Legba’s Curse
Level-Three Vodoun ritual
In linguistics, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that there is a systematic relationship between Language and how a person both understands the world and behaves in it. It is Language that defines the world. Without Language, a person cannot think or communicate, he can only perceive.
A houngan of Legba may temporarily remove a person, place or thing from the mind of a victim, rendering the subject incapable of talking about, understanding, or even thinking about the removed noun. The victim may still perceive the object if confronted with it outright, and he may even understand its fundamental properties individually, but he cannot group those properties together to fully grasp or describe what the object is. For example, a victim is made to forget the word “apple.” If he is subsequently confronted with an apple, he sees that it is round. Then he sees that it is red, but he cannot recall or see that it is also round. Then he feels that it is smooth, but he cannot recall or see that it is also round and red, and so on.
The victim need not be present for the ritual, but the houngan must know his name, or possess an object connected to the victim (hair, an article of clothing, etc.). If the ritual is successful, the devotee chooses any single noun (including proper nouns), which is then removed from the victim’s mind for a number of days equal to the houngan’s level of Rapport.
A houngan of Legba may temporarily remove a person, place or thing from the mind of a victim, rendering the subject incapable of talking about, understanding, or even thinking about the removed noun. The victim may still perceive the object if confronted with it outright, and he may even understand its fundamental properties individually, but he cannot group those properties together to fully grasp or describe what the object is. For example, a victim is made to forget the word “apple.” If he is subsequently confronted with an apple, he sees that it is round. Then he sees that it is red, but he cannot recall or see that it is also round. Then he feels that it is smooth, but he cannot recall or see that it is also round and red, and so on.
The victim need not be present for the ritual, but the houngan must know his name, or possess an object connected to the victim (hair, an article of clothing, etc.). If the ritual is successful, the devotee chooses any single noun (including proper nouns), which is then removed from the victim’s mind for a number of days equal to the houngan’s level of Rapport.
Pre-requisite: Only available to patrons of Papa Legba