An education on juju

So, I've had a driver/driving instructor the past week. His name is Fanwel, and he's been patient in allowing me to acclimate to driving on the left side of the street. Traffic here can get a little hectic, but not as crazy as Vietnam. Most everyone drives a car, so you can't weave in and out of traffic as if you were on a scooter or moped. That said, traffic builds up pretty thick at rush hour b/c most of the roads are single lane going each way.

Now, in regards to the topic of this post. When Fanwel and I were driving, there were some vendors on the side of the road with stacks of what I call "flagstone" which is used to create walk ways with large, flat stones of a non-uniform shape. They were sizable stacks and would be significant work to move to and from the side of the road everyday, so I asked Fanwel what was done with the stones. He indicated that the stones were simply left on the side of the road each night. I followed by asking him about concerns for thieves. He indicated that Africans wouldn't be interested in stealing those stones and that if a white guy were to steal them, then he would have to contend with juju. Apparently juju is like a bad karma or spell that a witchdoctor will use to hinder a person in some manner. He said that only Africans can use juju and that it would be used against a white person that were to steal from an African - i.e. the flagstones.

Clearly, this dampened my plans for a heavy five-finger discount, but it was definitely an enjoyable educational story for me as I curb-checked down the left side of the road.