Chapter 6

CHAPTER VI “ MAGIC ” PLAYS Many rites which, according to native ideas, come under the heading of “ magic ” would seem more properly to fall under that of conjuring tricks. To give a few examples, as described in the words of Abassi Ndiya : “ There is so much magic in our town that medicine men who are strong in the knowledge of secret things can take a small babe from its mother, throw it into a fu-fu mortar, and beat it to pulp before the eyes of all the people. Only the mother is not allowed to look upon the sight, but is led far away into the bush, lest she should weep too much and so disturb the ceremony. “ Next, three men are chosen out and bidden to stand before the mortar. To the first is given a little of the pulp to eat, to the second considerably more ; while the third man is made to swallow the rest, even to the last morsel. “ When all is eaten the three move forward, facing the spectators, the one who ate the most standing in the middle. After a while they begin a dance, in the course of which the central figure pauses suddenly, and, extending his right leg, shakes it violently. Then, from out of his thigh, the babe appears to be reborn and is carried round for all men to see.” 1 The narrator added sadly that he had been told, could he but take this play to England, thousands of pounds would be paid for its production ; but, he continued, he feared that such things would not succeed there, “ because the climate is too cold ! ” The “ play ” above described was being given in a large 1 Similar " magic ” is performed among the central Ibo. 72 Market-place where the Magic Plays were held. open space one day when we arrived unexpectedly at Ndiya. The performers stopped at once on our appearance, for, to use their own expression, they “ done fear too much.” We have an uneasy suspicion that, in all probability, they had distinct cause for anxiety; for, from a somewhat intimate knowledge of the methods of Ibibio “ medicine ” men, it would seem by no means impossible that two babes did not figure in the programme ! Another and even more gruesome " play ” in great favour at the same town was described, in substance, as follows, by several people, including two chiefs, each of whom declared that he had seen it many times. In the midst of the sunny market-place, surrounded by trees, under the shade of which close-packed crowds sit buying and selling, or come together from all the countryside to watch dance and play, a man is stationed with a friend on either hand. Before him stands another, chosen for his skill with the matchet. After making many passes in the air with this weapon, the juggler appears to strike off the head of the central figure. The trunk is then supported on either side by the two friends, who also fan the neck vigorously, so that no fly may be able to settle upon it : for they say that, should flies settle, the magic will be broken and the man can never return to life. Meanwhile, the seeming executioner is said to bear the head round the market-place, showing it to all the people. He then rushes back to the trunk, and carefully replaces the severed member, setting his own matchet in the right hand and another in the left. Thereupon the supposed corpse rushes round the market-place, waving both weapons and shouting gleefully : “ Look upon me ! You thought that I was dead, but see ! I am alive again.” 1 In spite of its attraction for them, the people are said to fear this play greatly, just as they would the sight of a real ghost. After considerable difficulty, I succeeded in persuading a celebrated Juju man of the town to consent to arrange that the performance should be given in our presence. For an augmented sum, he even agreed to allow me to take 1 This also is done by central Ibo adepts. photographs of its various stages, as I had done during the Spider Play described on page 79. Unhappily, however, a few days before the date on which the performance was to be given, orders came for me to proceed to another District: thus the chance to obtain photographic records of this weird exhibition was lost. This is unfortunate, as the accounts, independently given by each informant, tallied perfectly on all important points. That they were firmly convinced of the truth of their statements was beyond a doubt. It would, therefore, have been interesting to see whether the camera recorded clever juggling, or if these strange scenes were only dream-pictures hypnotically induced upon the minds of the onlookers. Should the latter prove to be the case, it would be doubly interesting, since it is stated that nothing at present known to European science could account for such a result. Another explanation is that a powerful medium is employed, in whose presence temporary materialisations can take place in the full light of day. During most so-called “ magic plays ” there is a rule that men and women may not eat together, otherwise the spell would be broken : the dead could not be brought back to life, nor the wounded made whole. This tabu is enforced during the performance of another gruesome “ play,” which is watched with a mixture of awe and excitement by crowded audiences. The following account was given from three different sources, all of which tallied perfectly : “ When the people are gathered together in the marketplace, a man is set in their midst. Long palm-stems are cut and sharply pointed at one end, forming spear-like poles. These appear to be driven through the throat and lower part of the victim’s trunk, so that they seem to pass through the body with the points sticking out beyond. Then the Juju priest calls upon the names of the man’s father and grandfather, should these be dead, or more remote ancestors if the nearer kin are still alive. After this invocation, the palm-stems are withdrawn and carried round in order to show the people. The supposed victim, meanwhile, also walks round, in proof that he is none the worse for his adventure.” That such a trick, performed in the open, and with the fewest possible accessories, can impose as it does, time after time, upon hundreds of keen-eyed spectators, surely argues no small amount of skill on the part of the performers. A third play given at Ndiya is that peculiar to the society called Udaw Akan, i.e. the Second-Born Excels. This performance can only take place in the neighbourhood of great cotton trees, and is therefore usually given in an open space in the town, between two of these giants. For this “ play ” a rope is stretched from the higher branches of two tall trees some hundred yards distant from one another, and kept as taut as may be by the efforts of many men. The “ image,” in full paraphernalia, climbs up the one tree, then “ dances ” right across the rope and descends by the other.1 At Henshaw Town, Calabar, a celebrated play is sometimes given at the time of the full moon. A single slender pole is fixed in the ground. Up this a man climbs till he reaches the top, when he stands on the point and dances, i.e. sways to and fro, rippling the muscles of back and waist, and waving his arms in the curious undulating movement usual among natives of these parts. After a while he climbs down head foremost, or springs from the top, turning two somersaults before reaching the ground. Many Juju and Egbo men are clever ventriloquists. One “ play ” in which their powers are shown is called Ekkpo Akpara. In an open space, such as one of the “ town playgrounds ” or market-places, two long stout stakes are driven into the earth, forked or notched at the ends. Between them, from top to top, a long palm-stem is laid, and upon this a row of small fetishes are carefully balanced, one by one. Then tom-toms are beaten, at first slowly and softly, but with ever-increasing rhythm. “ When the music grows loud and fast, the little idols begin to dance and talk with 1 The minimum distance given by my informants was four hundred yards. Many insisted that the trees were usually even farther apart. Chief Henshaw, on reading through the account after it had been written down, said sadly and reproachfully : “ You will wrong these people should you place the distance at less than four hundred yards ! ” Obviously, however, this is an exaggeration. the voice of a man.1 Eggs also can be made to speak in a similar manner.” Abassi of Ndiya states that he learnt this “ play ” and brought it to his country from Obio Iban Iban—the town of the women magicians described in another place.2 One of the most famous of these “ marionette ” plays, Akan by name, was given in our honour during our last visit to Awa—a water-side town, situated on the river of the same name, just before the entrance to the Magic Water described on p. 41. In this performance altogether twenty puppets took part, and while I secured as many snapshots as possible, my wife made hasty sketches of the principal characters. These consisted in grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, eldest son, eldest son’s wife, second son and his wife, eldest daughter, her husband and “ the beggar.” The other nine performers were quite subsidiary personages. In the wide sandy space surrounding the court-house, with its rough-hewn pillars and palm-leaf thatch, only a few yards from the fringe of low bush, broken here and there by palm trees, which surrounds the enclosure like a wall, a rough rectangle, some twenty feet long and six broad, had been marked out with posts. Over these blankets were stretched, carefully sewn together so as to form a little room, within which the manipulators could move unseen. In front stood three men, armed with brushes of palm fibre, with which they continually beat the screen of blankets, causing these to quiver, and thus hide any movement made by the real performers as they passed up and down behind. The practical purpose of this little piece of byplay was disguised from the credulous onlookers, hundreds of whom had gathered together from all the country-side, and sat in a dense half-circle on the sandy ground, by the pretext that it was part of the powerful A Cf. the Ekoi doctor and the fetishes, which, though out of his reach, he could make dance (see In the Shadow of the Bush, p. 295), and the recent experiments in France, which seem to prove that certain people have the power of influencing objects without touching them, as well as the telekinetic phenomena at spiritualistic seances. 2 D. Amaury Talbot, Woman’s Mysteries of a Primitive People, p. 31 (Cassell). Marionettes used in the “Akan” Play. Broom Juju,1 and necessary for the manifestation of the spirits of the play. Up and down, in front of the spectators, danced three boys dressed as women, with many beads, long silk handkerchiefs, and strips of brightly coloured cloth knotted round the waist, in the manner of “ Fatting-house ” girls and Ebere women. These last-named form the only exclusively feminine guild of any importance which still survives among Ibibio, and perhaps the youths in feminine garb are another survival of the original predominance of feminism. As each fresh mannikin appeared, a black cock was lifted up to touch it, in order, so it was explained, to confer upon it the power of speech and movement. The voices of the actual speakers were disguised by the use of a small tube made from corn-stalk covered with the membrane taken from beneath a bat’s wing. Of plot there was none : each character delivered itself, either in monologue, or conversation with others, of topical remarks, or described matters of everyday occurrence in the lives of people such as these. The father, for instance, came upon the scenes during an animated discussion between his eldest son and daughter, his second son and the wife of the first. Shaking a wooden sword, he bade them all be silent, as he himself wished to sing. His ditty was doleful in the extreme, and mostly consisted of a recitation of matrimonial troubles. “ Formerly,” he chanted, “ I had plenty yams. Now my wife has eaten them all and run away to another man.” At this point a pale, coffee-coloured figure sprang up, naked, but bearing some well-wofn rags in his right hand. He pushed to the front, exclaiming, “ After all, you are a chief and have something. I am the man who can justly claim the pity of our District Commissioner, because I have no good cloth.” The “ grandfather ” next appeared, bearing a broom of palm fibre, to reprove the last speaker as a shameless beggar, and declare that he himself loved our party so much that he did not wish for gifts to any large amount, and would be satisfied even with a “ dash ” of three pence ! 1 P. Amaury Talbot, In the Shadow of the Bush, p. 81 (Heinemann, London ; George Doran, New York). After this interlude, obviously interpolated for our benefit, the greater number of the performers departed one by one, leaving the “ father ” and the eldest son’s wife in possession of the scene. The latter was dressed in a scanty garb of beads and bells, supplemented only by a dark green cloth, well above the waist-line, tied in a loose knot over the right hip. In her hand was a paper fan, circular in shape and ornamented with the Stars and Stripes. In spite of flirtatious manner and provocative air, the personage above described, after regarding the male performer in silence for some seconds, addressed him in a tone of reproof. “ Why,” said she, “ do you thus excite yourself ? I know that I am beautiful and attractive ; but you must remember that I am not your wife. Neither am I such a woman as would condemn her man to death by giving herself up to another.” The actions of the second performer were, unfortunately, unmistakably realistic. The rest of the play is indescribable. I am happy to say that this is the only occasion on which we have encountered an instance of real vulgarity among primitive African peoples. Up till now, even when touching on subjects usually avoided by Europeans on account of difficulty of treatment, the perfect simplicity of manner and purpose with which such were mentioned or explained robbed them of possible offence. In this one case, most unfortunately, inexcusable and irrelevant coarseness showed itself, naked and unashamed, and we could not but wonder as to the influence to which the innovation was due. Akan is a very celebrated Ibibio play, and, according to the testimony of many Awa people, was invented, like most of its kind, at Ibiaku, a few miles off. The history of this play was given as follows by Mr. Mathews, the Native Court clerk :1 “When there had been ‘war’ between two towns,”1 he said, “ on the conclusion of peace, the vanquished side had to bring a certain play to perform before their erstwhile enemy. Next year, the victorious party brought another play to visit the conquered town. 1 Since writing the above, we have heard, with great regret, that he died a few months after our departure. “ No woman may know the secret of how the dolls move and talk. Every night, for seven seasons, the play must be practised before it can be shown openly. Toward the close of the seventh, the performers come out and give notice to their fellow-townsmen : ‘ We are now going to play Akan by daylight.’ ” There was grim cause for careful preparation, since in this, as in everything African, Tragedy walked close upon the heels of Comedy. When the “ play ” was taken to another town, should but one of the dolls chance to fall, so that the spectators could see, from its rude joints and pulleys, the way it was worked, the townsfolk at once surrounded the visitors, and either slew these on the spot for having revealed the secret to women, or, more frugally minded, killed the one by whose fault the misfortune had chanced, and sold the rest into slavery. After the garishness and coarseness of the performance above described, we were quite unprepared for the beauty of that which was to follow. This was the so-called Utughu or Spider Play, which is stated to have been brought to this part of the world in quite recent times, from the Ibiaku. The latter are said to have learnt it from the Ibo, who are thought to have practised it from time immemorial. Even the name is said to be new, and given, quite understandably, from the fact that the figures carry out their strange play by means of cords, which, seen against the sky, are not unlike the threads of a spider’s web. In teaching the play to the Ibibio, it was distinctly stated that the original name had been withheld, because it was not lawful to entrust this to strangers. A new one had therefore to be found for it. To our minds there could be little doubt that we were here privileged to witness a survival of one of the ancient Bird Dances. First, a strangely bedizened, masked figure climbed up the pole on the left, then perched, in a brooding attitude, upon the log placed transversely across the forked end. On his head was a feathered head-dress. The mask was white, with raised black lines drawn across the forehead, much like the brows and beak of an owl, from which the connecting lines of our letter “ M ” are said to have been derived. For a while he sat still, silent and gazing downward, brooding, as it were, from his perch in the sky over the abyss. Then slowly he raised a hand and let out the lower of the two strings which crossed above his head, so that it fell earthward in a slack V, after which he returned to his attitude of brooding. A little later the rope was pulled taut from beneath ; then, slowly at first, but with increasing swiftness, a strange figure rose into view, flying upward, as if to meet her mate. The grotesqueness of her attire seemed in no way to lessen her weird loveliness or the grace of her movements ; rather it seemed to accentuate both. She wore a mask, brightest gold in colour, which, from the distance, looked as though it might have come straight from some Egyptian tomb. Here were the same long almond-shaped eyes as those which gaze from old papyri or the walls of many a forgotten sepulchre, newly opened to the light of day, or such as are depicted on painted sarcophagi or the papyri of The Book of the Dead. Save that a beak-like point was drawn over the forehead, beneath the feathered head-dress, there was no suggestion of bird traits. The features were small, and the expression strangely gentle and appealing, while the contours were soft and rounded. With arms outstretched, the lovely apparition floated upward ; then, on reaching the brooding figure above, pressed her feet against the post, and, raising her head till it was slightly above his knees, waved the throat to and fro, much like a bird at breeding time. After a while she slipped backward a little. The male then rose, and, waving arms with a wing-like motion, slid after her till both reached the central point between the two posts. Here each drew feathers from amid their robes and strewed them upon the ground. As these fell through the air, they reminded one irresistibly of the story of old Mother Goose, so dear to childhood’s days. A moment later, the bird-wife sank backward, sliding down the cord, and, when she had disappeared beneath, her mate returned to his perch on high. Next the hen-bird flew upward, bearing a mirror in which the male surveyed himself for a long time, waving arms, undulating throat, and apparently preening, while all the The Sacred Bird Dance, time his humble little mate lay upon the rope, gazing upward at her lord. After a while he gave back the hand-glass, and she slid with it out of sight once more, to return, first with a big umbrella, which he opened and held over him, and secondly with a folded paper, which looked from the outside like a great sheet of papyrus, but, when unrolled, proved to be one of the gaudy lithograph portraits of the King and Queen. After many graceful posturings, sometimes single, sometimes together, the lady bird retired, apparently not to return. Her mate waited for a while, then seeming to grow uneasy at the continued absence, bent forward as if in search. Next he slid a few feet along the rope, as though in pursuit, then caught at the cords above, and, after turning three somersaults over these, finally slid to earth and disappeared from view. For several minutes nothing happened. Only posts and cords were to be seen, clearly silhouetted against the pure beauty of an early morning sky. Then into view once more, ecstatic, upward soaring, came the bird-wife. Higher and higher she mounted—arms extended, and mask touched to a new radiance by the glory of the sunlight, until her head was on a level with the empty perch. Then came a sudden pause, a gaze as of incredulity, and the whole lovely form shrank together, drooping, abandoned and alone. With a gesture infinitely pathetic, the frail arms crossed the breast; the weird loveliness of the head and upper body was lifted, bowing again and again as if in sad homage to the empty seat. Then, with arms outflung, in a gesture of superb abandonment and despair, the lithe figure fell backward and downward, till it reached the central point. Here the rope was drawn taut,' the deserted mate gave an upward spring and caught the cords above. Five somersaults she turned on the twisted ropes, and then, amid wild applause, seemed to fling herself to earth—gliding down by the lower cord almost too rapidly for the eye to follow. Throughout the play, though the ropes were plainly visible, the performance seemed independent of all such external aids ; while the players appeared to float effortless as birds against the blue. I have spoken of the loveliness of the gold-painted mask G worn by the bird-wife on this occasion. After the performance we wished to photograph and sketch it, as well as the other. On payment of the requested “ dash,” this was permitted, and our disillusionment may be imagined when the actual objects were laid in our hands. Carved from a solid block of wood, almost grotesque in outline, the whole glamour and beauty of the thing seemed to have disappeared as if by magic. Hardly could we be persuaded that these were the actual masks worn during the play. It was only after they had been replaced upon the heads of two of the performers, and the latter had moved a few yards away, that we saw they were, in very truth, the same. Thinking over the difference, scarce believable save to those who had actually witnessed it, a memory wave brought to mind visions of masks worn in the dramas of old Greece. There, too, the conditions were not unlike. Given, as here, in the open—possibly also with a background of swaying palms—may not the glamour of air and sky have lent to these masks also, when seen from a distance, a beauty and aloofness which not only heightened the effect of the glorious text, but gave to the whole an atmosphere in which great men and women lived and acted greatly—far removed from the commonplaces of this workaday world ? Perhaps the surest claim which a Nigerian pagan can make upon the remembrance of posterity is to found a new cult or invent some new play. Much as with the names of benefactors mentioned in the “ Bidding Prayer ” at St. Mary’s, Oxford, those of the founders of societies are always called aloud at every important celebration of the rites. That the idea of thus purchasing deathless fame, at the price of life, is not strange among people such as these, will be seen from the following account : How the Play Aka Akong was brought to Earth from the Ghost Town Told by Udaw Owudumo of Ihot Atako “ Once an old man lay dying. He called to his son, Akpan Eyuk Uyo by name, and said : ‘ I have only one Ibibio (Ogoni) Masks and Marionettes. thing of value to bequeath, and that is my palm grove. This, therefore, is my dying gift to you. Tend the trees and enjoy the fruit, for now I must leave you.’ After saying this he died. “ When the funeral rites had been performed, the son set forth to visit his palm grove in order to cut down a cluster or two. When he reached the place, not a ripe nut was to be seen ! Some one had been there before him and gathered them all ! So he went sadly back and rang a bell round the town crying, ‘ Who has cut my palm nuts ? ’ But no one answered, though the thefts continued steadily. “ One day, therefore, Akpan went toward the grove and hid in the bush near by. It was very hot, but he waited patiently, and at noontide saw a ghost creep forth from a hole in the ground. On his back the wraith bore a little bamboo frame, like those upon which dead men are borne to burial. " When he stood upright in the sunshine, the ghost unfastened this, and laid it over the hole by which he had come, so as to hide the path to the Spirit World. Then he ran swiftly to a palm tree and began to climb. Akpan said nothing, but crept forward unseen, took the little frame and hid it carefully in the bush behind him. “ The ghost came back laden with a splendid cluster of palm nuts, gold, crimson, and orange. He ran swiftly toward the hole, but found his mat gone ! There he stood in the brilliant sunlight, silent and pondering, because he could not understand this thing. Then he lifted up his voice and began to cry, with a strange high note unlike that of earth-folk. “ Suddenly he glanced round, and, because his eyes were very keen, saw Akpan hiding amid the branches. At once he asked : ‘ Do you know who has taken my bamboo raft ? ’ Akpan answered, ‘ No.’ Then the ghost said : ‘ If you can find the man, I will give him whatsoever he may ask.’ Whereupon Akpan answered, ‘ It is I.’ “ The ghost questioned further : ‘ Why did you take it ? ’ To which Akpan responded : ‘ When my father died, he gave me the palm farm ; but when I came to seek kernels I found that some one had been before me and stolen them. The reason that I took your property was that I found you were the thief. Do you think that I am so foolish as not to know that you can never get back to the ghost town without your raft of bamboo ? ’ “ To this the wraith answered only : ‘ Give it back and I will tell you a word.’ But Akpan replied : ‘ First let me hear what you have to say. Afterwards I will give you the thing.’ “ The ghost said : ‘ It is not as you think. I have done no wrong. Your father wanted palm nuts, and sent me to cut them.’ “ Akpan asked : ‘ Where did you see my father ? ’ To which the ghost replied : ‘ He and I live together in one house, and if you wish to see him, I can take you thither.’ “ Akpan thought for a while, and at length said : ‘ Yes. I would see my father ; but one thing troubles me. If I go with you to the ghost realm, how shall I get back again ? ’ “ The wraith answered : ‘ I will give you a talisman, by which you will be able to find the way.’ “ On this, Akpan gave up the raft, and the ghost held out a bowl of water, dark but clear, in which he bade his companion wash his face ; and, after this had been done, said : ‘ Come with me.’ With that they climbed together down the hole. “ Down and down they went through the darkness ; but at length a light was seen, glimmering at the end, like a little star. When they reached this, and stepped forth, they were in the ghost town, and lo ! the first person to greet them was the father of Akpan. ‘ How have you come here ? ’ he asked his son, and the latter answered : ‘ It is this ghost who has brought me.’ Then the father led the way to the house where he dwelt, and set meat and drink before them. When they had finished, he said to his son : ‘ I must leave you for a while, because there is a very fine play in the town to-day, which I would not miss.’ “ The son answered : ‘ I should like to see this play, too.’ But the father replied : * That must not be, for should you see it, you would certainly describe it to the earth-folk when you go back ; and, the day on which you speak of it, you would surely die,’ “ Akpan said : ‘ Let me see it. I will not tell any one.’ So he was allowed to go and look on. “ When all was over and the wraiths had gone to their homes, the son said that he was ready to go back to earth again, but the father answered : ‘ Wait a bit. I will first show you something.’ “ On that the old man took the youth by the hand, and showed him some leaves, saying : ‘ Without a gift you shall not depart. Take these leaves, therefore, and when you are among the earth-folk, and would go to the market-place, put one in your mouth. Then, when you walk up and down among the stalls, and your eye falls upon anything which you desire, say only: “ Would that this thing were mine ! ” Then, when you reach home again you will find it there ; but about the play you have seen, mention it to none, lest you die that same day.’ “ When Akpan got back, he did as his father had said, and, in time, waxed very rich by means of the magic leaves. Whatever he wished for came to him, so that all the people wondered how he got such great possessions. Many of his friends went to him and said : ‘ Tell us what you have done to grow so rich.’ He never answered them, but sat silent in his house, thinking upon the beautiful play which he had seen in the ghost town. “ After some time he sent out to buy many jars of palm wine. Then he called all the townspeople together and said : ‘ There is a play, fine beyond all those known to the earth- folk, which I would show you ; but when I show it, I know that I must die. Therefore if I teach you the dance and the mystery thereof, you must not fail to call my name whenever you play this play from now on for evermore.’ “ Then the men answered : ‘ It shall be as you say. Only let us see this dance, the like of which was never before witnessed by earth-folk, in sunshine or moonlight.’ So Akpan stood forth before them and showed how they must dress and how move ; and all the people learnt it from him. “ That same day he died.” “ The play was called Aka Akong, and people still play it in far-away bush towns. The sound of it is very sweet, and the feet of the dancers fall lightly, as if hardly needing to touch the ground. Before the first stroke of the tomtom, however, and before the first foot moves or arm waves, they call aloud the name of Akpan Etuk Uyo, for he it was who brought it from the ghost town and taught its mysteries to the children of men.”