Reading about the Dou Donggo people and their understanding of rain:
"The mischievous spirits who interfere with this natural process have their origin in human birth: they are formed from the placenta discarded in the bush after a woman has given birth to a child. They are, as the Dou Donggo say, 'the part of us that did not become human', and they are envious of us because of this."
(Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction, by John Monaghan and Peter Just; p. 121).
How cool is this? From now on, I want to believe that there is a part of me roaming around the world and creating mischief. Seriously, though, the phrase does somehow ring true. A part that did not become human. I know it, I want to know it: maybe not intimately, but just to know it exists.
"The mischievous spirits who interfere with this natural process have their origin in human birth: they are formed from the placenta discarded in the bush after a woman has given birth to a child. They are, as the Dou Donggo say, 'the part of us that did not become human', and they are envious of us because of this."
(Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction, by John Monaghan and Peter Just; p. 121).
How cool is this? From now on, I want to believe that there is a part of me roaming around the world and creating mischief. Seriously, though, the phrase does somehow ring true. A part that did not become human. I know it, I want to know it: maybe not intimately, but just to know it exists.
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