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Can Nicole Kidman Undo Her Curse?

Thu., Dec. 18, 2008 11:32 AM PST by Leslie Gornstein

Thomas Gottschalk, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman

JOHANNES SIMON/AFP/Getty Images

I hear Nicole Kidman was cursed for life after blowing into that didgeridoo. Can that possibly be true?
—Bean, Fresno

Well, it's like this: Yes.

I can state without irony or doubt that Nicole Kidman is now barren for life—she will never again get the chance to name a baby after a day of the week. I learned all this from the Australian Aboriginal people, a few representatives of whom proclaimed the curse earlier this week.

Here's what happened, plus a way she could reverse the ill fortune if she wanted to, and how you can help...

Kidman was in Germany to promote Australia, that sweeping love letter to her native land. During a stop at the German TV show Wetten Dass, someone gave Kidman a didgeridoo, an instrument central to the culture of Australia's Aboriginal people. The Germans probably thought this was funny; they also happen to think David Hasselhoff is blazing hot.

Then she blew. (The didge, not Hasselhoff, jeez.) According to some Aborigines—but not all—females are banned from playing this instrument, which is reserved for men only.

"It bastardizes our culture," award-winning actor, screenwriter and Aboriginal language teacher Richard Green told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I will guarantee she has no more children. It is not meant to be played by women, as it will make them barren."

So what can Kidman do to erase this hex?

"Natives of cultures all over the world get very upset by violations of sacred space by outsiders," says Phillips Stevens, professor of anthropology at State University of New York at Buffalo. "(But) there are lots of ways to 'make amends,' provided one does it quickly."

A simple apology won't do, Stevens says.

"She'd have to go to that particular tribe...and ask them what she must do," he says. "Sometimes a taboo violation can be reversed, literally, by going through the same process that violated the taboo, backwards; sometimes it can be nullified by more powerful magic or ritually cleansed."

So you tell me: What should Kidman have to do to reverse her ill fortune? Make your thoughts known in the comments section below.

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