In Frafra culture, there are two worlds: the world of the living and the world of spirits. These two worlds are intertwined and interact constantly in a fluid mystical way. The individual is composed of two things: the body (iŋãnnɛ) and the soul (sia). The iŋãnnɛ you inherit from your parents on the land of the living and the soul from the land of the dead known as Ki’in-tiŋa. When the iŋãnnɛ dies, the sia travels back to where it came from. Kɩ’ɩn-tiŋa is the ultimate and desired destination of every sia. It is not only the place where the sia reunites with their ancestors to continue the next journey but it a place closer to the supreme being, Na’ayine.

The journey of the deceased (ki’ima) is supposed to be smooth and welcoming, however, not everyone can reach this land. This heavily depends on how you lived your life while on the land of the living. Exceptions occur when the sia reincarnates immediately after death though reincarnation may also happen from Kɩ’ɩn-tiŋa. If you lived an evil life, you would be refused entry to the Kɩ’ɩn-tiŋa. You may be given conditions to fulfil before entrance or banished forever.

When you’re banished from entering the land of the dead, your sia becomes trapped on the land of the living. The process where the sia transforms into a ghost (kʋkɔ) is called ki’iŋ-isigre. Indeed, the rejected sia can take many other forms as well and not just kʋkɔ. Unconfirmed stories abound in the Frafra land detailing strange animals such as crocodiles, birds, etc appearing during the death or burial of powerful elders.

It is believed that some of the rejected souls can become what is called kʋlkã’arsɩ. The kʋlkã’arsɩ can sometimes attach themselves to selected individuals and take ‘control’ of them, causing them to commit crimes or do good things, the latter hardly emphasized. Kʋlkã’arsɩ are believed to manifest themselves in your thoughts and emotions and can sometimes disturb the stability of your internal environmental space.  The term Kʋlkã’arsɩ can also be used in certain circumstances metaphorically rather than literally.

Some rejected sia can assume elevated status in the form of small gods called bagbibisi. The bagbibisi are elevated because they are believed to be able to speak in the human tongue, can remember almost everything about their past lives, their relatives, and enemies, etc. They can cause a person to behave abnormally or make revelations about things yet to come.

Kĩnkirsi, kʋlkã’arsɩ, and bagbibisi are sometimes used interchangeably to mean the same thing: banal spirits. Nevertheless, there is a thin line dividing bagbibisi and kʋlkã’arsɩ from Kĩnkirsi. Kĩnkirigo has two connotations; sometimes used to refer to a dwarf (dɩgrɛ) or even someone smart, cunning, mischievous, or stupid. A kĩnkirigo mainly refers to a sia that has gone through more than one death, indicating its vulnerability to death but also a reason why it can be very powerful.

These are the source of magic in Frafra land as it is believed that any man or woman who can cajole, entice, or ‘arrest’ a kĩnkirigo, or a kʋlkã’ariga or a bagbibisi suddenly becomes very powerful. Such persons can choose to become a soothsayer or a bagnaba. They can use them for good or bad, depending on the nature of the individual. If you use them for good, you can reach Kɩ’ɩn-tiŋa after you die however if you use them for evil, your sia ultimately becomes one of them after death.

Written by Atibila Atalebe for My Bolga Online