Place Of Dread Where The Dead Fear The Watcher At The Gate

There’s a belief, in what was once called the Gilbert Islands, that on death the spirit would have to proceed to the Place of Dread on the island of Makin-Meang. This was seen as a sort of half-way house or stopping point before the dead could continue to paradise.

While at the Place of Dread the spirit had to be careful to avoid Nakaa, the Watcher at the Gate, who would try to strangle the spirit in his net. Not a very pleasant introduction to life after death.

Now you might say this is a load of mumbo jumbo, but Arthur Grimble, who wrote the Pattern of Islands, may disagree.

Grimble, while on Makin-Meang, persuaded a local man to take him to the Place of Dread. He got to there safely, but on his way back got separated from his guide and saw a man approaching.

Grimble wrote:

Grimble caught up with his guide and asked who the man was that he had just seen. The man went into hysterics and rushed on ahead with Grimble in his trail.

After investigation it was discovered who the mysterious man was. His name was Na Biria and he had died at about the same time that Grimble had seen him. In other words it was a dead man walking.

Na Biria’s body was laid out in a nearby hut where rituals were being carried out to prevent the Watcher of the Gate from catching him.

So how could Grimble have seen a dead man. Author Colin Wilson has a theory:

It’s an interesting theory and it’s possible to enlarge on this.

On approaching death, do we see or visualise what we expect to see – i.e. our idea of Heaven? This would explain why near death experiences (NDE) are often varied. The person concerned experiences what he or she believes they will see when they die.

Perhaps initially we view our own idea of Heaven and see who we expect to see.

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