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ORIGIN OF SHAFA
Interview with Shajo Mshelia
Date: June 11, 1974
Place: His house at Shaffa, nobody present.
When I first inquired from Shajo who is aged about 90 who his father
or grandfather used to tell him first came and settled at Shaffa he went on
straight to say that the founders of the present Shaffa the town that lies
15 miles on the Biu-Little Gombi road was Shuwa. When I asked him to tell
how he believed they were Shuwa he clearly said over and over again that they
were Shuwa; from then he went on to narrate the story of the origin of the
founders of the village.
He said they were originally Shuwa fronHMadagali (a town that lies t6wards
the Nigeria-Cameroon border). That was the furthest he could remember they
came from. From Madagali these people continued on with migration. Then all
of a sudden he again thought and said that they were Shuwa from Fort Lamy from
where they migrated to Gwagu and that it was their grandfather who came to
Madagali. From Madagali the migratory trend continued and their next place
of settlement was Gaya Kilba (though I do not know the exact location of this
place I believe it must be between Little Gombi and Mubi, the stronghold of
the Kilba area). From this Gaya Kilba these people still moved further
and later settled at Ngulde or otherwise called Undla (Ngulde is east of Biu
and Askira, a distance of about 40 miles). Then from Ngulde to Mandaragarau.
There wasn't any significant event Shajo could remember all during this
period of migration except that by then their clan was Mshelbwala and not Mshelia
as they are at present in Shaffa. For this change in clan name we shall know
later. For the moment the story breaks and he starts narrating to me the story of
what was happening in the present site of Shaffa at the time those who came to
find it later were in the course of migration.
Shaffa originallywas inhabited before the founders came. Legend has it
that it belonged to the lan of Malgwi. These Malgwis were from Pelathabu
( L ( ^ C 6 'u ^ "/ ,- 4 llt q
'~ ~ 2 04>-T 4?^f -ztj7 r^ U^^{^ / ^
-2-
(Pelathabu is a village situated northeast of Shaffa about 3 miles off-road.
This is the Pelathabu that later came to name a strong significance when there
was a big confrontation between Pabir and Bura and it had to be fortified with
a strong stone wall. It was there that the Pabir were butchered as the Bura
who at first sided with them turned against them and the Pabir were massacred
N.B. See research work conducted on Tiraku last August).
To come back to the story again, the original people that occupied Shaffa
were the Malgwi from Pelathlabu. That these Malgwi were in control of Shaffa
was not enough. They too occupied Sasuwa (a small village south of Shaffa
with a distance of about 1 miles away from Shaffa. However it is separated
by a big valley and they still remain different villages with Shaffa to date).
The very Malgwi again occupied Whumusu (the bush between Tiraku and Shaffa
now used as farmlands).
While the original founders of Shaffa still live at Mandaragarau a man
from among them used to come to sell salt to the Malgwi at Shaffa in a market
called Wakidanga Si this meaning 'who asked you to come?' According to
Shajo this was the market later called Dlima and thus the origifi of the present
market at Shaffa. Through this man's trade with previously named Malgwi who
were then residing at Shaffa he made friends with them and from the Sasuwa
Malgwi i.e. the Malgwi living 1 miles away from Shaffa he married their
daughter whom he took to Mandaragarau. To him and this lady a boy was born and
named Shola. This Shola whom we shall come across later is believed to be the
founder of the present Shaffa.
Interview continued June 15, 1974
As Shola whem-we-l-eft--l-ate* -as the son born by a trader from Mandaragarau
who married from a Malgwi clanj-g&rew he became influential even among the Pabir
of Mandaragarau. Shola was therefore eventually made a Galadima by Yamtara-
walla, a position he usurped from a Pabir. From henceforth, instead of being
-3-
called Galadima as the Pabirs used to call the title he was called Pukuma
ie. Pukuma Shola.
Here the story breaks to reappear later. What Shajo narrated from here
was a war between Virahyel and Yamtarawalla. According to him Virahyel came to attack
Yamtarawalla. These Virahyel people had their chieftaincy and were believed
to be the original founders of present Biu chieftaincy. At that time the rulers
of Mangaragarau were called Kuhyi Dakil. Shajo however failed to give me the
meaning of Dakil.
The war was fought. But despite the fact that Pukuma Shola was residing at
Mandaragarau, instead of siding with Yamtarawalla took side with Virahyel against
Mandaragarau. In the course of the war it was even believed that Pukuma Shola
killed a Pabir boy. Mandaragarau won the war and drove Virahyel away. At the
end of the war Pukuma Shola had to fee and take refuge with their friends at Shaffa.
However, Pukuma Shola, when he came to Shaffa, Shaffa was not unoccupied as
said earlier; for then the Malgwi were occupying Whumusu, Shaffa and Sasuwa,
all within the distance of about 1 miles from each other. So instead of stay-
ing at Shaffa Pukuma Shola resided at Sasuwa instead. No reason was given for
that.
While at Sasuwa Pukuma Shola married a lady from a village called Yimana.
Yimana is a village about three miles southeast of Sasuwa and about 1 miles
south of Tiraku. This lady was called Mahirwa. Together with the lady they
settled at Sasuwa.
Again as I continued the talk on the origin of Shaffa with Shajo we started
from where we stopped, i.e. at the point where Pukuma Shola married a wife,
Wahirwa (Mahirwa?), and established himself at Sasuwa. At this time, according
to Shajo, history took a different turn. Pukuma Shola gave birth to seven
children and as all these children began to grow the Malgwi at Sasuwa, being
few in number, started to fear the dominating influence of this refugee, Pukuma
Shola. Thus, instead of confronting Pukuma Shola left Sasuwa for him and went
-4-
to settle in Pelathlabu. (Pelathlabu is the much talked-about place with
strongly walled surroundings where one of the greatest battles between Bura
and Pabir took place, ending with the mass slaughter of Pabir who were tricked
by some Bura promise of siding with them.)
Back to the story, it was not just the Malgwi at Sasuwa alone that left
Sasuwa for Pelathlabu but together with the Malgwi at Shaffa and Whumusu left
and found the settlement at Pelathlabu, thus leaving Whumusu and Shaffa vacant.
(Whumusu still remains vacant to the present day.
Pukuma Shola at Sasuwa finding Shaffa to be presently unoccupied preferred Shaffa
to Sasuwa. Thus, instead of Sasuwa, left Shaffa and settled there instead. Thus
Pukuma Shola was siad to be the original founder of Shaffa from whom his grandsons
continued to be the Bilama of Shaffa to this day.
Original Size and Layout of Shafa
Interview with Buba Briam, present Village Head
Date: June 17, 1973 (74?)
Place: His house at Shaffa
With the establishment of Shaffa as narrated by Shajo, Buba Briam said
that when Pukuma Shola came he first settled in the area, where the present
village head himself has his hut. He came together with his seven children
who were then adults and married.
From here Buba Briam diverts from the layout of the village and again
went on to describe the coming of Pukuma Shola. In this he disagreed with
Shajo that Pukuma Shola came peacefully because Shaffa was evacuated as Shajo
said. According to the legendary story of Buba Briam it was believed that
he, Pukuma Shola, flew from Sasuwa and landed at Shafa, a distance of about 1
miles. It was then that his seven children joined him and thus Shafa became
a village.
From here I paused to ask him how the word 'Shafa' actually came about,
especially when 'Shaffa' refers to a particular kind of tree with a sort of
-5-
ash color. However, according to Buba Briam, there was nothing spectacular
about the name and just as I asked the commonest tree from around where
Shola Pukuma landed was shafa, and from henceforth the name of the village
was called Shafa.
Coming back to the layout, according to Buba Briam, Shafa originated
with a single zara. Indeed, according to him, there was no other zara before
colonial rule. It was only a zara and it remained so until colonial rule.
This zara called Shafa from which the name of the now rapidly-growing village
comes from originally had eight compounds, one compound belonging to Shola
Pukuma with the other seven belonging to his seven children.
Like all Bura villages tiksha was planted around each compound. Though
the compounds were closely built for security reasons i.e. for the distance(?)
of each other against external enemy, there was enough land in between every
compound to allow every individual to have enough tiksha for the household.
Thus from henceforth right through to the colonial period tiksha continued
to be planted in between compounds to this day, except that now with the new
road compounds lining up along the new roads are too compacted to allow any
field for the planting of tiksha except these behind.
During its originality with one zara Shafa obtained its water supply
from only one stream that lay close by. This stream to this day is popularly
known as the Kunar. However, now there are several wells dug all over, and
with the emergence of several other zara each zara at least has a well dug for
them.by the local authority or the government. But with the general fall of
water table due to the effect of drought in the northern states, neither the
stream (Kunar) nor the wells provided tend to be catering for the supply of
enough water for the growing village. Thus at times there were long lines
along the water wells. (people wait for water)
/ ~JL
The Village Headship and Its History
Interview with Shajo
Date: 19, June 1974 \j
Place: His house at Shaffa V
Shajo told me that the first village head of Shafa was Pukuma Shola
tho founder of the village has been repeated over and over earlier. From
henceforth each successor village head was the son of the previous one, so
much so that successorship to the village head of Shaffa remained within the
same clan. The only slight obstruction is the present village head who is
the half-brother of the former. This was according to Shajo because he per-
sonally has been away from Shafa for long and besides when he came his com-
pound was not in a central position. Thus he found it quite inconvenient to
be village head while he resides almost in the suburb.
The village heads of Shafa from beginning to present in order were:
1) Pukuma Shola
2) Yawatufa
3) Yabwala Tapci
4) Yadadi
5) Bila dzo
6) Kwambali Jiva
7) Shajo
8) Adamu
9) Buba Briam
Thus, according to Shajo, from its origin to the present day these were
all the village heads that reigned Shaffa.
My Comment
Shajo being a brilliant man seemed to know a lot, including names and
A/
,A f orders of events as good but it might not be possible that these could have
been the only village heads that ever lived in Shafa from its origin to the
present day, especially when Shaffa has been an old town which might have
from beginning settled at least a thousand years ago. Besides the problem
I confronted while interviewing him was that he really proved intelligent
but he was conscious of his memory that he never wanted a question to pass
unanswered, especially when he wanted to prove that his predecessors have
been famous.
Simfa -
Interview with Shajo continued:
I went on to ask Shajo about achievements of each successor village
head. Here Shajo concentrated much more on the said original founder,
Pukuma Shola, and all he said were repeated facts.
Pukuma Shola
He was the orighal founder of the village Shafa. He came from Mandara-
garau where he was said to have been given the title of Pukuma by Yamtarawalla.
However, in the battle that took place between Yamtarawalla and Virahyel
Pukuma Shola sided with Virahyel and therefore had to flee to Sasuwa near
Shafa. At Sasuwa because of his nature which appears a legendary story here
the original occupiers of this village had to flee the village for him and
thence he found himself settled at Shaffa. Here sources differ as to how he came
to Shaflt. While Shajo believed he came normally like any other immigrant Buba
Briam believed he jumped a distance of 1 miles and landed at Shafa, together
with his seven children who founded Shafa.
His achievements were not so vivid with the exception that according to Shajo
he was the first Bura to have been given a title by Yamtarawalla and that was
the title of Pukuma. When I asked whether he did fight any war, Shajo denied
any knowledge of Pukuma Shola having fought any war. And as for his relations
with the surrounding villages, Shajo believed it was because the remaining
villages feared him. Besides, population then was low, he said, and so no one
was ready for any wars.
The other village head the informant picked upon which was known to have
been famous was Yakadi. Shajo said that Yakadi was made Thefur and was
known to have fought many wars. However, Shajo could not remember a particular
war he fought.
-8-
As to the other village heads and their achievements Shajo could not
remember much until we came to the time of Biladzo who was his father; how-
ever we shall come to that later.
As for the titles used for village heads earlier, there wasn't any
special title as such. What was commonly used was 'Walir Di'. This means
the elder of the village or the head of the village. However, these were
used side by side with the title Bilama. Since from when the title Bilama
came to be used, Shajo could not tell. All he suspected was that the word
Bilama was corrupted from Kanuri of which he could not account for since he
does not speak Kanuri.
However, with the coming of British administration the title of Lawan
came into being. At first it was thought that Lawan would substitute for a
village head but this never occurred, especially in Shafa where the Lawanship
belonged to a different clan from the village headship. Thus in Shaffa the
origin of Lawanship existed side by side with the village headship.
Shafa Origin Clanship and Change
Shajo, while narrating to me the history of the original people that
later came to find Shafa, had an interesting bit I wish to report under the
title of Clan Change.
According to him the original founders of Shafa, including Shajo himself,
who is their descendant, were not originally of the Mshelia clan as they are
known today. They were originally Malgwi as far back as they could remember.
However, during their course of migrations several things did happen which
made the clan name change.
When these people moved from Madagali through Gaya Kilba to Ngulder
first settled
their clan was unknown. However, at Pelathlabu theyAunder a 'Bwala' tree
(this is a common tree around here which I do not exactly know its name in
English. However, the tree is associated with much devilish sort of things,
e.g. it should be used as firewood by some clans as it is believed its
saball' (sort of haptu) would catch the user or his children. 'Sabal' is
a disease that originates as a result of misuse of things one's god did not
allow).
Back to the story. When these people settled under this tree they
started to be called with the name of the tree, bwala, and thus they
became Mshelbwala. 'Mshel' in Bura simply refers to something like prince
i.e. 'Prince of Bwala'. Thus the original founders of Shafa moved from
Pelathlabu to Mandaragarau under the clan name of Mshelbwala. However,
again the clan name was to change to Mshelia. This also happened when,
according to Shajo, Yamtarawalla made Shola the founder of Shafa to be
Pukuma. When he was made Pukuma Yamtarawalla gave him a 'muful'; 'muful'
is a tool similar to a hammer used for beating red hot iron into a shape of
any implement needed whether it be arrow, hoe, shovel, etc.
Thus, with this muful given to Pukuma Shola it was a sign that he was
to be a blacksmith. Therefore when Pukuma Shola left Mandaragirau to Sasuwa
then finally Shafa he was a blacksmith yet was Mshelbwala. Therefore it was
thought how could a clan of blacksmith be identified as Mshelbwala. He
should rather be called Mshelia instead. Thus from henceforth Mshelbwala
was changed to Shelia and thus the present founders of Shafa were identified
as of the Mshelia clan instead of Malgwi or Mshelbwala.
'Lia' in Bura simply means metal or iron rod. Thus since the clan was
specially known for their skill in smithing metal they were called Mshelia
i.e. 'Prince of Metal'.
Ward History
Interview with M. Yarkawa Wakawa
Date: June 19, 1974
Place: His house at Shafa.
As has been said by others interviewed earlier Shafa remained a homo-
genous, compact village up to colonial rule. Thus in talking of another
ward at Shafa it is difficult to tell. Rather it is easier to talk of the
coming of another clan apart from the Mshelia who were original founders
-10-
rather than a ward. In this case I have chosen the Wakawa clan which
features among the most prominent group living at Shafa to date.
Before the coming of the Wakawa clan several other clans did come
but there was none that emerged significant. Most came in the form of
not more than one or two persons who were mostly exiled due to some mis-
demeanors within their own clan and village. Such as the coming of Batanca Shikinga
who came to Shaa from Bifigui. It was said that Batanca Shikinga murdered some-
body at BOingui and for his own security had to take refuge at Shafa. Then
the village head was Yakadi who gave him shelter within his own house. This
Batanca Shikinga was still of another Mshelia clan and his descendants are
still to be found in Shafa. However they have no blood relationship with the
sons of Yakadi who housed him.
After these examples of the clans that came before the Wakawa but did
not feature prominently we now shift to the coming of the Wakawa clan to
Shafa.
The Wakawa clan was the compact single clan that lives at Tiraku,a
distance of about 2 miles east of Shafa (see research work on Tiraku con-
ducted August 1973). The Wakawa traced their origin only as far backward
as Buratai, later Kulandi and then finally Tiraku said to have been found by
two hunting brothers, Biladunwja and Magaji Yoksa.
However, after settling at Tiraku some of the Wakawa finding Tiraku
enclosed among mountains with thick forest, preferred an open bush. These
therefore migrated to Bamji) il now a ward about a mile away from Shafa on
Garkida road. The cotton market there now serves as the boundary between
the former two villages.
With the coming of the colonial rule Yakadi was the then village head
of Shafa. At the same (time?) at Bamji3pil among the Wakawa clan from
Tiraku Garkida Bata Ngadlama was the village head. At Biu it was the emir
Kuthyi Ali Dogo.
Thus the British colonial government in their bid to extend Pabir hegemony
-11-
and to bring the Bura under effective administration sought to appoint a
Lawan at Shafa. To follow the normal British policy of finding a strong
indigenous leader, then give him governmental powers to rule the rest of
his people, the British found Yakadi, the village head of Shaffa, a strong
leader and therefore decided to crown him the Lawan of Shafa and its en-
virons. However, at this time the relationship between the Bum and the
Pabir overlords at Biu was not cordial. As a result nobody was ready to serve
for the Pabir as the Lawan; thus even Yakadi turned the offer down.
Comment by Simfa Wakawa
Here M. "rkawa had the story different when I asked him to give me
an example of the sort of relationship between Bura and Pabir existing then
that made it so strained, so much so that no Bura was ready to act as an agent of
the Pabir government. M. Yarkawa being a man from Tiraku went back to Tiraku
to narrate to me an incident that happened between Tiraku and the emir at
Biu. This was a quarrel over cattle.
It was said that one Fulani man by name Yambiti went to Biu and stole
a herd of cattle belonging to the emir at Biu. By then the Pabir were not
in contact at Tiraku so the emir as claimed could not pursue this Fulani man
to Tiraku. What happened was the emir sent message to Tiraku asking the
people to capture Yambiti for him. The emir, not even caring a bit about
his cattle wanted only to deal with Yambiti and in compensation Tiraku people
could take the cattle as a reward for bringing Yambiti to Biu for the emir.
However, the people finding the Pabir not on good terms, refused to serve the
emir's requests. However, the emir never) sent a force to crush Tiraku.
My Comment
I believe this story about Tiraku could not come under colonial rule and
must have been much earlier. The fact that the emir did not send force to
crush Tiraku showed clearly Tiraku then was not under Pabir overlodship.
-12-
Therefore the story must be a pre-1900 history. Thus it shows clearly
that even before colonial rule the Bura and the Pabir did not like each
other. This culminates with the fact that no Bura was ready to serve for
the Pabir as Lawan of Shafa.
Simfa -
Interview about the coming of the Wakawa Clan to Shafa (continued)
Back to where the story diverged to the relationship between Shafa
and Biu, we take off from where Yakadi refused to be Lawan of Shaffa. Over
the reason of bad relationship between Shafa and Biu, Shajo disagreed with
M. Yarkawa and said that the reason why Yakadi refused to be Lawan for Biu was
that he had no son to succeed him and therefore feared to accept a post that
his son would not succeed and therefore decided to seek for his friend of
the Wakawa clan in Bamjikil in person of Yerima Bata Ngadlama to accept
the post. However though interviewed at different times in different places
M. Yarkawa disagreed strongly with Shajo, saying that Shajo was trying to
establish the fact that their clan gave out the post to the Wakawa clan else
nobody then was in good relationship with Biu, and that even Yerima Bata
was not interested when asked to be Lawan and in fact escaped into Demna
where he was later called and convinced or rather forced according to M.
Yarkawa under the threat of imprisonment to accept the Lawanship at Shafa
under the emirship of Ali Dogo. Hereto Shajo gave the reason of Yerima
Bata's refusal of the position of Lawan as due to his bad personal relation-
ship between him and the Pabir. This was because it was said that Yerima
Bata himself had one of his sons killed by Pabir (I presume during the
patrols of Elder). Besides Yerima Bata was once imprisoned for two years
because he was found in possession or actually sold a slave. Such and
other related events showed Yerima Bata was not ready to serve under the
Pabir.
-13-
However, back to M. Yarkawa's interview. In the long run Yerima Bata
was brought for (to?) Demna to be made Lawan and turbanned by emissaries
of Ali Dogo at Bamjikil', a mile away from Shafa.
My Comment
Finding the differences between Shajo and M. Yarkawa very interesting
on the appointment of the first Lawan at Shafa, I broke off the interview
with M. Yarkawa and went back to M. Shajo to interview him further on how
the first Lawan of Shafa was appointed. But for the meantime we shall
come back to how the Wakawa came to Shafa. For the coming of this clan to
Shafa was through the Lawanship.
Simfa -
How the First Lawan of Shafa Was Appointed
Interview with Shajo
Place: His house at Shafa
Date: June 22, 1974
Shajo went back to the titles his descendants held since they found
Shafa. Pukuma Shola was the first Pukuma of Shafa to be succeeded by his
son after his death, Dzarma Nzika. After Nzika's death Kadafur Butu
succeeded as Pukuma to be followed by Birma Madu. Yakadi was the last
of the Pukumas of Shafa and it was during his time that the Europeans and
the Pabir came and sought somebody to be Lawan of Shafa. They found Yakadi
not only dynamic but the Pukuma and a successive son of the original
founders of Shafa. They therefore asked him to be Lawan.
This message was sent to Yakadi by Kuhyi, Ali Dogo. At the same
time the message had an alternative that if Yakadi should refuse the
Lawanship Yabdali, a man from Kunar, should be appointed. However, Yakadi
said it was an honor by the chief so he could not refuse. Thus he accepted
to be Lawan.
He bough a goat from a woman named Mapindar and slaughtered it to the
messenger who was sent by the emir. This messenger was Chapolla Karam.
-14-
Besides the goat Yakadi took six 'buls' (the traditional Bura gown) and
six kuntu and gave it to Chapolla Karam to take it to the emir as a sign
of thanks. Then Garkida Bata, the refugee from Bilngui who was given
shelter by Yakadi too, gave the messenger one bul and 2 kuntu as a sign
of help to Yakadi. Thus making a total of eight kuntu and seven buls taken
to the emir, Ali Dogo, as a sign of Yakadi's gratitude to the emir Ali
Dogo for appointing him as Lawan.
That very evening after the messenger left Yakadi called Dakwiyama
Hyeladi, one of the refugees from Bilngui,to call Dakwiyama Madu, his
brother, to come and inform him that the emir had honored him but he had
no son so let his brother Dakwiyama Madu accept the post of Lawan, but
Dakwiyama Madu refused. So Yakadi sent his messenger again to Bamjilcil
to call Njakau Bata Ngadlama, a man of the Wakawa clan, to come. He
came and Yakadki asked him this time as friend to accept the honor
bestowed (?)
endaued(?) on him since he had no son. But Njakau Bata Ngadlama refused
giving reason that his brother, Whida, was killed by Pabir and he, Njakau
himself once bought a slave and he was jailed by Pabir so he wouldn't
accept any post from a Pabir. But Yakadi refused to accept the reason
that he would make peace between him and the Pabir. Njakau agreed and
was asked to go home and come back the following morning and did as he
was told.
When Njakau Bata Ngadlama came back the following morning Yakadi
called Kwananga, Dakwiyama, Hyeladi, Garkida Bata and together they
went to their haptu at Kunar where Njakau Bata Ngadlama was made to swear
by the haptu that he was given the Lawanship by Yakadi and that it was not
originally theirs (his clan's); that if any of Yakadi's grandsons were to
desire the post they should be given it.
This was where M. Yarkawa strongly disagreed saying that Shajo was
-15-
saying this because he wanted to make it as if their clan Mshelia gave the
Lawanship to the Wakawa. M. Yarkawa disagreed and said that the emir gave
Njakau Bata the Lawanship directly.
However, back to Shajo's story. Yakadi took Njakau Bata Ngadlama to the
emir in Biu and told him Njakau was his son whom he chose to be the Lawan
instead of himself. Then they came back to Shafa and the emir sent his men
which includes Chapola Karam, Ya ali Gwagwa, Ya ali Butal, Burashika Pokta
to turban Njakau Bata Ngadlama as the first Lawan of Shafa, and in Yakadi's
house at Shafa Njakau Bata Ngadlama was turbanned Lawan of Shafa, thus
changing his name to Yerima Bata Ngadlama.
During Kuhyi Madu's time, according to Shajo, the Mshelia clan of Shafa
wanted the Lawanship back as was promised then earlier. Kuhyi Madu promised
them and Shajo himself gave the sum of six pounds (M6) = N12 to the emir
through Badi Hiranta, a messenger who himself gave it through Galadima
Salvia, the ex-district head of Kwajaffa (but then not a district head yet),
to give to the emir as a guarantee that they would later get it back. But
to his deposition in (?) nobody talked about the case again and the Lawan-
ship remained in the hands of the Wakawas to date.
The successive Lawans of Shafa were:
1) Yerima Bata Ngadlama
2) Bilama Handa
3) Yerima Kadabu
4) Lawan Yangam
5) Lawan Abwari
The Coming of the Wakawa Clan to Shafa
Interview with M. Yarkawa continued
Yerima Bata of the Wakawa clan became Lawan at Bamjikil. However Bamjikil
remained a small village compared to Shafa; and it was the desire of Biu to
bring Yerima Bata to Shafa. However at the time Yerima Bata was Lawan and
was needed to come to Shafa in a bigger settlement to be Lawan he committed
-16-
an offense which made him flee to Demna. This was because he married
somebody's wife; and it was the custom that once one marries another's
wife one must be in a strong position to defend himself or the woman could
be recaptured. Yerima Bata, finding Bamjikil a small settlement, fled to
Demna. Thus with him went the Lawan of Shafa to Demna temporarily.
It was not until after a year that he came back to Bamjikil and still
continued as Lawan. This time Biu persisted on the demand of his removal
to Shafa. A house was built for him at Shafa and Lawan Bata reluctantly
accepted the shift to Shafa. With him began the coming of the Wakawa to
Shafa.
Finding themselves in the upper hierarchy in Shafa the Wakawa at Bamjikil
followed and now there are many of the Wakawa clan residing at Shafa.
Unlike other villages Shafa remained a cosmopolitan village with several
clans and there was therefore no particular ward belonging to a particular
clan as seen elsewhere, clans mixed up within one ward typical of a modern
town.
Titles and Offices
Interview with Buba Briam
Place: His house at Shafa
Date: June 24, 1974
Besides those already mentioned there tends not to be any significant titles
among the Bura,so said Bura Briam. However, when I pressed harder on him to
tell me any that he could remember he scratched hard and mentioned to me some,
like:
Kadalar Mtaku Kadala means leader or commander; mtaku means bush. Thus
Kadalar Mtaku means commander of the bush which, in literary terms, means
the hunt leader. His duties are clear; he is in charge of a particular bush
and it is his duty to announce when this particular bush he in charge of
should be hunted. Such announcement is made over the market places. He
carries a particular sort of plant with him in the market (this is the leaf
-17-
from the shafa tree). When he is seen it is known that a particular bush is
to be hunted. Then anybody could ask him which bush is going to be hunted
and on what day. By so doing, by the time people leave the market all sur-
rounding villages should know roughly when a particular bush would be hunted
and when the time comes all surrounding villages would converge on that bush.
His reward for his duty is that any animal killed in this particular
hunt, he would have a specified portion given to him out of it. If it be
an animal he usually gets the shoulder; if it be a fowl he gets one leg. If
it's a tiny animal like rabbit, then he may not get anything.
Nca Milim (ncha) This is a religious title. Nca means eye or eye of,
milim meaning God. Thus, nca milim means eye of the God Le. watchman of the
God or the man in charge of the God. In most cases as I see at present it
is usually the village head or the Bilama who both combines this religious
post and his secular post as leader of his village. But Buba Briam in his
own case insisted that nca milim was different in those days, that this man
was neither a village head nor did he represent the village head but repre-
(' sented only the milim. )His duties were numerous. He is the man who takes care
of the God. He gives the God sacrifice whenever necessary. He would not
drink beer without sprinkling it on the milim. He would announce to the
people what the God was believed to have told him or in most cases when the
milim was angry with the people. This could be shown through numerous deaths,
plague, drought etc. In this case he would suggest the remedy to the people.
Usually such remedy ends in the form of sacrificing goats and chickens.
Sometimes if it be a witch among the people who was eating others' children
the solution could end by drinking the juice of a particular type of plant
called hira. He who was the witch, after drinking that juice, would instantly
die. He who was not would vomit it out and no harm would affect him. Thus in
all cases this nca milim supervises them.
Ncir Di (nchir) Ncir again means eye; di meaning ground, i.e. eye of
. 'J
k V X
-18-
the ground. This man's duty was to plant first; when the rains come then
the others follow. Again this role now is carried out by the village head.
He did not need to announce; all he did was when he reckoned one of the early
rains was heavy enough he goes out early morning and starts plaiting; after
he is seen then everyone follows the same suit.
Mwala Miwa Mwala means woman or wife; miwa, I could not get exactly
what this means. However, mwala miwa usually refers to the last wife to be
married within a particular household. Such wife is usually the most loved.
Thus in most cases this wife shared the husband's secret much more than any
other wife. She cooks his best meals for him. The husband spends much of
his time in her hut.
Mwala Wala Mwala again means woman or wife; wala means big or elder.
Thus mwala wala refers to the first wife to be married. This woman, though
not so much loved as the mwala miwa by the husband, earns a great deal of
respect from outsiders and the rest of the wives within the household.
Relations to Other Places
Interview with Shajo
Place: His house at Shafa
Date: July 3,1974
Relations with Tiraku
Tiraku being close to Shafa (a distance of 2miles) has much to do
with Shafa. However, relations with Tiraku were not favorable. Such problems
like hunting grounds, marrying of another's wife was constant at the scene.
Such that they were constantly at wars. Such war is known as the 'dlira'.
This dlira is an organized raiding whereby one village plots how to go and
inflict a lot of damages including killing, looting and burning of the other's
house but would not occupy any other's villages but return to their own. The
intention was to teach the other village a lesson as a result of a particular
action they did which must have annoyed the other.
yI
,N
C
I r/
-19-
Thus the relationship between Tiraku and in Shafa was in this form
of one raiding the other. The main cause of such tension was usually over
women. For it was the custom in those days that one can marry another's
wife whenever he felt like through the numerous marriage ways. For example
he can elope another's wife without any legal divorce. One can capture
another's wife if he was strong enough; sometimes with the help of friends
and kinsmen. Thus in Shafa as in all Buraland then there was actually
nothing like legal divorce. This was the cause of constant wars between
individuals, clans and usually villages.
One such relationship that did exist between Tiraku and Shafa over
such issues for example was narrated very well to me by Shajo who actually
took part in one of these raids.
Somebody from the Mshelia clan at Shafa by name Yankwar seduced a
man's wife from Tiraku. The man was Kabura who still lives. It did not
take long before Chadi Dawa, another fellow from the very Mshelia at Shafa,
to again seduce another's wife at Tiraku. Such(repeate- acts could not
be tolerated by Tiraku, who saw Shafa looking down upon Tiraku's power.
What Tiraku did was to have a showdown with Shafa and teach them a lesson
to stop further acts of intolerance.
Tiraku immediately prepared to raid Shafa. Horns were sounded; every-
one gathered in front of the village head's house at Tiraku with arrows
and bows. They were given directives to raid Shafa, (?) it and burn a few
huts. Thus unexpectedly warriors converged on Shafa without any hesitation.
However, Tiraku's effort to defeat Shafa failed. Biladzo who was later
to be the Bilama of Shafa shot Kabura Dalta. According to Shajo, the shot
was to have twelve wouAds. I asked how it actually happened that one shot
was to have twelve wounds. Shajo described it that as the arrow hit Kabura
he shook one side and the arrow hit another. He did this over and over until
the arrow had made twelve wounds before it finally stayed in one place. I
-20-
further asked him why this happened. He said that the arrow was so powerful
that it could not just stick to one place.
My Comment
As Kabura was still alive I had the opportunity to go down to Tiraku
where I asked Kabura whether this was true that he was once shot at one
place and he had twelve wounds. Kabura denied it flatly and in fact even
showed me the fading part of the scar the arrow actually made on his thigh.
This therefore, as I concluded of Shajo, is the normal way people paint
(elaborate) their own history in a glorified way and thus exaggerate their
position and power over others.
Simfa -
Interview continued
AApart from the shooting of Kabura, by name Diycima, was again shot by
Biladzo at the time of the raid; another still, Kadafur from Tiraku, was
again shot. Tiraku became frightened and thus ran away. Thus even though
Shafa was taken by surprise they were able to defend their position. From
then on Tiraku never attempted to raid Shafa again.
Relations with Biu
Interview with Herma Pindar
Date: July 3, 1974
According to Herma Pindar, Shafa was before the colonial rule a bigger
village than what it became in the early part of the coming of the white man.
When there was no road everybody was living at peace with Biu but immediately
the roads were built people coming from Biu started harassing them (the people
at Shafa) and thus nobody was interested in staying near the roads again.
According to him people would come and anything they see, be it a ram or a
good zana mat fencing one's house they would order one to catch or remove it
for them and send it to Biu. As a result of these so many people emigrated
from Shafa to areas that were not easily accessible by Biu.
-21-
When I contacted Shajo later whether it was true that so many people
actually fled Shafa as a result of Pabir harassment else it was a bigger
settlement than what it used to be, he denied that and said it was quite
untrue. Shafa had since long existed as a small settlement and has grown
large now as a result of road communication and at no time did anybody leave
Shafa because of their relationship with Biu.
In fact, when I asked him of their relationship with Biu before the
coming of the white man he simplyysaid there was nothing at all.) At no
time did Shafa even have any war with Biu; neither was there anything
between them as trade or any official link. The first time Shafa had any
link with Biu was when Yakadi, the then village head (Bilama) of Shafa was
asked to be Lawan which he turned down.
However, Shajo told me that if I want to know any link between the
area and Biu I should go eastwards to Tiraku where he had heard a lot of
police patrols. There a man, Genu Gana, was shot by a white man while try-
ing to run away from the village as the colonial troops arrived. A woman,
Matagi Yarami, who died just last February was captured and she was made
to cook for the army who camped for a week while everybody left the village
for them. Not only that but she was raped.
My Comment
As I happen to come from Tiraku I could confirm both stories which
were told to me right from childhood since Genu Gana, the one who was shot,
was my uncle. The story had it that when by the time the army arritd Tiraku
was informed by Shafa secretly and message was passed round whereby each
household took as much property as possibly since the ones left behind could
be looted. They then disappeared and hid in the Ngima rocks which were
about 2 miles away. However, the man, Genu Gana, failed to escape quickly
until he actually saw the force coming. Then he started running away. Stories
had it that he was about three miles away on the Yimana hillside but that
the gun was magnetic and it drew him near and at one shot he was killed.
-22-
As to Matagi Yarami's case, I confirmed it with her when she was still alive
in August last year during my field work. She actually told me that she was
not captured as such but that women were not actually fought so they used
to come back to secretly gather supplies for their people hiding and it
was then that she was caught and made to cook for the army and said that
she was actually made their wife for their week's stay.
At the end of it all then the army and those that follow them to loot
had enough to carry, they burn some houses and then retreated. It was then
that the people could return and resettle.
Relationship with Pelathlabu
Interview with Herma Pindar
Place: His house at Shafa
Date: July 3
Pelathlabu was one of the towns where the original founders of Shafa
once settled on their migratory trend. However, unlike other places where
they settled, like Gaya Kilba, Madagali or Mandaragarau where they have
lost all sorts of contact, Shafa still retained a close relationship with
Pelathlabu. This might be due to distance especially where all the others
were far away and Pelathlabu is close. Thus at Pelathlabu there remained
a haptu which must at least be contacted through sacrifice of a goat annually.
As a mark of this Pelathlabu people and Shafa people remained in close
relationship. Thus earlier Shafa and Pelathlabu people would not fight but
must always be friendly. However that now no longer exists.
Organizations
Organization of religion (shrines)
Interview with Shajo
Date: July 4, 1974
Religion or the worship of haptu during the pre-colonial days ranges
from the smallest haptu belonging to the nyarmbwa to the biggest haptu i.e.
the milim which protects the whole village in all sorts of activities.
-23-
Thus in some cases their organization did differ. For example, at the
head of the nyarmbwa haptu is the nyarmbwa elder, and in his case the haptu
is usually kept in his own compound for safe keeping. However, besides
himself, any other elder or person in the nyarmbwa could contact the haptu
without going through the nyarmbwa elder, especially when a particular
person felt he had committed a secret crime which he wouldn't like anybody
to know, including his elders. Such a fellow could secretly contact the
haptu/and pledge his loyalty or seek forgiveness on his own and such acts
could be forgiven.
However, this is not so with the milim. In the case of the milim the
village head or the Bilama acts as the chief pr est of the haptu. Thus
the Bilama plays the double role of both the secular head and the religious
head. In the case of the milim(nobody could contact the milim but must go
through him. Besides, he has the full power of contacting the milim on
his wish on behalf of matters affecting the whole village, his clan or
his household. Sometimes he contacts the milim on request by a council
of elders on matters affecting the village on which the village head
overlooked or not interested in doing so on his own.
e.g. If a plague strikes the village or a whitchcraft the village head
might have a hand in it or his relative might be suspected of causing it
and he may feel reluctant in taking himself or his relative to haptu when
he knew they are guilty. In this case the elders which act as council
could make him do so against his wish.
Youth Organizations
Interview with Shajo continued
ten's Youth Organizations
There were no distinct men's youth organizations with titles as such
but this did not mean that men's youth organizations did not exist. Such
men's youth organizations were therefore manifested through organizations like
1<
-24-
Kachia (the circumcision period) 'Bila'(herding or working after the
sheep, the goats or in some cases the cattle.
In the case of the 'Kachia' boys ranging from the age of about six
to twelve usually belonging to one zara only in the case of a big village,
but in Shafa before colonial rule since it was only one village, boys of
this age all over the village were gathered and circumcised at the same
time. During the time of circumcision the first to be circumcised be-
comes the chief of the group (Kuhyi) the second the Herma or assistant,
the third Chapola and so on to the last who was called the Gakimbal. Thus
everybody has his role in the group.
After the circumcision these boys were secluded from the society. In
most cases they live in a hiding in a bush nearby where they should not
see girls at all. Food is taken to them at the place. They would how-
ever arrive at home after supper and group in a hut reserved for them in
one of the compounds in the village where they spend the night and leave
for their hideout very early again in the morning before anybody woke up
from bed.
What went on among the boys therefore was a sort of independent
government. The first to be circumcised i.e. the chief of the group gives
orders and commands his own free will. Such orders must always be obeyed.
Others with subsequent ranks also give orders at their own discretion.
The Cakimbal, the last to be circumcised, carried out everybody's orders
and was more or less a slave to the group.
Such orders could easily be seen during the eating hours. At eating
time every mother send some food to the camp. No boy is allowed to eat his
own mother's food until order is given by the 'chief'. When all the food
is brought the 'chief' gives order for the best dishes to be selected for
himself or in some cases he did the selection himself. After he has done
that the other that followed did the same until it comes to the Cakimbal who
-25-
who took the worst dish. Besides taking the worst dish all the boys
were usually expected to finish their food else no food should be thrown
away. Thus if there remains some food in any other's dish he takes it
to the Cakimbal to finish it up for him despite the fact that the Cakimbal
may be satisfied.
These boys therefore continued their practise of governemtn until
every boy's wound was healed. On the last day a ceremony is held for them
with everybody in the village, elders, boys and girls, all present to give
them presents, to have feast with them, and then as they pass out they join
the rank of men in the village, who could now marry and sit with elders
freely.
'Bila' (to6 look after the herd)
'Bila' unlike the 'Kachia' was not an organized youth group as such
but when many children meet together herding usually their sheep and goats
several activities did show themselves which appeared as if it was a youth
organization.
Thus when at least six or more boys (sometimes girls did take part in
working after the sheep and goats) meet in a nearby bush they formed what
educationists do call the gang age. Such boys are usually destructive.
They would look after the other's sheep for him and send him to go and
steal some maize cobs and bring to them so that they could roast them
and eat them as a group. These herd boys usually have a lot of secret in
between themselves. For example, one goat may eat up somebody's crops
and these boys would not disclose whose goats or sheep ate the crops so
that he could not be victimized. Where no boy could be traced all the
herd boys could be contacted and they deny it.
Despite all these cooperation this did not mean that these boys did
not fight among themselves. There was always the occasional show of strength.
The strongest acts as the boss for he was feared. Thus there was no equality
-26-
among themselves.
Such activities like searching for wild fruits, hunting for birds
and grasshoppers was the constant practise of the boys. Sometimes they did
this as group activities and collections were divided equally or according
to strength.
Organizations (continued)
Interview with M. Yarkawa,cont'd.
Women's Youth Organizations
Women's organizations, unlike the young men's, was much more restricted
to the household. Such women's youth organizations clearly reflect in what
is called 'mbwa hadla'. 'Mbwa' means hut, house or room. 'Hadla' means to
grind. 'Mbwa hadla' means the house for grinding or the room for grinding.
Grinding in this case applies to grinding the guinea corn. However the
meaning does not clearly show here until we actually discuss what happens
in the 'mbwa hadla'.
Like the Kachia where young men varying from ages six to twelve were
grouped together, here girls of about eleven to eighteen'%are grouped to-
gether to sleep in the same hut and return to their parents the following
morning. In this case, if a zara or ward is big enough all the girls in
that ward meet and chose any compound where there is space or empty room.
The leader of the girls contacts the owner of the compound and the girls'
own parents that they would like to sleep in mbwa hadla at so-and-so's house.
Usually no mother refused. What followed was these girls choose a day when
they should make their 'bur'. Bur is a grinding stone. In this case it is
a stone used for grinding the guinea corn. These burs (buras) were usually
planted inside the compound where they are to spend nights. These burs are
planted in earth stuck together in lines. Sometimes there could be up to
20 or more burs stuck together, then known as 'burkau', each girl having her
own.
N
-27-
What followed after the 'burkau' is ready was the opening of the
day they were to start sleeping at the particular compound and the be-
ginning of the use of the 'burkau'. Each girl on the fixed day brought
her own food that evening (after supper usually after 7:00 P.M.) and they
as a group ate the food and thus the 'mbwa hadla' was declared open. From
then on each girl brought her own bed to the hut and henceforth starts
coming each night after supper and returns to her compound early morning
as she woke from bed.
Thus this 'mbwa hadla' becomes an attraction center for the youth
from the village and surrounding village. Such young men would gather
around at almost the same time with the girls daily and a lot of playing
and all sorts of dances or 'grinding dances' go on every night until about
midnight when the men disperse and the girls go to bed. The 'grinding
dances' are grindings following the rhythm of music supplied by the gulum,
the yagandi or the tsintza. Young men who know how to play any of the
instruments come at their own will or on demand by the girls and each night
there is always somebody supplying music for the 'rhythmic grinding' which
is believed made the girls grind more corn than without music.
After each girl has finished grinding the guinea corn she brought
from home the boys and girls would sometimes go out at open fields in front
of the compound and organize some dances, either at the rhythm of songs
they would sing themselves or at the rhythm of any of the musical instru-
ments available.
The girls like the boys also sometimes organize themselves into gang
groups. While every elder is asleep usually after 10:00 P.M. or thereabouts
and when the moonshine is bright they would go out to the groundnuts fields
and steal some groundnuts usually belonging to persons they don't like and
would come and boil them and eat them up in the night. And even if there
was public outcry against it by the owner in the morning, no girl would
-28-
disclose it else be expelled from the 'mbwa hadla'.
My Comment
The mbwa hadla as I saw it had many advantages. In Bura custom
young men who want to marry find it difficult to step the compound of the
parents of the girl he wants and ask her hand in marriage for the parents
are not supposed to know this. It should at the initial stage remain a
secret between the boy and the girl until officially disclosed to the
parents of the girl by the parents of the boy. Thus in the mbwa hadla
where most of the girls chose husbands from the numerous young men that
hang around each night, there was no shyness or fear of either the girl
or the boy of the parents knowing his moves before official disclosure.
As for the mothers, the girls leaving their huts, for them was a relief
from congestion. Besides together with her mates she grinds a lot of corn
for them for the day's meals, else if at home a rude or lazy girl could
refuse to grind enough corn for a day's meal.
For the girls, they find freedom of free movement with boys of their
own choice without the parents knowledge. Besides they learn a lot from
copying other more skilled or brilliant girls. Surprisingly enough, to the
age of eighteen these girls mostly remained virgins despite staying in the
company of young men at their own will.
Judging by the age at which these girls gather at 'mbwa hadla' i.e.
ranging from puberty to full maturity, I believe it was designed to get the
girls away from their parents in the night, especially when the girl was
supposed to share a hut with the woman, and when the man needs the woman
must come to the woman's hut. However, the idea of mbwa hadla has almost
died out and girls now get their huts similar to boys who usually have
theirs within the same compound.
Women's Organizations continued
'Pala' means to exchange. In this case 'pala' among young women
-29-
was when a girl goes to another girl and arranged or make timetable of farming,
usually in the wet season. They would arrange when they go to one's farm and
farm for her parents in a group. The following day they go to the others'
farm. This usually includes two to about five girls in agroup. Thus each
day in turn they farm to either of them. The idea was that they get a big piece
of land hoed at once and while in a group they too enjoy their own conversation
instead of that of their mother. Thus in the wet season hardly would girls go
to farm only with parents. Rather, girls of the same age group would go to
farm together on separate piece of farm or if on the same farm, with their
mother, would stay at different sections of the farm.
Hunting Organizations
Interview with Shajo
Place: His house
Date: July 4, 1974
There are generally two types of hunting organizations i.e. the annual
hunting organization and the daltuwar. While an annual hunting is a hunt usually
organized to hunt in the bushes around, daltuwar is meant for a long distance
hunt.
According to Shajo, there is nothing different about the annual hunting
organization. What happened was that all the inhabited usually unfarmed bushes
in between villages were divided up with various names, like Kimbim, Ngima,
Humusu, Ngozi etc. Such bushes long ago, according to Shajo, were having thick
forests and a lot of animals lived there. Such bush under a different name
is farmed at a particular time, usually on different dates so as to get many
people to attend a particular dance.
What followed was that on the particular day a particular area was going
to be hunted some shafa leaves with some grass, i.e. grasses used for the
minting(?) of zara mat was tied in a small bundle carried in the hand. This
bundle was carried all about the market places around. This bundle is to
-30-
indicate that there is going to be an organized hunt somewhere. What
followed was that once a person is seen with this bundle at a market place
he is approached and asked which particular hunt (kidla) was going to be
conducted. He who carried the bundle willingly tells everybody that asked
and of course the date for it.
Ownership of such hunting areas were usually on lineage bases i.e. a
person usually from the original founder of a particular village owns a parti-
cular land or hunting place around the village and it was his sole right to
name or decide when the hunt should take place. After him his son or brother
or any next elderly person in the family takes over the organization of this
hunting area.
On the hunting day usually at about 10 A.M. everybody from all surrounding
villages prepared. The time iz of course never announced since everybody
just knew from past experiences. What followed was that surrounding villages
converged on the bush and there was random walls all about the place with
bows and arrows in hand and dogs that could smell wild animals and run at
their hills until they were caught. There were shouts of "Ka mda bara" i.e.
repeatedly "Let everybody search for any animal." When the time for going home
comes there were shouts of "A wurki" i.e. "Let's go home."
If an animal was discovered and was being chased by men and dogs there
were alarms raised all over the place for everybody to be attentive and know
where it ran to and therefore ran after it as it approaches or shout at it,
or attract the attention of one's dogs to it.
If an animal is caught there were fixed ways on which it should be divided,
e.g. if a dog catches the animal the owner of the dog owns it; however some
parts of the meat must be shared with those that came to get it first from the
dog and the 'owner' of the bush, e.g. the owner of the bush gets one leg, the
first to arrive at the scene gets another, and the second and the third gets
the ribs shared out among them according to their order of arrival. If it
-31-
has been shot with an arrow the owner owns the animal while as the parts
above were shared out in the same manner. Thus all in all the owner of the
animal gets half the meat while the rest is shared out according to their
order of assistance. If it be a fowl one leg is given to the first arrival
when the fowl was caught whether it be by a man or a dog.
At home when the meat is brought at least a leg is cut to smaller pieces
and given out to all the men in the village, usually one per family i.e. for
the head of the family. The remaining meat which is now not more than 1/3 of
the animal captured is put at the family saball' sabal is a family haptu
which must be pleased else it will take revenge against offenders by striking
at them or their descendants through plague, disease or otherwise.
The following morning the meat is taken out of the sabal and eaten by
the family of him,who killed the animal. If the animal was caught by a dog
the meat need not be taken to the sabal. After the eating of the animal the
head and legs are usually left until after four days or thereabout. This
portion is specially reserved for the friends of the killer of the animal.
This applies mostly to young men alone. For the head they invite friends
on a fixed day to come and eat the head. These young men together with the
one who killed the animal gathered (usually not up to ten in number) each
brought an arrow or two or presently sometimes money to give to the killer as-
present for his manliness in killing an animal, or for his good shooting.
Here again let us go back to the young man who for example has killed
his first animal in a hunt. The same procedure followed in sharing out the
meat except that for him there is something i.e. getting a fost mother. In
Shafa, like in all of the surrounding villages, a boy or a girl gets a mother
from her family besides his/her real mother. This acts as his/her mother in
case the mother dies. The same applies in getting a father besides the real
father. Such mother or father is usually gotten out of one's elder brothers
or sisters. Thus, for the boy the mother or the father could be gotten with
-32-
use of his first animal killed in a hunt, i.e. before the family eats their
share a portion of the meat, usually the upper part of the thigh is given to
him/her who is nominated as the mother or the father which they usually accept.
If a boy failed to kill an animal before his mother or father died he slaughters
a goat at the father or mother's funeral ('kun tua') and gives out the relevant
portion of the meat for either of the parents. For a girl, she usually gives a
portion of her dowry to get either of the parents.
Daltuwar
There is not much difference between the organization of the daltuwar
and any other annual hunt except that for the daltuwar it was usually a long
distance hunt, not close to any village. People usually spend a night out on
their way to and back from the daltuwar hunt.
Again here in the daltuwar, unlike the general annual hunt, the daltuwar
is more organized. People line up on opposite ends of the bush to be hunted,
sometimes about ten miles away from each other. The line of people could be
a mile long or more. At one end the people shout and start approaching those
coming opposite the people at the other end so as to push any available animals
towards the other line. While one file of hunters shout and bush(push?) the
other file of hunters opposite lay flat on their bellies and wait for any
possible approaching of running game.
Now it is the turn of those that lay flat on their stomachs to shout and
approach closer; the others opposite now lay flat. This continues vice versa
until the two files of hunters opposite each other were at close distance with
all possible animals trapped. When they were close enough animal that run
either side was trapped and killed, and so the catch in the daltuwar was
usually much more than in any annual hunt.
The same process of sharing the meat followed as in any other hunt, so
that in the daltuwar because of the number of catch virtually nobody arrived
at home without any meat in his skin bag.
-33-
My Comment
The daltuwar has now faded out completely to an extent that I hear
only stories about it else I was not born when it started to die out. However
the annual hunts which are simply known as 'kidla' are still going on except
that it is not as vigorous as it was about ten or fifteen years back. It is
also fast fading out especially with the government or local authority dis-
couraging it with the getting of permission before any bush is hunted.
The hunt was a source of many quarrels since it was difficult to detect at
times whose dog first caught a particular animal with sometimes many claimants.
Even arrows were disputed if two or more shot the same animal. Besides, there
were so many pretenders led by strong men to claim animals not shot by them
or caught by their animal.
Other Organizations
Mbal Kaki Kaki Mbal=beer; kaki=per compound. Thus hbal kaki' refers to
beer brewed in each compound or brewed per compound. This is done when the
rains fail to come or there is shortage of rain after the fields have been
planted.
This is a religious organization. When there is shortage of rain the
village head announces a week before time that each compound is to brew beer to
appease God. Everybody responds and beer is brewed. On the day the beer is
to be drunk nobody was to go out farming. Thus people from surrounding vill-
ages were invited and they come to take part in the drinking of the beer.
On the drinking day some part of the beer is first spilled over the haptu
nyarmbwa usually planted on the center of the compound, or just spilled on
the gate of the house for the gods before anybody could drink it. After this
is done then anybody that wishes to drink could come and drink of the beer
freely. Young men go from place to place in search of more tasty beer.
At the end of the day the pot in which the beer is brewed is taken out of
-34-
the compound and left in front of the gate until it rains, before the pot is
taken inside the compound.
Similar to the Mbal Kkki Kaki is the Jangul Kaki Kaki. Jangul is kind
of food that is mixture of guinea corn, maize, beans and groundnuts boiled
together. Similar to Mbal Kaki Kaki the village head announces that Jangul
Kaki Kaki should be prepared. This is done on the appointed (day) and nobody
goes out to hoe. The jangul this time is not boiled inside the compound but
outside in front of the gate. Just as the mbal kaki, it would not be eaten
until some portion is first scattered in front of the compound with words
asking God to send rain. After the portion belonging to God is scattered, then
the rest could be eaten. After it is eaten the pot in which it is boiled is
not taken inside the compound until the rains first beat it outside.
My Comment
Surprisingly enough today the Mbal Kaki is being drunk in Tiraku while
I write about it. One thing I observed was that both Muslims, Christians
and traditionalists all did boil it according to the order of the village head.
While the traditionalists brewed both beer and cooked jangul the Muslims and
Christians boiled only the jangul. The only difference is, as I observed, that
the Christians and the Muslims did not scatter a few pieces to God but went
right away to it. When I asked them whether it was not against their religion
they objected and said it "was not, it was 'sadaka' Le.alms and any God would
support it." However, they all have the same belief whether it be Muslim,
Christian or traditionalist that the rains would follow soon after the 'Jangul
Kaki' or the 'Mbal Kaki Kaki'.
Pelathlabu continued from p.15, typed p.4.
Pelathlabu is a village about 3 miles away from Shafa. It lies north-
east of Shafa and is not situated on the main road. Oral story had it that
this village was once the scene of a bloody battle between Bura and Pabir.
The cause of the war however could not be told to me clearly for it appeared
-35-
people were much more interested about the organization than anything else.
The organization went like this; that the war was between all Pabir and
East Bura from about Sakwa then to Garkida. The battlefield was to be Tiraku.
Kida, though being Bura, pretended to be on the side of Pabir but secretly
sent word to the Bura that when the battle gets hot they will turn on the side
of the Bura and start massacring the Pabir. Their identity was that they
would tie white loin cloth (gabaka) around their waist and so Bura persons
would not attack them and they too would be pretending to attack the Bura
though they wouldn't do it seriously.
Meanwhile, the Bura prepared, built a stone wall around Pelathlabu with
seven gates. The wall is still clearly seen today. In each of the gates ditches
were dug so as not to allow Pabir horses to cross and enter the wall and if they
did attempt would fall into the ditch. Thus just as planned at the time of the
battle, when it got hot the Pabir succeeded in entering the wall. Just as they
were about to start massacring the Bura the Bura from Kida who were on the side
of the Pabir turned against them and took side with the Bura. Thus the battle
ended in a bloody massacre of all the Pabir that found their way into the wall
and thus the battle ended with Pabir defeat with the rest that did not gain
entrance into the wall fleeing.
Some people believed that it was the result of that battle that so many
Bura clans emigrated to Garkida in the Adamauwa province. They give example
with the Malgwi found in Garkida as excapees from that battle.
My Comment
The time of this battle I cannot calculate. I can't even know whether
it was during colonial rule or before, especially when the cause remained
remote to me. However, the battle was actually fought, for the stone wall
that surrounds Pelathlabu still stands. Besides, all over the East Bura people
all talk of this war well and in fact it has even become a saying "like the
battle of Pelathlabu" among the Eastern Buras, or another saying still "to
-36-
pretend like Kida people." However, whether the battle was actually fought
as it was being narrated I cannot tell. However, I believe there must have been an
exaggeration especially the fact that the whole Bura took part in this particular
battle.
Shafa Fires
No interview conducted. My own narration as I heard from the general public.
Shafa from November 1973 to April 1974 saw a lot of house burnings said
to have been caused by a 'Jang'.
'Jang' is an invisible living super being that has the power to do good
or bad depending on his own free will or on how pleased he felt with his
master. The jang could be bought of inherited; when bought it could be first
bought hidden in a yarn of thread. Its form at this time is called 'pelma'
and it is actually the 'pelma' that represents the jang which emerges from it
later.
The 'pelma' are two smelted irons joined together. They are about the size
of the thumb or slightly bigger and each have a hollow in the middle. Thus when
these pelma are sold to one it means the jang has been sold. Though never seen
the jang is even imagined to be like a man but a man that could be about half
a mile tall. The jang is however very foolish and at the owner's command
would do whatever the owner likes. For example, the owner could command him
to bring certain riches and he would do it without hesitation. The owner could
command him to play music and he would do it without any hesitation. As a
result of this during the pre-colonial days there existed a lot of these 'jangs'
and people were all willing to buy.
However there existed two kinds of jang, one good and the other bad. The
good one is the kind that could bring wealth, entertain people with songs and
music and be fed only on vegetables. The bad one however could still bring
riches but the reward for his riches is expensive. Such reward varies from
one's son to a daughter, that is one who owns the 'jang'. If the owner of the
-37-
jang refused to surrender either of these the jang could eat up the owner
himself and thus go wild or uncontrolled, with the case of such jang nobody would wish
to buy it and if the owner discovered he has bought an evil jang he would secretly
sell it to a stranger who does not know about it or if the jang becomes too diffi-
cult to sell he secretly puts it in yarn or roll of woven yarn (gabaka) and takes
it and secretly leaves it in the bush and disappears. He who takes that yarn or
gabaka with the 'pelma' inside the jang follows him directly and so it continues.
It was this kind of jang that was sold to (Adamu Thlama at Shafa. The story
about Adamu Thlama's jang went like this:
Adamu Thlama of the Hshelia clan of Shafa lived in Kilba for two years.
Kilba though a tribe is always referred to as area by the people here just as
we say Buraland. The exact town among the Kilba where the man lived I do not
know, but it is believed the Kilba have a lot of 'jang'. In fact, much more
jang than the Bura even in those days.
After Adamu Thlama had worked among the Kilba for two years it was believed
he bought the 'jang' there. Finally after two years he came back home ,to Shafa
and built his house among his people, the original founders of Shafa, the
Mshelia. For two years when Adamu Thlama settled nothing happened until Nov-
ember last year when the 'jang' appeared visible to everyone through the burning
of houses.
Here one other aspect of the jang is that if there is no relationship the
jang would neither harm one nor do anything in his favor; thus one has nothing
to do with the jang if one is not related to the owner.
According to public opinion, Adamu Thlama's jang was said to have demanded
his daughter or son but Adamu Thlama refused to comply and so the jang went wild
and started by burning his own house. However, Adamu Thlama resisted giving
him any of his sons. And even if Adamu Thlama, for example, has given him one
of his relatives' sons the jang would not accept. Indeed it is believed the
jang usually starts by asking the best of the owner's sons and subsequently
-38-
continued until it goes up to the next of kin's sons.
Thus in Shafa, when he refused to comply after burning his house the jang
started on his other relatives' sons. This jang became notorious by December
in Shafa that more than thirty houses a4l belonging to the original Mshelias of
Shafa with the exception of three compounds, and this was believed to have been
a mistake.
By February all those related to Adamu Thlama were so frightened that
they in fact don't even sleep in their houses for fear they would catch fire
in the night. They went as far as to pack out their property and keep it in
others compounds not related to them. At this time everybody suspected Adamu
Thlama but because of fear of the present legal cases everybody feared to ap-
proach Adamu Thlama for fear of being persecuted and the law may not believe
this aspect of tradition.
However, when the burning became rampant the elderly relatives couldn't
help it but came to contact Adamu Thlama to get rid of this jang in case he had
it. Though Adamu Thlama denied acquiring any jang people observed his steps
and it was believed he had been going to medicine men all over the place. The
elders of the Mshelia clan sent one to medicine men to confirm whether Adamu
Thlama owned the jang. All the medicine men contacted confirmed it., Stories
also circulated that he, Adamu Thlama, has been advised by the medicine men
on how to get rid of the jang. The method people believed was to throw it
in a hole in one baobab tree just outside his compound. However, Adamu Thlama
never did. As tension mounted Adamu Thlama and his family was said to have
diisc~oe.ed(?) for at least four days with their whereabouts not known. At this
time people thought he has gone on self-exile. However, after four days he
returned again and Adamu Thlama threatened that he would sue anybody to court
who should again talk to him about possessing a jang or even talk about it.
After that nobody dared talk to him but he remained an isolated man to date.
The burning however continued. People who re-thatched their houses found
-39-
their houses re-burned again so much so that today there remained several
houses in Shafa unroofed for fear it would be burned again after roofing.
However, by April ending or early May the burning has stopped and Adamu Thlama
still lives in Shafa today.
He was later suspected to have gone to Kilba where he bought the jang
or possibly to a medicine man who could advise him on what to do with the
jang. Others even came to the conclusion that he was advised to throw the
'pelma' the signs of the jang into a hole in a baobab tree behind his house.
VIU KITHLA
Interview *ith Bilama Bukar
Place: His house at Viu Kithla
Date: 6th July 1974
When I asked Bilama Bukar the present village head of Viu Kithla their
origin and their migratory trend, what he immediately told me was that they
were formerly from the Bata tribe. From where he didn't seem to know but I
suppose it must be from the Bata tribe that now lives in Sardauna province.
When I insisted on knowing where they settled first before finally finding
the village Viu Kithla he immediately jumped to the story of Yamtarawalla,
that Viu Kithla is so old a village that nobody can remember how old it is.
For example, Yamtarawalla came to Viu Kithla and found people already settled there and
it was the descendants of those people that still live here now. Then he went on
to say that when Yamtarawalla found them he made friends with them and in fact
nothing had gone wrong between them and Yamtarawalla. Afterwards they lived as
friends not as conquerors and the conquered.
The man then continued to narrate the story haphazardly that Yamtarawalla
was from Mecca and that he had a son known as Dirawala and that it was the
Dirawala that sank into the ground here in Viu Kithla that lead to later suc-
cessive emirs of Biu to be buried here similar to the sinking of Yamtarawalla
at Mandaragarau.
-40-
When I asked further to describe what he meant by the emir 'sinking'
Bilama Bukar said that earlier emirs did not die as they do at the moment.
What happened was that when such a great emir felt that he had reigned enough
and decided to give up his office for his chosen son (such son was usually
chosen by the emir himself) he dressed up, saddled his horse, put a bowl by
his side and climbs the horse. What happened was that he decided, either
at the rhythm of music sung by himself or weeping he started to sink. The
bowl by his side was used to cover the place after he has sunk into the
ground. This was how Yamtarawalla died in Mandaragarau and Dirawala in Viu
Kithla.
However, according to Bilama Bukar, as weaker emirs started to reign they
no longer could sink but must die as ordinary men before they gave up their
title and buried before a son succeeded.
The original tribe which first came to the village of which Bilama Bukar
was one is the Zoaka. Since then there has been only one other nyarmbwa that
did come to the village and this is the Mshelthila. The Mshelthila remained
a family to this day. The Mshelthila later took part in the village organi-
zations and thus act as chapola to the original Zoaka founders of Viu Kithla.
Original Size and Layout of the Village
The original zara of the village where the village head (Bilama) lives
now is known as Barwi. It occupies a central position with the other zaras,
Kir Gar, Kogu Ngalim being north of it those closely linked. About a mile
away is what looked like a ward but they classify it as a village i.e. Gur
who has their Bilama and their Bilama was given more power than the Bilama
here at Viu Kithla. However these people were said to have come recently and
settled at Gur from Kida. (See diagram next page.)
-41-
I~)A
52~'~<~%
P,^ ^f-.TO
LJ<^
1. All in between are tiksha being planted.
2. The Mandaragarau emirs are no longer buried here and it is difficult to
identify their graves.
13
011
-42-
The Village Headship and Its History
The village Viu Kithla was said to have been found before Yamtarawalla.
As a result it is not easy to remember exact names and the chronology of
their reign i.e. the (?) of the village headship (Bilama). However Bilama
Bukar could remember the last seven successive rulers including himself and
all such rulers according to him were sons of the former rulers. Thus each
Bilama is a son of the former Bilama. As a result of this, according to
Bilama Bukar, since the origin of the village the very Zoaka nyarmbwa that
found it has been in power. There was no interruption whatsoever.
The seven Bilamas which we could not exactly date roughly when they
ruled were:
1) Galadima Ngozi
2) Dalta Haman
3) Dalta Dawi
4) Yagursha
5) Ya Bata
6) Bilama Bayeir
7) Bilama Bukar who continues as the present ruler and the
narrator of the story.
My Comment
Bilama Bukar appeared to be weak at remembering that I found it difficult
to actually get what I wanted directly from him. When I ask him one thing
he would mix up with another. For example, when I asked him if there was any
outstanding leader among the last village heads he could remember and gave
me their names he went on straight to Yamtarawalla's story again that they
were friends which appeared irrelevant, especially when Yamtarawalla must
have lived long before those people.
Ward History
Interview with Bilama Bukar
Place: His house Viu Kithla
Date: July 8,1974
Present: Ibrahim and Isa
When I again came to Viu Kithla finding that Bilama Bukar had a short
memory I invited Ibrahim and Isa; together we sat at the Bilama's house.
-43-
Ibrahim, being of the Mshelthila clan, was the one I actually wanted to
interview.
When I asked of any other clan living in Viu Kithla apart from the
Zoaka there was only the Thlila. At the moment the Thlila occupy only
three compounds. Their origin was distorted; however they could only say
that they came from the Bura area. Which particular part of Bur area they
could not exactly locate. However they later came to the conclusion that
somehow they must have been related to the Mshelthlila that now live in the
Lawal Valley around Garkida. Thus, according to Ibrahim, they all call
themselves together with the Mshelthlila found around Garkida as Darsha.
Darsha usually applies to distant uncle or thereabout. Though insig-
nificant in the village the Mshelthlila however play an important role in
the village organization and leadership. For example, if the Bilama of
the village who is of the Zoaka clan claims to be the ruler then the
Mshelthlila clan becomes the chapola. Indeed Bilama Bukar told me that the
Mshelthlila clan is the chapola to him. Chapola according to the Viu Kithla
description as I gather refers to an assistant, an assistant however who
could not become a Bilama or a village head in absence of the real Bilama.
Their role remained permanently that of an assistant.
Unlike the Bilama who is chosen by popular vote, the chapola was
succeeded by the eldest in the family of the Mshelthlila clan. The selec-
tion of the Bilama however was by a council of the Zoaka elders as narrated
earlier. Once a Bilama died one of his elderly sons is elected by the council
of elders one to succeed him and be Bilama of Viu Kithla. Such elected
Bilama is presented to the emir at Biu who approved of him and from hence-
forth he carries out the role of the Bilama. That of the chapola however
need not be approved by the emir; the Bilama simply approves of it.
-44-
Titles and Offices
Interview with Bilama Bukar
Place: His house at Viu Kithla
Date: July 9, 1974
Present: Ibrahim and Isa
When I asked Bilama Bukar as to the sorts of offices others hold in the
(any?)
village besides him he in fact denied flatly that there was none beside him.
It was Ibrahim that told me of the existence of Mdir Hyenta and Kuhyir Dakwi.
Mdir Hyenta = messenger. At times the job of the mdir hyenta i.e. the
messenger was carried out by the chapola. This chapola was the emigrant family
of Thlila who came to settle with the original Zoaka of Viu Kithla. His
functions were numerous. It includes the carrying out of all the orders of
the village head or the Bilama. Such orders mostly were to go on errands
to send messages to the various people the village head needed to consult. For
example at the death of an emir or chief such a messenger would go forth and
back at least five times between Biu and Viu Kithla on the negotiations of
the burial bills etc.
The messenger, or rather the mdir hyenta is usually not elected; he is
succeeded by the eldest of the family of the Thlila after the death of the
medir hyenta. However successorship to this one is not as rigid as that of
the Bilama. This meanings it did not necessarily follow the established
system whereby a son succeeds his father. In this case any most elderly and
reasonable fellow in the family of the mdir hyenta directly takes over the job.
Kuhyir Dakwi This translated would mean chief of the youth or rather
youth leader. This is not a very important title as such. However this goes
back to the village organization. In this case where the youth want their
interest solved among themselves without the consent of elders they met and
chose among themselves their leader. This according to Ibrahim goes back to
the pre-colonial days though it is still existing now with weaker strength
though.
The use of such youth organization and the young leader vary from settling
-45-
or urging quarrels with other nearby villages to marriage settlements. Such
solving of village marriages include negotiations to solve the problems of
two young men that might clash over one girl. In such case the 'kuhyir Dakwi' or
the youth leader could advise one to leave the girl without precipitating any
quarrel if it should be known by the elders. Or in case of other villages, the
'kuhyir dakwi' could urge the young men in his village to attack the other
village in a show of strength or leave them in case of fear of being beaten.
In such places such quarrels might be picked up over girls or in hunting areas
where elders would not be around, the 'kuhyir dakwi' plays a dynamic role. In
most cases his words are final.
The election of the 'kuhyir dakwi', unlike that of the mdir hyenta or
the messenger whereby within a family one succeeds the other is not so with
the 'kuhyir dakwi'. In the case of the 'kuhyir dakwi' election is purely on a
democratic method, for any eligible man or rather young man in the village
that could command the respect of any other young men was usually elected.
There was no political back door behind it since he who could be elected
usually must possess certain qualities like strength, commanding personality
so as to make him be obeyed.
Mdir Sika = guard. Mdir Sika or a guardman was one of the most important
offices held in Viu Kithla at one time. However now his job has faded out and
is taken over by the Bilama.
This guard's job was to look after the emir's graves. Because Biu emirs,
going back as far as Dirwala, were buried at Viu Kithla, there was the need
for a guard man to look after the grave. This guard man however worked in
close association with the Bilama or the village head. His duty was to look
after the graves of the Biu emirs buried there. Because of this his compound
was built very close to the emirs' graves almost encircling them. He made
sure the graves were well protected and collected royalties from visitors to
the graves. Such visits range from tours to persons who have personal problems
-46-
and wanted to present them to the spirits of the emirs who, it is believed, would
solve anybody's individual problem. Thus the guardman charges or rather at
your own will as it was acclaimed since there was no fixed charge, one must
give out something before permission was granted to see the graves. This
money for usually as presently the charge was in cash, is shared between
the village head and the guard. Because of this the appointment of the guard
was usually done by the village head (Bilama). This was necessarily so as to
coordinate his function with that of the Bilama.
The guard therefore was a man usually from the Bilama's family who could
not be a Bilama. Thus usually the brother of the Bilama keeps guard over the
emir's tomb.
My Comment
This payment of fares before one could see the grave was experienced
by me. I visited the place twice to conduct this interview and twice I had
to pay a naira each to be allowed to see the tombs. However, I was not asked to
pay one naira as charges each time I did go but instead I was asked to bring
whatever I had so as to lead me to see the grave else nobody could see it
without giving anything as I did, I was taken there; shoes removed at a dis-
tance of about twenty yards away, peeped inside and saw five tombs surrounded
by a zana mat. At seeing the tomb I was asked to present my problems to them
if I had any. When I answered I had no problem to present the one who took me
was surprised at my foolishness I suppose for paying to see the grave only
without presenting my problems. The question of the tombs and burials and
the necessary rituals we shall come to later.
Relations to Other Places
Interview with Bilama Bukar
Place: His house at Viu Kithla
Date: July 9, 1974
Present: Ibrahim and Isa
According to Bilama Bukar, because Viu Kithla has since its existence
-47-
been a peaceful town there was actually no case of war he could report on.
Indeed the relationship between Viu Kithla and other villages he could talk
of was only that between Viu Kithla and Mandaragarau and theirs was due to emir-
ship and the coming of Yamtarawalla.
According to Bilama Bukar he was told by his grandfathers Yamtarawalla
once came and settled in Viu Kithla and this he continued emphasizing that it
was not because Yamtarawalla defeated Viu Kithla in war but it was only due to
the mutual friendship that did exist between him and Viu Kithla that Viu Kithla
allowed him to settle on the basis of friendship.
Because this relationship between Viu Kithla and Yamtarawalla, one of
Yamtarawalla's sons, Dirawala, was to settle in Viu Kithla permanently, thus
establishing a line of reign from Viu Kithla. Thus according to Bilama Bukar
Biu chieftaincy originated from Viu Kithla. Thus Viu Kithla according to him
to date still maintained one line of succession in the Biu ;emirship to date.
site?
To support his argument Bilama Bukar asked me to go and see the sight of
the graves of the emirs of Mandaragarau which I willingly did. They were
indeed lying near each other with that of the emirs of Biu.
This line of emirship of Biu that came through Viu Kithla was according
to Bilama Bukar first in Viu Kithla where Dirawala was the originator. From
Viu Kithla the emirship later shifted to Gur. This is one Gur about a mile
from Viu Kithla. After Gur then the emirship finally got to Biu. Thus, accord-
ing to Bilama Bukar Gur was elevated above Viu Kithla which he didn't appear
to feel nice about it. He went on to say that originally Viu Kithla was the
biggest village in the locality but subsequently with the elevation of Gur,
Gur now acts as the headquarters of all villages around including Viu Kithla.
Thus to date even the Bilama in Gur is higher than that of Viu Kithla, while
as before Viu Kithla was serving as the headquarters of Bam, Kubala and Hyera.
-48-
Burial of Emirs
Interview with Bilama Bukar
Place: His house at Viu Kithla
Date: July 9, 1974
Present: Ibrahim and Isa
First When Emir Elected
Before going into the detail of the burial of emirs which takes place
in Viu Kithla let us have a flashback and see what happens in Viu Kithla
first at the installation of a new emir of Biu.
Once the emir succeeding has been selected at Biu before his turbanning
he first comes to Viu Kithla to carry out some rituals. Such was the taking
of bath in the River Tsurakumi. River Tsurakumi is a stream that flows just
nearby to Viu Kithla. This taking of bath of the emir did not go free. The
1emir has to pay Viu Kithla a fare which usually exceeds 1100. When the emir
comes for the bath in this stream he did not just come and go back one day but
usually for at least three days. According to Bilama Bukar, Ali Dogo for
example when he came to Viu Kithla for this ritual took seven days stay in
Viu Kithla. Mandala Madu took three days.
When they come for this ritual they did not usually sleep in a house. A
shelter is made for them inside the Bilama's compound where they spend the
relevant number of days for the bath. After the bath then the succeeding emir
goes back to Biu to be turbanned emir of Biu.
All through the time of the bath people in Viu Kithla had not much to do
with the emir. They did not even escort the ceremonial escorts back to Biu
because they claimed they did appoint the emir. Only people who came with
the emir from Biu carry out all sorts of necessary royalties.
At Death of an Emir interview continued
P.T.O. for sketch of emirs tombs.
-49-
zel-"1
-50-
My Comment
When I asked if I could be permitted to see the tombs of the emirs
Bilama Bukar said I could, provided I give any amount I wish to according to the
customs of the custodians of the tombs. I did, and together with the Bilama
we went, removed our shoes as part of the normal respect.
What I saw was that except for five tombs encircled in a zana mat the
rest that he showed me were uncared for; grass covered such and they could
hardle be identified as graves, not even graves of the ordinary person. How-
ever near these were the five specially kept tombs. These are encircled in a
zana mat neatly tied with no gate to enter. I had to peep through the holes
of the mat to see them. Inside were the five tombs not cemented. They
looked like tiny granaries well covered with thatched grass. In between these
were well-hoed place and kept very neatly.
After I have seen this the custodian of the tomb now represented by the Bilama
asked me to progress and let my problems (be) known to the spirits of the emirs if
I had any. I answered I only asked to see them but I had nothing behind.
As we started going away Bilama Bukar too showed me the tombs of the
(magiras and the kwatams all lying near those of the emirs.. The magira is the
oldest wife of the emir while the kwatam is his beloved wife. These too tend
to be disappearing and don't look like graves.
Within a distance of about fifty yards was hhe old grave site\of the
emirs of Mandaragarau. This now appeared like a complete bush and except for
one who had a prior knowledge of it they may not be recognized as graves at all.
Burial Procedures
Interview with Bilama Bukar continued
When a particular emir is reported dead at Biu a messenger is first
sent to Viu Kithla to inform them that an emir is dead. Such messenger brings
with him about the sum of 12 as a fee for informing Viu Kithla about the
death of the emir. At the same time the messenger who was normally sent on
a fully-dressed horse would have his horse seized and he returned to Biu on
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foot.
Before the digging of the grave started seven cows are slaughtered. This
he
the people in Viu Kithla were solely in charge of the meat. Here too is where
the role of the Thlila clan in Viu Kithla became important. He gets a gets
a matiram. A matiram is a gown similar to 'bul' but bigger, handwoven but
indeed better woven than 'bul'. This matiram was given to the Thlila clan
because of the recognition of their role as the chapola of Viu Kithla.
The next group that were entitled to anything were the people who keep
watch over the tombs or rather, the custodians of the tombs. Before there
used to be about three persons in charge but now they are no longer there
and their role seemed to be assumed by the Bilama. These people earlier
used to get a 'bul' each. The Bilama too was not left out of these royalties.
He too gets a 'matiram'.
After paying all these royalties the corpse of the emir is carried on
a locally made stretcher from Biu in a file of long escorts on horseback.
As they arrive in Viu Kithla there is a spot of about half a mile away from
the village where the bearers from Biu were not allowed to enter Viu Kithla
carrying the corpse themselves. Instead, people from Viu Kithla would go
and get the corpse and together with the people in Biu come to the graveside.
At the graveside, according to Bilama Bukar, there was no other unnecessary
rituals. The corpse is straight away buried like any other ordinary person.
When I asked if the emir is laid on his side with the face facing the east
(sunrise direction) as is the practise with other ordinary persons he agreed
it was so.
Other similar burials to that of the emir was that of the kwatam and the
magira. Only that theirs was to a lesser degree. The burial of the kwatam
however takes place either at Kogu or in Viu Kithla.
If a kwatam is to be buried for example the messenger who comes to report
the death gives about Ll instead of the L2 in the case of the emir. Unlike
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the emir's messenger whose horse is seized this one isn't.
For the magira the messenger brings about I1 to report the death which was the
same as kwatam. However, expenses in all other cases which is the same as
kwatam are met by the emir.
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