Not everyone can become a Frafra soothsayer. It is neither inherited nor learned. You can’t even buy it in the market, unless the fake one. People become soothsayers not because they want to. This decision is made outside the control of the individual. There are no requirements and no pre-requisites. It can happen to a child or an old person. A woman can become a soothsayer, a man can become a soothsayer.

The belief in soothsayers and seers is as widespread and ancient as ancient Egypt. Almost all societies across the world had at one time or another seers and soothsayers. A seer warned Caesar that the Ides of March would be a disaster, he ignored the seer and was murdered as soon as he arrived at the Theatre of Pompey. Nostradamus is considered to be one of the world’s greatest seers whose predictions, including his death, had been proven right over and again.

How then can one become a Frafra soothsayer? The first step is to be chosen. Chosen by who?  This is where things get murky. Not by humans but what is called “bagibibisi”. They loosely refer to the spirits of the underworld. How the “bagibibisi” choose someone is more of a chance meeting than anything else discernible from the facts. It’s all about being at the wrong or right place at the wrong or right time, depending on the outlook. Sometimes the “bagibibisi” can choose the wrong person, who starts to abuse them which can result in the “bagibibisi” fleeing from the person.

“Bagibibisi” manifests in several ways and different people experience them differently. Some people start to exhibit strange behaviour such as speaking to themselves irrespective of whether they are in the public or alone. Can sometimes walk up to a tree and start to speak to the tree. They can even stand in one place and look at one thing for a very long time. But most importantly, they see and say things that come to pass.

Of course, when this happens, the family begins to think the person is going insane and there will be others who will suspect that “bagibibisi” is following the individual, but there may be instances where they conclude insanity and chain the person up.

In all cases, it takes a soothsayer to see a soothsayer. That is if the family visits one. When it is established that “bagibibisi” is following him, then someone else is called in. This person is normally very powerful. One or more levels above the average soothsayer because he is sort of the “spirit catcher”.

He will perform some rites, usually music using the “bakolgo sinyagre”, the “dongo” or flutes, drinks, and incantations to entice the “bagibibisi” into a leather bag called “bakolgo”. He will then make sacrifices to pacify them. I must admit the process is more complex than I describe here.

When the “bagibibisi” are “arrested”, the man or woman can now have power over them. He has become an official soothsayer. The “bagibibisi” now under his control, he can use them to divine the thoughts of the gods and ancestors regarding the living. In order to summon the spirits, the man will have to sing, play flutes, and other instruments to cajole and entice the spirits to come for divination.

What is interesting is the fact that such a person who used to behave as though they were insane immediately becomes normal, and becomes an integral and important part of society.

My encounter with a man who had them or claimed to have “bagibibisi” was a long time ago when I was about thirteen years. He had not “arrested ” them yet. The man had travelled to “Dagongo” and when he returned, the “bagibibisi” followed him. There were four of them following him. Every evening, they will come to him when he is in a dark room. We were sitting outside when he was in the room.

We heard the “bagibibisi” arriving by a thudding sound, a step at a time. The steps started faintly and as they got closer, the sound became louder and then a loud sound announcing their arrival. The others arrived similarly, each speaking a different dialect. Three of them were males and one female. They said that they were once humans walking on the land.

One of them who had a very deep voice said he came from Tongo and spoke perfect Taleng, and for some reason, I found his voice threatening. Then there was one who said he comes from Kunkua. The woman said she was married in Pwalugo. Then there was one who spoke Booni. People asked them questions and they responded.

As we sat outside and listened, they began to argue with the man, and then suddenly we saw the man struggling at the door. According to him, the “bagibibisi” were trying to throw him out of the room because he had annoyed them. The matter of which was settled when someone gave them the local gin. The door was kept shut and no light was allowed closer to the room. Up until today, I still wonder whether the man was faking it or it was real.

The last time I heard of the man, he had become a very powerful soothsayer. People travelled from far and near to divine with him. I can’t say if these things do indeed work but if you ever wondered how people become soothsayers in Frafra land, then now you know.

Written by: S.A.A for My Bolga Online.