Chapter 8

CHAPTER VIII AFFINITIES AND WERE-BEASTS (<continued) Unlike the sinister beings suspected of sending forth their souls in crocodile or python shape, no stigma seems to rest on those thought capable of assuming bird-form, nor on those whose spirits are linked with the powers of vegetation, dwelling in great trees, lianes, or climbing palms. Should a branch fall from some tree which is thought to be tenanted by the soul of a man, the chiefs of the town gather together, and, after covering over the broken end with a cloth, offer sacrifice, that he whose “ Bush-Soul ” dwells within may not die. Here and there, among the natives of this region, some are found with a skin so vividly red that it is difficult to believe, as far as colour is concerned, that they are of negro rather than Red Indian blood. One evening, just as the sun was sinking, we were sitting in the kiosk of the Rest House at Ikotobo, watching a stream of men and women returning from farm work. The rays of the setting sun fell upon one of these, turning her red skin to positive scarlet, so that she seemed all aflame. Natives explain the peculiarity by saying that such red men and women are “ Children of the camwood tree.” This tree is their affinity, and when set free, their spirits enter trunk or branches, just as others go forth from their human bodies to inhabit those of animal denizens of bush or river. To this totem belongs Chief Inyang of Ikot Imaw near Ndiya. In mentioning these sons and daughters of the red-timbered camwood, it is interesting to remember that the greatest living Africanist, Sir Harry Johnston, refers to widespread traditions that, before the Bantu invasion, West Africa 102 was peopled by a dwarfish race sometimes referred to as red men.” 1 To the silk-cotton tree, or Okum, “ affinity,” only chiefs or the sons and daughters of chiefs can belong. The mother of David Ekong of Ibeno, head wife of the Chief Priest of the great Juju Ainyena, claimed to be of this totem, and, in consequence, was called by the name Okum. When a chief has entered into such an affinity, he usually sets a strong fence about his “ Soul-tree,” so that nothing may come near to harm it. Sometimes, too, such “ Okum ” men make a great magic, by which the souls of their wives and children are drawn into neighbouring trees. Chief Awkonnor of Ikotobo is said to be the affinity of the Awkonnor tree, which, among Ekoi and Ibibio, may always be found planted by places of sacrifice. By some it is held that, beneath its shadow, witches creep to weave their evil spells. Thither, too, come wronged wives and barren women, to call down punishment upon the husbands by whom they have been harshly treated. On account of the age to which this tree endures, together with its striking appearance, it is much in use for the marking out of boundaries : the more so that possibly its supposed magical properties are of themselves held instrumental in carrying out the curse, pronounced of old, upon the man who should remove his neighbours’ landmarks. The soul of another Ikotobo chief dwells in a great tree near one of the town playgrounds. As a sign of this mystic connection, and to ward off evil influences, a long wooden haft with a piece of iron lashed to the top is always set against the trunk. Many chiefs, in whose family the Tree Totem is not hereditary, seek to buy entrance into this affinity, because it is supposed to confer long life, power and virility beyond the lot of ordinary mortals. Not for lifetime only, but as long as the tree endures, this strange link is thought to hold. After a “ Tree-Soul ” has quitted its human body and passed into the realm of ghosts, it is still deemed capable of entering its affinity, and thence, by means of rustling leaves or waving boughs, communicating with those of its earthly 1 A Survey of the Ethnography of Africa. brethren, who come to seek advice or help. One such oracle may be found in a climbing palm which grows by an enchanted water near Idua Eket. In this dwells the soul of the head chief’s mother, and thither he bears offerings twice a year, at harvest time, and the planting of new farms. On one occasion when Chief Henshaw and some of the principal members of his family were trading in the German Cameroons, they passed a tree by the river-side, on an outstanding branch of which sat a great white egret. In passing, two men shot at it from the canoe, but the bird remained unharmed. Then a friend, who accompanied them and had the reputation of being an excellent marksman, fired, but with no result. So astonished was he at his failure to hit at such easy range, that he cried to his companions : “ Shoot no more ; for this is no true bird, but one in which dwells the soul of a man, who possesses a strong Juju, before which our guns are powerless.” After this, the party refrained from shooting, though the bird flew tantalisingly in front of them, and only disappeared a short time before their destination was reached. On nearing the beach of the little town, the head chief came down to meet them. “ Welcome,” he said in salutation, “ I am glad to see you, and am well pleased with the goods you have brought, especially with such and such ”— naming several, the appearance of which he proceeded minutely to describe. All were astonished, since the things were not yet unpacked, and none but those in the boats knew what the owner had chosen to bring on this journey. “ How do you know what I have brought ? ” asked the leader of the party. The chief laughed : “You were looking over your goods and discussing their price a while ago,” he answered. “ Have you forgotten the white bird at which you shot three times, but could not harm ? My soul was in the bird, and through its eyes I was able to look down and see all that you had in the canoe.” Those who belong to the parrot “ affinity ” are supposed to be gifted with the power to sing sweetly. One condition is, however, attached to this gift : they must always hold up their heads while singing and never lower their eyes to the ground till the end of the song. This prohibition is enforced because parrots are supposed to fly with heads held high, lest, by mischance, their spittle should fall to the ground. Hunters say that, should a parrot let fall even a single drop of spittle while flying, the bird dies at once. “ That is why parrots always hold their heads so high when they fly.” Crocodile souls are also credited with the power to sing in a bass voice, like the sound which their familiar is supposed to produce, deep down in his throat. The Fish Eagle is thought to be the affinity of many chiefs. Ibokk Edem Idiong, for instance, who came to Ndiya from Ikot Imaw, is credited with the power to send forth his soul into this bird ; then, soaring above the town, he can look down and see all that is being done there. “ This is a favourite affinity, because the Fish Eagle is a very powerful bird. Therefore chiefs try to pass on the secret to their sons. Men of this totem are given very long life. They grow to be old, old, old ; yet their strength remains to them, instead of fading away like that of other aged men.” Often people take ripe palm nuts into the bush and strew them upon the ground, calling upon the name of this bird. No matter how far off he may be, he will come at the call, swooping down from out the clear sky to enjoy the offering. Then, stretching strong wings, he sails away once more. By some it is thought that men partially blind, or with filmy-looking eyes, belong to this totem ; but no confirmation of such a statement could be found. According to general belief, those with weak, rheumy eyes are bush- cat souls, because these animals are said not to see well in the daytime, as the sun is too strong for them. There is hardly a wild creature which is not credited with some human affinity, and usually the latter is marked with a sign which betrays him. Monkey-souls, for instance, have deep-set eyes, and, some say, hands of which the fingers are drawn inwards. Among Chief Henshaw’s labourers are two, a mother and son, the first of whom is thought to be a baboon soul, and the second a chimpanzee. Usually fast runners, and those who move with a peculiar creeping motion, are looked upon as leopard souls, while the smallest creatures—rats, mice, and even insects so minute as hardly to be seen by the naked eye—have their affinities. At one town there were so many rats that the people groaned for deliverance from these pests, as once, according to legend, did the inhabitants of Hamelin Town in Brunswick. Neither by day nor night could these unfortunates find rest. By day, their food and clothes were devoured, and no sooner did they fall asleep than the rats attacked their bare toes. “ Now in this town was a chief who was old and very wise. He called to him several Juju men who could understand animals’ speech, for many of the more powerful priests and witch-doctors can do this. Together they considered what was best to be done, and, after long consultation, went to the Egbo shed, where the chief caused the Great Drum to be beaten, while he himself called out in a loud voice : “ ‘ Listen, rat people ! We know well who you are. If, therefore, you do not stop troubling us, we will catch and kill you in your human forms.’ After this the rat folk were afraid, and so left off annoying their neighbours.” A similar Juju is said to have been put in force by the Efut people to rid themselves of the swarms of sand-flies and mosquitoes which were troubling them. On this occasion Chief Henshaw was present and witnessed the rites, immediately on the completion of which the plague ceased. The name of the Juju employed for this purpose was Uduan Ekkpe. At first sight it would seem strange that the souls of human beings should be thought to enter so diminutive a body as those of sand-flies or mosquitoes. Yet it was explained that this were-form is a very useful one, since it permits those who possess it to pass unnoticed anywhere, and thus listen and watch, so that the most jealously guarded secrets come to their knowledge. A man named Ekuere Eka Obong was accused of belonging to the rat affinity before the Awa Native Court on September 20, 1913. He himself brought a charge for A Famous Were-leopard. defamation of character on account of the accusation. The case is of some interest, since the method of metamorphosis was described in detail. The prosecutor, Ekuere Eka Obong, stated on oath : “ Some time ago I took action against my wife. Her brother told me before court, ‘ Your case will be dismissed, as my sister will say whatever I like. You are a wizard and have been bewitching my sister and myself.’ He said all this in open court, so, after the case was dismissed, I went to the District Commissioner to ask him to revise it.” Udaw Nwa Ekkpe—witness for prosecutor—sworn, stated : “I am a member of court and was present when the case was tried. I heard the accused, Ekkpo Udia, say to prosecutor : ‘ You used to come through a hole in the roof, during the night time, to my sister as she lay sleeping.” James Akpabio—witness for prosecutor—[stated on oath : “I am assistant clerk at Awa Court. I heard the first accused charge prosecutor with witchcraft. Accused said : ‘ I hear that you used to come through a hole in the roof at night to join my sister as she lay sleeping. That is not the way for a man to come into his wife’s house ! According to our custom, when a man enters in that way he is called a wizard ! ’ ” Ekkpo Udia, defendant, stated : “ My sister said in court to her husband : ‘ When I slept in my house, during the night time, with both doors locked, I used to see you inside the room. How did you manage to get in all those times ? ’ I remarked to her : ‘ According to our native custom, if a man wishes to enter his wife's house, he should knock upon the door and wait until this is opened to him. Should a man be found in the central room, without the opening of any door, he would seem to have acted in the manner of a wizard.’ ” The wife, Adiaha Udaw Inyang Ita, also stated : “ One evening, soon after I married prosecutor, we were sitting down together. He told me : ‘ I have bought a witchcraft from some one, but the affair is not yet quite settled. The way of entering this affinity is to catch rats and take these out to the bush. One of them must be ground up and mixed with the medicine that I have bought. When this has been done, some of the potion is given to the live rats. Then, whenever the owner of the Juju wants to bewitch any one, but cannot go himself in person, he sends a rat instead, or rather he sends his soul in the form of a rat. So sometimes when you hear a rat jumping about on the roof at night time it is either sent by a wizard or is one which contains his soul.’ When prosecutor told me this there was no one present. It took place when we were sitting alone together inside my house. “ Next night I was lying asleep. I woke up suddenly and saw prosecutor standing in the middle of the room. I asked : ' Why do you do this ? Do you not understand that if a man comes to his wife’s house, it is his place to knock on the door or call to her ? ’ He did not answer me and went away. The door had been locked from the inside. Some days afterwards I reported the matter to my brother, the first accused, and asked : ‘ Is it right for a husband to treat his wife in this manner ? ’ I said in court also to my brother that prosecutor used to come to me in the form of a rat, through a hole in the roof, as I lay sleeping. “ On two occasions he came and lay by me, after entering the room in a manner which I could not understand. The first time that he did this I was frightened, and called out for his mother to come ; but, on her arrival, she began to quarrel with me, asking : ‘ Do you wish to proclaim my son to be a wizard ? ’ At first I did not know what had happened to me until he had gone away, when I found signs of what he had done. . . . When I woke up the first time, half-dazed from sleep, he did not seem to me to be like a man ; but the second time I saw him as a man. When he entered my room the first time in this secret manner, I was dreaming that I had gone up to Abassi’s (i.e. God’s) house, where Abassi himself dwelt among his chiefs. When I woke, I found the signs of what had happened, and, on looking up, saw my husband scrambling along the roof like a big rat.” In answer to question by Court : “ He certainly had the skin and shape of a rat. I was frightened, and did not take time to look at his face.” Question by prosecutor : “ Did you report this to any one during all the two years which have since passed ? ” Answer : “I told Akpan Inaw, who is the head of your house.” Akpan Inaw, witness for second accused, stated on oath : “ Adiaha told me : ‘ Here is the man whom you bade me marry. He has behaved in a bad manner. Whenever I slept in my house he used to come in the middle of the room without any door being opened to him. I believe that he must be a wizard.” “ I prevented her from making such statements, saying : ‘ Hush ! Do not say anything of the kind. He might have opened the door without making a noise. If you continue to repeat a thing like this, his family will say that you are proclaiming their son as a wizard before the people. Wait until we hear that the man has behaved in the same way to some other woman. Then we shall all know that your story is true.’ ” Another witness, Ekott by name, stated on oath : “ Some days ago a man named Okun Akpan Inaw told me that prosecutor had threatened to take the soul of his brother-in-law, the first accused, and put it into the wall, in order to kill its owner.” Incredible as it may seem to twentieth century ideas, such cases not infrequently come before the courts, and are constantly brought before the council of chiefs, or town meeting, which usually comes together to judge such things before they reach the ears of Government.