Ancestors, aka Zombies

We had a fascinating talk with a Congolese man yesterday. He told us about a custom in his village to make sacrifices to the ancestors, who might otherwise wreak havoc on everyone.

I already knew about the idea that the dead become somehow violent and hungry for offerings. (We spotlight that idea in the Heart of Africa film.)

But it is a false tradition, and we need to root it out by replacing it with a sense of honor for those who have passed on and an understanding (in our particular religion) that we ALL continue to progress, even after death. Death does not turn us violent; it introduces us to more love and an understanding of our precious and miriad connections to each other. The connections do not end.

We will all hear “false traditions” preached at some point in our lives. Perfect love will cast them out, as will perfect trust in a God who seeks only good.

Our film (parts one and two) is available on DVD.

Part 1 tells the story from the African perspective. Part 2 tells  it from the American one.

In early drafts, I had envisioned the protagonist having a vision of his mother in her terrifying anger and then realizing that this was NOT his mother. She was not that anger and vindictiveness; she was a loving, yearning soul. In the final draft, the protagonist merely refers to his dreams of “seeing the dead.” In a climactic scene, he does in fact see his mother, who is angelic and beautiful, and who tells him, “My son, listen to your heart.”

He must choose between anger and progress. As one character says, “Without forgiveness, we cannot progress.”