DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49270#0062
40
J. Roscoe
the relics are put on special occasions, this dais being separated from the hall by a number
of spears made of iron, copper, and brass, of the best workmanship possible, and with
shields standing at intervals between the spears, forming a barrier to keep any person
from approaching the dais. The floor of the temple is carpeted with sweet-smelling grass
and the dais is covered with some of the finest bark cloths the country produces. Behind
the dais a reed screen cuts off a portion of the hall and forms a room for the relics when
not exposed to public view. These are kept in a cellar for greater safety, so that, should
the building be burned down, they are safe. It is behind this screen that the medium
resides and there he carries on his duties of communicating with the dead, conveying
messages to him, and, when possessed, giving the ghost’s answers. The medium is a man
who was in the service of the deceased king, who was in constant contact with him, who
at the death of the king was appointed with the selected widows to drink the wine used in
washing the body, and who, later, drank the wine used in washing the jawbone. The
spirit of the deceased king is said to come upon this man, when, to use the exact words of
the people, the king “seizes him by the head”. The medium at such times becomes
frenzied and talks in rapid tones, using language difficult to understand. The man is
said to be entirely under the control of the ghost and for the time being unable to control
himself or even to know what he says or does. An interpreter, one of the priests, is present
and interprets all that is said. It sometimes happens that the medium foretells things
which are detrimental to himself, and he then has to be warned after the spell has passed
and he is himself again. These seizures are of short duration, lasting seldom more than an
hour, and the medium is free, between the seizures, to act as he pleases and to go about
as he will, nor is he at these times restricted to the temple area. To become spirit-possessed,
the medium smokes a pipe of ordinary home-grown tobacco and sits gazing into a smolder-
ing fire until the spirit “seizes” him. He tells the departed king he has questions to ask
him, then he smokes the pipe, and under the influence of the ghost he gives the king’s reply.
The temple of a king is under the management of the dowager queen, whose house is
built near the enclosure. In the courtyard of the temple a number of widows continue to
live whose duties are to take part in guarding the temple against improper use by visitors,
to renew the grass carpet when necessary, to sweep the courtyard, and to cultivate the
plantain trees which surround the temple. This plantation is expected to proAde suffi-
cient food for the widows. These women are always spoken of as “wives” of the late
king, the term “widow” being carefully avoided in their case. Their chastity is a matter
of the strictest care, and any transgression of good morals is met by capital punishment.
The office of a king’s wife may be terminated if one of these women wishes to marry: she
can then arrange with the members of her clan to supply another maid of the same totem
to take her place. The number of wives always remains the same year after year because,
J. Roscoe
the relics are put on special occasions, this dais being separated from the hall by a number
of spears made of iron, copper, and brass, of the best workmanship possible, and with
shields standing at intervals between the spears, forming a barrier to keep any person
from approaching the dais. The floor of the temple is carpeted with sweet-smelling grass
and the dais is covered with some of the finest bark cloths the country produces. Behind
the dais a reed screen cuts off a portion of the hall and forms a room for the relics when
not exposed to public view. These are kept in a cellar for greater safety, so that, should
the building be burned down, they are safe. It is behind this screen that the medium
resides and there he carries on his duties of communicating with the dead, conveying
messages to him, and, when possessed, giving the ghost’s answers. The medium is a man
who was in the service of the deceased king, who was in constant contact with him, who
at the death of the king was appointed with the selected widows to drink the wine used in
washing the body, and who, later, drank the wine used in washing the jawbone. The
spirit of the deceased king is said to come upon this man, when, to use the exact words of
the people, the king “seizes him by the head”. The medium at such times becomes
frenzied and talks in rapid tones, using language difficult to understand. The man is
said to be entirely under the control of the ghost and for the time being unable to control
himself or even to know what he says or does. An interpreter, one of the priests, is present
and interprets all that is said. It sometimes happens that the medium foretells things
which are detrimental to himself, and he then has to be warned after the spell has passed
and he is himself again. These seizures are of short duration, lasting seldom more than an
hour, and the medium is free, between the seizures, to act as he pleases and to go about
as he will, nor is he at these times restricted to the temple area. To become spirit-possessed,
the medium smokes a pipe of ordinary home-grown tobacco and sits gazing into a smolder-
ing fire until the spirit “seizes” him. He tells the departed king he has questions to ask
him, then he smokes the pipe, and under the influence of the ghost he gives the king’s reply.
The temple of a king is under the management of the dowager queen, whose house is
built near the enclosure. In the courtyard of the temple a number of widows continue to
live whose duties are to take part in guarding the temple against improper use by visitors,
to renew the grass carpet when necessary, to sweep the courtyard, and to cultivate the
plantain trees which surround the temple. This plantation is expected to proAde suffi-
cient food for the widows. These women are always spoken of as “wives” of the late
king, the term “widow” being carefully avoided in their case. Their chastity is a matter
of the strictest care, and any transgression of good morals is met by capital punishment.
The office of a king’s wife may be terminated if one of these women wishes to marry: she
can then arrange with the members of her clan to supply another maid of the same totem
to take her place. The number of wives always remains the same year after year because,