Evidently, the meaning of the Elgonyi ceremony was that an offering was being made to the sun divinity at the moment of its rising. If the gift was spittle, it was the substance which in the view of primitives contains the personal mana, the power of healing, magic, and life. If it was breath, then it was roho – Arabic, ruch, Hebrew, ruach, Greek, pneuma – wind and spirit. The act was therefore saying: I offer to God my living soul. It was a wordless, acted-out prayer which might equally well be rendered: “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”
Besides adhísta the Elgonyi – we were further informed – also venerate ayík, the spirit who dwells in the earth and is a sheitan (devil). He is the creator of fear, a cold wind who lies in wait for the nocturnal traveller. The old man whistled a kind of Loki motif to convey vividly how the ayík creeps through the tall, mysterious grass of the bush.
Memories, Dreams, Reflections C. G. Jung.
The religious ideas of the Pokot (Suk).
Nothing could be more delightfully vague than the religious ideas of the Suk: indeed it is difficult to find two men having ideas on this subject exactly coincident. All, however, agree as to the existence of a Supreme Being, who is to most men Torôrut, the Sky, and to a few Ilat, the Rain. Preferably I give here the version of Tiamolok, one of the oldest of Suk now living (1911), and one renowned for his knowledge of folklore.
“Torôrut is the Supreme God. He made the earth and causes the birth of mankind and animals. No man living has seen him, though old men, long since dead, have. They say he is like a man in form, but has wings – huge wings – the flash of which causes the lightning, and the whirring thereof is the thunder.
“He lives above, and has much land, stock, ivory, and every good thing.
“He knows all secrets; he is the universal father; all cattle diseases and calamities are sent by him as punishment to men for their sins.
“His wife is Seta (the Pleiades), and his first-born son is Arawa (the Moon). Ilat (the Rain) is another son, as are Kokel (the Stars) his other children.
“Topogh (the Evening Star) is his first-born daughter.
“Asis (the Sun) is his younger brother, who is angry in the dry season.
“All these are gods, and all are benevolently disposed towards mankind.”
But others say, “The only god we know is Ilat,” who is supreme and lord of life and death. Others, again, say Ilat is the servant of Torôrut, whose duty it is to carry water, “and when he spills it it rains.” Karôle, the chief of the Suk, says that Kokel are the children of Ilat, who is the lord of death.
“There are” he says, “such things as spirits, but we don’t understand much about them. All we know is that death is the uttermost evil – there can be nothing worse. When a good man dies, and his body is thrown away, we occasionally go to where his head lies and bring a little food and tobacco, to make, if possible, his deadness more endurable; but if a bad man dies we give nothing. ‘Let him die still more,’ we say. Torôrut has nothing to do with men after death. They get nothing further from him either good or bad.”
Nevertheless, it seems to be generally believed that a man’s spirit passes into a snake at death. If a snake enters a house, the spirit of the dead man is believed to be very hungry. Milk is poured on to its tracks, and a little meat and tobacco placed on the ground for it to eat. It is believed that if no food is given to the snake one or all of the members of the household will die. It, however, may none the less be killed if encountered outside the house, and if at the time of its death it is inhabited by the spirit of a dead man, “that spirit dies also.” If the snake be met with on the road, and it is coiled up with head invisible, “pluck a handful of grass and place upon it and pass on.” If, however, it darts up its head it may be killed with impunity. Death being a non-enviable existence, to exterminate the spirit of one’s ancestor need not be a culpable, and may even be a beneficial act.
The Suk Mervyn Beech.
Belief in the equal worth of rich and poor in the next world, if not in this, formed no part of Nandi philosophy.
The Oiik, i.e. the spirits of departed ancestors and adult relations, are held to be responsible for sickness and death, and they are appealed to and propitiated with milk, beer, and food whenever necessary. The human soul is embodied in a person’s shadow, and it is firmly believed that after death the shadows of both good and bad people go underground and live there. People who have great possessions on earth are equally blessed when they die, whilst the spirits of poor people have as bad a time after death as they had during life. Years ago a man is said to have gone to the land in which the spirits live. He fell into a river one day and lost consciousness (or died). When he came to himself again he was in a strange country, where there were hills, rivers, plantations, and oxen, just as on earth. The spirits came to him and said: “Young man, your time has not yet come when you should join us. Go back to the earth.” With that they struck the ground and the man lost consciousness again to wake up near the place where he had fallen into the river.
There is also a devil called Chemosit, who is supposed to live on the earth and to prowl round searching to devour people, especially children. He is said to be half man, half bird, to have only one leg but nine buttocks, and his mouth, which is red, is supposed to shine at night like a lamp. He propels himself by means of a stick which resembles a spear and which he uses as a crutch. His method of catching children is to sing a song at night-time near where they are living, and the children seeing the light and hearing the music think that a dance is being held, and are lured on to their destruction.
The Nandi A. C. Hollis.
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog….
William Shakespeare
The most hated and unpopular magic among the Gikuyu is orogi. The possessor of such magic is looked upon as a dangerous and destructive individual. Orogi is used exclusively for nefarious purposes and, as such, its practice is against the ethical and moral laws of the community….
The substance of orogi consists of burnt ashes, or ground powder from poisonous herbs and roots. This toxin and the ritual ingredients go together, because into the toxin a powder ground from human, animal, and reptile flesh is mixed. In this form the mixture is ready to fulfil its deadly purposes. The chief parts of the human or animal body required for the manufacture of orogi are the following: genital organs of both male and female, breasts, tongues, ears, hands and feet, blood, eyes, and noses. These articles are extracted from human bodies, the victims of the magician’s work. They keep watch over the persons whom they have poisoned, to find out when they die and where their bodies are laid; then they go stealthily at dead of night and extract the required parts. But from animals and reptiles the list is enlarged by adding the internal organs such as heart, kidneys, part of the stomach and intestines, liver, testicles, and fat. The materials collected in this way are dried and are then preserved for immediate or future use.
Facing Mount Kenya Jomo Kenyatta.
A suspected sorcerer was frequently submitted to an ordeal, of which there were many kinds. This is a Swahili version.
The Ordeal of the Billhook or Axe
If a man has stolen something and not been seen but people suspect him, or a magician has been caught or someone is suspected of being a magician, the suspects ask for an ordeal. A doctor is called in, and he is given the ordeal of the billhook. This is of iron, and a verse of the Qur’an is written on it. Then it is made red-hot on a fire of ebony. Or an axe is taken and made red-hot. It is then given to the person undergoing the ordeal to lick, in the morning before he has had any food. The person who licks says, “I have been accused of sorcery; I know nothing of it, white or black, and now I take the ordeal. If I go out at night to cast spells, or if I prepare food for a neighbour’s child to cause its death, may the truth of the ordeal fall upon me. No, neither I nor my father or mother know anything of this art. I am being slandered, and may the ordeal clear me.” Then he licks the b
illhook with his tongue, and after this the doctor tells him to open his mouth, and he shows him. If his tongue is not blistered, the ordeal has cleared him; if it is, he is convicted. If the ordeal has convicted him, everybody speaks openly of him as a criminal who brings evil to the neighbourhood. They say, “Now we will put you on oath to abandon these practices,” and he consents to be sworn.
The Customs of the Swahili People Mtoro bin Mwinyi Bakari.
If found guilty, the sorcerer was generally condemned to death. This was the Kikuyu procedure.
On reaching the place appointed the kiama [council of elders] formed a ring. Immediately the morogi [sorcerer] was brought in under the escort of the njama ya ita [warriors]. He was made to stand inside the ring while preparations for his execution were being made. First, a small he-goat from the morogi’s flock was brought and handed to him. He was asked to kill it, to symbolize his own death. At the same time he was asked to declare that he had not, and would not, at the time of his death, utter, silently or loudly, curses on anyone; and that he was willing to die silently for his wickedness. After the morogi had completed this, he was given the heart of the goat to eat and thus brighten his own heart before he was put to death. Then a short concluding ceremony was performed. It consisted of mixing the blood of the goat with cow’s milk. This mixture was poured on the morogi’s head, and thence on his whole body. During this act the assembly stood in dead silence. After a few moments a few verses of a ritual song were sung, the officiating elder leading the ceremony….
While the elders and the warriors were singing this song they went round and round, circling the wizard. Everyone present put a dry banana leaf on the condemned man. At the end of the ritual song the leading elder called upon one or two of the morogi’s close relatives. They were asked to tie the banana leaves on their kinsman. By performing this act they signified that the morogi was disowned by them and by their clan; they handed him over completely to the authorities and, for example, could never afterwards bring a claim for blood money or any compensation on account of losing one of their clansmen. After the relatives had taken the initial steps and had shown their willingness to get rid of the morogi, they were helped by others, and the banana leaves were tied on the morogi from head to foot. On the top of the banana leaves dry grass and other inflammable substances were added.
In the meantime ceremonial elders were busy drilling fire from sacred fire-sticks. Immediately the fire was ready the morogi was asked to make his will, and at the same time to confess the names of the men he had killed by poisoning. After his confession, one of his relatives was given a brand from the sacred fire and requested to set fire to the morogi. As soon as the fire was lit the assembly rose and stood at a little distance with their backs turned to the scene, leaving the guard who acted as executioner to keep the fire burning.
This was one way of getting rid of a morogi and of discouraging others from indulging in the nefarious profession. Another way was to crucify a morogi at the junction of main roads, but this method was less used.
When the business was over a ceremonial horn was blown and the elders formed a procession towards a sacred grove. Here a ceremony of purification was performed to provide a ritual cleansing to the assembled public before they returned home.
Facing Mount Kenya Jomo Kenyatta.
A were-hyena.
On my way down to Wamba I heard a strange story of a plague of the animals on the edge of the Turkana escarpment. It was told to me by the game warden at Moroto in Karamoja. He said that among the Karamajong there is a belief that at night the Imuron, the tribal witchdoctors, can either turn themselves into hyenas or travel from one place to another on the backs of the animals. Imuron are not among the most popular members of the tribe.
During the great drought in East Africa the cattle began to die in thousands and hyenas became a menace. With an abundance of carrion they increased in numbers and, instead of scavenging in twos and threes, a pack of thirty or forty animals would gang up together and attack living animals. The warden killed them by pouring a tin of cattle dip into the stomach of a dead cow and leaving the poisoned carcass in the bush. In this way he sometimes collected twenty or thirty dead hyenas in one night.
After one successful onslaught his chief scout told him with evident satisfaction that he had killed an Imuron. Among the dead hyenas they found one animal decorated with the sacred ear-rings of the soothsayers. They could not have been put on after death. The bone rings were embedded in the pierced ears and the flesh had grown around them. The animal was also wearing a sacred necklace and its chest was painted with the characteristic stripes of the medicine men. The warden could offer no explanation for the decorated animal but the tribe considered he had done them a good turn.
Journey to the Jade Sea John Hillaby.
“The Jews of Africa”
In the colonial period Asians prospered in trade, banking and the professions. Their dukas – equivalents of the British village shop – were to be found in every outpost from the Ethiopian to the Tanzanian borders, and their emporiums in every town and mart. Uneasiness followed the abrupt expulsion, after independence, of Uganda’s Asians. But confidence returned.
The last few years (late 1980s) have seen a significant mellowing in the African’s hostile attitude toward the Asians. Though he is still discriminated against, far more than whites or any other minority in black Africa, the Asian today seems to have earned a permanent and fairly secure role in the future of the continent. His presence has quietly ceased to be an issue.
“I’m convinced there couldn’t be another repeat of what happened in Uganda, although I wouldn’t have told you that a couple of years ago,” an Asian friend, Abdul Hamid, told me over lunch one day in Nairobi’s Red Bull restaurant, where the hundred or so predominantly male customers were about evenly divided between Africans, Asians and Europeans. Hamid, who was forty and ran one of the biggest printing companies in East Africa, was a Sunni Moslem, one of the 200,000 members of Kenya’s Asian community, the largest and most economically and politically influential in black Africa.
“I mean, my kids’ generation can’t identify with India anymore. They don’t even care about learning the language. All our ties are to Kenya, not India. My family’s been here over a hundred years. The Asian is a tribe of Africa now.”
Hamid was raised in Mombasa in a house with sixty relatives. The men, women and children ate in shifts. His marriage was arranged. His grandfather was an uneducated dhow repairman. But like almost all Asians in Africa, Hamid escaped the mire of poverty, insufficient education and tradition that his ancestors had known. Economically and socially, he outdistanced his African counterpart.
“When I moved to Nairobi from Mombasa eight years ago,” Hamid said, “I came with nothing. Absolutely nothing. I lived on bananas and a pint of milk a day for two years, putting every shilling into my business. An African wouldn’t do that. But I wasn’t afraid to work and I wanted to make money for my children. I will admit the Asians collect money almost as a hobby. We are the Jews of Africa.”
The Africans David Lamb.
Today there is a top layer of affluent and successful Asians.
One, who kindly invited me to cakes and coffee at his home, is a High Court judge. Other morning coffee guests included a consultant dermatologist and a Sikh business tycoon, the latter an elderly gentleman clad all in white and with a fine white beard. He laughed as he said: “I have lost seventy-three million shillings in Uganda and six million shillings in Tanzania. And I am still a happy man.”
He had started his career as a station-master; done a bit of buying and selling, invested in a posho mill and in a cotton ginnery in Uganda, and gradually built up an empire, mainly in the shape of mills. One day, driving down from Eldoret, he stopped at a saw-mill whose European owner did not shake hands or ask him into the house. The Sikh drove back to Eldoret, arranged matters with the bank, returned and said to its owner: “I have come to buy your saw-mill. I will pay you £20,
000.” This time he was invited into the house. “It was a good investment,” said the Sikh.
Are Asians, I asked, better or worse off now than in colonial times? The High Court judge shrugged his shoulders. “The upper millstone has become the nether millstone. It does not make much difference to those in between.” He recalled regulations that had formerly prevented him and his kind from buying land in the white highlands, and the exclusion of Asians from the higher ranks of the civil service. “We had little choice but to become duka-wallahs.” Nevertheless, I suggested, he seemed to have done pretty well. “I was lucky. The gods watched over me. I used to tell the Europeans with whom I worked that my loyalty was suspect because I was not white, although Kenya did not have a more loyal subject. Still equally loyal, I am not black. I do not know. What I do know is, I do not want any other home than Kenya.” In the past, whites made Asians feel inferior; now, blacks make them feel insecure.
Out in the Midday Sun Elspeth Huxley.
Law and Order
In up-country Kenya, until colonial times there were no prisons and no money. There was also little crime. Tribal law was backed by supernatural sanctions: if theft was likely to be followed by disasters such as sickness, your wife’s miscarriage or the death of your best bull, you left your neighbour’s mealies and his goats alone. Sometimes, however, temptation proved too strong; then penalties could be so severe as to act as a powerful deterrent.
Nine Faces Of Kenya Page 55