Natalie Cranberry’s Reviews > In Other Words: An Illustrated Miscellany of the World's Most Intriguing Words and Phrases > Status Update

PALATYI (Bantu)

The West African Bantu people talk of a supernatural being thought to haunt their land. It’s called the palatyi, or “plat-eye prowl” and is a mythical animal-like ghost that comes and scratches on you door on cold, dark nights.

NIDSTANG (Norwegian)

A runic cursing pole used bf the Vikings as a way of bringing destruction and disturbance to their enemies. These long poles were carved with insults and curses, and ceremonies were performed to activate their destructive magic.

Lítost [Czech] …defined by Milan Kundera as “a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.” Decides for comping with extreme stress, suffering, and change are often special and unique to cultures and born out of the meeting of despair with a keen sense of survival.