world of the dead

Nigeria's hugely successful movie industry, known as Nollywood, often produces films featuring people consulting traditional priests who claim the ability to see into the past, future and the world of the dead.

“You must drink it, or you’ll never be able to make it through the temple. The poison connects you to the world of the dead, lets you pass into the lower levels. The secret to surviving is”—his eyes twinkled—“barley.”

The panel was carved in relief in three sections: At the bottom, there was a delicate band of interwoven vines; in the middle, arabesques formed a pattern of three-leaved curls; and the top held a fragment of Persian, in Kufic script: wa alam-e sufli, “ ... and the world of the dead.”

Lyra tries to hug her friend Roger in the world of the dead, but he passes “like cold smoke through her arms”.

The gods would not consent to his entering the world of the dead a second time, while he was still alive.