Togoland Magic

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 11, 28 January 1937, Page 9

Togoland Magic

5 Native Institutions Still Survive

rpHE dangers of destroying tribal institutions, which might result in the "detribalisation" of the native and* the eomplete loss of all Afrlcan atmosphere, : is polnted out in the annual report on Togoland. "Belief in witchcraft is so deep-rooted in the Afrlcan 'mind that any fetish which 4 can establish a'- reputation for detecting the person who. consciously or unconscjously, may be casting a spell upon a sick person, is certain to reap a good harvest," the report says. "An interesting feature of the. Konkomba village is the old woman's compound — a single room with a miniature wall on a six-foot radius.round the door of the room. The area enclosed in this tiny wall is beautifully beaten and polished and the doorway often elaborately decorated. "This concern for old women is caused bf genuine consideration for the aged, but portly also by fear. The lonely old woman almost inevitably earns the title of a wltch — and a witch must have her own eompound, so that she may not 'eat' the other inmates of a eompound in order to prolong her own life." The Kwani Cult. At B*moba there Is a secret society named Kwani to which only young men just passed the age of puberty are admitted. Little was known of the initiation ceremonies until recently, when the Commissioner of the distriet was given an opportunity of entering the hut where four young men were in training Following is a description of the society and its strange rites: — "The introduction of the cult is ascribed to one Kambi Bonlari, after whom a maglc horn is named, by means of which the four young men had been first 'killed' and reborn seven days later completely ignorant of their past life and language. "They are treated as infants during the fifty days' perlod of - training, being washed, fed, -massaged, and taught the Kwani tongue by three or four old members. They are not permitted to uncover their eyes, before which each novitiate claips a thronged whip with both fists. "Drums are played frequently and Kwani songs rendered in a curious growl "Ihe training over, each new member leaves the hut with Kwani markings on both thighs, a Kwani name, and a horsetail. He will behave in a strange manner, growl, shade his eyes, and generally inspire terror. "Gradually he will become normal. but is accorded considerable respect by the

uninitiated. The rites are a mental and physical trial to the noviatiates, and though now the object of the society is to-day described as mere play, it probably has a deeper origin." An Increase in Salary. An amusing story of how an aged chief "took on a new lease of life" is told. In the Krachi division there had been for some time an unofficial treasury and court, with a cash balanoe of. £13/6/7 at the end of 1934. The main item of expenditure was £6 a month, which wasgiven to the Krachiwura to divlde between himself, his seven elders, and his Kviami. This meant that the Krachiwura drew "the princely salary" of 13/- a monfch, the remainder being divided between the others in accordance with native custom. In January, 1935, the informal Treasury was reorganised on the lines of the properly established treasuries, and the revenue increased from £7/7/2 in December to £82/7/7 in the first month, Teaching the peak of £166/2/2 in June. "This sudden access of wealth so surprised the -old chief and the older elders that they took on a new lease of life and developed an intelligent interest in the affairs of their State. The Krachiwura and all his elders were put on to regular salarles, the Krachiwura receiving £5 a month and all the elders £1 a month." The story of , the origin of Mfam juju, a powerful and widely disseminated form of magic, is told in the 1935 report on the Cameroons, British mandated territory, which is issued by the Colonial OfiB.ce. Mfam, it is stated, can only be efiectively sworn against another person when the person swearing is actually in possession of the Mfam horns. The juju is not immediately fatal in its efifects but causes a premonitory illness. If the person affected fails to approach the Mfam juju society to have it revoked, it is believed that death will inevitably ensue; nor can the course of Mfam be stayed by any other means than by revocation by the society. Every revocation is made before the. main juju of the particular society. Still used primarily as a protction against witchcraft, the Mfam juju was at the root of the so-called witchcraft cases which -came before the courts. It is the employttient of this juju in the form of magic that is treated as a criminal offence. • " ■ The swearing of the juju occurs frequently in matrimonial disputes. A man's wife leaves him and he swears Mfam against her that, if she goes to another man before dowry has been refunded, Mfam will kill her.