![]() ![]() How much less have they after they are dead. Good is stronger than evil and even when alive they had very little power. One of the Bahá’í pilgrims from the West who asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá about the power exercised by evil souls who had passed to the next world, recorded His answer as "There is no power exercised over the people by those evil souls that have passed away. There are, therefore, specific actions that Bahá’ís can take when confronted with kind of situation of which you write, but the principal way in which they can overcome them is to deepen themselves in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh so that they will come to recognize the lack of any true reality to such negative forces. Evil spirits free#Recognize that evil is negative and has no existence in its own In a letter dated 26 November 1939 written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer we find the following: 'Evil forces do take control of our life, but it is within our power to free ourselves from falling under their subjection. Those so-called force will prove but illusions and will be wiped out and exterminated. Then you will behold the marvellous effect they produce. Do not Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá warn us repeatedly of the spiritual infection of Covenant-breaking? In one of His Tablets, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote: 'If you seek immunity from the sway of the forces of the contingent world, hang the 'Most Great Name' in your dwelling, wear the ring of the 'Most Great Name' on your finger, place the picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in your home and always recite the prayers that I have written. that does not mean that there is no power in evil. As a part of the implementation of the University Strategic plan for Diversity and Internationalization, this symposium aims to increase the profile of Caribbean and Black Atlantic Diasporic Cultures here at the University of Kentucky and inform colleagues beyond our walls of this growing field of inquiry on our campus. Catholicism (or syncretic re-appropriation of it) is at the heart of measures taken against evil practices. Indeed, in the French Caribbean, for instance, whenever one speaks about evil spirits, one speaks about pacts with the devil and Quimbois (magical practices for white or black magic also considered as medicinal and healing practices). To foster campus dialogue within Arts & Sciences and beyond, to promote the critical study of community building, and to open new perspectives in discussions around selfhood and otherness, the “Wicked Souls” intends to be a mini-symposium that deploys Caribbean studies and particularly folktales and marvelous stories and their connections to religious or spiritual practices as a platform to explore how communities see others and envision themselves. The dialogues between the various spaces are intriguing to say the least. In French Caribbean folklore, the diablesse (She-devil) often eats men’s hearts while succubi (or other devil spawns) petrify them to death. Moreover, the consequences of sexual violence do not spare men either. The Caribbean vampire is often an old woman (a soucougnant or soucouyant ) who, at night, sucks people’s blood seeking vital energ y and, in so doing, recalling the West African witch. ![]() Syncretic re-appropriations of Catholicism are often at the heart of measures taken against evil practices. In addition, the nocturnal violation of female bodies by male evil spirits (incubi) resembles the supernatural assault tradition called cauchemar or witch-riding in southwest Louisiana. For instance, in French Caribbean lore, whenever one speaks about evil spirits, one speaks about pacts with the devil and magical practices for white or black magic. In so doing, this mini-symposium will put European and African folklore in conversation with the New World’s oral and literary traditions. Presenters will examine the carnal violence and brutality associated with sex and gender in folktales and fairytales from the Americas. We will discover how storytellers from the Americas have responded to the effect of colonization and colonialism through oral and literary works that underscore the cultural and psychological characteristics as well as the resilience of their communities. This symposium will study stories that illustrate how individuals protect their identity and bodily integrity. This mini-symposium examines folktales and folktale-like stories as sites of both abjection and healing. ![]()
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