Real african life stories of being bewitched: The Yoruba Curse

The main character of this story is John. Before the main story, he first told me a short incident, so I will begin with that. This is one of the African black magic stories I have heard, and these are the storyteller’s own claims and views.

A Missing Man and the Sleeping Apprentice

In John’s area, a man once went missing. He had gone to work by the river and never came back. His family called an indigenous kabiraj. Two disciples came with the kabiraj. The kabiraj first listened to the whole incident and took a few more details from the family. Then he said, “Let me look into it and see whether any trace can be found.” He told one disciple, “You lie on the ground and keep your eyes closed.” The disciple did so. The kabiraj began to chant his own mantras. As he chanted, the disciple sank into a deep sleep. The kabiraj, eyes shut, kept murmuring, while the disciple lay like a dead man. He did not move at all, only breathed. About an hour went by like this. Then the disciple woke and said a few things to the kabiraj. The kabiraj then said to the boy’s guardians, “I am sincerely sorry, I cannot give you good news. Your son has been killed. You will find his headless body at such and such a place.” The place was quite far from the area. He told them how the body lay, where exactly it would be found, and for what purpose the killing had been done. The family asked, “Who killed my son?” The kabiraj said, “Some other kabirajes took the boy and cut off his head for their black magic practice.”

The storyteller says that in Africa, catching people and taking away their heads is said to happen quite often. Using severed heads for black magic is said to be a fairly common and terrible method there. Some people, out of greed for money, are said to kill people and sell the heads to practitioners. He also says there is a black magic market, supposedly the biggest in the world, where all sorts of materials are sold, and that the heads of small children are said to cost a great deal. These are claims I cannot verify, and I will not go on about this horrifying subject.

I tell this short incident for two reasons. One, how the disciple, having fallen asleep, could go and see. Two, black magic done with a human head. Both things appear inside our main story.

The Yoruba of South-West Nigeria

Now the main story. John is over fifty today. His home is in a village in south-western Nigeria. They are a Christian family. There are Muslims, Christians and many indigenous peoples there. Among the indigenous peoples there are said to be more than twelve religions. One of the best known is the Yoruba community. Black magic has been practised in Nigeria since ancient times. According to the storyteller, the Yoruba are very skilled in it. He says it is part of their religious heritage, and that in their religion black magic is permitted.

By indigenous he does not mean people who live in hills and jungles. They live among townspeople, in buildings like ours, but like to live separately by clan. Africa has many wild tribes who do not live among settled people. These are quite different. These indigenous people are well educated, some are doctors, some studied in very good places. Even so, they practise black magic as part of their religion. In that state the Yoruba are the largest indigenous group. He says they practise a kind of magic we cannot imagine, and, in his view, they have little mercy, as we will see in this story. The Yoruba also have ancient books of black magic written in their own language. The Muslims and Christians there generally do not practise magic, and the indigenous people dislike it if anyone does. Many religious festivals of the indigenous people are held through black magic. Some Yoruba even sacrifice their own lives to free their clan from danger and curses. With drums beating, they say, “Offer me up, and you will be free.”

In Dubai too you find some African indigenous people, with long dreadlocks and necklaces of beads and stones on their hands, feet and neck. They too are said to take refuge in secret magic, but not to harm anyone, only for the success of their business, their jobs, their love or the happiness of their homes. These details are part of the main story, otherwise many questions would arise as I tell it.

John’s grandfathers were four brothers and two sisters, and John’s grandfather was number three. John’s father was the middle son of the family. The family was large, with fifteen to twenty members in each household. It is not possible to introduce everyone, so John spoke only of those who were involved in the events.

The Quarrel With the Chief

John’s grandfathers were among the richest in that region. Many people had greed for this property. To protect his wealth and himself from greed, John’s youngest grandfather began to practise a little magic, so that nobody could harm him. Muslims and Christians generally do not do magic, and if someone did, and the Yoruba found out, there would be terrible conflict. Their argument was that this was their work and they would do it. Just as nobody but a Muslim can be a mosque imam, and nobody but a Christian can be a church father, so magic would be done only by the Yoruba. The youngest grandfather had learned some very basic magic from a kabiraj in the neighbouring area, nothing complicated. But the matter did not stay secret and the indigenous people found out. This was about sixty or seventy years ago, in the fifties or sixties.

Each Yoruba clan had one chief. The word reached the chief of the clan close to John’s family: John’s youngest grandfather had begun to practise black magic. He did not know why. He thought, surely he is preparing himself as our rival. He grew angry, because this was their profession. The chief came to John’s grandfathers and said, “We do magic for everyone’s welfare, never to harm anyone, though we do know how to harm. Just as we cannot read your Bible, and just as we cannot read the Muslims’ Quran, so you cannot do this black magic. It is our responsibility. If you are in any trouble, call us, we will help as much as we can. Those among you who are doing this, please give it up peacefully. This is our profession, not yours.”

The youngest grandfather said, “Did I learn it to harm anyone? I learned it for myself. I will not make it a profession and earn money from it, as you do. I will use it only for my own safety. You know I have a lot of property, and incidents of people’s property being grabbed through witchcraft happen often here. Let me do my work. You may go now.” This conversation was in the local language and I am giving it in Bengali.

Hearing this, the chief felt greatly insulted. To be told “go” to a chief is a grave insult. He said, “I am the chief kabiraj of this region, and you tell me that property will be grabbed through magic? We are the ones who do that, which means you suspect us. You have insulted me.” The youngest grandfather said, “I did not mean you. You are good, but is everyone in your clan good? If they do something to me, will you act against them? You will take your own clan’s side.” Argument grew until it turned into a scuffle. Hearing the shouting, John’s father, his uncles and other young men ran in. Seeing that the youngest grandfather had been struck, they beat the chief badly. From here began the terrible enmity between the Yoruba and John’s Christian family. This was only the start of the story.

As the beaten chief left, he said, “This was not good. Everyone will have to rot.”

A Hundred and Twenty Men Who Would Not Wake

Two days after the chief was beaten, everyone fell asleep that night. In the morning the women there get up first, and they went to wake their husbands, brothers and sons. But strangely, nobody woke that day. No male member of the family could be woken. Everyone was breathing and had a pulse, but nobody woke. Water on the head and many other efforts could not bring them back. Weeping and wailing began among the women. On inquiry it was found that about one hundred and twenty or more men of John’s clan were in the same state, which in medical science is called a coma. John’s father, uncles and grandfathers were among them, young men to old. Strangely, the small boys were not affected, only the young and the old.

Think about the state of medical care in Africa more than fifty years ago. Even so, the women went to doctors and kabirajes with whatever there was. Nothing worked. In the end they decided they had to go to that indigenous chief, since this trouble surely began with him. They went to the chief, wept and fell at his feet. The chief told them the solution was not with him, and that he had not caused the trouble. The disappointed women returned. A day passed.

The next day the women went to a priest at a local church. After hearing everything the priest said, “Let me see what can be done, I will speak to many people I know.” After taking three or four hours and contacting everyone, he came back and told the women something that shocked them. The priest said, “The souls that leave the bodies of the men of this clan in their sleep have been imprisoned in the deep sea by some powerful, terrible jinn. The one who did this is the chief of the Yoruba clan. It is very hard to free them from this. Only the one who did it can free them. Nobody else can do anything. Go to that chief all together, weep and fall at his feet, and do not let go of his feet until he agrees.”

The priest said this was called “soul-imprisonment magic”, a very terrible magic. When people sleep, one soul leaves the body and wanders in different places. Only at that time can this magic be applied, never when someone is awake. It is one of the oldest and most terrible of the Yoruba magics. There are more like it, but this is one of the foremost. Only the fully accomplished, at master level, can do it.

The Price of Forgiveness

After the priest left, the women went again in a group to the chief. This time they wept loudly. They went to the chief’s wife too and fell at her feet. The first time the chief had not admitted it at all, this time he said, “Yes, I did it.” But he did not agree. He said, “In front of so many people of my clan, he insulted me and raised a hand against me. If I do not punish him now, the people of my clan will not respect me. There is no freedom for them.” Seeing the weeping, the chief’s wife said to her husband, “Let them go, do not do such a hard thing, forgive them, look how they are crying.” Some elders of the chief’s clan said too, “Chief, forgive them this time, they did not understand.” Hearing everyone, the chief’s heart softened a little. He said, “All right, I forgive.”

The chief said, “I will start the process of returning the souls of everyone in your clan, but I have some conditions.” The women said, “We agree to any condition of yours.” The chief said, “When they wake up well, they will all come to me and ask forgiveness. And those who raised a hand against me will fall at my feet in front of my whole clan and ask forgiveness.” The women said, “Yes, so it will be.” But there was a problem. In that region of Nigeria, Christians have higher standing than the indigenous people, and John’s family was respected and wealthy. For them to fall at the feet of an indigenous chief and beg forgiveness was shameful and humiliating. But to save lives, the women agreed. They said, “First we ask forgiveness on their behalf, later they will come and ask too.” The chief said, “Remember one thing. If after being freed they do not come to ask my forgiveness, something even worse will happen in future. What I have done now, I have the power to reverse. But later I will do something beyond my power, and then there will be no solution.” The women said, “Of course they will ask forgiveness, and you too must forgive from your heart.” The chief said, “All right, go. Tonight all the souls will return, tomorrow morning everyone will wake. As soon as they wake they must come without delay to ask my forgiveness.”

That night the women of the house did not sleep, waiting for the men to wake. From midnight shouting began. The women saw that one by one everyone was regaining consciousness, and they shouted with joy. Every man who had been in the coma woke up. They could not understand what had happened. Celebrations began, somebody even played a drum. When the mood settled, the women told them what had happened. The men said, “We were asleep, it was your shouting that woke us.” One said, “I was dreaming that I was thrashing in the deep sea, screaming for help, and nobody was helping. After a while I saw I was not alone, many of my neighbour brothers were screaming in the same way to save their lives.” Another said, “I saw the same dream.” Another said, “And those devils that surrounded us, how terrible they looked, like skeletons, talking and laughing.” Another said, “They were saying, there is no use screaming, nobody will come to save you, and laughing a horrible laugh.” So everyone had seen the same dream. How is that possible?

The youngest grandfather then understood that it was not a dream, it was real. That night when everyone slept, the Yoruba chief had sent some terrible jinn through black magic. Those jinn had caught the souls that left the sleeping bodies, taken them to the deep sea and left them, and frightened them in all sorts of ways. By everyone’s description the jinn looked like human skeletons. Think of it: everyone thrashing in the sea with such jinn all around.

The women told everyone how it had been solved and what conditions the chief had set. Hearing the conditions, many got furious, “How dare he make us fall at his feet! Today we will deal with him. We made a mistake letting him go that day. Today there is no letting him off, we will kill him.” The eldest elder of the family said, “All of you calm down. We cannot do anything in anger, it will harm all of us. There is no profit in adding to the trouble, it is better to settle it.” Some young men still would not listen. The youngest grandfather said, “Do not be too furious. What the future consequences can be, even if nobody else understands, I understand. Accept whatever the elder advises.”

The next day John’s grandfathers and the other members of the household went to the chief and asked forgiveness. The chief saw that respected people had come to ask forgiveness, so they did not have to fall at his feet, and forgiveness was asked in front of everyone. The chief said, “I forgive. I only went to your place to tell you about our profession. But after the way you insulted me, I did only a little, and this was your state. Imagine if I had taken a terrible revenge, what would have happened? This kind of magic is not child’s play. You can start it, but you do not know how it ends. We know.” The chief spoke to them with contempt. They felt very angry, but kept the anger down. They said, “You are right, you have great power. We or anyone of our clan will not be involved in any magic practice again. You do your work, forgive us.” The chief said, “Remember this.” The chief entertained them in his own way. Both sides wanted the enmity to end there. Still, to have started a process to kill more than a hundred and twenty young and old men, do people forget that? Even so, time slowly passed.

Read more: [LINK: Real Supernatural Stories: The Poisonous Jinn and Bashir Molla’s Revenge]

Thirty Years Later: Jack and Maria

About thirty years went by like this. John’s family’s elders, the grandfathers, had almost all died. John had just married, around 1993 or 1994, at twenty-eight or twenty-nine. There was a cousin of John’s own age named Jack, the son of the youngest son of John’s eldest grandfather. One day Jack brought a girl home and said he loved her. Her name was Maria. Maria was indigenous. And on hearing her identity, everyone’s breath stopped: Maria was the granddaughter of that Yoruba chief, the daughter of the chief’s son.

When Jack announced he wanted to marry, everyone flared up. Maria was indigenous, her religion different. They do not follow any established religion, not Jewish, not Muslim, not Christian, not Buddhist, not Hindu. Their religion is built on magic. And John’s family were Roman Catholics, who would not accept a religion with magic. Besides, a terrible thing had happened in the past which everyone knew. If such a relationship happened now, what would the consequence be, everyone worried. Jack and Maria said that if they could not marry each other they would take their own lives. They could not be made to understand.

At last an elder of the house said to Maria, “Maria, try to understand. According to our religion we cannot accept you, you are not People of the Book.” Maria said, “If I accept the Christian religion, there is no problem. Take me to church, the father will make me Christian, and then we will marry.” They agreed. In a short time the news reached the Yoruba chief’s family. As family members were taking Jack and Maria toward the church, a group of indigenous people came and blocked the way. The present chief of the Yoruba, Maria’s eldest uncle, said, “Give my niece back. This marriage cannot happen at all. Your religion is one, ours is another. If this marriage happens there will be terrible conflict.” Jack’s father said, “We too have tried to make your niece understand, she will not listen. If she wants to go with you, we have no objection. We agreed only because they threatened to kill themselves.”

The chief went to speak to his niece. Maria turned her face away and said, “You all go away, I love Jack, I will be well with him, I will marry him.” The people of the indigenous group said too, since the girl does not want it, why should we make trouble, accept their decision and marry them. Maria’s uncle said, “All right, there will be a marriage, but not in the Christian way, in the Yoruba religious way.” Yoruba weddings are said to be the most lavish in Africa, with the bride dressed in a special costume. But nobody in John’s clan agreed. They said there was a lot of magic practice in that wedding, it did not go with Christianity, and they would marry them in the Christian way. An argument began over which way the wedding would be, then a scuffle, and in the end a terrible fight. John’s side was bigger, and Maria’s family, the Yoruba clan’s men, took a beating again. Insulted, they left.

Maria was taken to church, made a Christian by the father, and then the marriage was completed.

A Wedding and a Curse

As she set foot in the courtyard of the house with the bride, a tragic thing happened. Maria screamed very loudly and collapsed on the ground. Her white dress turned red with blood in a moment. Blood began to come from her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. She was thrashing, screaming, “It feels as if someone is pulling and tearing everything out of my stomach!” She was rushed to hospital, but on the way Maria died a terrible death. The new bride could not even make a household for an hour. Seeing the death of the one he loved, Jack went almost mad.

Maria’s family came with police to the hospital. They told the police, “These people killed our daughter. We knew they would kill her this way, let them be punished.” Jack’s family and John’s family understood it was black magic. In Nigeria many people, even in the police and administration, know that people can die this way through black magic. But because there is no particular law against black magic, the police would speak on behalf of Maria’s family. But there was no proof. The post-mortem found no marks of injury on Maria’s body. The doctor said sudden death from some complication inside the body. The case could not frame John’s family. Maria’s family wanted to take the body. Jack refused, saying he himself would bury the one he loved. But it did no good. With police help Maria’s family took the body away. Let alone the joy of the wedding, everyone sank into grief.

Five or six days after this incident, John and his family learned that Maria’s family had left everything behind and gone far away. Maria’s eldest uncle, the chief of the clan, stayed. But Maria’s parents, brothers and sisters, leaving the clan and handing over their property to the uncle, had gone somewhere. John’s family thought perhaps they had done this from grief for their daughter.

Seven days after Maria’s death, one night Jack began to scream. John woke too. At first he thought Jack was mentally weak from grief for his wife and talking incoherently, perhaps he had dreamed of Maria in his sleep. But soon that mistake was cleared. It was not only Jack, every member of the house was screaming. John ran outside and saw Jack rolling on the ground, blood pouring from his mouth. When John came close to hold him, some unseen force threw him far away. Everyone who tried before him was the same, nobody could get close. Jack’s parents were saying, “Save my son!” His brothers and sisters were saying, “Save my brother!” Thrashing, at some point Jack went limp, and his lifeless body lay there. Jack died. Nobody even got the chance to take him to hospital, or to call a kabiraj.

It was clear to everyone why Jack had died. The news spread through the area. Everyone said it must be the work of Maria’s family, revenge for their daughter’s murder. Terror spread in John’s family and the whole clan, because two unnatural deaths one after the other, both bride and groom killed. And many had been involved in this wedding. On the way to church there had been a scuffle and fight with the present Yoruba chief. Now what would happen to everyone, in this tension everyone was in a terrible state. Jack was buried in a coffin in the Christian way.

Every Saturday

After this everyone present said to Jack’s father, “Your son and daughter-in-law are both dead. We do not think it ends here. If we do not solve it now, what happened thirty years ago will happen again, and all of us will have to die one by one.” Jack’s father and uncles said, “We will speak to a kabiraj.” They brought a kabiraj. The kabiraj began to apply his knowledge, and soon a look of great fear appeared on his face. He said, “Forgive me, I will not be able to solve this problem. It is far beyond my power. Show someone better.” He was asked, “What is the matter, tell us something.” He said nothing and walked off quickly. Many other kabirajes of the area, skilled in removing and doing magic, were called. Each said this work was not possible for them.

John’s family knew who had done it, but could not understand how it was done. After much insistence one kabiraj said a little, not useful for a solution, only frightening. He said that Maria’s uncle, the Yoruba chief, through black magic, had sent a group of powerful jinn on this family. When the kabiraj tried to take information through his own obedient jinn, they refused him directly and forbade him from getting into this trouble. These jinn were the most powerful and short-tempered among the jinn community. They are able to enter the womb of a pregnant woman and eat the child, after which the woman goes back as if she had never been pregnant. This is an ordinary task for them. Compared to their power, other jinn’s power is nothing. To fight them is to invite death itself. So the kabirajes, understanding everything, would not stay a moment, and would walk away without saying much, because if the jinn looked at them, they could kill the kabiraj too.

But before leaving, what that kabiraj said took away everyone’s sleep. He said, “Maria’s wedding and death were on a Saturday. Seven days later, on a Saturday, Jack died. Every Saturday one person of this family will die. As quickly as you can, take refuge with a great kabiraj of unlimited magical power, otherwise there is no solution to this.” Saying this he went away.

The very next Saturday, in the same way, Jack’s father died. Shouting and thrashing in the night, everyone watching helplessly, knowing that in a few minutes death would come and nothing could be done. Now it was clear: nobody was safe. After the death of John’s uncle many men and women of the house began to leave the house in fear. A few did not give up. One kabiraj after another was shown. They spoke to imams and ulama of the Muslim community, and to Christian priests. Nobody could solve it.

Then a well-known hujur of Nigeria was brought, who was then a great holy man, respected by people of all religions. He came and said, “This is not possible for me. A big group of devils has been sent on this family. I do not understand how, but they are very powerful, it is not possible to confront them. Of course Allah can do anything if He wills. Find the Yoruba chief, Maria’s uncle, go to him and ask forgiveness. Other than this I see no way.” A very well-known priest of Nigeria also said the same: the kind of mantra needed for this work cannot be learned inside any religion, one must be skilled in magic for it, and Islam and Christianity do not allow this. The process that started this death game must surely have a way to be undone, but very few know it, few among humans and few among jinn. So the solution is extremely difficult.

Three months went by this way. In these three months only the male members of Jack’s family were dying: Jack, his father, his elder brother, uncles, more brothers. Every Saturday in the deep of the night, vomiting terrible blood and thrashing, they die. Those who had fled did not escape either, the same deaths began to come to them. The men of a whole family finished off like this? Is there no solution?

The Kabiraj With the Four Disciples

Suddenly a ray of hope appeared. A neighbour of John’s told them about a well-known kabiraj. Nigeria’s big fathers and imams had been consulted, so what use was a new kabiraj now, but a drowning man clutches at straws. The neighbour said the kabiraj had great powers, and that people even took him to many countries outside Nigeria. The kabiraj’s house was very far. When they reached it, they saw many people with many problems at his house. It was clear the man had a great reputation, a kabiraj of great power. They met him and told everything. The kabiraj said, “Hearing your problem, it seems I must come to your place. Without going there, taking information through my jinn from here, I do not know how successful I would be.” John’s family were very rich and said, “Please come, we are ready to give whatever money you ask.”

That day was Thursday. The kabiraj said, “Tonight I will take whatever information I can. Tomorrow, Friday, I will come to you. Meanwhile I have to gather some things.” Taking the address he said, “Tomorrow before noon I will come.” John’s family had wondered whether such a busy man would come, or whether he would brush it off as an ordinary problem. But the kabiraj kept his word, and before noon on Friday he arrived at John’s house with a team of four. Each had a bag with some materials that they would use. What was in the bags, John did not get a chance to see.

The kabiraj said, “There is very little time. Tell me, how many in total have died from this family?” They said, including Maria, twelve. The kabiraj said, “Maria is not of your clan, she is an outsider. Apart from Maria, bring a little earth from the graves of the other eleven. Keep the earth of each grave separate, in small bundles, and write on paper on each bundle whose grave it is from. Never mix the earths together.” Someone asked, what would be done with grave earth. The kabiraj got angry, “Do what I told you. Do not ask me questions. When I ask, you answer. I have not come to answer your questions, I have come to solve the problem. How much I can do, I do not know. Do not embarrass me by asking back.”

They went to the graveyard as the kabiraj said, identified everyone’s graves, took separate earth in bundles, and hung a paper on a thread with each name. When they gave the earth to the kabiraj, he kept it separate, and took out the skin of some animal from his bag. John’s family guessed it was monkey skin. John asked what it was. The kabiraj did not answer. He cut three or four large skins into eleven pieces, and made them a little larger, like slips of paper. From the bag he took a special ink, and with his finger wrote something in an unknown language on all eleven slips. He dried the ink. Then he put the earth of each grave on each slip, wrapped them, and made eleven bundles.

Then the kabiraj said, “I need three brave young men, three blood relatives only of those who have died. Decide who they will be, they will help me.” Out of fear many were not willing. The kabiraj said, “You need not fear, nothing will happen to you, you only have to hold your courage. That is your job.” John agreed. One of Jack’s brothers was still alive, Michael, and he agreed too. Another cousin of John’s, Franklin, agreed. These three decided to help the kabiraj. They knew they would die anyway, that to save themselves and the others at any cost was the only way, otherwise one by one every Saturday they would die.

The kabiraj said, “Be ready. I have some work left, I will finish it and call you. Take me to a separate room where only I and my four disciples will be. You will not enter.” They took him to a separate room. It was Saturday and evening had come. What the kabiraj was doing inside, there was no chance to see. After a while the kabiraj came out and called John, Michael and Franklin into the room, “Listen carefully. A little way from here there is a river. You will now go to the bank of that river. On the side of the river that is most deserted, you will sit. Michael will be in the middle, because Michael is Jack’s own brother, and you two are cousins. John and Franklin will sit on both sides of Michael.” The kabiraj gave John and Franklin two musical instruments, “You two will keep playing this. And Michael, you will sit holding these bundles in your lap, they contain the grave earth of your family members.”

“After a while you will hear someone calling Michael’s name. Then you will see someone has come, very handsome, quite tall, in bright white clothes, flashes of light coming from his body. As soon as you see him, stop playing the instruments. First greet him with a salaam according to your own religion. Then only Michael will go forward and, without saying a word, hand the bundles to him. Do not be afraid of him, he will not harm you. He will ask Michael, ‘Why have you called me? What do you want from me?’ Then Michael will say one thing.” The kabiraj whispered that thing in Michael’s ear, and John and Franklin did not hear it. Because Michael was Jack’s own brother, the main responsibility was given to him. The kabiraj said, “After this, whatever that figure says, greet him again with a salaam and come back. On the way back you will see many things, do not be afraid. If someone calls from behind, do not turn to look. Remember, my huge unseen powerful army will guard you. If any of you three fails, there will be no solution to this except death. Every Saturday one will die.”

The kabiraj showed them the instrument: made of long wood, with four holes inside, and when you put your four fingers in, leaving out the thumb, and moved them, it jingled like anklets.

The Riverbank

The three went to the river bank. The river was quite far from the settlement. In a deserted place, Michael in the middle, John and Franklin on both sides. John and Franklin kept playing the instrument, played and played, but nobody came. The kabiraj had told them not to lose patience, so they kept playing with full attention. About two or three hours went by, their hands began to ache, and drowsiness came with tiredness.

Suddenly a flash of bright light broke everyone’s drowsiness. At once a voice came floating, “Michael!” The voice was not harsh, it was quite soft, but echoing again and again as if in a large closed room, “Michael, Michael, Michael.” John looked, Franklin looked. What they saw made their bodies go cold with a shiver of fear. A handsome man about ten feet tall in white clothes stood before them. Light was bursting from his clothes, the necklace at his throat glittered like diamonds, he had a full white beard and long white hair. They had never seen such a beautiful man, it felt as if an angel had come down from heaven. Spellbound the three stared at his face, some seconds passed. Then they remembered that the kabiraj had taught them to greet him with salaam on seeing him. John reminded everyone, and all three greeted him according to their religion. The figure accepted the salaam by raising his right hand, not nodding, and then said, “Why have you called me? What do you want from me, say it.”

Michael said, “Sir, I have some bundles with me, I want to give them to you.” He held the bundles out to him. The figure took the bundles and looked at them steadily. All three could see that his eyes had turned terribly red, completely blood-coloured. After three or four seconds of looking at the bundles, when he looked at them, they were frightened to see those blood-red eyes. In fear Michael began to cry. The figure said, “Do not cry, Michael, be patient.” Michael found a little courage. He said, “O great soul, look, here is the grave earth of my loved ones. Who were killed cruelly by magic, who were completely innocent. This killing was done by a group of followers of the devil. I want punishment for everyone involved in this work. Please help us. Or else kill us right now, because death is right in front of us, we have to die anyway. We do not want to die at the hands of the followers of the devil. Finish us off, or help us so that we and the rest of our clan are saved from those devils.” Saying this Michael kept crying.

The figure said, “Do not cry. What has happened to you is very sad. Listen, Michael, listen carefully to what I tell you now, come to me.” Michael went forward. The figure brought his head close to Michael’s ear and whispered something, which John and Franklin could not hear. Then he said aloud, “Now go straight home, do not turn to look back, not even by mistake. What I have said, tell the kabiraj who sent you. He will already know a lot, but you must still tell him. Tell him, go, your work will be done, do not worry.” As soon as he said this, the figure vanished in a moment.

The moment the figure left, the atmosphere became heavy. As long as he was there it felt like they were in a heavenly place. As soon as he left, everything around became terrifying. From all sides came the screams of terrible wild animals and awful sounds. There had been no sound before, not even during the two or three hours of playing the instruments. All three began to feel great fear. Then they remembered that the kabiraj had said, whatever happens do not be afraid, nothing will harm you, you only have to hold your courage, a huge unseen army will guard you. Franklin said, “Brother, there is nothing to fear, let us go home quickly.” The three held each other’s hands and began to walk quickly toward home.

Just then, from all sides came the sound of terrible laughter, enough to make the heart leap out. After a while the laughter stopped, and many voices together said the same thing, “What did you think? That you would be saved? None of you can be saved. Nothing will come of doing all this, all of you will have to die.” Again that terrible laughter. The three quickened their steps. Suddenly they felt that someone was following behind them. Thudding sounds, as if someone was running to catch them. Close, closer, right behind them. And in that state all three forgot the kabiraj’s words. The kabiraj had said, whatever happens, you must not look back. But the situation was so terrible that they forgot, or were forced to forget. Because it felt to them that the devils were very, very close behind them…