Nigeria Memoirs – 1
By Colonel Akhil Gupta, Retd
Rituals and occult encounters
In perspective, when compared to India, Nigeria geographically is less than 1/3rd and in terms of population less than 1/7th. Its Africa’s most populous country and has multi – religious, multi – linguistic and multi – ethnic societies. Very much like India, many people believe in elaborate rituals and occult practices.
However, they are quite a few steps ahead in mass participation of such practices. With the spread of Islam from North and Christianity from South, the existing native beliefs were more or less assimilated with their new belief systems.
It should not come as a surprise that every Christian goes through 2 marriage ceremonies in Nigeria, one in a church and another a native one. The acceptance of occult powers is widely prevalent and so deeply embedded in Nigerian culture that it is not unusual for government functionaries to be intensely concerned with occult threats.
General Abacha, who ruled the country until 1998, kept sorcerers, fortune-tellers, and Islamic marabouts with him in his presidential bunker, while members of his government often were kept waiting days or weeks for an audience.
Students seek help of miracle doctors or (Christian) spirit mediums to pass their examinations. Government employees seeking promotion or businessmen looking for customers arm themselves against the evil magic of their opponents, with their own potions and practices.
Occult incidents in Nigeria have been extensively written about, recorded, and researched vividly. Several documentaries and movies have also been made. I found this phenomenon much more prevalent in the Southern and South-Eastern parts of Nigeria.
Here, I plan to restrain myself to only those experiences which I first-hand observed and experienced. Masquerade Encounters Masquerades are revered as superior beings, a medium that communicates with nether worldly spirits.
They are believed to represent both the spirit and human worlds and are welcomed for celebrating rituals, rites of passage, and speaking to the dead. Only nominated individuals take upon themselves the role as a masquerade and play several important functions in the community: spiritually, it marks both festive and solemn occasions; politically, it provides an opportunity to reaffirm loyalty to a chief or king.
It is a common sight in most of the rural areas especially in South-Eastern Nigeria during harvest time or during visits of high-profile religious leaders or during elections.
While travelling for our NGO’s activities, we would often get surrounded by individuals or even groups as Masquerade on the roadside or in villages.
Brightly coloured flowing dresses, all a sum and substance of natural environment, reflecting inherent ethnic look is a visual treat.
The description may sound exotic as the ones in Rios’ carnivals, but in comparison is more subdued. The mask is usually made of wood, bronze, brass or sometimes even of ivory.
They are adorned with animal horns, seashells, and seeds all painted in vivid hues. The headgear is invariably made up of multi coloured feathers. In their hand, they usually carry an antique staff that would look like a spear, with a wooden sheath and a metallic head, all beautifully stitched together with animal hide. Majestic and out of the world look comes from their tribal attire, masks, and their headgear.
And all this comes to life with their dance, actions, and oratory, of course in the native tongue. Its fluidity, rhythmic progression reaching a crescendo is very mesmerizing. They would often take the opportunity to gleefully rile us (expatriates) by delaying, blocking, and using strong words conveyed through their actions and body language. I have always felt this was a way to express their frustration in face of increasing poverty and lawlessness in the society.
It would get expressed more severely while confronting expatriates, trying to find solace in advocating rejection of white-man’s ways. Our reaction was always to allow them to enact their performance respectfully and patiently wait them out. Any other reaction would be sacrilegious.
Reminds very much of a recent Kannada movie Kantara. Kola Nut Greetings Coconut occupies a sacred place in Hindu ceremonies and when placed over a kalash filled with water takes a new meaning. Similarly, Kola nut or Kola, the seed of the Cola plant (Cola acuminata) is also considered sacred in Nigeria.
It is a crucial part of many ceremonies, title taking, oath-taking, sacrifices and welcoming of visitors to one’s home. In such ceremonies, Kola is considered, as an oracle, an instrument of divination and prayers to it are offered. In size, it is like an overgrown betel nut that can be clenched in a fist. The kola nut is a symbol of long life and peaceful coexistence.
In that essence, it is used to welcome strangers. Those who share and eat kola together are believed to bring fortune and ensure success in their partnerships. While welcoming a new guest, it is a usual gesture to offer Kola being a powerful symbol of mutual respect and honour. I have participated in the ceremony of presentation of Kola during numerous formal discussions on proposals and agreements in communities.
A single Kola or several of them are placed together and the divinity is welcomed into Kola. Kola is then offered for breaking. The breaking is immediately followed by prayers. The most respected amongst host invokes and blesses the Kola with the prayer. Kola is then shared with all guests and hosts.
The guest thereafter is not treated as a stranger anymore. It is a very powerful formality that expresses a message from the bottom of the heart for establishing a bond of trust that fosters peaceful togetherness. In most communities, the bitter Kola is used for the ritual. Believe me, it is ver-rry bitter.
More bitter than Neem leaves and you must literally chew it through instead of gulping down. In some communities, salt is also offered along with it.
My enquiry if this was to mellow down its bitter taste was politely brushed aside. Some other communities offer it with edible raw brinjals (egg plant).
These brinjals are a bit different – a mix of yellow- greenwhite colour, quite small, size of a turkey egg that can fit in your palm. With changing times, I have even been offered a fizz drink soon after the kola breaking for a better palatable experience.
Brush with Immortality The idea of temporary immortality was first introduced to me by a Nigerian foreign service diplomat, an ex-ambassador to Nordic countries.
Initially he was hesitant in sharing the details but on further cajoling over an informal dinner, he explicitly brought out that the invincibility gets bestowed upon individuals after performance of certain rituals.
They become immortals and no body harm can be inflicted upon them, not even effect of bullets fired upon them. He had seen himself fired bullets falling near the individual’s feet instead of hitting their bodies, akin to a-la-Rajnikant style.
This was a temporary phenomenon and being time bound also wore off once the task for which it was ordained was completed. This was serious talk from a well-educated, well-travelled and well-informed person.
Here, I will mention 2 near encounters. I was auditing operational fitness of one of our primary health care (PHC) centres when news was received that neighbouring community warriors were expected to reach this village area and a fight may likely ensue. I was given the option to leave the PHC centre from the opposite direction or get into the protection area.
Of course, I chose to leave but not before having a look at their protection area. They had marked out a very large area in the centre of the village with tall, dried grass and other embellishments for people to move into. This boundary was to provide protection like Lakshman Rekha.
While their groups of 15-20 fighters were positioned at 2-3 entrances to the village. They were also segregated from other individuals and kept in another enclosure. They were not to get into contact of any human being or animal till they get into actual battle.
This was to maintain their purity which would ensure their effectiveness. Like the movies: they were all young well-built males, all bearing tattoos, bare bodies glistening with oil, some armed with muskets and others with spears.
They did not appear drugged or in a trance but would periodically chant in their native tongue with aggressive gestures as if invoking their gods or maybe building up josh.
They had been prepared like this about 6-10 hours earlier and had been positioned into their enclosure to remain pure until launched into the fight. A second incident occurred when I had to travel a long distance and was inadvertently passing through 2 communities involved in a fight.
I would usually travel in a Toyota Hilux 5seater double cabin pick-up truck. A very reliable and comfortable vehicle to travel long distance in adverse terrain and adverse weather, especially when you have multiple size loads ready for camping anywhere as a last resort.
Anyway, as we slowed to navigate an obstacle placed on the road hordes of fighters, all bare bodied with musket and spears descended upon us. The community thought that I was on a logistical supply mission to the opposing community. My driver was forcefully brought down, vehicle impounded, and my bags were brutally opened up, all before I could even utter some explanation.
Only after, their initial excitement died down and I explained to them of our identity. Consequently, they realised their mistake when a few persons also recognised us for the beneficial work we had been doing in their village too.
On gathering our wits and accepting their apology, we decided to take a different route lest we face the same monkey ordeal in the next community. Just before starting I realised that my mobile was missing. I got down from my vehicle and told them that I wanted to meet their Chief before leaving.
They declined meeting with the Chief, being afraid that I may be a paid assassin. When I refused to leave and parked my vehicle under a tree calling to speak to their superiors, did they finally buckle down to hear me out fully.
I told them, that I wanted to apprise the Chief first hand that through the act of stealing my mobile by some of his fighters, they all had become accessory and hence impure losing their immunity from death.
They would lose their fight. Lo and behold, in a matter of minutes, the mobile was located and respectfully handed over to me. In the distance, I could see a young fighter being taken away with his finger/s chopped. They told me that the fighter had to lose just a finger or two.
The individual would have had to be sacrificed had he not turned over the item before the call to prayer was to be announced. The prayer was to call upon the divine to help identify the culprit.
Sadly, the actual proof of immortality eluded me but if I had to lay a bet, I may probably root for them. Their confidence in the ritual left me astounded.
The high level of fanatic conviction and faith in the supernatural was unbelievable. There appeared just no place for doubts in any one of their minds.
