[6] At the Etche town of Okudu Mba there was an Mbari house erected in honour of Ajala (Aja ground or mud), ‘a brother of Ale.’

[7] In this neighbourhood are the principal shrines of Adumu, the head and father of all the snake cults of the region. The little village of Adum-Ama is its chief centre, while at ’Ngeri-Baw-Ama it was stated that ‘only men may talk with him; for with his cult some of the most important of the male secrets are said to be connected.’

[8] The wrestling scene depicted in every Mbari house generally represents the ceremonial wrestling ‘to help the crops grow’ described on p. 112 _et seq._

[9] Cf. The Bird and Pillar Cult of old Crete.

[10] See _Life in Southern Nigeria_.

[11] No information could be obtained as to whether the priest ‘died’ at the end of the seventh year of his office, like the priest of the Aya-Eke cult at Elele, _vide_ p. 103 _et seq._

[12] The tabu among Okoba and Ale Nsaw Ibo against climbing palm trees is probably due to the same idea.

[13] _Zeus: A Study of Ancient Religion_, by A. B. Cook.

[14] Vide _In the Shadow of the Bush_, p. 14.

[15] Many of these would now be classified by me as symbols of ‘medicines’ or charms, not ‘jujus.’ Vide _The Peoples of Southern Nigeria_, vol. ii. p. 153.

[16] _In the Shadow of the Bush_, p. 76.

[17] It is perhaps worth remarking that among Mbolli all fire brick is used for the same purpose.

[18] The Ajokko-Ji, the Yam Spirit, is further described in _The Peoples of Southern Nigeria_.

[19] _Woman’s Mysteries of a Primitive People_ (Cassell), p. 81.

[20] Eke day is one of the four days of the Ibo week. It is market day at Elele. Eke is also the name of the great python. See p. 7.

[21] Mbiencha is the child of Nkike, the Mbolli Earth Goddess.

[22] This offering is of the same shape, though apparently slightly larger than the small phallic symbols found before the Juju Ezum Mezum depicted on p. 92.

INDEX

A

Abara, messenger of the Earth Goddess, represented in Mbari Houses, 16-7.

Abaw, clan of Ika sub-tribe of Ibo, 79.

Abuan, Semi-Bantu tribe, 75, 121, 123.

Adultery: Tabus, 126-7; condonation of, 127.

Ajiji, ‘play’, 93-4.

Ajokko-ji, or Njokku: Yam cult, 99 _et seq._; among Mbolli, 29.

Ala, or Ale, or Ana. _See_ Earth Goddess.

Ale Nsaw, sub-tribe of Ibo, 122-3.

Amade Onhia, or Amad’ongha. _See_ God of Lightning.

Ancestors: and Fertility, 9, 60, 113, 120; and Ale, 120 _et seq._ esp. 134; accursed, 64; shrines and phallic figures, 84; symbols, 80-1; between reincarnations, 77, 130-2.

Ant hill, and phallic cults, 90-2.

Ape, represented in Mbari Houses, 22, 24-5.

Aro, sub-tribe of Ibo; and worship of Thunder God, 46.

Art, clay figures in Mbari Houses, 15, 41.

Axe, double-headed, depicted on Ikoro drum, 4, 8.

B

Binny, Mr. J. M., former District Commissioner, 108-9.

Bird and Pillar worship, 43.

Birth: representation in Mbari Houses, 15, 24, 51; due to Jujus, 60.

Blood and Fertility, 102, 128-9.

Burial. _See_ Death.

C

Chief of town, must be priest of Ale, 12.

Child birth, tabus re, 63.

Coiffure, representations in Mbari Houses, 15, 41.

Cooking cones. _See_ Eku, 82 _et seq._

Copulation: method of, 24-5; with the dead, 132; unnatural, 33-6; tabus re, 32-3, 121 _et seq._; and cults of Earth Goddess and Thunder God, 15, 48.

Crocodile, depicted on Ikoro drum etc., 4, 7, 9.

Cult, yam, 99 _et seq._ _See_ Fertility.

D

Dance, at Elele, 116 _et seq._

Death, tabus re, 62-4.

Drum, the Great, 1 _et seq._

E

Earth. _See_ Goddess. Spousals with Sky, 61.

Egyptians, Ancient, 75; Legend re Horus, 85.

Ekkpahian, sub-tribe of, Ibo, and unnatural copulation, 34-6.

Ekoi, Semi-Bantu tribe, 65, 79.

Eku, phallic figures, 82 _et seq._

Eleche, Priest of Aya-Eke yam cult, 104 _et seq._

Elele, Ikwerri Ibo town, home of Aya-Eke Yam cult, 103.

Etche, sub-tribe of Ibo, builders of Mbari Houses, 12, 20, 23, 40 _et seq._

Ethnological Sketch by P. Amaury Talbot, v.

F

Farms, 99. _See_ Fertility.

Fertility: of farms, 50, 99 _et seq._; of farms and flocks, 36, 113; and Jujus, _see_ Ibudu, 65 _et seq._; linked with priest, 103; desire for, 133; and blood, 128-9. _See_ Ancestors, also Earth Goddess, esp. 40-1, 48, 60.

Frazer, Sir James, 85.

Fruitfulness. _See_ Fertility.

G

Genital Organs, 65-6, 70, 5-6. _See_ Phallic, Symbols.

Ghosts. _See_ Ancestors.

Girls, and initiatory ceremonies, 14, 82 _et seq._

God, of Lightning and Thunder, Amade Onhia or Amad’ongha, 52 _et seq._; and Mbari shrine, 12, 20-1, 27, 30-1, 40, 43; symbols, 47; signs of, 57; his ‘Palms’, 46; his Priest, 49, 56; and witchcraft, 57, 136.

God, Sky, 52 _et seq._, 61.

Goddess, Earth, 9, 52 _et seq._; the coming of, 135; and Mbari shrines, 12, 16, 21, 26, 30, 40; and Ancestors, 120 _et seq._; and witchcraft, 136.

H

Head-Dresses: of Obukere Society, 37-8; representation in Mbari Houses, _see_ Coiffure.

Horn of Plenty, 9.