Shanshu Prophecy

The Shanshu Prophecy

“Shanshu has roots in so many different languages. The most ancient source is the Proto-Bantu and they consider life and death the same thing, part of a cycle — only a thing that's not alive never dies. It says that you get to live until you die. It says the vampire with a soul, once he fulfills his destiny, will shanshu. Become human. It's his reward.”

―Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

The Shanshu Prophecy was a prophecy contained within the Scrolls of Aberjian, and, as translated by Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, foresaw the coming of a vampire with a soul that would play a pivotal role in the apocalypse and, as a reward, would be restored into a mortal human being. Translated from its oldest root, the word "shanshu" means both to live and to die, thus meaning that Angel will "live to die" by becoming human and eventually dying a mortal death. It is assumed that Angel's role will be one of good, but many people point out that the prophecy does not specifically say so.

The prophecy initially becomes Angel's driving motivation. As the prophecy does not refer to a particular apocalypse, Angel determines that redemption (rather than a scorecard of good deeds) is the key to Shanshu; he must maintain a constant battle against evil, rather than just try to amass a demonic body-count. However, over the years, several events (such as the alterations to the Nyazian Scrolls done by Sahjhan that led Wesley to conclude that Angel was going to kill Connor) lead to Angel losing faith in the prophecy itself for a time.

For years it was assumed that the prophecy was about Angel, even after Spike became the second vampire to have a soul, because Spike was not a Champion. However, after Spike died to save the world, becoming a Champion in the process, who the prophecy was meant for came into question once Spike was re-corporealized, with Angel's foe Lindsey McDonald briefly attempting to manipulate events to set Spike up as the true champion to discredit Angel (Although Spike's main interest in the Shanshu generally appears to be a continuation of his old vendetta against Angel/Angelus rather than a specific desire to become human himself).

Spike: “What do you think all this means for that Shanshu boogaboo? If we make it through this, does one of us get to be a real boy?”

Angel: “Who are you kiddin'? We're not gonna make it through.”

— Angel and Spike discuss the Shanshu Prophecy

A vision of Angel's supposed role in the Shanshu Prophecy.

Unknown to Spike however, Angel had earlier signed away his rights to the Shanshu Prophecy in order to infiltrate the Circle of the Black Thorn, the Circle members wanting to ensure that Angel has genuinely forsaken his old life as a champion, Angel taking advantage of the Circle's inability to comprehend the idea that he would do good for the sake of it rather than for a reward.

During the Fall of Los Angeles, Angel is transformed into a human by the Senior Partners to hinder him. Considering his anti-apocalyptic battle against the Circle of the Black Thorn, it is possible the Shanshu Prophecy has been misinterpreted as a reward for his heroism, instead of a way of hindering him after his rebellion. However, it was also revealed that Wolfram & Hart never had a chance to file the prophecy before the firm is destroyed, and the Shanshu is still his and can still be fulfilled.

Wesley also revealed that the prophecy had always concerned Angel alone. Angel was then given a vision of the final apocalyptic battle, which apparently revealed that Angel's role in the Shanshu would be one of evil, showing him as a vampire standing in a field of dead bodies. Angel chooses to resign himself to death rather than let these events come to pass, but Connor and Cordelia assure him that this future will not happen in any event, as Angel would never allow himself to become the man that he saw in the vision. The long-term consequences of this new take on the prophecy are unclear, but Angel has nevertheless vowed to continue trying to help others even after his return from Hell.