Animal Totems as Magi in Diaz's Writing

After receiving a brutal beating, Beli lay dying in a cane field when a supernatural apparition appears in the form of an animal. The narrator foreshadows the event: “Dominicans are Caribbean and therefore have an extraordinary tolerance for extreme phenomena” (149). This could be interpreted as an oblique reference to the extraordinary punishment Beli absorbed, but it may have deeper religious meaning. Beli, who may be dying, is visited by a wise being in the form of an animal: “So as Beli was flitting in and out of life, there appeared at her side a creature that would have been an amiable mongoose if not for its golden lion eyes and the absolute black of its pelt” (149). The strange creature resembles a mongoose, but clearly that is not what it is. The animal defies zoological classification.

The being speaks to Beli in a human voice: “You have to rise.” Notice the italicized text. This is occurring during La Inca’s intense prayer circle that consists entirely of women. It speaks again: “You have to rise now or you’ll never have the son or daughter” (149). Bali responds: “What son? What daughter?” “The ones who await,” replies the being (149). The strange but benevolent creature leads her out of the cane field and Beli survives. 

The supernatural creature leads Beli back to her unfinished life. The visitation indicates that there may be something deific about the lives of Beli’s unborn son and daughter. The Virgin Mary and the birth of Christ come to mind. Beli must survive in order to fulfill some higher, preordained purpose. The mongoose-like creature is a magus, an animal totem, signaling that the birth of Oscar and Lola will have great significance.