Witch doctoring

Zombies, the “living dead”

The concept of the zombie originates from Haitian folklore; it is a being that has been raised from the dead by a boko, a voodoo priest, using black magic. It is believed that the sorcerer, after exhuming the corpse, passes a vial which contains the soul of this body underneath its nose, thus creating the zombie. Zombies can then be exploited by the bokos as slave labour or used to carry out immoral acts.

It is believed that zombies are the living dead, capable of physical activities: walking, eating, hearing, and even talking, but they have no cognitive abilities. They have no memory or knowledge of their condition. In order to prevent the dead from suffering this terrible fate the corpse must be buried face down, mouth against the earth, holding a dagger so it may stab any sorcerer who attempts to meddle with it. The mouth is often sewn up; a corpse can be raised …