Chapter 4

CHAPTER IV jujus (continued) ’Mbiam Through his priests alone may ’Mbiam be approached. He is represented sometimes as a strange monster, half human, half bestial, moulded in terra-cotta ; sometimes under the form of gnarled roots or branches of fantastic shape ; sometimes, again, as a rudely carved fetish. The “medicine” proper to his cult is made of water drawn from one of his sacred springs, or the place where he dwells by riverside or seashore, mixed with palm-wine, eggs, and occasionally blood. Only at high tide may such water be taken from sea or tidal river. A description of the ’Mbiam potion, by one who was forced to contribute some of his blood and then partake of palm-wine in which this, together with the blood of his enemies, had been mixed, will be found on p. 261.1 The reason for the rite is given as follows : “ When once a drop of the blood of another man has been imbibed, it is thought that the drinker’s own death would follow any attempt to harm him from whose veins the blood was drawn. Thus the ’Mbiam oath is the strongest possible bond among natives of these regions, and, should two such have sworn blood brotherhood in this manner, each must defend the other, even to death.” Not far from the Pool of Life at Ikotobo lies one of the principal homes of ’Mbiam. 1 Almost similar ingredients are used for the mixture over which the “ Ravnoru Kida ” oath is sworn in Timor-Laut (Riedel, De sluik-en kroesharige rassen tuschen Selebes en Papua, p. 284), as also the peace or friendship bond among the Tagalogs of the Philippines. 46 The “Mother of the Town." One Sunday afternoon, when passing along a road at Ikotobo, Mr. Eakin noticed a path leading into the bush. He asked whither it led, and was told, in the lowered voice of one imparting a secret of vast importance, “ to the Waters of ’Mbiam.” To hear was to follow, and, with that unselfish willingness to share information which we found so characteristic of him, he took the first opportunity of telling us of his interesting discovery. It was not till a couple of months later, however, that time could be found to go thither ; but one late August morning we set forth. The way led along a path bordered on either side by Juju shrines—some distinctly phallic in form—and with little funeral huts dotted here and there, till one of the many “ town playgrounds ” was reached. These are open spaces, shaded by great trees left standing when the lesser growths were cut or burned away. Prominent amongst them stood one which is regarded with special reverence, and is called the Mother of the Town, the gnarled and twisted branches of which, creeper-twined and fragrant with long trails of sweet white orchids, were bathed in the vivid gold of early morning sunlight. Beyond this the path branched off, a little to the left of the turning which leads to the “ Lake of Life.” For some way we followed a “ bush track,” but suddenly our guide made a dive into what looked all but impenetrable jungle. Matchet-strokes soon cleared a thin path, and this we followed, along a gentle rise, until the sound of a small waterfall struck upon the ear. A little farther on the ground fell suddenly, in a slope almost as steep as a wall, and, after climbing downward for some few yards, we caught our first glimpse of the magic water. When at length we had slipped and scrambled over the rich brown leaf-mould, in which flowering shrub, looped liane, and dark evergreen ran riot in luxuriant life, we found ourselves on the brink, gazing out over the water, opposite the spot where a little cascade foamed and splashed down the rocky wall. Here, too, as in the Lake of Life, one side of the sanctuary is of rock, overhung with mosses of velvety green, sparkling with diamond spray, and curtained by sun- kissed leaves. Save for this, and a space at the eastern comer, whence a small stream flows out—its exit all but hidden beneath screening boughs—the pool is surrounded by walls of brown earth so steep that the clinging vegetation seems ever on the point of losing hold. At the base lies the jade-coloured water, as if in a sardonyx cup inlaid with magic tracery of emerald and chrysoprase. In its midst the pool is so deep as to look almost black. This is probably the reason why it is usually spoken of as “ the black and bitter waters of ’Mbiam.” So potent is a draught from this witches’ goblet, that a few drops mixed with food or drink are said to be enough to bring about the death of an enemy. Indeed, when the full rites have been observed, it is only necessary to sprinkle door-posts and lintel with the water, or pour some upon the path which leads to farm or homestead, to produce a like effect ; for as the pool of Isu Ma is sacred to the twin forces of love and life, so is that of ’Mbiam to their dread counterparts, the powers of hate and death. He who by aid of this terrible spirit would sweep another from his path must bring an offering to the priest of the Juju, and follow him up the little stream which flows from out the pool. There, standing knee-deep in the ice- cold water, black with the shadow of the overhanging walls, he calls aloud the name of his enemy. Backward and forward it echoes, and before it dies away the priest takes up the cry and sends the doomed name across the water, that the spirit who dwells in its depths may hear and cause the man’s undoing. In exchange for his offerings the suppliant receives an earthen bowl, never before used, filled with the fatal water. This he must bear away and employ as the priest has ordered. It was from the side where the stream flows out that Mr. Eakin approached the pool on his first visit. Thither he led us, after we had once more climbed the slope. At the point whence the stream issues, fresh offerings lay piled, while on a little platform some few yards above, the scarce- cold ashes of a sacrificial fire told of recent rites. Here surely, if anywhere, might be found the goal of him who “ sought hate’s grove, in the gloomiest nook to dwell.” Yet even here the fair flower of good-will and Mbiam Water at Ikotobo. iiii courtesy might be found by those who had eyes to see ; for, as Mr. Eakin told us, the head priest of the Juju volunteered permission for us to visit this water, hitherto forbidden to all eyes save his own. Standing above the place of sacrifice and looking down to the point where the steps of vengeance-seekers must be stayed—since it is not lawful for them to gaze upon the mysteries of the pool itself—we listened to the words of the priest of ’Mbiam. “ As for you,” he had said, “ we know you for our friend and our District Commissioner also, together with the white women who are with him. We know the fashion of your dealings. To you therefore the sacred places shall be free and open ; but to no others, be they white or black, may the secrets be revealed, and we beg that neither of you will ask it of us.” For many years to come, therefore, these mysterious waters will again be hidden from all eyes save our own, and only by means of photographs can others gather an idea of their legend-haunted solitudes. Many assert that gratitude is a quality unknown among these races. After the speech above quoted, no such reproach could be levelled by any one who had the faintest conception as to what the voluntary surrendering to alien eyes of the mysteries of such holy places, shrouded in the carefully guarded silence of centuries, can mean to people such as these. The working of this particular ’Mbiam was brought to our notice as follows : One day in late September, while we were resting halfway during the course of a tiring march, a man named Abassi Ekong of Ikot Imaw came up to ask help. In his hand was a bottle containing some of the water of ’Mbiam from the pool above described. He was shaking with terror, and the story came tumbling out incoherently enough. Briefly stated, he had stolen away the love of the wife of Utok Adiaha Abang, of Ndukpo Ise, and, though he had repaid the full dowry, thus, by native custom, both freeing the woman and marrying her, the first husband had not forgiven either of them. To the priest of ’Mbiam the latter therefore went, and, after offering sacrifice, obtained a large bowl full of the fatal water. Some of this he threw over his former wife, crying that the children she bore to her new husband should all die ; some he flung upon the path to their house, and sprinkled some upon the door-posts. The bottle which Abassi Ekong brought to us had been buried, so he stated, in a place over which his wife and he were continually passing; but the woman noticed her former husband at work on the spot, and after his departure dug up what he had concealed, and gave it to her present spouse to bring before me. The man stated sadly that, owing to this Juju, their children were dying one by one. Another home of ’Mbiam may be found at a place, just before the Mbo flows out into the Cross River, where the left bank of the former is broken by a small creek. The entrance to this is all but screened, so that it would probably escape notice from any save those who, like ourselves, knew of its whereabouts. Hardly, however, had the prow of our canoe entered the narrow channel than we saw that it widened out into a little bay, the waters of which at high tide almost lap against the threshold of the shrine of the great Juju Ita Brinyan or, as it is sometimes called, Atabli Inyang. The spirit is so powerful that, should one pluck a leaf and throw it upon the waters of creek or river—even upon the waves of the sea itself—calling meanwhile upon the Juju and mentioning the name of the enemy whom it is desired to harm, ebb and flow, wave or ripple, soft breeze or storm wind, will waft it on and on, till at length it is washed up on the grass-grown shore before the shrine of Ita Brinyan. The little bay is full of leaves, golden or copper-tinted, brown or freshest green. So soon as one of these touches the shore — light-wafted despite its burden of hate — the Juju wakes to the message and thenceforth lies in wait till the canoe of the man against whom its aid was invoked can be lured into deep water. Then the spirit overturns the rude craft and draws down his victim into the mud and ooze, never again to rise to the surface till life is extinct. When a man thus finds his end, the ears and nose of the corpse are cut off, as a sign that he died through the hatred of one of the votaries of Ita Brinyan, and his skull is usually placed in the Juju-house. In olden days, while a “ play ” in honour of the fetish was being given, should a canoe full of peaceful traders pass along the river, or should any chance wayfarer trespass within the precincts of the “ Sacred Bush,” priest and followers gave chase, either by water or land. There was but little chance of escape for such unwitting intruders, who were nearly always captured, dragged before the shrine, and offered in sacrifice. Now that such a method of obtaining victims is no longer allowed, the Juju is said to sally forth and himself seize those unfortunate enough to pass by during the celebration of his rites. It is stated that such are easily known, because when Ita Brinyan has laid hold of any man the victim is drawn by irresistible force out of the bush, or up from the river, and at length appears before the Juju-house, vomiting blood. On our surprise visit, the first made by any white man, the shrine was gruesome enough, with its piles of skulls, about fifty in number, many of which were new-brought. I am gratified to learn that my successor, visiting it some months later, found only half-a-dozen or so, all of which are reported to have been old ones—a reform which shows considerable wisdom on the part of the Juju priests ! Before the larger heap lay a great carved tusk, bearing in low relief the figure of the sacred crocodile, together with what seemed the conventionalised representation of a canoe. This juxtaposition, taken together with what was known of the methods of the Juju, suggested that the spirit at times assumes crocodile shape for the destruction of his victims. This supposition was confirmed later by the testimony of several chiefs, among them Efa Abassi Ibaka, who added that the form assumed by Ita Brinyan differed from that of other crocodile Jujus, in that he never appeared save in the shape of a smaller variety of crocodile called by the natives Feom Nkoi and said to bear sharply-pointed spikes along the dorsal ridge. This, like the pigmy elephant also reported to exist in the neighbourhood, is far more dreaded than its larger-sized brethren, on account of the special fierceness with which it is credited. To the central pillar of the little Juju-house a strange object was bound. This was a piece of gnarled root or branch, sculptured, it would seem, by the hand of Nature herself ; for though from a little distance it looked as if human agency must have been responsible at least for the cutting of the eye, a nearer view showed this to be merely a knot in the wood, and no trace of artificial formation could be detected. Little wonder that primitive man, finding such a strangely-shaped object in the shadows of the neighbouring bush, should bear it home to reverence as the sign of some unknown power. Here and there upon the head of the fetish small feathers were stuck, while a cavity beneath the bend of the neck was filled with these. A rough oval, formed from wild rubber or some other adhesive substance, had been smeared upon the pillar itself, a few inches above the strange growth. Upon the space thus prepared, chickens’ feathers had been thickly plastered. At the base of the column lay an ancient skull, encased in a network of copper wires, and behind that again was a little pile of trade-gin bottles, the contents of which had been poured out as libations. Near the door stood a great drum of the usual type, carved from a solid block of wood. On both ends of this, little tufts of feathers were to be seen, held in place, like those already mentioned, by some sticky substance. Toward the back of the room a curtain of plaited palm- leaf screened off an inner compartment, in the midst of which a row of fascinatingly mysterious objects were propped —one, a short spear with haft elaborately carved in the form of a human figure ; strange sceptre-like staves of much the same shape, but without iron tips and with curiously flattened faces, and a queer red-painted instrument, ending above in two horns like those of an irregular crescent. This latter the priest of the Juju declared to be a whistle or trumpet by which “ the call of the spirit ” was sounded. Before these also a heap of skulls was laid. So unusual in shape were some of the carvings that, since there was too little light to give hope of a good photograph, I should have liked to ask one of my companions to sketch them. The odour of the house was, however, so overpowering, owing, in part it would seem, to the scarce-dry skulls, that they were more concerned to beat a hasty retreat.1 Just before our visit a case in which a man, Antikka Antikka by name, accused his wife of invoking this Juju against him had been brought up in the native court at Idua Oronn. In the course of his sworn statement the plaintiff said : “ Since my wife, Owo Ama Esie, invoked Ita Brinyan against me, my canoe has capsized twice, though such a thing never happened to me before. This is in accordance with what we know about the Juju, for should any one invoke it against a man and refuse to revoke it, he will lose his life upon the water.” To this one of the members of court objected, in all seriousness, that the statement told in the woman’s favour ; since Ita Brinyan was well known to be so powerful a Juju that had he really been invoked against any one, the man thus cursed would certainly not have returned to tell the tale. To this the other members agreed. In another case which came before the same court, Ekong Isemin charged six townsmen with calling upon Ita Brinyan to kill him. Prosecutor stated on oath : “ About two months ago I was staying in a little hut by the river-side for the fishing. On my return to town I found that the chiefs had ordered that every man should come to the Egbo house. I therefore accompanied them. The townsfolk said that I and ’Ndiyo 'Ntun had killed a certain man named Ema who had lately died ; so I left the Egbo house and went homeward. On the way I saw Iyama, ’Nkeremayo, Esien, Okpodo, Awai and Ikwo Orok, holding leaves in their hands and calling upon Ita Brinyan to kill me.” To the shrine of this Juju were brought the skulls of those offered in sacrifice to ensure plentiful catches of cray-fish.2 1 Since writing the above I learn that the Juju-house was destroyed by my successor. The various cult objects here described are therefore no longer to be seen. It is consequently a matter of still greater regret to us that detailed drawings were not taken. 2 See p. 317. At Urua Eye, a town only a few miles off, three other well-known ’Mbiam are said to dwell. The first of these, Inyang Edue, is principally used for the recovery of debts. The creditor goes to the priest of the cult and asks the price of his services. Then, when this has been settled, the priest bears the Juju to the debtor’s house and, if the latter does not agree with his adversary quickly, the spirit is credited with the power to strike the offender dead or destroy his reason. Awtaw Awkpaw is the second Juju, and is used for the same purpose as that last described. A little of the “ medicine ” is usually placed before the debtor’s door, generally early in the morning, and if the latter does not find means to pay the debt before sundown and also offer sacrifice, the Juju “ catches ” him, and causes him to vomit blood. Thirdly, at Awsaw Urua Eye a sacred water is to be found, the indwelling spirit of which is named Angweme. Should a man go down to the brink and call upon this ’Mbiam to avenge him upon an enemy, the unfortunate foe will swell and swell until he becomes three times his proper size. Only by discovering the name of the man who has brought this misfortune upon him, and persuading him to revoke the Juju, can such a sufferer hope to be cured of his affliction. Between Engwang and Jamestown dwells another renowned ’Mbiam, the clients of which formed themselves into a society named Etifit Engwang. The members of this cult were all old men, and the Juju was locally regarded as stronger than Idiong. The principal rites were held at the time of the new yams, on the brink of the magic water. Should any non-member chance to pass by and witness even the smallest part of the ceremonies, he had to bring a sacrifice consisting of sheep, goats, salt, and fish, otherwise the Juju would send sleeping-sickness upon him in punishment. This society was said by my informant to have been stopped by Government about 1904, because members were in the habit of sallying out and seizing upon passers-by to offer up to their Juju. Two widely different reasons for invoking the aid of ’Mbiam were related before the court at Idua Oronn. In the first case Abassi Adue stated on oath : “ About seven years ago one of my friends named Mba was sick and therefore told Emo and myself to go and buy ’Mbiam for him. We did so, and when the Juju was brought 'Mba directed us to put some of it upon his children’s heads and upon the road before his house, saying: ‘ May ’Mbiam kill any one who shall seek to harm my children after I am gone ! ’ ” In confirmation of this evidence Eyo Inyan stated on oath : “ I was sent with Abassi Adue to get ’Mbiam to put on the heads of ’Mba’s children, in order to protect them from being sold as slaves or suffering ill-treatment by his family. We did as he bade us, and also put some of the Juju medicine on the road leading to his compound.” A very different reason for employing ’Mbiam may be found recorded in the judgment books of this court—this time as a means of reducing a free-born wife to a condition of slavery. The plaintiff Edak Ekpenyong stated on oath : “ About five years ago Asukwor gave me ’Mbiam at Uya-Oronn, saying that he had bought me from a man at Udun Uko, and that, should I visit my father, ’Mbiam must kill me. He also said that from that day I must consider myself to be a slave. About three years ago he had given me Juju forbidding me to make complaint to any one, or to take action against him, no matter what he did to me. After this, he refused to treat me as his wife, and forbade me his bed ; but swore on a certain Juju that he would not live with me any more, and wanted his dowry back.” Asukwor, the accused, stated : “ I gave ’Mbiam to Edak at Ikwita, to prevent her from quitting my house. About six years ago she abused one of my daughters, saying that the latter was a ‘ twin girl.’ So I gave ’Mbiam to her and to two other women, that they must become the slaves of that ‘ twin girl.’ The girl died a short time ago and I revoked the ’Mbiam to show that they were no longer slaves of the deceased. When my daughter was ill, I invoked ’Mbiam and other Jujus upon all my wives, that if any of them had harmed the sick girl the Juju might kill them. After this, Edak came and asked me to revoke the ’Mbiam, on which I did so. I gave her 'Mbiam again a few months ago to prevent her from going to another man and from buying witchcraft medicine. She refused to swear not to do this, so I invoked ’Mbiam upon her.” (Questioned by Court.) “Is it the custom to enslave a married woman to a daughter ? ” {Answer.) “ Yes.” (Several chiefs here rose to protest against the truth of this statement.) [Questioned by Court.) “ If the girl had not died, would the women have remained as her slaves ? ” {A.) “Yes.” (1Q.) “ Supposing your wife had been a Calabar woman, would you have given her ’Mbiam to make her a slave of your daughter ? ” [A.) “ No. I would not.” {Q.) “ Why then did you enslave Edak ? ” {A.) “ Because she is only an Oronn woman.” Otu Abassi, called as a witness, stated on oath : “ About five years ago I was at Asukwor Nya’s house and his daughter came and complained to him that Edak Ekpenyong had called her a ‘ twin girl.’ He therefore invoked ’Mbiam on Edak that she should become a slave of that ‘ twin girl,’ but revoked it afterwards.” {Q.) “ Is it your custom to give ’Mbiam to a married woman to become the slave of a daughter ? ” [A.) “ No. It is not usual.” (().) “ Suppose that you were the father of a girl who had married a man of another tribe, and you heard that your daughter had been given ’Mbiam to cause her to become a slave, what would you do ? ” [A.) " I should go and inquire of my son-in-law, and, if found to be true, I should consider her thenceforward to be a slave ” (!).