the sango cult in nigeria and the trinidad

The Shango Cult in Nigeria and in Trinidad’

GEORGE EATON SIMPSON Oberlin College

RINIDAD was discovered by Columbus in 1498, and some slaves were T brought early to the island. I n 1783 less than three thousand persons oc- cupied the island, but in that year Spain opened Trinidad to settlement by non-Spanish immigrants. The population grew to 17,718 by 1797, the year the British took over the island. Between 1783 and 1797, a considerable number of French colonists migrated to Trinidad from Granada, St. Vincent, the French islands, France, and Canada. In 1797 (de Verteuil 1858: 178), the population consisted of: 2,151 Whites; 4,476 free colored; 10,000 slaves; and 1,082 Ameri- can Indians. Herskovits and Herskovits (1947: 17-22) point out that the Trini- dadian Negro is only secondarily of African derivation. Only 4,250 persons of African birth lived in the island in 1876, 3,035 in 1881, and 164 in 1931. Most of the Negro population of Trinidad came from other West Indian islands; a few came from the South American mainland and the United States. Following the abolition of slavery in 1838, indentured workers from India were brought to the island, mainly as laborers on the sugar estates in the South.

A comparison of the Shango cults of the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria and of lower class people of African descent in Trinidad reveals interesting similarities and differences in the form and meaning of a number of culture elements.

DEITIES IN THE SHANGO CULT OF TRINIDAD

In Nigeria, Shango, god of thunder, is the only deity worshipped in the Shango cult. Other Yoruba gods have their own priests, societies, and cult centers (Forde 1951 : 29). In Trinidad, Shango is only one of dozens of “powers,” including fifteen or more Yoruba deities, who are followed by persons engaged in “African work.”’

Olorun, the supreme god of the Yoruba (Frobenius 1913: I: 198; Johnson 1921: 26; Talbot 1926: 11: 29; Parrinder 1954: 34), has not been transferred by name to Trinidad. Two other Yoruba gods, Elefon and Obalufon (Bascom 1944:30), have been reinterpreted as “Eternal Father’’ and Jesus in Trini- dadian shango. Ifa, god of divination, is not known to my informants in Trinidad.

Frobenius (1913: I: 229) observed that black and white missionaries to the Yoruba created misunderstanding concerning the Orisha Eshu by making him the equivalent of the Devilss He was told that Eshu ‘( . . . played many tricks; Edju made kindred peoples go to war; Edju pawned the moon and carried off the sun; Edju made the Gods strive against themselves. But Edju is not evil. He brought us the best of all there is, he gave us the Ifa oracle; he brought the

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[SIMPSON] Shango Czclt i n Nigeria and Trinidad 1205

sun. But for Edju, the fields would be barren.” Bascom (1944:38) regards Eshu as a messenger of the orisha. Parrinder (1949:67-68; 1953:30-31) found that Eshu may be used to protect from danger or to cause harm to others. Ac- cording to Frobenius (1913: I: 234), Eshu’s abode was an underground Ina (fire) or he lived in Inu (caverns) filled with fire in the mountains. No sacrifice could be offered to him without fire, and every shrine in his honor had to be purified by fire and ashes. A syncretism of Yoruba and Christian elements is seen in beliefs and rituals associated with Eshu in the shango cult in Trinidad. Eshu is paired with Satan, and many devotees believe that he is capable only of evil deeds. Some informants hold that Eshu can perform good as well as evil acts, but these persons advised against staying on too friendly terms with him. At the beginning of a shango ritual, Eshu’s food, a calabash of water and a calabash of ashes, is brought into the palais while one or more songs are sung asking him to leave the ceremony. The carrying of the two calabashes outside the ritual area symbolizes the “dismissal” of Eshu.

Shango, god of thunder and lighting, has rivers for wives: Oya (the Niger river), Oshun, and Oba. In the Trinidadian cult, Shango is invariably equated with St. John, Oya with St. Catherine or St. Philomena, and Oshun with St. Anne or St. Philomena. I did not encounter Oba, nor have I seen her name mentioned in the literature.

Ogun, ancient god of war, iron, and the hunt, remains popular in southern Nigeria. No longer needed as a deity of war, Ogun is still important to black- smiths, hunters, and through an extension of his authority, motor drivers (Parrinder 1953:25-26). Ogun, paired with St. Michael, is a powerful spirit in the shango cult of Trinidad. Le Hkrissk and Herskovits have shown that Sopona (Sopponna, Shankpanna, Shokpona, Sakpata) is an earth god who has come in recent years to be regarded almost solely as the smallpox deity (Le Hkissk 1911: 128; Herskovits 1938:ch.27; Parrinder 1949:Sl). In Trinidad, Shakpana, who corresponds to St. Jerome, St. Francis, or Moses, is thought of as a doctor.

Orisala (Orishala), known locally under different names, including Oba- tala, is said in Nigeria to have been closely associated with Olorun in the crea- tion of the world. Also, he is believed to punish those who violate his taboos by causing their children to be albinos, dwarfs, or deformed persons (Johnson 1921:27; Talbot 1926:11:31; Parrinder 1953:27). In Trinidad, Obatala is identified with St. Benedict. Yemanja, daughter of Obatala and Odudua (not found in Trinidad), is the deity of the river Ogu. She is called Emanja, Amanja, or Omanja in Trinidad and is equated with St. Anne or St. Catherine. Accord- ing to Yoruba myth, Orungan, Yemanja’s son, committed incest with her and 15 deities were born, including Shango and Ogun (Talbot 1926: 11:31; Par- rinder 1949: 54, 55).

Osahin (Osayin, Osanyin), a Yoruba god of medicine (Lucas 1948: 153-74; Parrinder 1953: 36), known as Osain in Trinidadian shango, is the equivalent of St. Francis and is called upon in treating certain types of disease, especially illnesses caused by evil spirits. Aja, a minor spirit in Nigeria (Lucas 1948: 153

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ff) , is called Ajaja in Trinidad and corresponds to Jonah or Moses. A least one shango priestess in Trinidad calls St. Peter by the name of the Yoruba twin- gods, BCji (Ibeji). OromelC, or St. Joseph, may be the Trinidadian name for Oro (Parrinder 1953:35, 57); Erale, who is equated with Moses or Jonah, may be the Yoruba god Erinle (Parrinder 1953: 30). Although Oko, the farm god, is still popular in Nigeria (Parrinder 1953:24), none of my informants mentioned this deity and I heard no songs in his honor a t ~eremonies .~ A shango goddess in Trinidad variously known as Mother of the Earth, Mama LaatC, and Mother of All Nations, whose Catholic equivalents are St. Veronica, Mother of Mount Carmel, and Eve (African name is said to be Aiyakba), is not now an agricultural deity. Other alleged but untraced African gods named by shangoists in Trinidad include : OmalalC, Abacuso, Bookbiaba, Bozeon, Olomene, Areasan, Olopelofon, and Zazep.

The elaborate mythology which underlies and explains Yoruba religious beliefs and practices has disappeared in Trinidad. As in some Brazilian batuqzces and candomblds (Bastide 1960: 39-60), Catholic hagiography has taken the place of the old myths.

TEMPLES

Frobenius (1913: I: 194) described two kinds of bangas in Yoruba country in 1910, a four-cornered temple which was a room in a compouqd building and a circular temple. The altar in the rectangular temple consisted of “ . . . a stack of jars, used as the oracle’s shrine, wooden images with the ‘Thunder- bolt,’ cloth with plates of metal . . . , the amulet-robes of the Shamans, wallets hanging on the walls, etc. . . . ” And he added: “ . . . there is an absolutely in- congruous jumble of modern spirit bottles, old yellow-metal casts, ornamental iron railings, all sorts of headgear and amulets, old pitchers, pieces of old stone buildings, etc., etc., all huddled together.” In 1953, Parrinder (1953: 17-19) described the best known of all the “pagan” temples in Ibadan, the Shango temple a t Agbeni visited by Frobenius in 1910. Although Parrinder found the carved figures in the inner chamber to be “striking,” he calls the altar with its “thunder-stones,” figurines, leather wallets, calabashes of charms, and offerings of kolas, meal and oil, a “squalid” sanctuary. In the years 1949 to 1951, Parrinder found some 50 “pagan” shrines in Ibadan, not including open-air shrines (Parrinder 1953: 6, 59). Among these were: six smaller Shango temples in addition to the one mentioned above, six temples of Ogun, two for Yemoja, one for Oya, two for Erinle, and nine for Oko. Parrinder (1953:59) says “ . . . there are now great areas in Ibadan where no temples have been traced a t all. One finds abandoned temples serving as storehouses or shelters for animals. Often a few dracena shrubs mark the site of an old temple. Many temples that are still used have an air of neglect, with broken and rotting drums, worm- eaten images, and only a few old people to keep the cult going.”

In Trinidad, the chapelle of a shango cult houses statues and lithographs of the saints, crucifixes, rosaries, candles, “thunder stones,” vases of flowers, pots of water, bottles of olive oil, and such “tools” of the powers as swords, double- bladed wooden axes similar to the dance clubs (carved ritual axes decorated

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with heads and thunderbolts in western Nigeria [Frobenius 1913: I ; 211,214]), cutlasses, hatchets, daggers, wooden guns, wooden spears, bows and arrows, anchors, boat paddles, drums, keys, banners, wooden crosses, shayshays (ceremonial brooms), chac-chacs (rattles), and shepherds’ crooks. In none of the shrines that I saw were the African symbols kept in a separate room, a practice followed in many vodun shrines in Haiti and in many of the candomblCs in Brazil. However, nearly all of the objects on the altar and on the upper half of the wall space in the chapelle are Catholic symbols. The “stools” (shrines), thunderstones, and “tools” are arranged on the floor or on the lower half of the wall space.5 Exterior shrines for Ogun and several other powers who are important to a given shango priest or priestess are established around the yard.

RITUAL OBJECTS

Many stones are utilized as ritual objects in West Africa, but neolithic Celts are associated with the thunder deities, while granite and laterite rocks are symbols of earth gods (Parrinder 1949: 15). Frobenius (1913:I: 212-18) refers to the “very special attention” which was devoted to the “lightning-stones” during a Shango cult ceremony and speaks of blood from the sacrifices stream- ing over the meteorites, the leathern coverings of the altar, the jars, and the effigies. He states also that “when the peasant finds an ancient stone axe in his fields, he carefully picks i t up and puts i t among his produce or upon the altar of the God Shango as the symbol and instrument of his might, praying him to bless his crops and send him rains and ‘foison plenty.’ ” In Trinidad, “pierres” are believed to fall from the sky. Every chapelle has its collection of thunder stones of various sizes, usually kept in white plates or placed on the shrines, but they are symbols of other powers as well as of Shango. The stones must be washed each year in a mixture of certain leaves and water, and from time to time they must be fed by pouring olive oil on them. Some cult leaders also arrange the following ingredients around an important stone: five slices of obi seed, five grains of Guinea pepper, and a small quantity of cow’s milk. When an animal is sacrificed during a ceremony, some of the blood is allowed to drip on the stones of the power to whom the offering is being made. Some exterior “stools” consist of a number of medium-sized and small stones placed on a large flat rock.

Clay pots and jars containing water are ubiquitous in the shango centers of Trinidad as they are in cult houses in southern Nigeria (Talbot 1926: 11: 20). On entering a shango center in Trinidad during a nonceremonial period, a prominent devotee goes to each of the exterior shrines and pours a small quantity of water from the jar found on the “stool.” Water is poured from clay pots a t various times during a ceremony.

Sopona, the Yoruba smallpox deity, carried a ceremonial broom made of sedge-grass or the branches of the bamboo palm (Frobenius 1913:1:240; Johnson 1921:28). Shakpana, one of the aspects of St. Francis or, in some Trinidadian cult centers, the equivalent of St. Jerome, St. Anthony, or Moses, carries a shayshay while possessing a follower during a ceremony.

According to Talbot (1926:11:88), the usual symbols of Ogun were a cot-

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ton tree, a stone, and a piece of iron. In Trinidadian shango, Ogun’s “tool” is a sword or a cutlass which is fixed permanently in his outdoor “stool.”

In the shango cults of Trinidad, as among the Yoruba, drums are the most important musical instruments. Shango cult drums in Trinidad, made in sets of three, resemble the double-headed bala drums more than the other drums found among the Yoruba-the igbin (open-ended log drums with single leather heads, tuned by wooden pegs, which stand on three legs); the dundun or gangan (two-headed, hourglass-shaped, “pressure” drums; or the shallow hemispherical gudugudu drum with a single fixed head (Bascom 1953: 2-6). The largest Trinidadian shango drum is played with one stick, the smaller drums with two sticks. The smallest shango drum in Trinidad has the same name, oumele, as the medium sized Yoruba drum. Gourd rattles and handclapping are used to accompany the drums both in southwest Nigeria and in Trinidad. In addition to drums and chac-chacs (ordinary gourd rattles) Trini- dadian shangoists have two instruments which, taken together, are the musical equivalent of the slzekere rattle among the Yoruba. The shagby in Trinidad is a drum made from a large, round calabash whose top has been replaced with a piece of goatskin. The other object is a long, slender calabash filled with a string of buttons which produces a tremendous volume of sound when shaken. Bas- com (1953:4) says that the Nigerian shekere “is a large calabash, up to two feet in diameter, which is covered with a string net to which cowry shells are fastened. It is a versatile instrument. When shaken, it serves as a rattle; it can also be beaten like a drum, and thrown into the air and caught in exact rhythm.”

Every shango chapelle in Trinidad includes among its ritual objects a t least one double-bladed wooden hatchet or axe similar to the plainest of the dance clubs whose upper portions were decorated with thunderbolts (stone axes) in the Shango temples of the Yoruba (Frobenius 1913:1:211).

DIVINATION

Frobenius found that among the Yoruba, two obi (kola-nuts), divided into their eight natural sections, were thrown to determine whether a given person was acceptable to an orisha or to enable a diviner or a priest of the cult of Ifa to interpret the oracle (Frobenius 1913: I: 190-91,228-29,243-46). A favorable reply was indicated if four of the sections fell on the flat and four on the convex side. Frobenius (1913:1:213) and Talbot (1926:II:lM)) mention the use of cowries, as well as sections of a kola-nut, in divination. At a ceremony for Shango, the diviner throws the kola-nuts or the cowries to ascertain the atti- tude of the god toward the worshippers, or the most prominent persons, as shown by prophesying a fortunate or unfortunate year. According to Froben- ius (1913: 1:213), “if the answer given by the augur be unfavourable and in- dicates obvious displeasure on the part of the God, the sacrifice is repeated as before until the answer be gracious. . . . ” No serious decision is made without consulting Ifa, the oracle of divination named after the deity who controls it (Bascom 1942:41-43; Forde 1951:29-30). Divination is based on a series of 256 odu (permutations) attained by casting a chain of eight seeds. In Trinidad,

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a shango leader throws the two halves of an obi seed to determine whether a ceremonial sacrifice is acceptable to a “power” or to obtain the answer to a question outside a ceremony. If one round side and one flat side come up, the answer is affirmative. If both round sides come up, the reply is negative. If the two flat sides come up, the answer is “a la fwah,” that is, “the obi laugh.” In the latter case, the obi must be thrown until a definite answer is received. Other ways of divining the future in Trinidad include gazing into a crystal ball, a glass of water, or the flame of a candle.

In his early twenties the Yoruba adult male obtains his life “horoscope” (a “figure” or permutation of obi seeds). According to Parrinder (1949: 159), the figure is engraved on a small triangular piece of calabash, placed with the obi nuts in a linen bag, and fastened by a string bearing several cowries. The horoscope is carefully guarded and if its owner needs to be reminded of its interpretation, he may consult a Babalawo (Ifa diviner) a t any time. Usually women do not consult Ifa, unless they are childless or are told to do so by th6 Babal- awo, but they keep seven nuts in a straw sheath which is wrapped in the waist- cloth (Parrinder 1949: 159). An analogous practice in Trinidad, not limited to males, is known as “mournin’,” a secret ritual of fasting and praying during which visions and revelations are sought. During “mournin’ ” a devotee of the shango cult or of the Shouters church, a fundamentalist cult, receives a “gift,” that is, he finds out what his “work” (fate) in the cult is. One may return to the “mournin’ ” house several times to “build” and may thus receive new spiritual gifts. A t the beginning of the “mournin’ ” rite, the officiant “signs” and “seals” for each participant two or more bands of cloth (chalks designs on them and drips wax from a burning candle on the symbols). During “mournin” or “building” one receives a Psalm or a “chapter” (from the Bible) and a hymn. “Pointing” people (putting them to “mourn”) is done by leaders in the Shout- ers group both for Shouters and for shangoists, unless the shango leader also carries on “Spiritual Baptist” work.

CEREMONIAL PRACTICES

Frobenius reports the sprinkling of blood on an altar, the draining of the rest of the blood into a pot, and the cooking of the kidneys and the liver of the sacrificial animals in the blood (1913:I: 191). In Trinidadian shango, some of the blood of animal sacrifices is sprinkled on the “stools” (shrines) of the principal “powers” of a cult center during a big ceremony, some is collected in vessels, and some is mixed with “sweet” (olive) oil, heated and served a t the “Last Supper” on the final night of the ceremony. Also, the liver, part of a hind leg, and part of a front leg of a goat are cooked separately without salt, as are the liver, kidneys, head, and one leg of a fowl, as an offering to Ogun (St. Michael).

Water is offered ceremonially to the gods in both the Yoruba and the Trinidadian shango cults, but in addition in Trinidad an interesting syncretism is seen in the belief that every shango initiate should be bapitzed if he has not been baptized previously.

When a Yoruba was initiated into the Shango cult, he purified himself with

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an infusion made by bruising the leaves of two evergreen trees in a bowl of water. He was then seated on a mortar and shaved. The water birds and the tortoise, which he was required to provide as an initiation fee, along with other animals, ceremonial objects, and cowry shells, were killed and their hearts re- moved. The hearts, together with slices of the flesh of a ram, a snail, an arma- dillo, a rat, a toad, a tadpole, an elephant, and a deer, were pounded together with the leaves, and a ball was made of the mixture. According to Johnson (1921 : 26), the candidate “now submits to incisions on his shaven head and the ball of pounded articles is rubbed into the wounds.” In Trinidad, a person gives a small feast a month or so after his first possession. A shango officiant then washes his head with a mixture made by “mashing” certain leaves (dragon’s blood, rockshen, lannebois, ayfaray) in a calabash of water and add- ing olive oil, red lavender, and aqua divine. On the same day, or later, the daysunu (head washing) is followed by the rite of singbereh (head gashing). After reciting a prayer in unison and singing a song in honor of the power con- cerned, the Master of Ceremonies makes three or five small gashes with a razor or a razor blade on the follower’s forehead, chin, and arms. (Later, the person may receive additional gashes-the usual number is three, five, seven, or nine.) A paste, made by pounding the following to a powder-a dry obi seed, seven grains of guinea pepper, seven wild okra seeds, seven house flies, an eggshell from which a chicken has been hatched-and mixing these ingredients with the same “oils” used in head washing, is placed on the cuts.

Frobenius (1913: I: 212, 213) mentions a big annual ceremony and feast in the 14th month (November), and Trinidadian shango is noteworthy for its annual four-day ceremony, with the date varying from temple to temple in the months between June and November. Shango’s preference for a cock or a ram is the same in Nigeria and in Trinidad, but other “powers” in shango prefer other offerings.

Concerning feasting and possession during a Shango festival in Nigeria, Frobenius (1913:1:213-14) wrote:

The crowd begins to enjoy itself when the sacrifices have been offered. The cuisine is prepared and the banqueting begins. . . .

Shango descends quite unexpectedly upon some man or woman dancer’s head. The inspira- tionist rushes madly to the Banga, seizes an OsC-Shango, a beautifully carved club, or a Sher6- Shango, that is, the holy rattle. The individual begins to caper before the others. The afflatus is patent. All agree in this: a being possessed by Shango or any other Orisha dances quite differently from the ordinary folk. . . . The beater of the sacred Batta drum joins the dancer, and they leave the temple court with all the rest a t their heels. He dances to his own house, followed by them all, and then everyone well knows that this person is a friend, a darling of Shango’s. Arrived at his home, the God-favoured one will provide sacrificial rams, cowries, kola and drink for the commune, so that they all may know and experience the gratitude he feels. . . . Shango can possess several persons on one day, but not concurrently. And what in their frenzy these rapt enthusiasts may say passes for oracular truth.

At an annual shango ceremony in Trinidad, the participants dance by mov- ing back and forth within a short range, marking time, bending the knees and straightening up rapidly, clapping hands, swaying, and, a t times, circling the palais in single file with a springing step. When a “power” manifests on him,


the dancing of a follower becomes more lively. He marches to and fro in the palais, bows and whirls in front of the drummers, dances to the rhythms played by the drummers in honor of the power that has possessed him, thrusts the lower half of his body backward and forward, shakes his shoulders vigorously, runs from the palais to the chapelle to kneel or to throw himself on the floor, embraces other participants whether or not they are possessed a t the moment, pours water from a jar a t the four corners of the palais, waves the “implement” (sword, broom, oar, etc.) of the possessing power, sings, speaks the “unknown” tongue, throws his head back and forth, groans, flings his arms, falls to the ground, and seizes and shakes both hands of another person, possessed or un- possessed.

After the singing, dancing, and drumming have continued for several hours, animals are sacrificed (cocks, goats, sheep, land turtles, and, perhaps, a bull) and some of the meat, as well as servings of such other foods as rice, coocoo (corn meal), corn, okra, and black-eyed peas, all cooked without salt, are put on the stools as offerings to the gods. I n addition to food provided a t other times for those participants who remain a t the leader’s home throughout the four-day Trinidadian shango ceremony, an amombo is obliged to have a feast each afternoon or in the early evening for all in attendance.

I n 1943, M. J. Herskovits pointed out the need for a reanalysis of the possession-experience in West Africa. This comment was occasioned by some observations in both northern and southern Brazil “of the way in which a possessed person returns to his normal state” (Herskovits 1943: 505). This intermediate condition, known as er&, is ‘‘a type of semi-possession described as the ‘childishness that goes with every god.’ ” In a later paper, Herskovits (1948: 9) points out that the states preceding possession, and possession itself in West Africa, have often been described, but “the experience of coming out of possession has thus far been quite overlooked.” Concerning erC in Bahia, and a t times in Trinidad, where it was discovered by Espinet and Eduardo, he wrote :

The deity is envisaged as having withdrawn from “his head” but is replaced by that attribute of the god which is his messenger, and his childhood state. . . . Some of them caricature the chore- ography of the ritual dancing for the gods, some feed the drummers, stuffing food in their mouths as they play their instruments, some sing children’s songs or play children’s games or engage in mischievous pranks. An exceptional one may be morose, or amorous, or quarrelsome. In Bahia, a troublesome erd would not be allowed by the cult-head to “play,” but would be ritually dispatched (Herskovits 1948: 9).

My findings on rbrb possession in the shango cult of Trinidad are:

1) Every power has a rCrC, a messenger-servant. RCrb have names (Big Boy, Mexican Boy, Moon, etc.).

2) Usually a rCrC comes after a power leaves. A rCrC does not always come after a power leaves, and occasionally a rCr&’s arrival precedes that of the power.

3) Some persons are possessed by a rCrC but never by a power. 4) A r6rC does not manifest on a person as powerfully as does a power.

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5) Often one can get the r6r6 to come more quickly than the power. 6) The r6r6 may bring a message explaining what a power demands. The

power may or may not arrive later in the ceremony (W. and F. Mischel [1958: 2531 say that the werL in Trinidad delivers no actual messages.)

7) RCrCs are mischievous, They talk loudly, turn somersaults, and talk about everything they have seen.

8) R6r6s are afraid of powers. If a r6r6 is manifesting on a person and powers are manifesting on others, the r6r6 will not come into the palais. When Shango leaves, his servant comes. This rCr6, called coubayduy, is the head of all r6r6s. He is regarded as a power and can, therefore, come into the palais. The other r6r6s stay outside the palais while he is there unless he calls them in. If he and other powers are not present, they enter the palais. When he enters, all of the other r6rCs have to run outside the palais. He tells them that if they wish to come in and enjoy the feast they must be quiet and obey him. Usually, they are quiet while he is there.

9) R6r6s always come during a ceremony-never outside a ceremony. 10) When a rCr6 comes to a person, he may help him with his “work”-

As a part of their reinforcement theory about possession, W. and F. Mischel (1958: 256) suggest an alternative interpretation to the view that Cr6 possession is a transition from a state of ecstasy to one of normalcy. They wonder if childish, regressive behaviors are not “still pleasurable to the individual, both directly and for their possible symbolic meanings.” They see within wert possession the re-enactment of behaviors which are still gratifying but no longer acceptable. Certainly this type of possession substantiates the idea of varying degrees of possession (W. and F. Mischell958: 253).’

A series of death rites are conducted by the Yoruba. Ceremonial feasts are held by the Ogboni, Oro, and Egungun secret societies (Forde 1951:29). The widows are led out of town for a minor ritual on the seventh day, and one week later a member of the Egungun comes to the house, calls upon the dead man, and gets a reply from another Egungun. The next morning the masked Egun- gun comes to the house, impersonating the deceased (Parrinder 1949: 120). Members of the society represent the spirits of the departed when they return 40 days after death to visit their relatives, and they are active in the annual ceremonies for the ancestors (Parrinder 1949: 129; 1951: 77-78). A second funerary service is performed by the Yoruba, the interval depending upon the importance of the deceased (Johnson 1921: 138; Forde 1951: 29).

The Yoruba secret societies are not found in Trinidad. Some “orisha people” give a feast for all of the dead relatives on All Saints’ Night (Novem- ber l ) , but others honor only the powers on this occasion. Shangoists do not hold a ceremony for the dead on All Souls’ Night (November 2). Regardless of denomination, lower class Trinidadian families of African descent may hold one or more of the following rites: a wake, a Third Night, a Nine Night, a

carry water, build a fire, or assist him in other ways.

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Forty Day, and an Annual Memorial. As in Haiti, Jamaica, and other parts of the Caribbean, these multiple rites for the dead are syncretisms of West African and West European beliefs and practices.

SOUL CONCEPTS

Among the Yoruba, the West African multiple soul concept includes the okan (the personal soul or heart which a t death becomes a disembodied spirit), the spirit (emi or iwin), and the ojiji or shadow (Talbot 1926:11:261-62; Parrinder 1951 : 77-78). By incantation, an evil person is able to summon the soul of a deceased person and interrogate it, a procedure considered quite different to communicating with the spirits of the ancestors in a reverent way or in seances during which priests or attendant mediums are possessed by departed spirits of men (Talbot 1926: 11: 191-92; Forde 1951:30). The Yoruba attribute many misfortunes and illnesses to the anger of spirits of the dead (Talbot 1926: II:305). In Trinidad, many shangoists believe in two aspects of the human spirit: the soul and the shadow. They hold that a “good” member of the cult can obtain remedies from the dead for the treatment of the sick, and that an evil operator can capture an evil spirit and use it for his own purposes.

WITCHES

In southern Nigeria, witches are thought to be able to assume the form of birds, owls, cats, or ants (Talbot 1926: 11: 209; Parrinder 1951: 138). Although this metensomatosis may be effected from good motives, it is believed that it is utilized mainly by those who seek to harm an enemy by spoiling his crops or injuring him personally (Talbot 1926: 11: 228). Witches are supposed “to feed upon” children in preference to adults, to have the power to prevent delivery of a child, to produce miscarriage, and to cause di5culties in menstruation (Tal- bot 1926:11:206). Belief in legawus and sukuyans is widespread among lower class Trinidadians. Some say these “hags” can turn themselves into dogs or other animals, and that they can fly either by removing their skins or by rub- bing a certain kind of oil on their bodies. They are said to suck the blood of their victims. The beliefs about witches in Trinidad seem to be syncretisms of West African ideas and of Western European notions concerning the Zoup garou.

HEALING

Herbs and medicines, mixed with ghee, palm oil and nut oil, as prescrip- tions given by Shango to the priest, were used widely among the Yoruba. And, according to Frobenius, the Batta drum was also powerful “medicine” (Fro- benius 1913: 11: 217). Leaves are extremely important in popular healing formulas in Trinidad, and they are often boiled or crushed in water and mixed with one or more oils (palm, olive, coconut, castor, whale, shark, etc.). Drums are beaten in Trinidad when a healer undertakes to cure a person who is seriously ill, especially one who is possessed by an evil spirit.

1214 American Anlhropologist [64, 1962

DREAMS

Among the Yoruba, dreams are believed to portray future events and dis- tant happenings. A juice or a powder may be placed on or near the eyes a t night to stimulate the power of occult sight. Diviners determine which dreams are transparently clear and will come true, and which are symbolical or go by opposites and require interpretation (Parrinder 1951 : 191). Leaders of the shango cult in Trinidad say that some dreams are perfectly clear, e.g., an order from a power to move his flag from one side of the house to the front yard, but that others have to be interpreted. One may receive healing remedies through a dream-experience, or a power may give one a message or a warning to pass on to another person. If one dreams that he is “keeping a feast,” or that he has been sent to the river to perform a ritual, he is supposed to carry out such acts later.

CHARMS

Frobenius (1913: 11: 202-3) reported the daily use of amulets by the Yoruba, and Talbot (1926: 11: 180) described “medicines” which were put into a bracelet, anklet, or small bag to be worn by the person for whom it was made. Parrinder (1949: 173-74) writes of a wide variety of charms, including rings, girdles, bracelets, chains, leather packets filled with leaves, whistles, miniature knives, small brooms, and the teeth and horns of wild or domestic animals, in Ashanti, Dahomey, and Nigeria, and (1953: 61) specifically of charms utilized in Ibadan today. In Trinidad, charms prescribed by shango leaders, and by others who practice the occult arts, include “shield’’ rings; red armbands; sacks containing incense or written prayers; and red braid, tied with knots a t each end and a t the middle, worn around the waist.’

One offensive charm in West Africa consists of laying a trail of “prepared” soil across an enemy’s porch or around his hut (Parrinder 1949: 176). In Trini- dad, grave dirt may be thrown in an enemy’s yard to injure him, or one may grind a piece of a nest of wood ants, mix this powder with ground black pepper, grave dirt, musk powder, and compelling powder, and sprinkle the combina- tion in front of an enemy’s door. Contagious magic in the form of destroying an enemy’s hair clippings, nail parings, or earth from his footprints is found both in southern Nigeria (Talbot 1926: 11: 182) and in Trinidad. Such practices, like love philtres in the form of potions, ointments, or powders (Talbot 1926: 11: 180), are widely spread types of magic in Europe and Africa, and undoubtedly the Trinidadian varieties are syncretisms. House “guards” and shop “guards” are employed in West Africa (Parrinder 1954: 114-15) and in Trini- dad.

Parrinder (1951: 214) refers to the prevalence of quack remedies, lucky mascots, and horoscopes in Britain today and points out that ‘%ome of these are exported to Africa, where they come to be regarded as the white man’s occult secrets and clues to his power.” In the interpenetrations of civilizations in Africa and the New World, charms provide unlimited opportunities for syncretism.


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

Neither in Nigeria nor in Trinidad are the members of the shango cult limited to a particular family or lineage. Bascom (1944: 37) reports that there are some orishas, including Sbngo, whose If& cult-members “come from many different sibs but in any of which they comprise, a t most, one or two house- holds.” He says that an individual may become the worshipper of a particular orisha in two ways: (1) by continuing to serve a god worshipped by his father or his mother, or (2) by being “called” by an orisha to become a worshipper (Bascom 1944:23). The first is the more customary method, but, since an individual may worship several orishas, he may utilize different methods to obtain them.

Although affiliation with a given chapelle is not dictated by kinship bonds, most of a Trinidadian shango leader’s relatives attend a t least the annual ceremony. Several members of a family which is unrelated to the cult head may be attached to a cult center, but many devotees become involved with shango on an individual basis because the leader has cured them of an illness or helped them in some other way. At the ceremonies I attended, there were always people from some distance as well as those from the immediate area. During the main ceremonial season of June through November some persons attend part or all of one or more ceremonies each week. As long as individuals are well-be- haved, one is not supposed to exclude anyone who wishes to come to the palais.

The shango priesthood in Trinidad, with its amombos, is simpler than the Yoruba magico-religious personnel with its categories of Ada-ushe (shamans who battle malignant spirits), Babalawo and Oluwo (diviner and high priest of the cult of Ifa), and family and communal priests, the Abosha and the Adje (Frobenius 1913:I: 200, 202, 228, 243,245,189). The cult head is in full charge of the Trinidadian shango establishment, but he or she has close friends and associates who assist in carrying on the “work,” especially the main ceremonies. Such persons play a prominent part in the singing and praying. They keep a watchful eye on those who become possessed by the powers and they themselves get possessed. Others help by cleaning the leader’s yard, arranging the objects on the altar and the walls of the chapelle, and cooking the food for offerings and for meals for the participants. Usually one or more men are paid a small fee to kill the animals used as sacrifices. The drummers are extremely important and must be well treated.

Most cult heads invite from four to seven amombos to their large annual feasts. These guests are shown the greatest respect, receive the finest hospi- tality that the host can provide, are consulted about ritual procedures before the ceremony starts, and, in most cases, take an active part in the rites. If a person is primarily a healer, she may bring in an outsider to conduct an “orisha” ceremony.

NUMBER OF CULT CENTERS AND CULTISTS

No information is available concerning the number of centers devoted to the worship of Shango among the Yoruba today. In 1951, Parrinder (1953:6,

1216 A mericatt A ntkropologist [64, 1962

17-20, 59) found seven temples in Ibadan devoted to the worship of Shango and one that was associated with Oya, one of Shango’s wives. He observed that many of the 50 “pagan” temples were small and neglected, and that few had more than 30 or 40 present a t the weekly sacrifice. The annual festivals attract large crowds, and casual visitors seek help a t the temples in time of need. Parrinder (1953 : 59-60) concludes that “paganism” has declined markedly in Ibadan in the past 60 years, but he adds that it would be a mistake to conclude that “paganism may shortly disappear from the town, and that it is not capable of surviving in other forms.”8

It is impossible to estimate accurately the number of shangoists in Trini- dad. Some devotees attend a number of the large, annual ceremonies given in different cult centers. Some persons attend a Shouters church regularly but participate from time to time in shango ceremonies. Some shangoists attend the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Baptist church with some regularity. For some, the principal attractions of shango are the healing and conjuring which are available through cult leaders. There are several dozen shango cult centers in Trinidad, with a total of thousands of devotees and additional thousands of marginal participants and client^.^

THE ACCULTURATIVE PROCESS IN TRINIDADIAN SHANGO

In analyzing the interpenetrations of civilizations in the New World, the problem is to find how European, African, American Indian, East Indian, and other elements have been combined into a cultural whole. In the shango cult of Trinidad, no traces of Carib, Arawak, or other American Indian influence are evident. Despite the fact that persons of East Indian descent constituted 36.5 percent of Trinidad’s population in 1960, I found little evidence that Hindu or Moslem beliefs or practices had been incorporated in shango. Independently, two leaders asserted that they had an East Indian power (Baba and Mahabil) in their pantheons.l0 Crowley (1957:822) reports that “the Yoruba god Osain is syncretized with the Muslim saint Hossein, grandson of Mohammed, and is described by his Negro devotees as a ‘wild Coolie mon.’ ” Some Shangoists claim they have “traveled” to India during trance-experiences and have ac- quired special knowledge there, but I found no indication of such edification and I heard no East Indian songs or prayers during shango ceremonies. East Indian ingredients are included in some of the magical formulas used by persons of African descent in both the shango and the Shouters cults.

The African retentions in Trinidadian shango which show the least degree of change include: the use of drums and rattles, the emphasis on rhythms and polyrhythms, handclapping and foot patting, dancing as a part of religious ceremonies, animal sacrifices, revelation by the gods in giving remedies to men, and the belief that the gods intervene in the affairs of men.

Among the reinterpretations of African elements are: the names and some of the characteristics and powers of Yoruba deities, public possession by the spirits, the multiple soul concept,utilizationof the spiritsof thedead,divination by throwing kola-nuts, ritual acts in initiation ceremonies, ritual objects


(ceremonial broom, thunder stones, clay pots, double-bladed wooden axes, rattles, drums), perfumes or “oils,” the use of blood, uses of leaves, and uses of stones.

Syncretisms, a form of reinterpretation “where old and new are merged into a functioning unified entity of clear bi-cultural derivation” (Herskovits 1948:553) are found in: the ritual uses of water, the numerous death rites, and the extensive use of charms. Some items, common to both Europe and Africa, seem to have reenforced each other in the New World and may be called “parallel traditions.” In the shango cult of Trinidad such traditions include the use of dreams in divining, beliefs in witches, and the use of a life horoscope.

European-borrowed traits and reinterpreted European elements in shango are: the names of Catholic saints, Catholic hagiography, the Bible as a ritual object, the words and melodies of Catholic songs, books of magic, the cross and crucifixes, candles, shepherd’s crooks, keys, incense, rosaries, and divination by gazing into a crystal ball, a glass of water, or the flame of a candle.

We are not dealing here with accidental or random parallels, but with con- tinuities and changes in a historic stream of culture.ll Two Afro-European cults have developed in Trinidad, each representing a blend of West African and Christian elements. The acculturative process continues in Trinidadian shango and in the Shouters faith through mutual borrowing of beliefs and practices.

NOTES

1 This study was made in June-December, 1960, with the assistance of grants from the Na- tional Institute of Mental Health, U. S. Public Health Service [Grant M-3847 (A)], and from the Committee on Productive Work, Oberlin College. Read at the meetings of the American Anthro- pological Association, Phladelphia, November 17,1961.

f Bastide (1960384) points out that in Brazil, even in the towns, each“nation”was too small to recreate the specialization of the African cults. Each candombM, under the authority of one priest, paid homage to all the gods.

8 See, for example, Johnson 1921 : 28. 4 Bastide (1960:91) says that the old agricultural deities were forgotten completely by the

20th century in Brazil. He remarks that in Africa these gods benefited the whole community, but in the new setting, fecundity of flocks, of crops, and of women would have benefited Whites. Somewhat transformed, the gods of war, justice, and vengeance became important in the thinking of Brazilian slaves. Among the most important “powers” in Trinidad are: the storm god (Shango), the war god (Ogun), and gods associated with disease and with healing (Shakpana and Osain).

6 Bastide remarks that during the period of slavery in Brazil, black gods had to hide behind the statues of Catholic saints or the Virgin. As syncretism proceeded, the altar with statues of the saints was made highly visible to convince occasional White visitors that the members of the candomble were good Catholics. Bastide (1960:380) says that the Catholic altar has no functional role in ceremonies where the orisha are honored.

8 Messenger (1960: 272) reports that possession among the Christ Army followers in the Anang Ibibio of southeastern Nigeria is a controlled phenomenon consisting of shaking the arms and shoulders while staring skyward in a manner similar to that followed by indigenous diviners. An- other type of possession-violent possession-is found in the Anang who are members of the ancestor society. Bastide (196O:SZO) reporls (1) that Brazilian blacks make a distinction between possession by the gods and possession by spirits of the ancestors and by Eschou, and (2) a diversity in the “sojourns” of the gods. The latter include states of tokhoucni (guides or young gods who open the road to other Vodous), as well as the M type of trance.

1218 A merican Anthropologist [64, 1962

7 The purpose of this charm is to prevent a husband or wife or a girl friend or boy friend from “running around.” Compare with Parrinder (1949: 174): “Girdles around the waist or hidden out of sight, are protections against loose-living. Knots are frequently used, the knot having the virtue of preventing, tying, a spell.”

8 I n 1954, Parrinder (p. 145) wrote: “In many places it is becoming the respectable thing to declare oneself a Christian or a Muslim; it shows that one is modern and educated. Three years ago I made a survey of the proportion of religions in the city of Ibadan. Figures supplied by the churches gave ten per cent of the population as Christian; I suggested that about twenty per cent might include adherents. A census taken since then shows that even more, just a third of the total, wish to be regarded as Christian. Muslims I put a t anything up to half, in the complete lack of statistics; but the census shows that some sixty per cent put themselves down as Muslims. The number of confessed pagans in this modern town is not much more than seven per cent. But this does not mean that many people are not still pagan in outlook, and even in practice; vast crowds take part in the annual fire and fertility festival in honour of the hill goddess of the town.”

In 1951, nine Christian denominations maintained 27 mission churches in Ibadan, and there were, in addition, 19 separatist sects with 31 churches (Parrinder 1953:202-3).

In 1946 (West Indian Census 1946, Part G, 12), the percentages of Christians in the total population were:

Roman Catholics 34.5 Baptists 2.2

Presbyterians 3.6 Seventh Day Adventists 1.2 Anglicans 24.2 Moravians 1.3

Wesleyans 2 .5 Other Christians 1.3

Shangoists and Shouters were not listed in the 1946 Census, but thousands who were recorded as Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Other Christians undoubtedly were regular or occasional participants in the two Afro-Christian cults.

The 1960 Census of Population of Trinidad and Tobago has not been issued, but a preliminary bulletin provides the following percentages of Christians in the total population of 827,957:

Roman Catholics 36.2 Other Christians 2.2 Anglicans 21.1 Seventh Day Adventists 1 .5 Presbyterians 3 . 9 Jehovahs Witness 0 . 5 Wesleyans 2 .2 Pentecostal 0 .5 Baptists 2 .2 Not Stated & No Religion 0 .5

The schedule on religion in the 1960 Census includes Spiritual Baptists (Shouters) in one of the Baptist categories, but figures for this subcategory are not given in the preliminary bulletin. The 1960 schedule does not list the Shango (Orisha; African) cult (see Population Census Division 1961b).

The 1946 Census showed that 35.09 percent of the population of Trinidad and Tobago consisted of persons of East Indian descent. I n 1960, the East Indian population constituted 36.5 percent (see Population Census Division 1961a). Members of Hindu religious groups made up 23 percent of the total population; Moslems were 6 percent (see Population Census Division 1961b). It should be noted that some East Indians are Christians and are included in the percentages given for these denominations.

lo Baba is the Yoruba word for “father” or “ancestor” (Bastide 1960:560). 11 See M. J. Herskovits 1956: 12948.

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the sango cult in nigeria and the trinidad

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