Write For Us

The Bridge of the Spirits (part 1)

E-Commerce Solutions SEO Solutions Marketing Solutions
539 Views

  • Thanks! Share it with your friends!

    You disliked this video. Thanks for the feedback!

AVA
Published
In this region of the Ivory Coast there are still ancient jungles, such as the Tai jungle, and leafy forests which are home to different ethnic branches of the Mande group. The most characteristic of these are the Dan, who are related to the Guere.

A great part of the mythology of the Dan is born in the heart of the jungle, in these labyrinthine forests teeming with life, where their deities live, and where nature and magic melt into one. The Dan have always respected and venerated their natural surroundings, as something sacred, as it is the indisputable genesis of their cosmogony. In the interior of this green world, we find the bridges of the spirits.

The supernatural beings of the forest themselves build these bridges, to make it easier for the men who live here to move through the forest. Hundreds of lianas, the resistant living limbs of the jungle, are woven together in the dead of night by the spirits. At dawn, a new bridge connects the opposing banks of a river, or crosses a deep ravine.

No one knows how or when they are built. But for them they are sacred, because they are made with lianas, and everything that comes from the jungle is revered. That is why they take their shoes off before crossing, as a mark of respect.

Everything in the bridges comes from nature. There are no nails, ropes or screws, just lianas and trunks, in a work of great skill.

Only the initiates know how and when a bridge is built. The spiritual chief, who is also in charge of making the sacrifices and offerings, assigns and supervises the work. During these days, no one who has not been initiated may approach the area, or enter the forest.
Category
Documentary
Be the first to comment