above image: Voodoo witch doctor, Haiti.
Mind over matter & the power of believing: hexes,
curses, zombies, bone pointing, black magic, etc. the power of suggestion.
A few posts
back I did a piece on the art of Bone
Pointing, an Aboriginal form of execution involving a magically charged
bone and the power of suggestion, and it got me thinking about how powerful the
human brain is and how susceptible to suggestion we as a species are. There are
thousands of examples of healthy people turning sick and eventually dying because
of a hex, curse or spell has been placed upon them. These texts from as far
back as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia deal with the subject of people dying
from a certain curse or spell. It still exists in modern times in places like
Haiti, Australia and Africa. I can
recall watching the movie A Serpent and
the Rainbow, in sociology class in High school. It is all about the modern
practice of turning people into zombies in Haiti. It’s a decent movie and I recommend
it to anyone interested in that kind of stuff. George Romero, the legendary
Zombie movie Master got his ideas of what the living dead would look and act
like from stories of Haitian zombies.
There are a plethora of different ways to declare or
cast the curse, hex or spell on someone. It could be done by making an effigy
of the person and poking it with psychically charged needles or pins or burning
it. Wax, wood, clay, cloth and straw have all been recipes for making an
effigy. Hair and fingernails were used to ritually hex an individual while
chanting and singing can declare a curse. Stones and weapons, such as the
aboriginal Bone pointers, were charged with psychic energy while magical herbs
and powders were used to cast dark spells over unsuspecting individuals. The
point is no matter how they were cast or placed the majority of the people
effected by them fully believed it to be happening. How is this possible? How
did someone who was the victim of bone pointing actually die? Was it fear or
did the power of suggestion will his brain to just stop? Are humans really
capable of killing with our mind or a suggestion? The answer is yes as we have
seen throughout the ages but the real question is how could our brains be wired
this way? How can a small group or sometimes just one strong willed person have
such influence over many weak minded people? Think of any organized religion
and you will see what I am talking about. Think of a person like Jim Jones and
the Jamestown Massacre? That man convinced hundreds of people to drink the Kool
Aid. How is it possible that we can be so inclined to suggestion? The case of
real people being turned into zombies in Haiti has been attributed to the
cocktail of herbs and ingredients the Voodoo priestess uses on her subject and
most of the herbs are mind altering. Bone Pointing, or any other phenomenon
using charged weapons could be the result of the targeted individuals strict adherence
to the rituals and laws of his people. In other words if he grew up believing
bone pointing to be real, heard stories, may have even seen it happen then he is
going to strongly believe it is real since it is all he has known. When the
ritual was preformed on the same man he would die, within days or weeks, most
likely from starvation or dehydration since the entire tribe reacted to him as
if he were already dead. When everyone you ever knew and relied upon for
survival turned their backs on you, you were already dead. No one could survive
on their own for that long, so after the elements or starvation killed the man
the tribe would attribute it to the ritual. It was a great fear tactic and kept
most people honest and well behaved. If enough people believe in something or
if someone is so immersed into a certain way of thinking I absolutely believe
their brains are wired to adapt to that way of life and behavior. I doubt
anyone would die from a bone pointing ritual anymore since it an almost forgotten
part of aboriginal life, they have been systematically assimilated into Western
culture and thought, often giving up their ancient beliefs and rituals by
force, thus losing that cultural connection that would have been necessary to “charge”
the bone. In cases like Haiti and other places that still practice Voodoo,
Hoodoo or any other ancient African or Caribbean culture, the incorporation of psychedelic
herbs and beverages make believing much easier. They still zombify, curse and
hex people and people still believe it because they have held onto their
ancient beliefs or rediscovered them, again the psychotropic herbs and ingredients
do play a huge part of their rituals since they directly impact the brain and
its behavior.
In conclusion, I do believe the human brain is capable
of much more than we are taught. Scientists and Doctors know very little when
it comes to our most important organ and who knows what they might discover
when we can start unlocking its secrets. I do also strongly believe that some
humans are born with stronger brain waves? (uncertain how to word it, I don’t
mean smarter, I mean connected differently, not so susceptible to manipulation as
the general population. I’m sure there is a scientific term but I’ll just leave
it like this) which make them more charismatic and easier to control the minds
of others. Mass hysteria and mass illusion have been recorded since the
beginning of written history, the Salem Witch trials is a very famous example and
a topic for a different post for sure! Anyhow, I could have written a whole
book on this subject and feel almost guilty leaving it this post so short and inconclusive
but I am working under time restrictions plus this gives me many more posts on
the subject for the future. I do strongly consider doing some research on
ancient rituals like bone pointing and I strongly recommend watching The Serpent and the Rainbow if you haven’t
already or if it’s been a while. It is a fascinating and mostly factual account
of actual zombification in the Caribbean. Well until next time have a great day
and as always……………….PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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