govi

In place of the body that has decayed, the soul, now regarded as an “esprit,” is deposited in another clay jar called a govi.

The Serpent and the Rainbow Wade Davis 1985

She could not allow the govi to fall or break, not before it was time.

The Good House Tananarive Due 2003

If the papers failed to bring someone to rid this place of the baka, she would have to find the strength to come back through her govi.

The Good House Tananarive Due 2003

Angela poured the hair and nails from the govi into a hole in the soil, then she buried them, patting the soil down.

The Good House Tananarive Due 2003

She had no idea what the word meant, but a govi was what she held.

The Good House Tananarive Due 2003

She imagined herself rubbing her body with soil there, pouring out the contents of the govi, burying them in the ground.

The Good House Tananarive Due 2003

More than ten years ago, three days before her dying breath, Gramma Marie had blessed this govi, leaving strands of her hair and clipped nails inside to preserve her gros-bon-ange, her life-spirit, which would become her esprit when she crossed to the plane of death.

The Good House Tananarive Due 2003

With her hands that no longer felt sensation, Angela reached for the govi.

The Good House Tananarive Due 2003

Hence, with the successive passing of generations, the individual identified with the esprit in the govi is transformed from the ancestor of a particular lineage into the generalized ancestor of all mankind.

The Serpent and the Rainbow Wade Davis 1985

The spirits in the govi are fed and clothed and then released to the forest to dwell in trees and grottos, where they wait to be reborn.

The Serpent and the Rainbow Wade Davis 1985