‘Evil spirit’ driven away by slippers

By Hasalaka correspondent  

An incident has been reported from a village in Hasalaka in which a woman had ‘flung’ footwear at what she perceived to be an evil spirit peeping into her house.   

This is a village located in the Hasalaka police division. Many villagers engage in agricultural activities. Once the agriculture season is over, men in the village used to go to various places in search of work to supplement their incomes. 

They leave behind their children and spouses at home. There was talk in the air about an evil spirit haunting the villages.   

It is said that the ‘spirit’ used to peep into the houses and look at the young women and children and run away.  This was said to take place between 8.00 and 9.00 p.m. On this particular day, a woman had been changing her clothes at night and she had shouted as if speaking to her husband, “What is happening here? Bring a pole and come here quickly”. On hearing this, the ‘spirit’ had fled.   
When she was sweeping the courtyard the following morning, she had observed a pair of slippers smeared with paint. They realised that they were not the type of slippers used by their children.

 
A woman from the neighbourhood had come there.   

The woman in question had informed the neighbour about the incident. She said that the owner of the slippers was her younger brother who was a painter, and realised that it he who was the ‘spirit’ that haunted the village during the night-time when the men were not at home.   

Having decided to teach the painter ‘spirit’ a good lesson, she had hung the pair of slippers close to the tea kiosk saying that the owner of the slippers was the painter ‘spirit’ who haunted the village during night-time.   
Ultimately, the people got to know that the ‘spirit’ had disappeared from the village, because the painter, who painted houses in the village, had vanished.   

• The ‘spirit’ used to peep into the houses and look at the young women and children