Divination in mende society.pdf

8/11/2019 Divination in mende society.pdf

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eEHtRE:F,QR

'UHH'

iHISTORICAL. STUD

NIAMn

, ; - - ' ; ; i I ~ l I V - ~ ~ - I , ' N : - , 1 ' - : I , - , ; ' T - T ; , ' : I ~ , O ; - , , ' - - , N ~ ' - , , ' },

N,

'.i M,\.1 E j ' : : : N : - : - i D - ; ~ : : : E ~ L - _ / ' O ' ~ - . - ' C ; : i I '

1 J

-;. '

. , '

Mx . Lapp'ia'

was'

' ,s 'eridsly>i:ll and' his ,wife gat,

w o r r i e ~

and

wanted t t l ' know

fr'o'tn:a

d i \ J i n e r ~ ; :wh'ttfe:r -he wduld l i,ve' or not . She

'met a: m1ddle:'ge,-d ' d i v i r t E j . , : t ~ ; a r f d f a c e d ,him

with

'her

problems. Sne

then paid 30' f r c o n s l - i ~ t i c ) n , fee . ' The

-dv..i'ne,r

, took

a

mall

bag

co'n'tainng'

'sorne S ' ~ d : . ;

H , s p r e 1 d - , ~ : t b e

's'and

Q,n, asma: l l mat and

l\ie11ed

it e v ~ n l y wi

th

the :palm: ':of

his handi.:

-He

~ 9 d e

tweiity

dots in the sand w:lth' his' ; i n g e ~ . ,


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28

-'

askeJi-:.qU$Gtons about, Mr,. Ka,p,oi'

s, r i v ~ ) . s , ~ , ~ e n

about'' 'Mr. Kopoi' s

own

p a r e ~ t a l

b'ackgr-o-qnd.,

;

A

p,erio.d.of q . u e s ~ J o n Q

~ n d

~ n s w e r s

. .

. .

e'nsued

during'

which t : h ~ ,i,ivine'r , ~ e , a r n t . tha t

M ~ . Kopoi

was

con-

te s t ing to succeed his

l . a t ~ ~ ,.fat:her.

He again looked in to the

.'

.

ater and a f t e r a while r e v e a l ~ d t ~ e ~ o l l o ~ i ~ g :

, < ~ , :

........

:

That one

of

his r ivq ls was

t ry ing to p u ~

him under the

inf luence of a

harm

so t,hat 'the

e lec to t ta

w i l l ~ not

favour

him.

\

But tha t h ~ w a s sui of w i n n ~ n g the e l e c t ~ o n ~ . ~ n o r d e ~ to have'

'an' C : l v ~ r w h e l m i h g rfl3j o:ri ty /he must have, a ',.:charm, mad.e for him as, \.

, , . \

\

t h i s

wi l l ~ o ~ n t e ~ ~ 6 t

ny other c h ~ r m s a g a i n s ~ , h i m . , . : A red

and

whi ~ ~ i o t h

he

s , ~ w h fol': him t o .wear under .his , ~ i o t h e s . . A rem

.

' . ... .. 1 \

be, sab i l fit.ed r idkept for

his

s a f ~ t y . and long l i f e . Also

a l iba t ioh be m d ~ 6rl- F ~ i d a y for . the

l a te . , fa ther .

a s ~ t h i s wil l

'1

e q r ~ him ~ i ~ s s ~ h g ~ for -h is

c o n v ~ s s i n g .

T h e s ~ . w e r a ~ d o n e . a n d the

~ a n

~ o n . t h ~

e 1 e c t i o ~ s .

i

,, ,1

6 , PROBLEM

OF BARRE NESS

'.

.

\

Madam

Kadi

was m a ~ r i e d

to

a polygamous chief - a man with

~ a r ~ than ten wives. Madam

Kadi ~ ~ d no chi ldren

for

the

husband

l '

nd

f fsred

she

wi l l

:pe oust.eet as, : ~ , n e

was

t ~ ~ r r i o s ~ sen ior w\fe.

She ~ a n t e d to

s tay and, be ,lo\(d

by

. the hL sb:1,nd ,and a lso be

~ e s -

, /

.

\

pected by the othe:-r

mates. . s h ~ . t,heJ;'efore

decided to make

i n q ~ i -

r ies

from 'a

:diviner, as

ta

wh'at,ta do. she

went

tO,a

respec'table

, \

div ine r and e x p l a i n e ~ har ' p r o ~ l e m s and paid

4b,t . for consul

tat io 'n

The

div ine r took fram one cornen of his room ,a

small

bot t le

;.. _.. .. ... ... . , - ~ . _........ : ....

..

- . ~

. ~ .

c 6 n t a i n ~ r i g

red palmoi l .

'He

poured s9me

in a

clean

pla te ,

dippel

a f inger i ~ t o . i t : a n d smea-red i t ove r

the

l ady s palme He

sugges

ted

that the woman;should t e l l the a i l

t o : r e v e a ~ the t r u th

and '

~ e l l

her. 'exactly what ta do in

order t ha t she

would

regain a l

the

love and favour

of the husband.

and th-e j L:Jnior mates.

The

div ine r

looked

in to

the

o i l and spoke to it In the ~ o u r s e of

.

:'.

1

t h i s he ~ s k e d tbe l ~ d y w ~ e t ~ e r she k n e ~ any secre t about her hus

band,

and any.,

of the re la t ives t h ~ : ~ . is

l v e ~

by' her husband CI He

fu r the r .9sked

about the

numb'er of chi ldren each of the wives has

.

-;'

~ o r the husband.

He

was

able

to reveal t a Madam

Kadi

the

follow

ing:

'.

f


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......; 29

The: fO'ur-th'

w i f ~ :

had. ;lo:n 9-;.hated.

her

.qnd was,

rea.ponsible

.. ... .

for j , ~ . r ' misfor:tune ~ , J h a - . t - : . w h e . ~

..

~ e

.was

about

,te ma.1'ry,

to the

, . chieJ '

h . 6 r " , . p p r e r n ~ s

ha,d, p ~ , e : p a . r e q , a .charm" ,(qr n.er.,

She

was

to

:

, ~ e e p this s a f ~ l y wi th

,her

a l w a y s : ~ . . '

In arder to rega in the' 'husband

1

s lci'\ie and fa'vour

she

wil l

" h a v ' ~ t,o : f ~ c t - i f i C e : two t t o w i ~ ' .0 / 6boketF 'r 'ice on a

f r iday

morning,

orie tb '

gven

t-c:i 'th': t i ~ ' b a n d ';'and the o'the:r to be' given

and

eaten

by

a11:

t h e ' ~ h : i e ' f s

w i v ~ s '

in

the

compou"nd

' inIuding

herse l

f .

Someth:tng of which the chief' i _ ~ ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ , . _ ~ ; ~ " ' ~ M ~ ' ? . ~ ~ d . ~ : b e washed in a

container , a'nd -:sacrif.iced 'by spr-ink1i,ng tt)e: wa.ter round the co'm-

. :pound. .A cha,rm:shoi.l.id be, ,made

: for

,her,

,and

b e , . ' . ~ 9 r n round her

: wais,t,

.alw.ays.

If

a,11, i.a

dORe,

:,:thi-ngs

wil l ..

, h ~ . ' n g , e

for

the be t t e r . \

One Mr. L ~ h a i wanted to know about the fq tu r s t a tu s

of

.

.

hie

family

t i n respct

of

th is , h 'decided '' ;o c o n s u l t a diviner

. :

.

who could help

him.

;The divin'r , onb M ~ . M o s i m ~

: W1S

a reputable

.

.

..

soothsayer arourid the are . He ,used a

'mirror

for div ina t ion

.

He,

t o o k ~ ,

m i r r ~ ' : f

f r o ~

a

b ~ g tha t

-was ht?ngi-ng

behind the d o o ~

He'-

wiped t h e m i r ro r and' sa id few words ' a n d ' ~ '

he 'gave i

t to Mr.

Lahai

to 'say

ta"

l ie

: ' m i ~ ~ o r , ' : w h a t his

mission' was : bout .

He did

so ~ n d ' i - e t u r n e d ' t h ~ - ' m i ~ ~ o r : f t b t'h di \ l iner .

The

q i v i ~ e . r

the .

. put,

, :he;.

~ r r Q r o ~ his

l ~ g s and

s tar ted

. '.'. , , . 1 . . . . . : ., - ::'r ,

l o o k ~ ~ g ~

While

lpoking,

be speke,

and a t

i n t e rva l s

asked

'sorne

, , .

o

: . :

. , 1

" . .

q . . u e ~ t i ~ H ~ , S r ~ l . a , ~ ~ f l 9 ,

t) i ; : ~ e :r

amity.

of

~ i ~ ..

c l ~ ~ n t , p ~ s t ,

li

e ,

, the

'wife '

s.'

fam:i-ly

and I?O on. His

c l i e n t

answered the q w e s ~ i o n s

: . :

.

: :'

( :

. . ....

p ~ . s e d . ,

After

, l o o ~ i n . g , ~ t

t h ~ , m i r ~ r o r . f o ~

a while , he revealed

the

fe.l lowing:

.:...

That'

he"

(

Ml:

Lahai')

was

a

lu tky

,man

and

w.oull

one

day

becdnfe'

a' fam'ily , l e a d e i ' ~ . That his

\Nife' was .net" f a i t h f u l l

hence

t h e ~ ' r

f inancia l : ,problme

. Th,t. sorne .membex:s

of h is

family

h ~ t e d h i m ~ n d - w o u l d ~ a t e

to,make him t ~ e i r

~ f a m i l y

l eade r .

T h ~ t

(:-. the:children,w'ere-

his

.'but.: should' take precaut ipns

ta

hide

t he i r

'

, ~ . ' ~ ' : ; , f'ace's from 'witches 'and e ' v i ~ sp'i,r,d. s ' ~

Jhat;.

i ~ n order'. to ever


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ome

: t h e s ~ , he,

should,sac;:ri

i c ~

the

,followir.lg:

a

white

ram

for long

l ~ . f e : ~ n ~ , good luck

for

his e n t ~ r e family. A

charm

ta

,be made and b u r i e d ~ a t

the entrarica of

his

, ~ o o m . ,This

,wil l

, f ight witches 'nd other

e ~ i l

spi r i t s . , , V ~ r i o u s

f ru i t s

and an

egg ta be ~ a c r i f i c e d and d ~ p o s i t e d a t a road junct ion. This

will save

h i ~ from

his

enemies, and

a n 6 t ~ e r

charm to 'be carried

'with him

always

as

a good ,luek charm. That i f aI l is done,

t h i n g ~

wil l

be good

' for

him and

his

entire

family.

18 .

A CHANGE OF FORTUNE.,

. One M ~ .

Matia

was.a very

niee

sect ion chief .

He

~ a s

l iked and admired,by his friends and subjects.

Allof audden

.

. .

.,

. '

things c h ~ n g e d a ~ ~

took,an

opposite turn . , He eould

not 'gat

a

clue to th is sudden

change,

he therefore

deeided

to meet a

diviner .

.;..- ....._.

.

'; - , .

-

.

- ' ..........-

_..

He

~ e n t

to

another

vil lage

and

found

a

weIl

k ~ 6 w ~

diviner.

He told him his

pro blems

a ~ : 1 g a ~ e ' him soi ~ s '

consl'tation

fee.

The diviner

u s ~ d ~ o w r 1 ~ ~

~ o r his work . He m i ~ e d t ~ e 60wries

several time and

gave

one ta

M r ~ M a t i a t o

t ~ t o i t by saying

.'; w h a t ~ '

his:

~ i s s i ~ ~ ~ a ~ . '

Mr. Matia'

did as

he was

l n : ~ t r t i c t e d

then

dropped

the cowrie

a ~ o n g the o t ~ ~ r s . 'The d i v i h ~ r

a g ~ ~

stated

fumlilng wi th t h ~ m : and aske'd some q u ~ ~ t i o ~ s ' re iat ing t ~ Mrl Matia'

b a c k g r o u n d ~ .

S o m ~ ' o t h e r

q u e s t i ~ n

'wee ~ ~ k ~ d ' a n d a h 6 w e ~ e d . For

sorne minutes he' murmured and f inal ly 1'8vealed that , t h e ~ e , was

a plot

a g a i r i ~ t

h i ~ ~ th is

plot

h a s ~ b e ~ n e n g i h ~ e ~ e d . b y his eIder

brother

w h o ~ ~ a 6 nct able.

to

win the

chieftaincy

he ( M r . ~ M a t i a won

'That 't.he brother was working

hard

te see

tha t

he (Mr'.

Matia)

was released

of

his duties ~ s chief . B ~ t to overcome aI l these

envy and

hatred,

he should sacr if ice a

sheep: a n d , k e B p i t ~

This

wi,ll give

h,im good luck.. Also a sacri f ice of one

egg and

a raw

p a w - p ~ w

wil l

jus t i fy that, the plot

wil l

be

unsuccessful

and sorne

of the

enemies

wil l s t r t t ~ o come

arpund

him. , A n ~ t h e r , s a c r i -

.f ice

of 100 cola

n u t ~

and s ~ l t

wi l l

bring love for him

again.

, The.

e ~ l a

and. the sa l t were te be dist r ibuted to ewners of,

houses

in

the

vil lage. That i f i t is do ne aI l will be

'weIl

wi th

him.


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3

19

FE R OF

SURGICab OPERATION

Mr Sowa was ll

and

he cohsulted a d t o r ~

After

care-

fuI

medical

examination the doctcir

suggested

tha t

he would have

te perform

perat ion on Mr Sowal Th doctor

charged

Mr Sowa

Le100 for the dpeftibn

and

treatment.

Mr4

Sowa agreed to pay

th amourit bt ins is ted that he wil l

f i r s t

go home to consult

his

wif

before

subject ing

himself

to

the

operat ion.

He

did go home

and

as he sa id he

informed

his

wife about

what the

doctor sa id The wife became

af ra id

She therefore

decided

to consult a

diviner and

find out whether her husband

wil l survive i f operated on. She met a twin who was known to

be a famous diviner . She

explained

what her mission was

about

to

the diviner .

She paid a consul ta t ion

fee

of

60t

The diviner took

out

a white plate containing palm o i l

He held t in f ront of the lady

and

told her to say a I l there

was in her mind. The lady did as she wa3 to ld

and

th3 diviner

withdrew the pla te He

then looked

in to the pla te with a

studious

degree

of concentrat ion.

He went on

to

ask the lady several

questions about

her

husband.

He

wanted

to know from the

wife

how

long her husband has been i l l

Several

other

questions

followed.

The diviner went on to

t e l l

Mrs. Sowa tha t there was no

need for concern the operation he said

wil l

be

successful .

However i t was necessary

for

her

to

sacr i f ice a white piece

of

cloth

which her

husband should t i e on

his head

for seven

days before

the operat ion. A white hen should also be sacr i f iced

Her husband

should

pour

l iba t ion

a t the grave

side

of his fa ther

and

mother

and

ask

them to forgive him i he had ever wronged

them.

After

aI l

these are done he

assured

the lady tha t the

opeation

will

be successfu l .

Mr Sowa said he went through the

operation

and has

sinee then been very weIl and sound.


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... 32

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20.

Alimu had had

serious ~ , c l , d e m i c p r o ~ l e r l 1 s

since he was a

l

. ' . ; .

small boy in the pr:lmary s c h o o ~ o He sa,id at the time i t

was

. ,

because one of his

mother's mates

b e w i ~ ~ h e d h i m ~

But the s tep-

mother

had

since died

and Alimu fe l t t h ~

s t e p ~ m o t h e r

was

s t i l l

a f t ~ r

him.

He has

been

t r ~ d g i n g

,ln

school.

Many times

he

spent two to three

years

in

the

same

c lass

At

age twenty-six

he eaid he was determined to get a univrsi ty education. He

was now in

the l a s t

class in

the

secondary school and was one

6f

those

who was gaing ta take

the

General Cert i f icate Examirla-

t ian

He fe l t

he had studied a lcit,

but

he wanted

ta know

befare hand what

his

chances

are.

He

confided

this

infoimation

i nh i s

m o t h ~ r

whci gave

h i ~

mony to t ravel to a far iaway town where they w ~ r e told

there

w a s ~ diviner whase

wards

and predictiaMs w e r e ~ a c r e d .

I t

tdok

A,limu twa days

to

\ IIalk

ta

the town.

He

wes

I ~ o t

'able ta see bhe

man

the very day he arrived, be6ause the man

himself

had t r ~

velled

to

a n o t h ~ r v i l l age to

colle c t d e b t ~

A l i m ~

said he

wa$ted

for the man

for

two days. He eventually met the: mari and explained

his

problems

touching

on

the

fa

cT.

that

his step

mother

had

once

confessed that she

had s a m ~ t h i ~ g to

d ~ with Alimu's

academic

f a l u r e ~ The diviner

asked

h i ~ t opay soi

as

crinsultation

fee.

Sin.ee Alimu had

explmined his prpblems

wi th

metict.Jlous

thorough

ness, the diviner did not ask him any questions.

He

t,ook out

a bowl, containing four gro undnLJt peels. ,He pwt

the'

four faceward

and covered', them

\ Iii th the

bow l. He spoke several time's and

uncovered

the,

bowl.

He

repeated'

this

ope'ration

several '

t i m e s ~

He

told Alimu that his s t ~ p - m o t h e r had ,nothing

t6

d ~ with his

problems. When

Alimu was a ; li .ttle boy he

insul ted'

an

elder ly '

lady The

lady

he

said

took s e r i o u ~

offenee

and ~ ~ s responsible

: for

his problems. To appease

her,

the f Q l l o ~ i n g sacr i f ice was

:in order: one

hundred

penies, to be given away to children


36/50

- 33

one hundred white cola nuts ~ ' ; ' . ~ ~ - , ~ X ~ ~ _ . ~ o , ~ , + ~ r , l y women, seven

c o w r i e ~ s h e l l s

ta

be

l ~ f t

at,

a

junction,

something

he

has

which

he l ikes

most

should be given away4 With these , Alimu's pro-

b ~ e m s

w o u ~ d b e

solved. Alimu went home and without

wasting

time

himself a ~ d

his.mother

set out

ta

perform

the

sabr i f ices . He

, took.his e x a m i n a t i o n ~ a month l a te r , when the resu l t s were out,

he fa i led . He

said

he repeated the,examination four

times

and

never

passed.

, 21

YOUNG

GIRL IN SEARC H OF A HUSBAND

Bai

is

a pret ty

gi r l who w ~ ~ i ~ love with

a boy

iri college.

Even

though Boi'

knew tha t the

boy'was in

love with

other

gi r l s ,

she

was

convinced tha t the

boy loved her

most. This conviction-

was

firm and impregnable.

What she was not sure of was whether

the boy wil l

e v e n t u a l l ~ marry her. Many

a

time

the boy had

made it known

t

her that he will marry her.

She

went

ta

a

nearby

vil lage

ta

see a

diviner .

The

div i -

ner was a lame man. It was believed tha t he was a favour d i v i ~

ner.

Bai

met him and to ld him her

problem

.which was ra ther

, .

s t ra ight for\l\ ard; wil l the boy fr iend

event,ually

marryher

or

note

She gave a

consultation

fee of 50i

The

diviner brought

frorn under

his,

bed a

small

redish

looking

~ a c

containing

pebbles,

sorne

round

sorne

~ n g u l a r .

e tc .

He spread them on

the mat.

He took four and

gave

them to Boi

ta

say

whatever

she

had

in her mind.

Bai

did

and returned the

stones

to

the diviner .

He

did

not

ask

Bai any questions,

He

toyed

with the

stones

several

~ i m e s and

came

with

his pro-

nouncements: the boy

wil l

marry

Bai eventually but Boi should

. , .

.

sacr i f ice seven yards

~ f white

material. and leave

t

a t the

road

junction.

She

should;also,

throw

c ~ e a n

watpr

a t . a l l the

four c a r d i ~ a l poi.nts. This

she

s h ~ u l d do o ~ a ~ h u r p . d a y m o r n i n g .

When aI l these were accomplished, she was gqing. t ~ be the wife

of t h ~ p o y .

ai wasted no tirne

in

executing these orders

The.boy

l e f t and went ta Germany

ta

continue, his, studies

where

he

married ? white woman.


37/50

.

34

22.

'IN'

SEARCH:

,OF CHILDREN

Yebu was

nearly.30 years

old.

,5ince

h ~ ~

' m a r r i a ' j ~ ; ' . t o '

.-

Steven

'she had never had e baby.,

,She

became

~ , e p ~ e s s e d 'a'nd

worrid.

She was

in

constant

s ta te

of

tension. S o m e t i ~ e s she

;

.

.

w o u l ~ ~ ~ i s s her cycle,

for

two or, . three T O D t ~ s ~ the case ~ ~ ~ bel

D u r { ~ g

such in tervals aI l t h o s e ; ~ o n c e r n ~ d ~ w o u l d b e

h a ~ ~ Y t i ~ e n

a I l of

a s u d d ~ n ' s h e : ~ x p e r i e n c e ~ h e r

menstrual

periode B e c a ~ s e

of

th is

she went and saw Mr.

T o ~ m y ,

a man

r e s p e c t e ~

f o ~

his a r t

of

div in i t ion .

She

wanted

to

khow

what

was

the

root

of

her

problem

,in

lif

t h a t ' ~ ; e " d ' s r v d ~ ~ ' u h ; : a ' m i - s f o ' r t , , ~ n e . , ~

She

paid

.

a consul ta t ion

fee

of 2oi Mr. T6mmy picked up his mirror

'which w ~ ~ by. ~ h e head s i d ~ ~ 9 f

his

bed on the f loor .

He

lo6ked

a t

the m i r ~ o r with deep c ~ ~ 6 e n t r a t i o n and 'ut tered several words

which

only

m a d ~ ,

sense

ta

~ i m s e l

f At in te rva ls

he would";ask

his

c l ien t

q u e s ~ i o n s which she in turn would answer. He'clid

suggest

ta his cl ien t

tha t

she

of tsn

dreamt having

an' a f f a ~ r

..

with some men unknownto

her. :

Such men were evi l

sp i r i t s .

Thi{

.

:

he s ~ i ~ . was the

crux

of

h ~ r problem. Unless t h i s

e x e r c i s ~ was

stopped, Yeb'u' s chances of givi'ng- 'birth are

's l im.

S t e ~ e n was

not happy wi

th these

rev'ela'tions

:'and

so decidad ta ca

nsul t a

m e d i ~ a l , d o c t o r , a ' g ~ n e a 6 0 l o g i t

and:a specia l i s te The d o ~ t o r

.. .

.ubjected Yebu ta

ser iaus 'and

thorugh medical

examination.

In

the

end;

she

was t tea ted

and s ~ e

nbw has,' t ~ o chi ldren

td her

c r e d i t ~

2,3. A MAN IS

.LOST

IN'THE BUSH

One Mr. MJsa who was s ~ i d to he s ~ f f e r i n g from a heart

disease went

ta the bush t tp

palm

wine.: He was expected

to

r e t ~ r n

by 3

p.

m

but'

fa i led

to

come

as e x p ~ c t e , 9 .

, : : ~ i s r e l a -

t ives

becameworried'

and decided

ta

go

and

consul t : ; d i ~ ~ n e r wh(

was

very famous and l i v ~ d in: the

same

vi l lage .

He

received

his

:. z,

consul ta t ion fee of

1015

He t06k out his . m ~ r r o r and + ~ b b e d sornE

ointment

in

the face of the mirror End s ta r ted

t a ~ ~ i n g to it

Suddenly

he stopped

and told

the

expectant re la t ives tha t

he

was sar ry ta say tha t M u s ~ ~ ~ u l d nat turn ' up' al iye .

He

said

tha t as he was

d i v { n i n ~

he saw Musa in the m ~ d s t of a crawd

o

The following morning, Musa was d i s c o v e r e d ~ e a d in

~ s w ~ m p

surrounded

by

many ants which may have

been

the

crowd

he


38/50

\

;

l

- ....

.. ,

.. -..:,'

-

, . - - : ~

.... ,

A,MAN

I S ~ . M

s t ? r i ~ Q ~ j

-.

4.

Vandi

Joe

.. l N ~ : ~ : l a ~ : e ~ . t J 3 ' d : t7\f;

r i : ' ~ . : . : b c j 1 l : i : c : e for .arson. He' ha'd

set f i r e on

a

r i . e : ~ 4 t ~ ~ D . } ) ~ l o n - g : - i n q . t6

:the

husb.and

of . a

g i r l he

was

in love

w i ~ . h : . ~

...

Afs.:rqb.the,r::wEryt t'o'

see

a

~ i v i n e r t o

f ind out

the'

f t e

o{

her

, . s ~ r i . .:#be p a i ~ . 3 i aS conpul t a t ion fee . The

diviner

tbok i ' i i ~ ~

~ ~ i c k e ~ ' ~ h i c H

was s t ru991ing

t a be se t

f r e_ .

: ( ,,

1

;

.

T h ~

d i v i n ~ z P ~ s k e d ~ h ~

I l a d y : t t t s a ~ whathe r mission

was

t a

t h ~

: .; > , :

. ' ~ h i c ~ e n w h i ~ h was;.' s' till . . '

. t ~ u g g l i n g .

The

lady

then handed the

: . chl.cken. back ta th'e ma'n

.:'.'

He then,

~ e n t

pn talki ,g ta the

chicken

"

f

, ,

un t i l

i t stopped: stxggling,

. 'arid

we-nt in to

t rance.

' He

was

t a lk -

.:

1

ing wh'ile

the chic

ken

:,, 8S i,n' t.rance. Her' .told. the .mother tha t

r

the

c a ~ 3 , . i t s e l , w a s ~

a grave

a ~ e

Hawe.ver,

iler'

9 : e ~ w i l l eve'n-'

t u l ~ y be' f ree i f tha t wil lnot ; happen.

thi.;s

chi,t:ken

wan' t

wake

.

u p a ~ i ~ e ~

.

~ e

infarmed: the

~ a t h ~ e r

t h a t

s h ~ , ~ h 6 u l ~ cap:ture '

a . l ~ v e

. : i;.

\

br,d

and: s apr f ~ c ~ ~ . i:t ,a nd' ' 1 ~ t_ i t q'a .ree antL'a:l s ~ " w h ; i t e cacl


39/50

~ ~ : : . :

.

- ';,J .

' - ,'.

. ..

thousands of Ieones

to

a

L e ~ a n s e ; '

'He:

the'n, went

to Me.cc,a.

"":.',

He

i s

now

an

Alhaj i

and

...

~ ~ c c e s s f u l . b 9 s ; r ; l 6 ~ ~ .

m a ~

in.

his

~ t o w n .

. -

:':'.>,:.;..- . ' - - ~ ~ : ~ : '

... ,. ....

.; -

-: .. .. ;'

. , '

'- .....

_. .-

26. .

AMAN.

WANT5:TO

GET MARRIED ..

..

' .....

, _ _ . . . . . . .

, . Je , a'

boy oftwen-ty:. ye'ars

of:,

age

l ived

n

a

village.

6aIIed

Mcikolo. Mokolo

i s

a

f a i r l y big v ~ l l a g e where

he ' l ived

wi th his parents

,

In

this

v ~ l l a g e

there we're

a

.lot oT beau t i fu l young g i r l s .

But

J

oe

WS

interest :ed

in

one

ca l led

Kona.::Kona 1

s

parents were

not

f r iend ly with

Joe.l.s parents,

but. Joe

was

very

much: keen in

get t ing Kofia.: as his, o/'ife

: One

evening he

assembled

his family

and told. them his i ' n tent ionfor ' the, g i r l . '

The'

fa ther was

:

.'

. _ J , .

s t r o ~ g l y a g a i n ~ t h i s suggSstion. Joe

t r i ed

a I l the meaos

he

.

. "

c o u ~ d to convince them.

I ~ ~

l a s t h i s parents

agreed,

~ u t they

"

w e ~ e B C B p t ~ 6 a l i f

Joels union ~ i t h Kena would bring

h a p p ~ n e s s

,'

' t;

in the i r ' f ami ly .

"

-There

was: a Mr.

Ndokoin

the

vi l lage

who

was

a

div iner .

Joe we:nt ';w-ith

h i , ~ fa ther a h d ~ : m o t h e r t o ~ M r .

Ndoko to know the

t ru th .

Mr. Ndoko

used stones. to '

d i v ~ n e

. He

spread

the

stones

aryd.

.

put tham in l ine of twosand f o u r s ~

'

He

:'the

n

~ o e k

one

and

gave

. i t ~ o ' Jos

,.so

that he maY9ay a l he

.wanted

. to know. Joe '

s

,.,, '

. . .

l

.',

., ) ,

; ' ' ' : ' :

"

-.

. . . . . . . ; .'

ol , . .:.. __: - - - . : : . _ . : . . 1 (. . . . ., ,

fa ther ta lked ta' the stori and'passed i ~ - a ~ o n d ~ i s head then

threw

it::

a m ~ n g

the

other

, s tones

wi

th

a

consul

~ t ' i o n

fse

of

3o..

The d i : ~ i n e } r negotia ted wit.h the stones.

and

f i n a ~ l y to}.d

..

them

.tha t

Joe

would get ,Kona but

the.y

have

to

make

a. sac r i f i ce

of a

~ . h i te . c o c k ~ . t,hree white 'kola

:nuts,

and seven

dishes

.

of

cooked

r j ce

with

the , s a u c ~

a t

the b o t t o ~ of the r i c e ~

The familymade the sa,cr,ifice

anq when

, they approtched

Kana

1

s

p a r e n t s ~ , there

'was campramiE?e- an.d

Jae f ina l ly gat his

wif .

.

2 7 . A

COUPLEBEREAVED TOO OFTEN

::

Tommy and Gbessay got marr ied . The year they got married

. ~ b e s . ~ a y

ws pr.egnant

.

They got the ch i ld

in

ten

months

Ct The

c h . ; ~ l ~ .

wa$

healtt iy and s t rong.

After

. four months the

cb,ild

died.

W e l l ~ t h i s

d i ~

ndt

~ o r r y

Tommy:much.

They

hoped

f o r . a n ~ t h e r .

; . - -

l

~ i h i s

,they got but died two

weeks

a f t e r birtt: \ . This kind

of

, t h i n g < h a p p i 3 n e d ~ f o u r

t imes .


40/50

r ,.

,i

- 31:, - -

Tommy was

advised

by

the eIders ta cansult

a

diviner

o

This

he

did.

Thre

was B Mr. ~ M b o y e a - . h i n d e . He ,used sand to

:;

...

:

.:

_.

.i. .

d i , . v i ~ , e , : , . He

; . ~ ~ f a c , ~ d t'Ohe

pattern

and made others,

then

asked a

,consultation fe.e of

2ot

Tommy threw

the

money

if , the

sand and

. t.

:

was

asked

ta

say

what

he came

for .

He t h , ~ n explained his pro-

blems. The

diviner

c a n t i n t i ~ c F - + i g j : : P - a ~ t ~ - : - r r i : : ; : f f i ~ k i n g ' ~ u n t i l he

f ina l1 i

c a m ~ ' ~ o ' i

r lefini te d ~ ~ i g n .

he

h a d ~ f a u n d o ~ t ;

~ ~ ~ r e h ~ in terpre ted

what

.

'He

d i s ~ o ~ e r e d

tha t

T o m m y ' ~

wife

was

bewitched

by

her

awn

r e l a t i v e s ~

They w'ere

eating

the children. ,

He advised

tha t i f

,

,

they wanted t he i r fu tu re

chi ldren

ta' s tay

al ive , they

were

ta

offer s a c r i f i e e ~ with an egg and sevenneedles .

After the

s a e r i f i ~ e they should

burn

the egg a t t ~ ~ ' f r o ~ ~ daor

of

the i r

,

'

house and the ~ c i e d l e s were ta be buried a t the ' ~ i i e place where

. - ,:

they

do t he i r c o a k i n g ~ and that would

help

t h ~ m . Of

course

Tommy

dfd

s ~

b e c a u s ~

ho wante'd

childre'ri

T:his '

sacr i f ice had

good resul

t s .

AlI the

three'

childrn

h e

had a f t e r are

aI l

al ive.

28. NO 'PROMOTION IN THE JOB

1

was

employed

by

my present

employer

' in 1964.

l t r ied

my

best ta

please aI l my bosses.

l did aI l l

could j u s t

ta

keep up

with

the standard they required. In 1970

thare

was a

c i r c ~ l a r

s e ~ t

to

aI l

departments

for

l e t t e r s

of

recommendations.

y Head of Department reeommended me ' for promotion.

When

the

,

l e t t e r gb:t to the higher '

a u t h o r i ~ l e S l

was 'not considered.

The .(:ither yea'r:the sam thfn:g , ' h a p i p e n ' d ~ ' 50 l weht' ta a diviner

to

know w h a ~

w ~ ~

the

c a u s e ~

T h ~

man

~ a s

~ a l l e d Ngoni. He

- -

used

hot

? i l .

l

d r a p p ~ d , my

,consul ta t ion ' fee

of 4 o ~ in the

a i l .

H, looked in

the

,ail . about f ive minutes and to ld

me tha t

one

.

:'",.. .

of

the

rnqst

i.mportant,

men

~ n " t . h ~

p r o r n o ~ i o n

commi

t:tee

was

my

enemy. He ,was

the

o n e ~ ~ o c k i n g my way. WeIl

l

asked

what l

s h o u ~ d , d o ~ o b r i n ~ th i s man ~ n , m y , ~ v o u r .

He to ld

me

tha t

1:

should

offer

a sacr i f ice of seven

bowlsof r iee , seven p l a t ~ s

o f _ ~ i e : f l o u r ~ ~ w ~ t h

a

~ h i t e

kola

..., ' . . .' ,

.

. . . -.

nut a t

the top,., After the" sacr i f ice

l

should give the

r ice

. : . " ... ' . .; .

1

., .

:

to p h i l d r e n ~ l , ~ ~ o u l d wash the, bowls, and $ p ~ ~ n k l e the water


41/50

,:

,"

. ,

38

, a i , ~

o v e r . ~ h e ~ .

h_ouse.

1

should,

share

the

f lour among

the

grdwn

a d ~ l t s ~ , the,

kola

nuts

t a a

s t ranger and

a

dress 1

shauld

give

The fa l lawing year

l was

~ p : r . a m 9 t ~ d ~ ' ~ ~

. . ....

29. : ',A

MAN WANTED

A LOAN:'

A

fiend

of miMe was

i n v o l ~ e d in a

big f i na nc i a l pra -

blem.

The

~ o n e y

was about L e 8 0 D . D D ~

; ' H ~ s sa16ry was t ao smal l

ta s e t t l e even one t en th of the amaunt.

WeIl ta f ree

himself

from

"the mess he planned t a ' r a i se a l aan ta s e t t l e the amount

in ques t ion . But he d idn ' t ' b e l i eve in ' gaod

luck

sa

he went to

a d'iviher

ta

know

i f

he

would

sec

ure

the laan

from one Mr.

$am,

T ~ e ~ i v ~ n e r to ld him

t he t he

s h o ~ l d ~ ~ a c r i f i c e

a

white

sheep.

I f

M,y

to

he

did

t ha t Mr. Sama wouid

readi iy : 'g ' ive

him' the

sa id

amount

f r i end 'had

no maney ta

e v e n b ~ y the

sheep. He was tempted

s t e a l an,

but decided

agains t it l a t e r ~ He c ~ m e ta me for

~ i e c e b f ' a d w i c e ~ H ~

t a ld

m ~ l l his i n t ~ n t i o n s . 1 t o ld h m

i he

had

s t a l e the ' :sheep' hewouid ' ha\18 'added more

ta his

problems. We

decided ta

go ta Mt.

Sama

ta

n e ~ d t i t ~ fo r the

amount.

But

before we

\ A l e , n t . ' ~ i ~ ~ , : . 2 g a m a - ~ l - ~ f l - t ' a c t ~ d

Mr. Sama' s

. ' , .

son

who

, W ~ S ~ ~ ' f r i end 'and e x ~ l ~ { h e d our problem ta

him

in

orde:

t ha t

h may

help:uS O'nvince his ' fa ' t 'her to"'

giv"'

'us

the

money

and

under what

trms We should ' rep'ay' the ' money. By the

grace

of

Alla " the boy agreed t o '

9:0 :

wi th us tD his ' f 'a ther .

With the b O Y ~ ' 6

i n f l ' n ~ e

we

were

-able

:get

the fIIoncy.

.

,' j;

Mr.

S a m ~ gave us

gacid

t ime t 'a r's'pay' hi s manyt'-.

' "

. . . -- . '.

.'

30.

SAFFA WANTED T GO AND STUDY ABRDAn,

Saffe ,had

never

concealed ~ i s ' : a m ~ . i ; ' ~ , i o , n

ta

stu,dy

abroad

His ~ ; i r s t , p r e f e r e ~ c e ,was E n g l a n ~ . ~ , : t h ~ n

A m e r ~ i c a ,

. "Germany and

Canada in

thp t arder

e . Wi

th

t h i s

i n ; v . i e , w : h ~ ,

cOJlQentrated on

his s, tudies in order t a

q u a ~ i f y

fo r ad.mission ..tq"any

reputable

unive rs i ty or, col lege in thase c o u n t ~ ~ e s ~ In the end, ' Saffa

t

securE:d a good second div i s ion pass i.n the: West

African

School

e r t i f ~ c a t e Examination.

He then embarke,d o n applying fo r

. .

s c h o l a r s h ~ p and ~ d s : n ~ s s i a n to

many.',

, ~ n i ~ e r s i ; t i e s ~

and

co l l eges

abrpad

' .

AC:C9

rdin

g::

t a

him, '

he

9Hbmi

t t ed

~ l ~

t a ~ , ~ ~ h e r seventeen


42/50

39

applications

te

all.-.th.e.._ n i Y . ~ . ~ s ~ ~ ~ _ e s and.

colleges in

those

. .

--

~ o u r i t r i e s

he

had wished to

go and study.

Having gone t h r o ~ g h

th is

e x e r ~ i s e

he

went to see

a

diviner ta find qut what his ~ h ~ n c e s are

tha t

he wil l go a b r o ~

and continue

,his

s tudies . M e a ~ w h i l e relying on his good

resul t s , ,he ,was

c o n v i n c ~ d tha t

he wil l

a t l eas t

get in to one

of

the severa l . ins t i tu t ions he

h a d - a p p l ~ e d ta ,

he declined a

local:award

ta

go

and

study

a t the

Universi ty

of

Sierra

Leone.

He

gave the diviner a

consultat ion fee

of

4Qi.

Fi r s t he told

the diviner tha t

his

main in te ros t was ta go

ta

England

but

i f ~ h a t was nat possible , l ~ t him

f ind

out whether in the l a s t

resar t

he

wil l

go ~ o any

of the

countr ies he had in mind.

The diviner ' toak

out

a sac

half f u l ~ with , s tanes/pebbles.

. .

He spread aI l of it on the goat skin he was s i t t i ng on. He

took f o ~ r s p o k e ta them in si lence ~ n d geve

them

ta

Saffa

to

express his

mind.

Saffa went through th i s and gave

the

stone

back

ta

the

diviner

The

diviner

took them and

included them

in the re s t

of

the pebbles on t he f l ao r . He spread them in

variaus formations, sorne

even

in

humbers and

sorne

odd. He

ma

nipulated them ~ e v e r a l l y .

He then went

on

to. t e l l Saffa tha t

he was a lucky 'boy.' He

assured

.oSaffa tha t in seven days time

he

wil l hear

fr am twd col leges

from .. n g l ~ n d

.and

they

wil l ad

m hirri

and offr

him

with

s 'cholarship. Americ.a

wil l ,not

offer

him scholarship

but

wil l gain

,admission;

aB for

Canada,

he may not: even get an answer.

Three

univers i t i e s wi l l

.

- - ._

-_.

.

~ c c e p t him

in

Germany and one

~ i l r

gi0e

~ r i h o l ~ r ~ h i p In

the

end, he

advised

his

cl ien t

ta

accept

the

offe r from Germany

and

go there . The

Germans,

he

sa id,

are good people. There

was no sacr i f ice

about th is ,

because it was destined. Saffa

said

he

1ef t

the

old man's ra am fu l l

of hope.

In aI l these inst i tut ; ions, he never got any scholarship .

He did

qua-lify

for admission

in

most, but

no schalarship

award.

He

f ina l ly w e n ~ ta the

nat ional univers i ty .


43/50

40

31.

A

OY

OF

EIGHT

YEARS

CBIED IN HIS'S'fEP

)

Foday.a

boy

of

eight 'years used t o ~ ~ r ~ in his sleept

probablY'getting

nightmares . His fatherMr. Brima sought

the

s e r v i ~ e s

of

a

diviner. Heihformed

him

t h a ~ his

son would

cry in his sleep and shout 'as i f someone had

whipped

him. Thi

s ta te 'of affa i rs had continued

for

sometime'and there is no

impravement. He was

therefore

worried about his son.

This

wa

the reason

he came to see

the

diviner so

that

he could

find

o u ~ ~ w h a t

was the problem. He gave

the

diviner 2 i

~

consulta

t ian fee.

The diviner brought out a mirror and a

piece

of red clot

He

put

the rd

cloth

over

the

mirror and bawed

over

i t for few

minutes.

He then put forward severalquest ions to the father%

He

wanted to.know whethex the boy's mother

was

al ive , how many

wives he had,

whether

he

hadever

had

serious

misunderstanding

with

any

of his ~ e l a t i v e s

etc

He

said that the boy wes

visi ted

by powerful

evi l spir j t s

and

unless necessary

steps

are

t a k e ~

ta drive the sp i r i t s away, the boy*s l i f e was a t

stake. He prbmised

that he

himself

cantake

bare

of tha t

aspel

of

the

problem i f

the f t h ~ r was

will ing

and. able

to pay him.

He charged

the fether.Le20.00

.

Thefather said

he

will

pay

Le15.00. This was the f inal

a ~ o u n t

he

agreed

on. THe.bciy

was brought to him and was

t reated

for severai

days. His nigh,

mare stopped.

32.

A VILLAGE PROSPECTS FOR

DIAMONDS

The people of Dama were prospecting

for diamonds

in

thei r village

where they had heard

rumours tht diamonds exist

CollectivelYi they sought

the

aid

of a diviner .

They

sent

a

mission

to

sorne

remote part

of Mende

country where

they said

there was a

divner

who can

say nothj.ng but the t ruth and only

the t ru th The mission consisted of three

in teres ted

men.

They went

y

car and'returned

with the man the following day.

He was regarded as an important guest of th vi l lage. They

paid him a consultat ion fee of

Le60.00.

He

said that

they


44/50

41

wil l

f ind

diamohds

in

the i r area, but they needed t6

sacif ice

seven

rams,

three white cocks

and

100

bowls

' .:.

of cooked r ice

ta be

eaten by aI l

and sundry

and

100

white cola

nuts .

The sacr i f ice was carr ied

out in

jub i la t ion .

The

people

have since been prospecting. s o m ~ evidence of

dia-

monds

ex i s t

but no one

ever

picked a piece of

diamond.

33.,

RIV LRY

FOR

A

GIRL

Kaffar and Marie were bath in love with a

g i r l

Musu.

Bath

had

an

in te re s t in

marrying

the

g i r l .

Whiie

the contest

was on, Musu was in i t i a ted nto the women s secre t society ,

(sande). As time

went

on, Kaffo s uncertaint ies

increased.

He was not

sure of

his chances. He

therefore

went ta

see

a

diviner to

ascer ta in what

the

futue

halds

in s tore

for him

in respect

of

Musu.

He

met a

diviner in

the

vi l lage .

He

paid

him ~ e 1 . 0 0 . The divinor

used

cowrie she l l s . The diviner told

Kaffa

that

he

should

sacr i f ice

B

gold

necklace and

make sure

t gat to Musu

befare

Musu left the saciety grave. I f he did

th i s he would win the

g i r l ~

hear t . This was what Kaffo did

and

f ina l ly

married

Musu.

34. MON Y

15

sTOLEN

tA

'

Mr. Momoh

Pesima

had =given his wife

5ar t ta Le120.00

ta do business. After few days, 5ar t ta reported the money

missing.

The husband became

worried

and decided to

see

a

diviner .

The

diviner went

on

to

se lec t a ma, who could

be

induced

in to

a s ta te

of franzy.

He gave .the man a

broom.

.

.:. l

A

fee

of Le2.00 was paid. Every member

in

Mr. Momah s house-

holcl was

assembled.

The

idea

was tha t the man in a s ta te

of

franzy

would come close by aI l members of the household and

wil l

eventual ly whip

the person gui l ty

unt i l

t ~ persan con-

fesses his gui l t

and

brings the money

out. When the.man

came up ta

5ar t t a

he

~ h i p p e d

5ar t ta

mercilessly

unt i l

Sart ta

admi

t ted

and

said

tha t

she had

g.iven

themoney

to

her

,boy

fr iend

although

the boy fr iend denied the al legat ion.


45/50

42

..

35.

There was 3 CO lr - t case over land

between

two famil ies

in

M o ~ o n g o o .

The

case

i t se l f

had

been

on

for

nearly ten

yearso

I t had go he

to the

High

Courto Both

part ies had spent lo t s

of

money on

lawyers

etc The two

families

became further

apart;as the case lasted

~ I n the town of M o s o ~ g o .

there

was lucki ly

for

them a

famous diviner cal led M r ~ Mangao His medium of

divini t ion

was

ordinary

water in white

bowl.

One of the families ta

the

dispute appr6ached him t o f i nd o u ~ what.the outcome

of

the

dispte

would be, whether in

thei r

favor or that of

thei r

dversary. I t appeared the dispute had reached a s t a t e

where

no party could easi ly determine the outcome from past ex

perience. The d i v i n e r ~ a s k e d them ta paya

consultat ion fee

of L e 2 ~ He then

askndothe

eldes t

memberin the

family ta

con

jure: the sp i r i t s 60 that they:will

say

the t ~ u t h and only

the

r u t h ~ The e l ~ e s t

in the family

held ~ h e b u w l and bowed his

he

ad"

in

the bawl

and

spoke

for few m i n u t e ~ then'gave

back

thebowl

ta

the d i v i n ~ r . He

drbpped

the consultat ion

fee

(aI l of

i t

in

coins) into the water

and

star ted

talking.

The diviner

asked

the man

whether

the' land

in

dispute

belonged

to thei r grandfather to

which

he gave an affirma

t ive

answer

o

He

further

a s k e ~ _ ~ h e t h e r

since the

death

of

his

grandther and other eIders

in

the family who had died they

have

been pourin'g

l ibat ion

for

them,

i sa

how

often. The

e l d ~ ~

confessed that they havebeen r a t h e ~ l a x ~ d in

their

co,fnitment

ta

the 2ncestors"

The divincr told them that ~ ~ e y

were

l u c k ~

to have

rushed ta

him;;

~ e

sflido

that o t h e r ~ , ; i s e

they

were

going ta

10se

the C 6 s e ~ The

ancestors

he ~ e n ~ on

~ r e

angry about the

way

they obave been t reated Ly eIder members of the familyo In

\

this r e p e c t ~ they W8re o90in9 ~ o revenge by ta king their

source

of

li.vellh'Jod from ~ h e m c : Hr. told them

ta

go

forth

and pour .:U::aotion a:-:d u t consisten";

about

i t from then on

T h ~ ~

should offer spotted

ram

2S sacri f ice

and

hundred

k61a


46/50

,- 4

nuts ,

f i f ty of

which should b red

and

the

other f i f ty white.

,The

sheep

should ~ e ~ l ~ u g h t ~ r ~

and

given to the people

in

the town

n ~ the 'kola nuts shoUld

b e ~ g { v e n to s t rangers

passing bye.

I f

they carr ied out

his

ins t ruc t ions the

deci -

sion was

going

to

be

in

the i r

favour. They

did

exact ly

as

he

to ld

the'm.

However,

when

th

case

came

up

for

f ina l

judge-

ment,

they were

on

the

wrong and

th other

family

won,

3 ~ .

A

WoMAN

WANTED To

TRAVEL

, My

wife

(informant)

wanted

ta

t r ave l ta

Kano

to see

her

s i s te r . This was about Christmas

time

when many accideMts

t a k ~

place

in th i s country.

We

were not sure of her safe ty.

50 she went to consult a diviner

ta ascer ta in whether aI l

: , . ;

wil l

be weIl with her and the children. She was

told

tha t she

could go, b u ~ tha t

she

must :secr i f ice several ar t i c les a I l

mixed

together

in a ~ i n n o w i n g - f a n ~ m o ~ g

these

were

eggs,

r i ce , sa l t ,

sweets,

sugar,

beans

and sn

on.

AlI

the se were

ta

~ e 18ft

on

the

road side

a,day before she

t ravel led .

She did aI l

these things

~ n d

l e f t

for her dest ina t ion.

The

journey was Buccessful. She came back

with

the children

t

.

and'''we ff- -t-og'th'r' a'S Y'ou can s'e'S

for

'yourslll i l

37.

:LOoKING FOR A JOB

K a a ~ j a

was

the

eldest

son

of

his

mother. He

had

four

'other

brothers

of school

age and three s i s t e r s . Their

fa ther

died. when

K a a ~ j a

was in primary schaol . He

did

manage

t ~ r a u g h the

perseverance

of his mother and sorne

uncles

to

c c m p l e ~ ~

secondary

school.

He

secured a

division

three pass

in the West

African

School Cer t i f ica te

Examination with

dis t inc t ion in

mathematics,

his ,bast subject .

In

,view

of

th is

his. ;mother

suggested

he

takes

a

j

ob

and

help the

,family unt i l such

time w h ~ , n candi

t ians

are

favoura

ble

before ~ e c o n t e m p l a t ~ d

on continuing his educat ion.

Kaanja

sent

many applicat ions to several G ~ v e r n m e n t

Depart

ments,

but the

responses,were

n ~ t . f a v o u r a b l e . His mother

a ~ d sorne uncles got w o r r i ~ d .

K a ~ n j a went

ta

see

a

diviner

and

explained

his

,Problems ta

l'lim.

He.saw an old

man

in his l a te

.

'

70 s ,

Mr.

Manawai,

who

used

a

mirror

to divine.

He

to ld


47/50

-

Kaenja

to

paya

consultation

fee of

4o. He took a small

s't-uffe'cl g ' ~ ' t ' - h o r ' n , theh' p i a c ~ d : i t on the' surface of the

mirror

arid

uttered

a few ~ o r d s ~ ~ H e

gave

the 'mirror

witl

thE

horn

on i t

tb Kaanja

and told h i ~ to s ~ y

aI l

he wanted to kr

fro'm

''':M-a'nawai

n .

He told

him

to

put

the

consultat ion fe

Dt;

the

m,i rror'.

'Whn

Ka:anj a d'id

th i s , the

money

got" l u ~ k

on

the

mirror. Kaanj a was impressed.

He assure.d his ci int that

.

in 21

day's

time, to

be

exct ,

he

will get .a

iette:r: from one

Government Departm.ent of.fering .him a job. In

order

for

........ ,- ...

-

_ ..

_

-

. -_

,

Keanja

to bel ieve,

h ~

said

when

Kaanja

returned

home, he wiJ

' f ind

a gir l of'coffee complexion w a ~ t i ~ g f o r h i m ~ However,

hewas

not

certa in ~ b d u t the

21

d a y s p ~ e d i c t i o n

since

the

21

d a ~ would

fa l l

ona 'Sunday when

n

mails

~ r ~ d e l i v ~ f e d

.

As

' i t happe nad Kaanj a got -the le t te r ' on a S\Jtitlay

offering him the

appointment.

.The . l e t ter had come on a Sa-

turday,

but

one

of

his

brothers

nad

taken it;6.nd

f o r g e t f u l l ~

went alang

with i t t 9 a n o t h ~ r v ~ ~ l a 9 c : w h e ~ e he had gone ta

vis i t

a

friend.

He s lept there and came

early 5unday

mornir

and' delivered

the

l e t t e r

ta K a a n j a ~

38. A MAN

IS

C ~ A R G E D WtTH MAN5LAUGHTER

Mr.

Lavali

owned a

car. One day,

on a

Sunday af ter - ;

noon,

he deeided

to

go

h ~ n t i n g ~

This

is what

he

does

every

._-_. .... ......_ __ _ 4_ . _

Sunday

uniess

samething.

in terrupts

his

program.

On

one oce

.

sion

he was returning

from.his hunting t r i p . w h e ~ ~ ~ ~ a n inta

~ pedesirian and kii ied

him.

The

case

wa nvest igaied and

i t was

decided

that a coroner should h o l ~ an nquest . The

inquest

went on for

~ o m e t i m e without any ~ i g n that i t

would

~ a m e tb a

canclusion.

At th is juncture. M r ~ Lavali decided

ta consult

a d i v i n ~ r 50

h ~ t ravelled.

ta h ~ s

vil lage

which

was over 120

miles

away. . ~ H e . went there because he knew of

diviner

who

i s

supposed ~ a be very goodin

her

ar t . He met

her and

.explained

his prabl.em. H ~ said sinG.e the incident

or he

has been

depressed

. a : ~ c l wcrried. .It is a

seriaus

case,

he

continued.

The lady diviner asked

for

a consultat ion fee

but did not mentiQnany specif ie ~ m o u n t M ~ Lavali then g

her

L e 4 0 0 T h ~

lady

b r o u g ~ t ~ u t i ~

small sac

ful l

of cowri


48/50

~

She

spread

them severa11y on the

mat.

She spoke ta the ;s tnes

several t imes.

She

asked

no questions.

Final ly

she

told

her

cl ien t tha t he

wil l

have ta appear

three

more

times

before -

the coroner. On the th i rd and

l as t

time the case wil l be

decided in his favour and he wil l be free. However he should

buy a pound of meat cut i t in to four pieces and

throw

t

ta

dogs. He shou1d also get four

nai ls

and make sure he dropped

them

each a t a

~ o a d

much frequented by people. f t e ~ tha t he

wil l get a favourable verdict . Mr. Lavali

went

b a c k ~ and per

formed aI l

the sacr i f ices

o

He said that the case was called

three

times

and

t

was

dismissed

in his faveur. The ~ r d i c t

was death by misadventure.

ON LUSION

From

these

case

studies i t

can be

seen tha t

Mende

div in i t ion l ike most others is concerned

with

the very prac

t i ca l aspect of

l i f e .

Mende

divini t ion

seeks ta solve the

prevalent problems

tha t

confrant the

community.

I t

is

a re -

f lex of the soc ia l s t ructure and a manifestation of the

phy

s ica l

const raint

in which

man finds

himself.

Every

socie ty

i s

concerned

with the

securi ty and wellbeing

of

i t s

members

the s tab i l i ty of

the

commuhity e t c . . .

In

th i s respect aI l

necessary staps

are

ta ken to ensure not only the

physical

we1lbeing but a1so

the

emotiona1

wellbeing

of

i t s members.

Anything that tends ta disorder th i s physio-physhic

harmony

of

the community

generates

cancern for

the

community.

Because these physio-psychic phenomena when in disharmony

baff les

members of the

community

they

immediate1y

turn

for

answers and

explanations

fram

members

of

the

community

who

are

endowed with supernatural

powrs.

A diviner s the

mirror

of

the

community

through whom events can be seen

beyond

the ordinary. The diviner

i s

the p i l l a r tha t

re -

inforces

the

whole physical and

emotional

f ibre

of

the

society.


49/50

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50/50

. \

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