer, who, having planted it in the ground, and made several
ceremonies before it, asked Monseigneur Vanbel what it was he wished to know.
The latter
replied that he would like to know, with regard to a vessel which they
expected, whether it had started, when it would arrive, who were on board, and
what had happened to them on the voyage.
The sorcerer
recommenced his ceremonies, after which, drawing back, he asked Monseigneur
Vanbel to approach his cane, and he would hear what he wanted to know.
On
approaching, Monseigneur Vanbel heard a small, but clear and distinct voice,
which said to him:
“The vessel thou expects left Elsinore on
such and such a day, so and so is in command of her, and he has such and such
passengers with him, thou wilt be content with her cargo, although a squall in
passing the Tropic broke her foretopmast, and carried away her flying jib. She
will arrive here within three days.”
The
sorcerer was executed, and three days after, the vessel arrived, and verified
to the letter the entire prediction. »
(These stories were published in the memoirs that Father Labat
wrote.)
OBSERVATION
Some esoteric scholars
think that the sorcerers I mentioned above used a mixture of clairvoyance,
hypnotism and ventriloquism. But it is more likely that it was a phenomenon of
theopeia, which is the art of giving temporary life and intelligence to statues
and objects made of inert matter.
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