552
was required [77]
to pay compensation to the family of the accuser, which had lost one or more
members as the result of the guilty man's witchcraft. It was stated that an
accuser could save the life of a guilty man (i.e. of one who did not
immediately vomit) by calling on the poison to leave the accused, saying:
"Sasswood [78]
I thank you, you have shown his guilt; come forth now and leave him." The
accused would then vomit, but he would suffer from illness afterwards.
Compensation generally took the form of a small boy or girl, who was handed
over by the family of the unsuccessful litigant[79]
to that of the successful litigant. If the unsuccessful litigant had been the
offspring of an exchange marriage, then the boy or girl given as compensation
had also to be the offspring of an exchange marriage, i.e. had to be a
patrilineal relative of the unsuccessful litigant. But if the unsuccessful
litigant had been the offspring of a marriage by purchase then the boy or girl
given as compensation had to be the offspring of a marriage by purchase, i.e.
had to be a matrilineal relative.
There is a charm against witchcraft[80]
which is known as Ngub Sho or the rites of the Ngub
bark. The head of a family, in order to safeguard his household, goes out to
the bush and obtains a piece of the bark of a certain tree known as
Ngub. On reaching home he keeps the bark concealed, for if any woman
should look on it would lose its virtue. He places the piece of bark on the
ground, covers it with a layer of the sacred grass known as jiro, lays a
chicken's head across the bark and grass, and then cuts off the chicken's head.
He next pares off a little of the bark, places it in the beak of the chicken,
and buries the chicken's head at the entrance to his compound, together with
some of the jiro grass and the fruit of the Gardenia ternifolia
tree. Next he takes a bundle of straw, lights it, and begins singing the chant
used at the funeral rites of a woman. At the conclusion of the chant he kneels
down over the buried head of the chicken and says: "I am a lover of my fellow
men and work mischief on no one. If any woman comes to this house to kill me or
any of my people by witchcraft may she be killed, even as I now kill the fire
of this torch." So saying, he presses the grass torch against the ground until
the light is extinguished. He then lights another bundle of grass, and singing
the chant used at the burial rites of a man he utters a prayer that if any
Plate 57
Mambila Warriors
Note to L hand photo: [81]