Chapter 16

CHAPTER XVI SOCIAL ORGANISATION AND TABU Ibibio, like most Nigerian peoples, are divided into age- classes or Nka, the number of which varies from three to ten. When there are only three or four of these in a town, entrance is not permitted till the age of puberty, and after the teeth have been filed and the town or tribal “ marks ” made upon the youth. In places where there are many Nka, children are generally admitted into the first when about three to five years old. As a rule there is no special ceremony, except a feast given by the parents, and in some cases a present to the old men of the town. The “ marks ” consist of one or more small circles of concentric rings cut at the side of the face from the temple downwards. Usually a mixture of ground-charcoal and palm-oil is rubbed into the cuts to make them more conspicuous. The number of circles depends upon the tribe, town and age-class, and varies from one large to four small ones. In some cases additional circles are cut between the eyebrows. The two front incisors are generally filed into points, so as to form an inverted V. Male and female Nka never mix, and each tries all minor cases and settles any disputes between its members. A town is composed of a number of quarters or Idong, sometimes several miles distant from one another, each of which is divided in its turn into scattered compounds (Ekpuk). Each large town was independent and ruled by its chief (Obbong),1 helped by sub-chiefs (Ndiana Obbong), of whom each quarter had at least one, or, in some places, by the head Juju priest. Generally a chief or sub-chief 1 Otherwise called Obong Isong or Idong, Abong or Abonn. 215 was succeeded by a member of the same family, usually his eldest son, if of an age and possessed of common sense ; in some towns, however, the oldest or most important of the sub-chiefs obtained the chieftainship. Great respect was shown to age, and no decision of any moment, whether in judicial or political matters, was given save in the presence, and with the concurrence, of the old men of the town. This old system is still retained in essentials, and the people may be said to have almost complete self-government, except that a certain amount of European supervision is exercised, and human sacrifices, and other customs repugnant to British ideas, are no longer permitted. The influence, also, of the great secret societies, such as Ekkpe and Idiong, has been considerably curtailed. In cases of murder, the guilty man was, according to local custom, either ordered to hang himself, beheaded by the Ekkpo 'Njawhaw society—like the Ogboni and Oro among the Yoruba—beaten to death with clubs, or killed in the same way as his victim. Among the Eket, Anang and most Northern Ibibio, a sum of money was often accepted if the chief or parents of the murdered man were willing to receive it. Any one guilty of manslaughter was ordered to pay the expenses of the funeral, and in some places to give the chief a present of four hundred manillas and a goat in addition. Among the Uruan he also had to serve the family of the deceased as a slave. Cases of wounding or serious assaults were usually punished by the infliction of a fine of one goat and a hundred manillas, divided between the chiefs and townspeople, and the necessity to tend the wounded man and defray the cost of all medicines till his complete recovery. In most places a thief was rubbed over with charcoal and ashes and taken round the town—among the Abiakpaw, naked and ringing a bell—followed by a jeering crowd singing abusive songs. In North-eastern Ibibio land he was only fined a goat, which was handed over to the chiefs, and forced to refund the stolen property or its value. An inveterate thief was almost everywhere sold into slavery. Cases of adultery were tried in some places by the husband. in others by the chiefs, and generally punished by the infliction of a fine of one goat and a fowl or tortoise, which was sacrificed in purification before the ancestral shrine. Sometimes the sum of £1 to £5 was demanded in addition, while among the Anang, as with many Ibo, if the judgment was not carried out, the husband or some member of his family would try to have intercourse with one of the corespondent’s relatives. The Abiakpaw treated the fine as a debt, and sold the debtor if unable to pay. In the case of adultery with a betrothed girl, the fiance generally imposed a small fine, and had the right to refuse to carry out the marriage and to have refunded any part of the dowry which he had already paid. Rape seems to have been rare, and curiously enough among Southern Ibibio was hardly more “ expensive ” than adultery. In the north, however, the guilty man was sold into slavery. Debt was very common, and often treated as a lever to turn the debtor or one of his family into a kind of slave. A usual way of settling his liabihties was for a man to marry off a sister or daughter or pawn himself, or one of his family, to a chief or rich man. Among the Efik and Eket a man often had recourse to the Ekkpe or Idiong club, the members of which would, in return for a fee, seize a debtor’s property, and if necessary, even his land, to the amount of the debt, and hand them over to the creditor. At Ikot Ekpene a debtor was usually sold into slavery. Mutilation was not practised save if a slave among the Efik, or a son among the Eket and Anang, committed adultery with his master’s or father’s wife, in which case his ears were usually cut off. Among these tribes, also, a person who stole more than once or twice generally had his toes chopped off. In almost every case any one accused of an offence had the right to invoke a Juju or appeal to trial by ordeal. In the first case a certain time was fixed in which the particular Juju invoked—usually an ’Mbiam—was requested to kill him if he were guilty ; if within this period no sickness or accident befell him, he was judged innocent. The common ordeal for minor cases such as theft or adultery was that of burning oil, into which the accused man thrust his hands ; if, on withdrawal, these were found to be unscathed, he was cleared of the charge. In serious cases—and almost invariably in those of witchcraft—the accused person was forced to swallow ground Esere bean, which, if innocent, he vomited up, but otherwise proved fatal to him. Like almost all the Semi-Bantu in Southern Nigeria, the Ibibio are obsessed with the fear of witchcraft, and at times an epidemic of Esere eating will depopulate a whole town.1 As a rule, however, they are not so absolutely terror-stricken as the Mbembe of the Upper Cross River, where, in certain towns, it has been known for every adult to be forced to undergo the ordeal—in some cases twice in a decade. The potion is there administered both by mouth and per anum, since some witches are credited with the power of receiving the sasswood into a kind of pouch near the stomach, and in this way to suffer no ill effects. In less serious cases the Aha Ikpa “ medicine ” was employed to find out if a man were innocent or not. This was put on a whip, with which the accused was flogged if guilty. Otherwise it is said that the whip could not be moved. Another method was for a “ doctor ” to put certain medicine on the eyes of the man charged with the offence, who, if guilty, would then be unable to open them. As a general rule slaves were well treated, not only from a feeling of humanity, but also because they were valuable property. Among the Southern Ibibio they were generally allowed to marry free women, lived in their masters’ compounds and often obtained much influence and even sometimes the headship of the house. The children of a free man and slave wife and, among many peoples, as already mentioned, those of a free woman and slave husband, were always free. Among the North-western Ibibio the issue, if born in the place, of slave parents were also considered free. Property descended to the eldest son, or, if he were too young, to the eldest brother ; in either case in trust for the family. The younger sons always had a share and at least the right, if there were enough money, to the wherewithal to buy a wife. 1 In the Shadow of the Bush, p. 163 et seq. Land was communal, belonging to the town or quarter, but in the first place to the person who cleared the bush. Each family divided out its own share yearly, but any one in the quarter could take unclaimed land. Owing to the wasteful method of farming there is in parts insufficient for the population with its density of about 200 to the square mile. Consequently land disputes are becoming very common—due, in many cases, to the results of conquest by a stronger people before the arrival of Government. The chief occupation is farming, followed at a long interval by trading and fishing. The greater part of the farm work, as usual in West Africa, falls upon the women. The men cut down and burn the bush, clear the ground, make the yam heaps, and tie up the growing vines to the sticks. The rest of the farm work is carried out by women, sometimes with the aid of male slaves, while among the Oronn the men often help in the weeding. Unfortunately, throughout Nigeria, the spread of education and the desire of the younger generation to raise themselves in the social scale have resulted in a prejudice against manual labour. The chief crops are, in their order of importance, yams and coco-yams, cassava, maize, plantains, okro, groundnuts, and leaves used for making soup. The area under cultivation at any one time amounts probably to something over a quarter of the whole. As stated previously, the ground is left fallow from three to seven years, according to the amount available, to ensure a time for recovery, since no manures or fertilisers of any kind are used. The houses are oblong with palm-leaf roofs and thin walls, consisting of clay plastered over palm mid-ribs or other sticks. Sometimes, especially among the Efik, the various houses are united to form a square compound, which is, however, much larger than among the Ekoi, where the enclosed space forms a kind of impluvium. In the construction of the house the men do everything except the rubbing and smoothing of the walls and floor. Both sexes are extraordinarily keen traders, almost as much as the Ibo and Yoruba, but most of the petty local trading is confined to women, one of whose chief duties and pleasures is to attend neighbouring markets. The currency consisted of metal rods, often brass or even copper in the old days, and of thinner “ wires,” present value sixpence and about one-third of a penny respectively ; and, in the west, of manillas, a kind of metal bracelet, worth about a hundred to £i. The distinction between laws and tabu is not very clear to the ordinary Ibibio, and, in fact, the two coincide to a large extent. For instance, adultery—at any rate with a father’s wife—is forbidden by both ; for the infraction of the tabu the adulterer has to sacrifice to the ancestors or the Earth in order to purify the house from the pollution, while he is fined, or pays damages, for his transgression against the law. The tabu in force among Ibibio and neighbouring tribes seem to fall into five classes. First, those ordained for totemistic reasons or in gratitude for legendary service. Secondly, those connected with affinities, which have already been dealt with under that heading. Thirdly, those which, by sympathetic magic, are thought capable of producing ill effects, not only upon all who partake, but also upon their unborn offspring. Fourthly, those forbidden only at certain times or places, and, fifthly, objects sacred to some special Juju. Of the first class, i.e. those imposed in gratitude for service rendered by animals, there are many examples in this part of the world. At Ikon Ito, for instance, no man is allowed to kill or eat any crocodile. The reason given is as follows : “ In the olden days two great families, from one of which the people of Ikon Ito are descended, lived on either side of a creek. A quarrel arose, and the Itoans passed over, at low tide, to attack their enemies. After hard fighting they were driven back to the edge of the creek, and would gladly have crossed ; but meantime the tide had risen, and the water was so swift and deep as to make this impossible. All must have perished had not a giant crocodile suddenly appeared, its head upon the one bank and its tail on the other. Over this strange bridge the vanquished hurried, and when all were safe on their own shore, the crocodile dived down and was never more seen. In gratitude for this legendary service, a law was made against the harming of crocodiles, and the tabu is carefully kept, even to the present day.” The people of Idua Asang, again, may not eat the neck or loin of goat, nor the flesh of any antelope. Should these tabu be broken, the tongues of the offenders are said to swell up and choke them, while hands and feet grow to enormous size. There seems to be some vague legend that the founder of the tribe was suckled by an antelope. A similar story is told about the brother of a man who has been in our employment for several years, a Bornuese from the North Cameroons named Mandara. The following is the account taken down from his own lips : “ Our father, Aisotto by name, married a woman called Aba from Daridjimell, near Dikoa. In course of time a son was born to them, and to him was given the name Abdullah. When the child was not yet two moons old, the mother went to her farm. Here she laid the sleeping babe in the shade of a small tree, while she went away to gather corn. She was gone for some time, and on return could find no trace of the child. Long she searched in vain, then ran back to the town to ask the aid of her friends. “ All people left work and set out to hunt for the lost child ; but though they sought till nightfall, no trace could be found. Next day, and many days, the woman searched, but all in vain, till at length even she was persuaded to give up the task. “ Nine years later, a hunter set out after bariwa.1 He started one, and was about to shoot, when he noticed that it was closely followed by a boy. At that the man feared greatly, for he thought: ‘ This is no true beef, but a bush devil ! ’ Later he said to himself : ‘ Perhaps it is only a lost child ! ’ With that he shouted : ‘ Who are you ? ’ The boy looked back at the sound, then ran on the faster, always following the bariwa. The hunter was fleet of foot, so started in chase, and, after a while, tore down a creeper and threw it over the boy, tripping him as he ran. Then he seized his prey and carried him back to the town. All 1 Gazelle. the way the lad wept and struggled, but spoke never a word. “ On reaching home, Aisotto and Aba came with the other townsfolk to see the strange creature which the hunter had captured, and, after looking earnestly at the child, the woman said : ‘ Just this age would my son have been ! ’ The husband answered : ‘ Perhaps it is our child come back after all these years ! Let us take him home ! ’ “ With the hunter’s permission this was done, and, after a while, a wise Mallam was called in to make medicine over the boy. Later he prophesied, and said that the child was indeed their son. On this the parents rejoiced greatly. The father killed a goat and fowl, and said to the wanderer : ‘ You shall no longer be called Abdullah, but Bariwa shall your name be.’ So from thenceforward he was known by this name. “For a long time the boy would have nothing to do with the townsfolk, but sat alone in the house, for he was still quite wild, and thought only how he might escape and go to his foster-mother. After a time, however, the Mallam gave him medicine again, and, little by little, he began to pick up words and grow more like other boys ; but never could he be got to eat Bariwa meat. “ When he had learned to talk with human speech, he explained that his foster-mother had suckled him like her own kid till he grew big, after which he had followed her to the farms, where she taught him to eat young guinea- corn. He was my own elder brother, but I have not seen him for many years now.’’ Inquiries elicited that the hero of the story was alive a short time ago, and probably is so still, but news travels slowly from such far-away places, and he has not been heard of quite lately. Of the second class of tabu, it need only be mentioned here that none whose soul is supposed to enter at .times into the body of any member of the animal or vegetable kingdom may partake of his “ affinity.” Many tabu, which come under the third category, affect women who are about to become mothers ; but these have already been described.1 1 D. Amaury Talbot, op. cit. p. 20. IBIBIO, SHOWING TEETH-FILING. “ Mandaea.” (From the Mandara Hills, south of Lake Chad.) During war time no man may touch “ soft chop,” such as pumpkins, soup, or boiled flesh. Only “ dry chop,” i.e. ripe corn, roast plantains and meat, may be eaten, lest both soul and body should become enervated by the use of soft food. In this tabu may be found an echo of that abstinence from fish, for like reasons, chronicled by Clemens Alexandrinus as prevailing among the Egyptians : 8l'o kcu AlyviTTLOL kv Tats Kar avT0vs ayvekous . . . xal l^dvwv oi>x a7TT0VTatd Everything cooked must be eaten between dawn and sunset, and, should anything be left over from the night before, it must be thrown away, for a warrior’s chop should be both hard and fresh. As in many parts of the world, while on the war-path, it is forbidden to sleep in, or even near, a house in which a woman may be found ; nor may her very existence be recognised during the campaign. Even if unexpectedly recalled to his town, as in the case of Uriah the Hittite, a warrior must avoid his wife, lest the softening influence of feminine arms should, by sympathetic magic, loosen the muscles and weaken the courage, not only of himself, but also of his comrades in the field. Surely in this tabu we have an echo of the very words of Uriah : “As thou livest, and as my soul liveth, I will not do this thing,” and even an added light upon the ancient story. Hunters, like warriors, may only eat dry chop while on the trail. Before starting upon an expedition, they must be careful to take no food, save that cooked upon the day of eating. Nothing left over from the evening before may be touched, lest it should bring them ill-fortune. When hungry or weary during the chase, they may rest by the side of a stream, and, opening their bag, eat of the food prepared, washing it down with draughts of water. When night comes they must sleep within a hollow tree, or high above the ground, amid the branches of some forest giant, safe from the attacks of wild beasts ; or again, Odysseus-like, upon a heap of dry leaves wind piled, or gathered by their own hands, behind sheltering bushes. When one or two animals have been killed, a little hut 1 Stromateis, vii. C 6, § 33. may be built in which to sleep and smoke the quarry. Under the shelter of such roofs the “ hunter’s law ” is relaxed somewhat. Soup may here be cooked and eaten, as also the boiled meat from which it was made ; but when the rest of the flesh has been preserved and the trail is started once more, the tabu is again in force and only dry chop may be partaken of. Old women may not touch soup made in deep pots, “ lest they receive too much nourishment therefrom, which will cause them to live beyond the allotted span.” Neither may their chop be cooked upon logs in which the least trace of sap remains, lest this should act as a rejuvenating influence. Only quite dry and sapless branches may be used for them. This tabu is most carefully kept. Many an aged crone sits shivering, at night-time, in a far corner rather than venture to warm her withered limbs near the glow of a fire nourished by partially dried logs, while all who hold by old custom would rather starve to death than eat food prepared over such fires. The reason is somewhat pathetic. They fear that, should the tabu be broken, their mothers and grandmothers, instead of waiting to welcome them near the door of the ghost town, will drive them away with harsh words on arriving, and force them to dwell, lonely and kinless, amid outcast wraiths. An example of such a fate is said to have happened not long ago. An old woman died, and the body was wrapped round with narrow strips of cloth, until it had the appearance of a mummy. Friends and kinsmen gathered for the funeral rites, and the corpse was about to be borne to its last resting-place when the onlookers were horrified to see the wrappings shaken as though the body within was shuddering violently. Every one wondered what could be the reason for this, and, instead of going on with the funeral, they went to question the Idiong priest. The latter consulted the oracle, and then made answer : “ The dead woman trembled because the Shade of her mother drove her away on arriving at the ghost town, since she had eaten from a deep pot and cooked chop over logs in which sap still seethed at the burning.” To old men a special kind of plantain, called by the natives “ etere,” is forbidden. This is a long fruit growing upon dwarf trees. “ Neither may the aged eat okro, lest the spirits of their forebears drive them away for this also when they reach the ghost town.” Small girls, up to about ten years of age, may not taste palm-wine ; but this is not forbidden to boys, who, on the other hand, are not allowed to eat cassava-yams nor the strange-looking aerial roots of the wild yam until initiated into the ranks of their first “ society.” This last- mentioned food is forbidden to all during the making of new farms, as is the eating of cassava itself. New yams may not be tasted among Oronn until after the feast of the Ghosts of Great Men (Osoro 'Nkpi Ekkpo), nor in those parts of Ibibio land, where Ekkpo ’Njawhaw has gained the position of dominant Juju, may they be enjoyed until the cult festival has been carried out. There is a town named Adebom, near Itinan, where the inhabitants are forbidden to touch food of any kind on the day sacred to their great Juju Obonn. All through the night before and after the festival they may feast as they please, but must fast from dawn to sunset of the day itself. At Ikot Ekpene Udaw the same rule is observed on the feast of the great Juju Eburupabi. Men who found a new Juju must fast two days before announcing it, while to rain-makers all drink is forbidden “ during the time when they are trying to call down the waters from behind the white wall of the sky.” At Ibiaku Itan none of the inhabitants may eat monkey, since some vague totemistic idea seems still to prevail, while at ’Ndiya there are many tabu which only apply to certain families or to those called by particular names. For instance, none called Ukponn may eat of the round coco-yam named Enkpon, since this is forbidden by the Juju Anyan. Should the rule be disobeyed, the transgressor will find his skin covered with yaws. The only way to free oneself from the punishment is to catch a squirrel in the bush and sacrifice it before the Juju. Afterwards the priest sprinkles “ medicine ” over the penitent, and his skin becomes clear within two weeks. In the same town no man bearing the name Umaw may eat snails, because this is also forbidden by the Juju Anyan, under like penalty. None of the inhabitants of 'Ndiya may partake of eggs or fowls, since this is forbidden by the great Juju Isu ’Ndemm (the Face of the Juju) ; should this tabu be broken, the offenders would be struck dead. When an ’Ndiya man or woman marries and goes to another town, the rule still holds for them and for their children. The people of ’Mbio Okpono, a village not far from the one last named, but a little beyond Itinan, may not touch fish; not, it would appear, from the reason already quoted as binding hunters, but from a belief curiously like that further stated by Clemens Alexandrinus : kcu Bi aAAous fikv Ttvas fivOovs, paXurra Be a>s 7rAa8apap rrjv crdpKa tt]s rotacSe Kara(TKeva^ov(Trj<; fipuHreuis.1 As a substitute, the people of ’Mbio Okpono devour lizards in large quantities and- also the giant millipedes common to this part of the country, which, so far as could be learnt, all other towns seem to regard with horror. On asking why these ugly but harmless creatures should be dreaded even more than their by no means innocuous relatives, the centipedes, we were told as follows : “ Ibibio people always suspect these things, because they keep by themselves in the bush, as though they had some wicked secret, and never mix with other beasts. If you see a millipede enter your house, you know that it is a sign of coming trouble, since they never approach man with good intent.” This dread of millipedes is far-reaching. In Benin they were thought too unclean for any man to touch, and if one entered the Obba’s palace, it had to be removed alive on a stick. If any one actually touched it, that person was killed. One day while talking on the subject with an Efik chief, he told us that a few months before, at Calabar, a son of one of the late chiefs “ was dining quietly at home, robed only in a loin cloth, when one of these creatures fell from the roof upon his bare back. He shouted to some people 1 Stromateis, vii. 6. 34. The Obba of Benin, who were outside : ‘ Come quickly and see what has fallen upon me.’ Now such things cling so tightly that it is not possible to pull them off with the hand, lest they leave their feet in your flesh, and the place inflames. The only way to deal with them is to make a matchet red hot in the fire and lay this upon them. Whenever they fall upon a man, their touch causes pain and swelling. When a palm tree is cut for the making of mimbo, they climb up the trunk and drink the sap as it flows. Also they can spring very far. The best way to kill one of them is to put fire upon it, after which, if you listen, you will hear it go off pa-ou-ou—just like a little revolver. There is no tabu against eating these things in our part, for none of our people would let so unclean a thing pass their lips.” There is a law that children should not be allowed to eat with their elders, partly, it is said, because small folk do not take care to keep their hands clean ; but also because, throughout a great part of the Ibibio country, there is a strict rule that no disturbance may be made during meals, “ and it is well known that children always quarrel over theirs. Even in cases when they are permitted to eat with their parents, as is now sometimes done, they have their own dish, from which alone they may help themselves.” “ When a man has but one son, of whom he is very fond, he will sometimes make a habit of eating with the child ; but in that case his wife is often excluded.” No Juju priest may partake of the flesh of crocodiles, nor may he eat the shell-fish Voluta or Fasciolariu, because these are sacred to the Ibibio Aphrodite. The shells are to be found by many sacred waters and beneath innumerable Juju sheds, and so greatly are they dreaded that many a so-called Christian who, with the utmost unconcern, will perjure himself upon the Bible, will yet draw back appalled, and recant every lie he has told should such a shell be pointed toward him. Some great Juju men, of whom Akpan Ibok of Ikot Akpa Ofuk is a well-known example, are forbidden to eat save alone. If any of their food remains over after a meal, it must be carefully buried, according to the law of the Juju. Should any one else eat of it he would fall ill, and probably die unless offerings were brought in time to purge away his offence. There is a Juju in the last-mentioned town, the name of which is Adat Ukot. When sacrifices are offered to this, the members of the cult must finish up everything before the sun sets, as with the miraculous manna of the Israelites. No scrap may be left over till the morrow. After the feast is ended, the remains, to the smallest morsel, must be gathered together and flung into the bush sacred to the Juju. Among the most important tabu are those connected with the Earth Goddess and the Ancestors, any infraction of which necessitated a sacrifice to these powers. Amongst all Ibibio, sexual intercourse with mother and sister was forbidden, and, in nearly all cases, with half-sister, father’s or brother’s wives, and sometimes even friends’ wives. Over a great part of Southern Nigeria cohabitation in the bush or farm is not allowed, and transgressors of this law were in many places expelled from their town—at any rate for a time. A menstruous woman is generally confined to a separate room, and may never prepare her husband’s, or any man’s, food. The tabu against the birth of twin children and of those born feet foremost, etc., are given on p. 205. In the same way a cow which gives birth to twins, and a hen which crows like a cock, are killed and thrown away. Ibibio have not, like most Ibo, a large number of food tabu. The only animals, so far as I know, which are forbidden to the whole tribe are certain species of snake, though monkeys, lizards, wild cats, rats, in addition to those already mentioned in this chapter, are not permitted to some towns and families.1 Of those things which are tabu, either because they are considered holy in themselves or as belonging to some Juju, the sacred fish, Offott, are the chief, though in many ways they may be taken as coming equally under the headings of totems or affinities. Further details concerning them are given in the description of the Lake of Life 1 War tabu are also discussed in the next chapter. near Ikotobo,1 of Ubium Creek,2 of the Pool of Edogho Ukwa at Eket,3 and of that of Isu ’Ndemm at 'Ndiya.4 Indeed such instances might be multiplied almost indefinitely, for, in this respect, the tribes of the District and many neighbouring peoples seem to have followed the customs of the Syrians, described by Xenophon : lxctol ravTU Kvpos e^eXavvei <TTa6p.ovs Terro.pas 7rapacrayyas ei'xocriv 67T6 tov XdAov TTOTapov, oVTa to evpos ivXkdpov, ttXpp7j S’ l\0viov peydXivv xal 7rpaewv, ox's oi Hvpoi deovs evo/xi^ov xal dSixeiv ovx el’wv.5 (“ After this, Cyrus proceeded four days’ march, a distance of twenty para- sangs, to the river Chalus, which is a plethrum in breadth and full of large tame fish, which the Syrians looked upon as gods, and allowed no one to injure.”) Compare also Diodorus Siculus : Sio xal rovs Sipoi'S p-^XPL T°v vvv cbreyecrtfai tovtov tov (mov xal Tipav tov$ iX@vs ws Oeovs.6 Any infraction of this tabu was always followed by the death of the transgressor ; usually through the medium of sleeping sickness which is so prevalent in the neighbourhood. As an example of many such, the following instance may be given. “ In one of the holy pools, not far from Eket, it is said that the sacred fish multiplied to such an extent that the water was black with them. The second chief of the place, Akpabio Udaw Adio, had grown to despise the old law ; so, in the night time, he called together those of his people who were of like mind with himself, and with these went down to the sacred pool, bearing lamps by the light of which they killed many fish. “ Next morning the mimbo people chanced to go by on their way to the palm grove. In passing, they glanced at the pool, but saw no fish, only trampled mud where the wrongdoers had stood. Filled with fear at the sight, the men ran back to town with the news and asked : ‘ Who killed the fish ? ’ “ Akpabio kept silence as to what he had done, so the townsfolk went before the Juju and said : ‘You 3 P. 37. 4 p. n. 6 Bibliotheca Historica, ii. 4. 1 P. 23. 2 P. 231. 6 Anabasis, i. 4. 9. yourself must seek out and punish the man who has done this thing ! ’ “ Not long afterwards sleeping sickness fell upon the guilty chief, so he went to the Idiong priest and asked the cause of his malady. The latter consulted the oracle and said : “ ‘ The illness is sent in punishment for what you did three months ago. Now, therefore, confess before all the town that you slew the sacred fish.’ “ Akpabio could not bring himself to make open confession, because it was so shameful a thing to have done. For a while he lingered ; then died as a punishment for having taken the lives of the fish, in each of which had dwelt a soul.” These sacred fish are venerated over the greater part of the District, but most deeply of all among the Ubium. The matter once touched us very nearly. This people, almost alone of those in the District, had refused to listen to the calumnies of disaffected elements, angered on account of the discovery and consequent suppression of various malpractices. This refusal I gratefully trace, in the first place, to the influence of Dr. Foran and Mr. Eakin, whose devoted example and brilliant medical and educational work could hardly fail of effect upon those among whom their lives were passed. A few evenings after our fortunate escape from the first attempt to kill us, we were sitting on the verandah of a little Rest-house built above the Cross River, when three dusky forms silently appeared from out the surrounding darkness. They were the head chiefs of Ikotobo, and had come because of a new terror with which they had been threatened, apparently with the idea of driving them into the conspiracy against us. In accents husky with fear, they asked if it were true that I had ordered tonite to be used in clearing Ubium Creek of the tree-trunks with which it was blocked. I answered that this was not so ; but, struck by the intense earnestness with which they hung upon the reply, asked if they would have any particular objection to such a course. For once anxiety swept away reserve. A torrent of agonized entreaty burst forth, and the reason for the unwillingness which they had shown, when asked to help in opening up the creek, was made plain. In low intense tones the head chief began : “ Deep down in the waters of this creek, houses may be found like those which the white ants build upon land. Amid these dwellings live great fish with skins black like our own. In these fish are the souls of our ancestors, and should you order tonite to be used near their dwellings, many would be killed ; while for each thus slain one of our people would also die. The old gods have given us guardians for them, a leopard to walk up and down on the bank and drive off danger by land, and pythons which swim to and fro in the water, killing all hurtful creatures ; while, above all, soar fish eagles, black and white, which drop down palm kernels into the river that the fish in which dwell our souls may eat them and be glad. “ Now, therefore, when wicked men urged us to join with the other tribes to kill our District Commissioner and the white women who are with him, we refused, saying : “ ‘ Why should we slay a man who has never harmed us ; but, on the contrary, took steps to safeguard the sacred lake where other of our soul affinities dwell, under the protection of the great mother Isu Ma, and, moreover, promised to punish those who would harm the place or its denizens.’ When they spoke of the tonite we trembled with fear, and a few of our people said : ‘ Let us join to kill the white man, lest he slay our souls and we perish ’ ; but others answered : ‘ We will first go up and speak with him face to face, as is the custom of those white men whom we know.’ ” I would remark that this is no mean tribute to the influence of Mr. Eakin and Dr. Foran. No one is quicker than the unsophisticated African to see below the surface and estimate character at its true worth. To the clear vision of such men the veneer of civilisation shrinks into a mere “ invisible cloak,” while the primitive virtues of courage and truth count for just everything. To the honour of the so-called “ savage,” be it said, the strong, straight man is far more truly respected than his better- liked more easy-going brother. I would venture, moreover, to point out here how important to officials is the study of what one of my kind critics lately styled “ the infant science of anthropology.” Without the guidance of such a mistress it is impossible, even for the best in- tentioned, to avoid the many pitfalls spread round the feet of the ignorant, in a state of affairs so different from that to which most white men are accustomed. To Mr. Eakin I owe the knowledge of the anxiety expressed by the Ikotobo chiefs lest the spread of Christianity, and consequent decay of the old laws, should lead daring spirits to profane the solitudes of the sacred pool and ensnare the fish which dwell in its waters. Such an attempt had been made by a youth of revolutionary tendencies, only a few weeks before. The chiefs went at once to Mr. Eakin, who kindly informed me, with the result that it was announced in Court that any one attempting to profane places hallowed by the tradition of centuries, or to harm totemistic or other creatures held sacred by the tribe, would be punished with the utmost severity in my power. As will be seen, my action in this matter was the principal cause in holding back the people of Ikotobo from joining the conspiracy against us, and their abstention probably kept other Ibibio from taking more decisive action. This again saved the expense of a punitive expedition which would probably have been sent to avenge us, and spared to the tribe the awful misery involved by such a punishment. Truly, though “ a little knowledge is,” indubitably, “ a dangerous thing,” the want of ever so small a piece of information may prove equally dangerous, and with every month spent among people such as these, the importance of anthropological study for all whose lot is cast among primitive tribes is more and more strongly borne in upon me.