The Fear of Stealing Unattended Goods
I was scrolling down on Instagram just the other day and found an interesting video about a white lady who had gone for an adventure walk in some tropical rainforest in Jamaica and picked up something that looked like those voodoo dolls used for rituals. The funny part is she was being all cutesy and loving on the doll.
Was I surprised? No. I would say its typical white behavior (no offense but you know its true). Its almost like a majority of white people are immune to danger. Now, the majority at the comment section against that behavior was of course, you guessed right, black people. Because, first of all, lady, why would you do that? Take it back or throw it away before it’s too late!
This got me thinking. There are some things that one doesn’t need to be told not to do, especially in Africa. For example you just don’t go around picking up creepy-looking things that you know not of their origin or who possessed them before. That’s a Hell to the absolutely No situation.
Picture this, a black kid bobbing his head all excited talking about I saw this and picked it up. A voodoo doll? Hell No sweetheart! For all you know, that weird stuff could potentially be juju. Nobody teaches you this in Africa. There’s just something that restrains you from picking up something that looks creepy automatically. Must be the ancestors whispering in our ears saying don’t do it my child.
I mean it is evident how disciplined most Africans are automatically, because how do you explain to someone that almost in the whole of Africa, in communities, things found lying by the roadside unattended will never get stolen. Reason being, everyone is scared something might happen to them.
Tales of karma about those who dared to steal unattended goods taught us that anyone who did that would suffer a great misfortune and face dire consequences.
I mean, only a crazy person would dare carry for example an abandoned sack of charcoal home. It might be tempting, but creepy as it is, why would you even want to carry something that is left by the roadside where no one is in the vicinity to claim ownership.
Most Africans would agree with me on this; maybe, just maybe, it’s associated with black magic, because how do you explain that phenomenon. It almost feels like someone is watching you. It sends chills down your spine when you try to imagine the scenario.
This takes me back to a story I heard of someone who stumbled upon sacks of charcoal left unattended by the roadside, he looked around, seeing no one, his heart raced with temptation. This guy decided to steal a sack of charcoal, carried it on his back and when he got home it was stuck on his back like glue. Someone said the sack started crying asking for its ‘mama’. Yeah you can imagine that. Scary right? He had to take it back to the place where he got it from and found the owner waiting for him, arms crossed over his chest. He was generous enough to undo the spell though.
These kind of stories serve as a powerful reminder on the importance of cultural beliefs and the value of integrity. In Africa, the fear of taking things that are not yours and of unknown ownership, is not just about the potential curse but about upholding a tradition of honesty and respect.
But hey! welcome to the jungle. Such is life. To each his own. Lesson learnt Do Not Touch or even think about stealing, lest you want to be haunted or have sleepless nights then good luck to you.
Respectfully, African
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