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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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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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30
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 .
.;..- ....._.
.
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_..
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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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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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
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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.
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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
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\
;
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
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~ ~ : : . :
.
- ';,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 .
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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
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,:
,"
. ,
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
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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 .
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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
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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.
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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
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,- 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
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-
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
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~
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.
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.
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-.:.
? -
-. ;
..
i
-
. ~ - ~ ~ - ~ . ; - ~
_:
';
. .
.... ..
-.,
.. : ~ ~ 2 ..I. : M,
.
-.
_ ' l ~ _ . ~ ; : ; : " . : ' _ ~ : - _ ~ . " : ~ : - : .
.. . :.
:- :
_o. _
,::
;.:
.:
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: : ~
.:.
;7.
;
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-
-- - - --
- -
~ : :
: ~ ' ' : : ...... _ .. ...
....
1 :-
. ;
.
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. \