Chapter 9

CHAPTER IX THE SPIRITS OF BEASTS AND TREES Some Ibibio folk-stories vaguely shadow forth the belief that not only men, but also anthropoid apes, are capable of sending out their spirits to animate the forms of other species. It was not possible to obtain satisfactory corroboration on this point; but both animals and trees are widely credited with the power of employing astral forms should occasion arise. All over this region men affirm that, at night time, when a goat or other bait has been tied to a post in order to attract a leopard, hunters, lying in wait, notice that the beast usually sends forth a shadow shape—“ Like a great black cat, which has hidden up all its bright skin, so that it may pass unseen, and thus make sure that all is safe, before the coming of the beast himself.” Should a hunter be unaware of this ruse on the part of his quarry, and so shoot at the astral body, he loses all hope of a kill for that time, since the leopard, warned by the shot, goes back to the bush, from the shelter of which nothing will induce him again to venture forth that night. From this belief comes the Ibibio proverb applied to a man who “ Looks before he leaps ” : Ekkpe ededip nkem, osio ndedek-anyan. Leopard hides spots puts out shadow. Some animals are also thought capable of sending their spirits back to earth in apparently tangible form. This belief is illustrated by many stories, of which the following, told by Udaw Owudumo of Ikot Atako, may be cited as typical: no “ The place where our people are laid to rest in the arms of Mother Isong lies some way from the town. Part of it is burial-ground, and the other part is used for farms. Five days a week the townsfolk work on their land, but on the two days called Big and Little Sunday no work may be done. “ Once a man named Akpan disobeyed this rule and went to his farm on Big Sunday. About noon, while he was busily hoeing, he heard the sound of tom-toms softly beaten, and of most sweet singing. He thought : ‘ Some one is giving a play,’ so hid himself to watch. Nothing was to be seen, save the yam vines waving in the breeze, yet all about him he heard the voices of dead people whom he had known, and who were buried near by. Then a great fear fell upon him, and he stayed quite still in his hiding-place, waiting to see what would happen. “ After a while he was aware of flocks of goats moving up and down, and eating the leaves in the farms. Now Akpan well knew that there were neither compounds nor towns in the neighbourhood, so there was nowhere from which so many goats might have strayed. He therefore felt sure that what he saw must be the spirits of victims slain in the funeral rites of those who slept near by. “ When the herds had passed out of sight, the terrified man crept from his hiding-place, and hastened home to tell what he had seen. The people listened and answered : “ ‘ You know that it is forbidden to go to farm to-day. Therefore the ghosts come forth and walk abroad untroubled by the presence of earth-folk.’ “ After this Akpan never again went to his farm on the forbidden days.” Animals set as guardians of sacred places, such as the dwellings of gods and strong Jujus, are also said to have the power of sending forth their astrals, in order to bar the way to those who would trespass within the holy precincts. Sacred trees, too, are thought to project shadow shapes. Such an one grows near Eket, on the bush-path between Ukwa and Ikot Ibiuk. Low down in the ancient trunk, a great hole is to be seen through which sick folk creep, in the hope that their illness may be cured. Hither, too, come barren women and impotent men, trusting that their curse may be taken from them by the power of the Tree Spirit. The name of the indwelling dryad is Ekwekwe, and it is strong to protect all who seek its aid. In olden days, should a neighbouring town come against those who had grown up beneath its shadow, Ekwekwe would block up the road, so that the invaders were unable to pass by. This it did by sending out its astral form to guard the way. No matter from what quarter the enemy approached, they found a tree growing right in their path, where never tree grew before. The great branches groaned and waved, as if stirred by a mighty wind, and so sinister was sight and sound, coming whence no impediment should have been, that terror fell upon the invaders, and they fled to their homes, leaving the “ Children of the Tree ” unharmed. In 1902 a punitive expedition was attacked in the neighbouring Sacred Grove of Edogho Ukwa. Many of the Ekets fled to Ekwekwe for protection, and were mown ^ down round its base. As the survivors sadly say : “ The spirits of Grove or Tree are mighty for black men, but against white men’s guns they are powerless to save.” At Oyubia, just off the main road, two other guardian trees may be seen standing, one on either side of the way, near the head chief’s compound. When asked if these were set there for any special reason, Chief Enyinehi answered: “Yes. They were planted by the whole people of the town many, many years ago. Both are named Ukpan, which means trees which can stop folk, and the reason why they are so called is that, in time of war, should an enemy creep up, in the dark, to surprise the town, so soon as they near the place where the trees mount guard, the neighbouring bush begins to sway and moan, with a sound as of the passage of many warriors. Through the branches also shadow forms are seen, like a great army rushing down upon the invaders. A going is heard in the tops of all forest trees, while the branches of Ukpan shake and groan with a terrifying sound.” This is said to strike such dread into the hearts of the foe that they flee away, throwing down their arms, so that they may be the less impeded. Enyinehi himself states that he has known this happen twice, and on each occasion, when dawn rose behind the great trees, the ground was found strewn with weapons flung away by the panic-stricken enemy. It is only comparatively few trees, such as the silk- cotton, Bombax gigantea, the Iroko or African oak, Chloro- fora excelsa, or the oil bean, Pentaclethra macrophylla, which are credited with being inhabited by human spirits or by Juju. Perhaps nothing shows more clearly how near are these people to the heart of Nature than the close ties between earth’s human children and their brothers, the great trees. When an Ibibio has any trouble which seems to him too hard to bear, he chooses out some giant of the forest, and, standing humbly before it, with hands outstretched in supplication, says : “ You, O Tree, are a big man, and heavy things seem but light to you. I am but a small being, poor and weak, and my trouble is too great for me to bear. Will not you therefore, who are so strong, take it from me ? Since, to your strength, it would be as nothing.” Then, after making sacrifice, the man goes away in peace, believing that his burden will oppress him no more. Just outside Idua Oronn, to the left of the main road, stands a giant tree, in which dwells one of the minor guardian spirits of the town. One night, early in May 1913, a great branch fell from this and lay across the road. Soon after daybreak the women began to pass on their way to farm. As each neared the prostrate limb, she gathered a bunch of leaves from the wayside, and, on climbing over the obstacle, dropped them upon it, sa}dng : Owo osong enyene ndikpa ! (When) person old must die ! Afo omosong do enyene ndikpa! You old therefore must die ! In the evening, on coming back from farm work, the same thing was done, until the heap of leaves had grown so great that the bough was hidden beneath. This covering of verdure was spread over the fallen branch, as a corpse-cloth is laid over the limbs of one new dead, that the indwelling spirit might not feel neglected and untended. At Ikwita, a village between Oronn and Oyubia, there is another sacred tree, and should a branch from this fall in the direction of any of the inhabitants, it is thought to be a sign of coming misfortune to that family. “ Great trees can always give signs to those who believe in them, and many have the power of speaking through the mouths of their priests.” Such an one can be seen at the town of Oduko, some few miles to the south of Oyubia, on the Oronn —Eket main road, the like of which, so the people say, is to be found nowhere else on earth. Its name is Eyeyek, and within it dwells a “ live power,” which can speak to its worshippers through the priest of Idiong, and acts as guardian to those who take refuge in its shadow. The people do not often mention it to strangers. Indeed, I have reason to believe that we are the first “ white men ” either to have seen the tree or heard the tale, which was related to us by Obuoho, son of the head chief, and runs as follows : “ Once, long ago, a mighty man named Okpaw Ebiribong dwelt upon earth. He had a great compound near where the tree now stands. For many years he ruled over all the country-side, but, in the end, called his people around him and said : “ ‘ To-morrow I am going to die. Do not bury my body as is done with those of common men, but robe me in my richest garments, carry me forth, and lay me before the chief entrance to the compound.’ Then, turning to his best-loved wife, he added : ‘ As for you, sit upon the verandah facing the place where my body is laid, weeping and watching over it. Behind you set all your fellow- wives, and beyond them again our kinsmen and the slaves of the house. When these are gathered together, wait in silence to see what will happen.’ “ All was done as Ebiribong commanded. The funeral guns were fired—boom, boom ; then, for a long time, the people sat watching. After a while they saw flocks of birds, small and great, flying thither from every direction. On the trees near by these perched, and all over the com- ['kick which sprang from the Spot where Cut Stone near Ofun Atam. the Body of Ebirihong lay. (See p. 128.) pound roofs. Soon there rose a sound of singing, at first very soft and sweet, then louder and clearer, till all the air was full of song. First the little humming-birds separated themselves from the rest and flew down to settle upon the body. Others followed, till nothing was to be seen of the corpse or the mat upon which it lay. After a while there came the sound of a great rushing of wings, and the birds rose, bearing with them the body of Ebiribong. Up and up they soared, till the whole cloud of them was as nothing but a dark speck against the white sky, and at length disappeared altogether. From that day no trace of the chief was ever seen, but from the place where his body had lain a little green shoot pushed forth. In time this grew to be a tree, the like of which is not to be found—no, not if the bush of all the world be searched for it.” 1 Out of this story has grown a proverb which is used as a reproach to a man over-proud or boastful: “ Speak not as though you were Ebiribong, who was borne up to the sky,” runs the warning ; “ when you die you will lie in the arms of Isong, our mother, as is the lot of common men.” Up till 1895 another sacred tree might have been seen in Oduko market-place. The tragedy of its fall was told us from several sources, and ran in substance as follows : One day when the first traders arrived with their loads and prepared to spread out the various wares beneath its shadow, they looked up, and behold ! down the bark little streams were flowing, red like the blood which pours from fresh-made wounds. All the market-folk gazed at the wonderful sight, then left their goods and ran to spread the news. From far and near people crowded in, and when darkness fell a mysterious rain of blood was still dripping from the tree. Dawn broke next day on streams of market-folk already 1 We were naturally anxious to determine the species of this mysterious tree, but so far aloft grew its leaves and flowers that only by shooting could a specimen be obtained. To enrich our collection by this means would have wounded the susceptibilities of the people of the neighbourhood. All that it was possible to do, therefore, was to bring home a young sapling, many of which had sprung up at the foot of the parent tree. The kind authorities of the South Kensington Natural History Museum were, however, unable to hazard even a guess at its species from such inadequate material. wending their way toward Oduko ; but when they came in sight of the tree they found that the red sap had ceased to flow. Only dark spots on the ground and clotted streaks on trunk and branches remained to prove that the strange happenings of the day before had been no dream. Somewhat reassured, buyers and sellers settled down after a while to the ordinary business of the day. It is the greatest mart of the whole District. Eket, Ubium, Oronn, and people from the banks of the Ambo River, several thousand in all, meet there for sale and barter. On this occasion the crowd was even greater than usual, since many had come from curiosity to see the bleeding tree. Just before noon business was at its height. The people were packed in a dense mass beneath the shadow when, without a moment’s warning, the great trunk crashed down, killing over a thousand people and wounding hundreds more. From Oronn and neighbouring lands a bitter cry went up. Hardly a family of all the country-side but mourned the loss of some member. When the branches had been cut through and dragged away and the huge bole rolled to one side the sight was indescribable. Many bodies were crushed into nothingness, while several new-born babes were found to have met Death on life’s very threshold. The greater number of corpses were buried near the place where they fell, but some were carried away to far-off graves. For a whole month no one went to market, and during all this time, according to the custom of the country, sacrifice after sacrifice was offered, that the cruel spirit which had entered into the tree might be satisfied with his hideous holocaust and leave the rest of the people unharmed. It is perhaps worth mentioning that, in the course of our wanderings through the bush, we have occasionally come across trees which, when cut, exude a deep blood- red sap. It is possible that this peculiarity was shared by the tree above described, and that one of the sudden, terrible tornadoes which so often break out in this part of the world had, since the last market-day, raged around it with such fury as to cause trunk and branches to crack and split. This would account for the phenomenon which first roused the fear of the people, while internal injuries, though invisible from below, might easily have brought about its sudden collapse. Eighteen years later, as we passed through the marketplace on our way to visit the tree of Okpaw Ebiribong, the scene was one of typical peace. Gentle-eyed cows, with coats of black and white satin, slept in the shadows or cropped the scanty herbage with which the place is ringed. Only the giant trunk, shattered and riven, now half-buried by bush and creepers, remains—a grim reminder of the tragedy it caused. In various parts of the country grow “ talking palms,” some of the most famous of which are reported to have been found, in olden days, along the shores of the creek which leads to Onossi. Not far from the banks of the Cross River stands another mysterious palm tree, to which, in times of difficulty or danger, people are still said to go on pilgrimage. Beneath its shade may be seen a little hut, in which dwells its priest, and the method of consulting the oracle is as follows : When any dispute has arisen as to a dead man’s will— or should it be desirable to discover some secret the knowledge of which was not revealed before death—inquirers take an offering and go to consult the priest of the “ Whispering Palm.” Only by him may questions be put, and the moment he has spoken all must preserve dead silence and remain without motion. Suddenly a “ going ” is heard in the top of the palm trees, after which the branches are said to sway and bend, as if some heavy body had alighted among them. Then, clear to all ears, comes the answer, and the questioners cowering beneath assert that it is always given in the very voice of the dead man. At Uya-Oronn, not far from the main road and near the banks of the river of the same name, stood, until the summer of 1913, a giant tree, called Okum Ukponn Owo, i.e. the Cotton Tree of the Soul (or shadow) of a man. Not far from its base nestled a few compounds belonging to the family whose totem it was. Upon these, one night, without a moment’s warning, the mighty column fell. Even the farthest of the little dwellings was caught by the branches. Seven people were killed, many injured, and the frail tenements almost wiped out of existence. Not far off, before the Egbo-shed of the same town, stands another cotton tree, to which we were led by Chief Idiokk One. Far over the tallest palms it towers, and amid its graceful leaves and gorgeous scarlet flowers, high rocked against the blue, dwell the souls of all the chief ancestors of the hamlet which it guards. Around the base, so thickly planted as to cover the little mound from which it springs, masses of broad-leaved coco-yams are set, the tubers of which are never eaten by mortals but laid aside to nourish the ancestral shades.