Featured The Coolest (haunted) African Wood Carving

well long story short, right before my mother passed away, I saw my grandfather, her father in the doorway of my bedroom.
Edited to add
I know you are mostly going to think I am nutz but it really happened.

 

Lol, I would very much like to say yes to that, if only to make it more explainable to myself; but, I don’t partake in the smoking of anything beyomd finding deals and sales!

 

I ran an image search and what I came up with…whew, I just got goosebumps, but what I came up with was that my agile Mr. R is what’s called an Ndop from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Evidently, these wonderful carvings are commissioned by a dying king to portray his likeness, then is placed next to the dying king as a way to collect his essence to be passed on to his successor. The new king will keep the effigy with him until the spirit of the old king has been transferred from the Ndop to the new ruler………

as I read the new information, I do believe my eyeballs popped out of my head

 

Have you told your boyfriend he may need to give up his day job?

 

I’m Native American and come from a long line of medicine women. I believe, very much so, in what you say about reality consisting of layers. In my tribe, we believe that the world and the energy of life within it are something like the layers of nacre in a pearl. That my life is carried through along with the lives of my ancestors to create this beautiful whole that you couldn’t have without each contributing layer…if that makes sense. Mr. R has been offered wine, women, fruit, and adornment as tribute…(and to keep the peace!)
Sadly, I believe he was trying to tell me something about the boyfriend, as we have since broken up. :/

 

Thats too bad. Maybe the spirit freaked him out. But I love your shrine!

 

Vesuvia, you do realise yours was never used as such, don't you? It is a replica of sorts. A nice one though.

 

I no longer fear Mr Rutagengwa

...... I'm kinda jealous now if anything

 

It does.
My background is Ilmu Tua, Indonesian for 'Old Knowledge'. It is better known as Kejawen (pertaining to Java, Indonesia), an old spirituality which is of Shamanic origin. It is syncretic, meaning it is tolerant and respectful towards other spiritual traditions, and even embraces them. As a result it has picked up some elements of other spiritualities, if they made sense in to Kejawen or to the individual practicioner. It is not a religion, and there is no doctrine.
Ancestors are also important in Ilmu Tua/Kejawen, but the most important is spiritual growth towards harmony within oneself and with all of creation. You are not expected to be perfect, but it is appreciated if you work towards getting there.
There are different ways to perceive and practise Kejawen, mine is the mystical and philosophical side. On the other side of the spectrum is the magico-Shamanic side, which includes magical rituals.

I can see him turning into a Japanese samurai.

I got the impression that was going to happen, I am very sorry about that.

 

Because of the wine, the samurai helmet and the bejeweled attendants?

 

Yep, he's a player alright, and got exactly what he wanted

In all seriousness, if you are genuinely worried, as Aj has mentioned there's no cause to be

Life itself is a mystery, so no one here on earth has the right to say ghosts, spirits don't exist, it annoys me

But I think your ok with Mr R

 

2 guys sat in a pub, one says to the other, why the long face ?

" my girlfriend broke up with me"

"Whys that ?"

" well, interesting story........"

 

A very good heritage to have, Vesuvia, make sure you pass it on, if you can. May I ask which nation(s)?

I forgot, and this may interest you. I also come from a long line of healers and mystics, from both the Indonesian and the European side of the family.
My Indonesian ancestors were kings/sultans of Madura. On the island of Madura, rulers not only had to have good ancestry, they also had to be kind, wise, lend a listening ear, and have special spiritual powers, to earn the respect of the people. If you didn't get that respect, the people would shout: "next!", and you were shown the palace door. So the kings tended to marry healers and daughters of spiritual leaders to make sure there were spiritual talents among their children.
My ancestors did all right. Even though they are not rulers any longer, they are still known as the longest ruling royal family of Indonesia.
Our family was called Cakraningrat, after the Sanskrit term 'Wahyu Cakraningrat'. Wahyu is the vision that grants you special spiritual powers, Cakraningrat means the ruler who brings the cosmic wheel (cosmic order, harmony) to his nation. Tall order, I know.

 

That’s a heritage to be proud of!
(Do we bow or kneel, I don’t want to be shown the door )

 

None of the above, I am a lowly commoner. My grandfather was the last of our line with a right to carry the title of prince, but he never did. It is just an interesting part of our family history, with some remarkable people.

One of my ancestors, Cakraningrat IV, was incarcerated in South Africa by the Dutch. While there he became a spiritual leader and healer to the Muslim slaves and prisoners there. They called him Imam Syed Abdurahman Moturu (= Madura), because the name Cakraningrat had passed to his successor on Madura.
He died on Robben Island, and there is still a shrine for him there called Kramat Moturu. Later his body was brought back to Madura.
Nelson Mandela paid homage at the shrine before leaving Robben Island, saying that this man had been a freedom fighter like him, but he died far from his homeland because of it. It is because of my ancestor, and other Indonesian political prisoners in South Africa, that Mandela began to wear batik shirts, in the Indonesian tradition.
Now that is an ancestor I am proud of.

Kramat Moturu on Robben Island:


https://www.pbase.com/billminter/image/151395546

Mandela in one of his many Indonesian shirts, in homage to my ancestor and others like him:

 

I’m from the Yurok tribe of Northern California. Our ancestral territory is along the coast, the Redwood National Forest now, and along the Klamath River. It is the most beautiful place in the world for me, and I’ve been around the world to say with happiness that there is no other place like it. The sacred redwoods at your back and the tumultuous Pacific Ocean to the front.

 

Truly beautiful, Vesuvia, it must give you a sense of tranquility when you're there.

 

I had a whimsical spirit in our 200-year-old home in Massachusetts. Could hear the rocking chair creaking in our nursery at night on the baby monitor. It would often open the washing machine after the 1st spin cycle. Things were often rearranged in the attic. So I stopped moving things back to where I wanted them to keep it quiet at night. Many people had died in that home & I believe it was the nun as the last family left her portrait in the attic and that is what was always moved to rest against the chimney. Just my 2 cents on the spiritual world. and yes I also left her portrait in the attic when I sold the house.