5  THE (KUUB- ) JUKA OR NGOMSIKA FUNERAL CELEBRATION

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 Juka celebrations attended by the author

 

I (F.K.), the author of this work, attended two Juka celebrations myself; my assistants Danlardy Leander and Adama collected information about another celebration in Chiok (May 1990). An important additional source of information was the description by Joseph Aduedem (detailed 2019 and abridged 2020: 54–61), which he prepared based on an interview with his grandfather, Alanjo Aduedem (Sandema-Bilinsa), and papers written by F.A. Azognab and published in 2019 and 2020.

1) The Juka funeral in Wiaga-Mutuensa (Ajuzong or Ajuyong Yeri, 24–27 April 1989) was held for a deceased diviner. I took part in the cheesika/bogsika (24 April, fn 88,270) and the lokta juka dai (fn 88.270+272; 27 April).

2) A Juka funeral celebration in Wiaga-Yisobsa was held for the deceased Wiaga chief, Asiuk, on 6–12 July 1994. I attended it on the sira manika dai (9 July, fn 94,14+15a). On 10 July (the lokta juka dai), Danlardy photographed the rites on my behalf and collected information.

3) In Wiaga-Chiok (May 1990, fn 88,305b), my helpers Danlardy and Adama took photos and collected data on the senlengsa dai.

 

5.1.2 Further information about the Juka

Names: Juka means ‘burning’ (the quiver, etc.); according to J. Agalic et al., kuub juka means ‘burning the funeral’; ngomsika means ‘scratching’. I could not find a plausible explanation for this name.

Timing and significance: Although the Juka celebration enables the deceased to enter the realm of the dead (kpilung), there does not seem to be any great haste in holding this celebration compared to the Kumsa. Indeed,  many years often separate the Kumsa and Juka. One reason for this relative lack of urgency may be that the temporary successors of the deceased, such as his eldest brother or son, want to keep their acquired social position (e.g., as a kpagi) and the shrines, land, and cattle connected with it. After the Juka, however, they must hand everything over to the real inheritor according to genealogical position (see Kröger 1982 and 2003).

A major disadvantage of a long postponement of the Juka would be that women of childbearing age would also have to wait a long time for remarriage. Nowadays, however, widows are allowed to have a new relationship. It is given official status on the third day of the Juka when the widow officially chooses her partner (see 5.2.4.7).

Margaret Arnheim (fn M28a): Only through the Juka/Ngomsika celebration does one become an ancestor. The Juka is not performed for the last-born son or daughter, but he (she) still becomes an ancestor.

If only the Kumsa funeral were completed, it is said that only one half was celebrated (‘nye kuub zaani’).

U. Blanc (2000: 221): Overall, the variety of musical performances of the Kumsa funeral celebration is not [equal to that at the Juka].

Aduedem (2020: 54): This part of the funeral celebration takes four days… In the case of a man of status (kpagi) who was also a yeri nyono and had sacrificed to great ancestral gods, it takes six days [F.K.: This information is unconfirmed for Wiaga].

 

5.2 Chronological listing of the ritual events

Preliminary remarks: The names of the feast days and the distribution of the events on the various days do not seem to be wholly fixed, even within a single village. As such, in the compound of Chief Asiuk, the important rites of burning the quivers and destroying the pots were not performed on the third day. This day is usually called the lok tuilika (turning of the quiver) or sira manika dai. Instead, these were performed on the fourth day, which is then called the lokta juka dai. In Mutuensa, the quivers and pots were destroyed on the third day. If the weapons are burnt on the third day, then the fourth day is called the senlengsa dai.

 

 

5.2.0 Previous day: Cheesika (collecting) or (loan word Twi) Bogsika (endnote 96a)

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Wiaga-Mutuensa (fn 88,270a), 24 April 1989: Concurrently or overlapping with activities in the house of the deceased, a group consisting mainly of women – including the widow from Ajusong Yeri – collected food for the celebration in all compounds of the deceased’s mother’s section and other houses of this section (in this case, Chiok). The female impersonator, clad in a long coat and tangkalung apron, and a man carrying the deceased’s bow and quiver with arrows accompanied the group (see photo). The photo shows baskets and bowls of millet and chickens as gifts.

Yaw (fn 08,112b): They collect, for example, millet or sprouted millet (for the kpaam ngabika of the following day). Only women give donations directly. A man may ask his wife to give his share.

Aduedem (2019: 23; revised): [According to Aduedem, these begging visits take place in Sandema on the first day, kpaama ngabika]. Then, they call the widow and ask her to go and beg for resources to perform the final funeral rites for her husband. This begging symbolises the dependence of the widow on the generosity of society [her own lineage?]. She could go to one house in the morning, one in the [early] afternoon and one in the late afternoon. In any of these three rounds, when she gets to a house, the men will give her zaa (millet) while the women could give her ingredients, shea nuts, etc. When she has taken enough rest after the third round, she goes to her san-yigma’s (link man’s, intermediary’s) house. He takes her to a diviner (baanoa) and divines for her. They will both return to the san-yigma’s house, and the san-yigma’s wife will prepare TZ [Buli saab, or millet porridge] for her to eat. The san-yigma then brings her back in the night, by which time they would have ground the kpaama (pito malt) [while] waiting for her to come, [after which] they put the malt flour (kpaam-zom) [in] water.

Azognab (2020: 50), information via Atombil Andoagelik of Sandema in 2018: [According to Azognab, these begging walks take place on the first day, the kpaama ngabika dai]. This [the first funeral day] is also the day the pikogi (widow) is made to go around the community to beg for food items such as millet, beans, groundnuts, and others if the deceased person was a married man.

Atuick (2020: 89): [On the first day,] the kuub juka rites normally start with a journey to the maternal uncle’s compound or the paternal compound of a deceased woman for two main reasons: to collect things for the performance of the final rites… The cheri-deiroa [imitator] must dress up in the deceased’s clothing and animal skin, carry his walking stick, etc., if he was a man or her basket and food stick if she was a woman [while following] the travelling team to the deceased’s compound. The travelling team to a deceased man’s maternal uncle’s compound usually includes children of the deceased, one or two of their kinsmen, the cheri-deiroa, and her female escort(s). The travelling team that goes to a deceased woman’s paternal compound includes her children, the san-yigma [her marriage intermediary], one or two kinsmen, the cheri-deiroa, and her female escort(s). As soon as they arrive at the compound, the cheri-deiroa continues her role as impersonator of the deceased…

While this is going on, the delegation enters the compound and sends for the elders to inform them about their mission. The leader of the delegation, speaking on behalf of the rest, exchanges pleasantries with the elders and says to them, ‘Your son (or daughter) wants to go home, and that is why I have come to inform you before giving him (or her) permission to go home and rest.’ After this, the delegation is fed and refreshed by the family before rising up to start their compound-to-compound rounds within the lineage [to collect] foodstuffs, especially millet and sorghum, as well as guinea fowl and other domesticated fowl that they can catch or kill. During this compound-to-compound journey, the delegation will visit every compound on the maternal side of a deceased man’s lineage (or the paternal side of a deceased woman’s lineage) [to collect] foodstuffs and birds. The cheri-deiroa, just like her late parent-in-law used to do, [may] play with any of her uncles by catching any livestock that belongs to him without any resistance. Hence, with the assistance of her team, she can catch and kill as many birds as she can, [provided] the birds are found in any of the compounds in the paternal lineage of the parent-in-law she is impersonating. After they have covered every compound within the lineage, collecting everything they need to collect, they will return to the original compound [that] the deceased is related to or hails from.

 

5.2.1 The first day: Kpaama ngabika dai (preparing malt)

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Wiaga-Mutuensa (fn 88,270–73; F.K. participated). The funeral was held for the following people:

1. a deceased diviner who was married to an Ashanti woman present,

2. Akandetuire, a daughter of Abasitemi Yeri (Badomsa) and who married in Mutuensa,

3. a woman from Atana Yeri (Chiok),

4. a woman from Wiaga-Yisobsa,

5. a ‘daughter of the house’ (yeri lie) who had not died in her husband’s house.

 

5.2.1.1 Elders in the kusung

Aduedem (2019: 22f): On the first day, every nisomoa and yeri nyono come to the house with millet (zaa) and the woman who ‘sat on the funeral’ (the presiding woman) comes to sit with the widow (jam kali wa ngaang – [meaning] ‘comes to sit behind her’). When the elders arrive, they sit in the kusung dok as usual with their zaa (millet). The [various types of] zaa are mixed together … and put into two traditional baskets (busiksa). The sons and other relatives provide tobacco (tabi), a fowl and an animal… which are taken [along] with some of the millet from the two baskets to the grave by the gravediggers for the vorup chiesika rituals [Aduedem: ‘chiesi means “to collect”, [referring] to the kobisa bringing millet’. For the rituals at the grave, see 5.2.3.17 and 5.3].

After that, they come to the compound, and the elders thank them. The elders will then call the presiding woman [the chelie or kuum zuk kaliba] to the kusung and give her some of the millet and kpaama (pito malt: germinated guinea corn grains used in the first stage of brewing pito [endnote 97]), [which is provided] by the sons [or other] relatives to grind for them ([the grinding of this millet symbolises the preparation of] pito for [the elders]). When she takes the zaa and the kpaama inside, the sons or other relatives add a good quantity of pito malt that would ostensibly be enough for the funeral celebration…[but] after she has entered, the elders share the rest of the zaa in the two baskets among themselves.

 

5.2.1.2 Brewing the millet beer and opening (announcing) the celebration

Women brew the pito; it is drunk on the last day when few are present.

Aduedem (2019: 23f): The san-yigma then brings her [the widow] in the night, by which time they would have ground the kpaama (pito malt) [whilst] waiting for her to come before they put the [malt] flour (kpaam-zom) [endnote 98] into water. When the kpaam-zom is kept in water, they announce [the funeral] by shouting: ‘Ba pa baan yuni yooo’ (‘they have taken the diviner’s bag’). This announcement is proclaimed from one house to the next. Then, every relative (especially the sons) will start preparing their pito for the fourth day.

Atuick (2020: 90): Following their return, they must buy or make fermented millet malt [to brew] the kpaam-tiok [pito brewed especially for Juka purposes] to be used for the commencement of the Juka rites. After the malt has been ground in readiness for the brewing of the kpaam-tiok and the date is set for the start of the final rites, a messenger – usually any male kinsman or a san-yigma – is sent to the paternal compound of the deceased man’s mother or that of the deceased woman to invite them to come and join them. [In cases where] the deceased was a man, men from the maternal uncle’s compound may choose to arrive the next day to [drink] the kpaam-tiok or wait until the third day [of] the rites to join them.

 

5.2.1.3 Guests sleep in the funeral house until the end of the Juka celebration

Aduedem (2019: 24): People start to sleep at the funeral house from that day on (gua kusung).

Azognab (2020: 48): It must be stated that during both the burial and the dry funeral rituals, the men of the community are expected to sleep outside by the funeral house each night as a custom.

 

5.2.2 The second day: Nyaata soka dai or jueta [or juem] soka dai (the ‘day of the bath’)

5.2.2.1 Welcoming guests and holding speeches (in the afternoon)

5.2.2.2 Preparation of the widows

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Wiaga-Mutuensa: There were ten widows (eight from Ajuzong Yeri and two from a neighbouring house in Akabere Yeri?). They either wore leaves at the front and back (often from the nim tree) or leaves at the front and a red fibre apron (vaata; see photo) at the back. In the evening, water was boiled in samoansa pots at the tampoi. A liik (for cold water?), chengsa, and kpalabsa were also used.

 

 

5.2.2.3 Shaving and bathing widows (not observed)

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa (fn 88,270): The widows in leafy clothes were doused with hot water from calabashes, one after the other, according to their ages – first their heads, then their bodies.

I was told that the jom-suiroa woman smeared the widows’ bodies thickly with shea butter to protect them from the hot water. A widow being burnt proves that she was unfaithful to her deceased husband.

The women watching applauded by ululating (in Buli: wuuling or weeling). The following day, there were still large pots (samoansa) as well as a chengsa, kpalabsa, and a liik lying at the tampoi. These had been used for bathing the widows (see photo).

 

Asiuk’s Juka funeral (fn 94,15a): According to information from Danlardy Leander, water was boiled on the evening of 8 July 1994. The eight widows of Asiuk appeared in leafy costumes. Their bodies were smeared thickly with solid shea butter. Then, the oldest widow squatted at the tampoi, and hot water was poured over her head with a calabash and then over her body. Some women ululated (wuliing). After each of the eight widows had been bathed one at a time, they were led back to their courtyards.

Juka funeral at Anyenangdu Yeri (fn 06,Bf 1a); information from Agoabe (in a letter dated 24 May 2007): The widows’ bath was held at the tampoi. Afulang from Atuiri Yeri and Akanpigma from Adum Yeri organized it. A gaasika was performed before the bath.

Aduedem (2019: 24) (cf. 2020: 55): Towards late evening, a woman [places] water in a clay pot on [a] fire by the rubbish heap (tampoi) outside the house. The widow, surrounded by [other] women, is brought out to sit by the tampoi [as well]. Any widower (whose wife’s final funeral rites have been performed) is called upon, and he comes to shave the widow. When the water (now called juom) starts boiling by night, the women ululate (nag weliing) in jubilation for the water boiling. There is joy because the boiling water [proves that] there is no issue – for when there is a problem, the water will never boil until the issue is [identified through divination] and solved. When the water is boiling, the juem suoroa, a woman traditionally ‘trained’ for that ritual [endnote 99] fetches some of it into a chari [endnote 100], pours some quantity of cold water into it, and bathes the widow, [who is] surrounded by women to form a [human] wall. The widow is smeared with shea butter and daluk, ‘red clay paint’ (laterite [clay] used for ritual painting of the body, e.g., at a funeral… [endnote 101]), before bathing her with the hot water. This ritual bathing is called nyaata soka or juem soka (water bathing) [and is the source of the name (nyaata soka dai) for the second day of the celebration]. It is believed that ‘if the woman is innocent about the death of [her] husband, the hot water will never burn her’.

F.K.: A second head-shaving takes place towards the end of the Juka funerals. See 52.4.8.

Atuick (2020: 90f): The next day is reserved for the widowhood rites, during which wives of the deceased are made to undergo a ritual cleansing bath. From the onset of the funeral rites, wives of the deceased are confined to a room where only a juenseiroa [Aduedem: juem suoroa; woman appointed to care for widows and oversee the performance of their widowhood rites during funerals] has access to them. Only old widows living in a different compound who have not slept with a man since their deceased husband’s funeral rites were completed are qualified to play the role of juenseiroa. The widows cannot eat or touch anything associated with the performance of their husbands’ funerals until they undergo the ritual bath in the evening of the penultimate day of the Juka rites. As a result, only the juenseiroa provides food and water for the widows pending the completion of the ritual to prove that they have not betrayed their late husband by having sex with another man. One of the juenseiroa’s key roles is to prevent men of the compound from getting close enough to be able to touch the widows, which would result in forcing such “contaminated” widows to choose the men who touched them as husbands after the rites.

Early in the morning, the san-yigma who performed the marriage rites [for] each wife must go into the bush with the juenseiroa to harvest leaves for the widows to cover their nakedness before undergoing the ritual bath. After putting on the leaves with ropes around their waists, solid shea butter is smeared all over the bodies of the widows, after which boiling water is poured on each of them three times. It is believed that the hot water will only burn women who have not maintained their purity after the death of their husbands. From my observation, the thick shea butter protects widows from any serious burns from the hot water because [it] is impervious to water. [Therefore], as soon as the hot water is poured on the bodies of widows, it runs down quickly due to the shea butter smeared on their bodies and [thus] does not cause any serious burns.

Azognab (2020: 51–53): As part of the widowhood rites, during the Kuub Juka (wet funeral), the widow is led through the main gate to the back of the house by other women, where she will have the first ritual bath known as the gmanyaksoka [ngmanyak soka]… The gmanyak is identified among the Bulsa [as being conducted] for purification purposes. In the Juka celebration of the funeral, further purification rites for the widow are the zukponika (shaving of the hair) and nyaata soka or jiuam soka (ritual bathing), as explained earlier. I observed that both the shaving and the bathing are done [on] the night of the nyaata soka dai. The rituals take place outside, in front of the house, at the family’s tampoi (ash heap or compost heap), where all the refuse of the household is dumped. In the early part of the evening, the widow is brought out through the main gate of the house, again, with only the vaata (leaves of the shea butter tree or other trees tied together) around her waist and a string tied around her head for the shaving and bathing on the ash heap or compost heap. She is seated at the ash heap or compost heap and is surrounded by a group of women, and while the shaving and the bathing are going on, these women ululate. The [ululation] by the kolieba (married women in the community who hail from the same area as the widow who was married there) [encourages] the widow to bear the heat of the boiled water and [praises] her for her fidelity. This is because the Bulsa [believe] that if the widow stayed morally pure during the widowhood, the water [would] boil easily and that, no matter how hot the water is, [she would] not feel the heat. In other words, the Bulsa believe that if the widow [was] faithful to her husband, the water would not burn her, but if not, she would feel the pain from the hot water. So, the ritual bathing is also a test of the widow’s fidelity. In the ritual process, the widow’s hair is shaved first, [and] then she bathes with warm water boiled in the herbs – [actually, this] boiled water is poured on her; it is done in the full glare of everybody. [Women] form a queue [or wall] around her. Formerly, the widow used to bathe completely naked, but these days, [widows] are often permitted to bathe [while wearing undergarments]. She bathes with really boiling water…

According to the traditional beliefs of the people of Buluk, under no circumstances should a [widow] refuse to go through the ritual during the funeral of her spouse. Unless [a] widow goes through the ritual, she is considered unclean. In the olden days, a spouse was banished from her husband’s home if she refused to go through the widowhood rites. The widowhood rites among the Bulsa can be very humiliating. [Although] they are meant [to ensure] the spiritual separation of the widow from [her] deceased husband and [her] incorporation into society, [such widowhood rituals call] for modification to make [them] more humane and acceptable in contemporary times.

 

5.2.2.4 Meal of the widow(er)s at the tampoi

Aduedem (2019: 25): After bathing, the juem suoroa prepares TZ and bogta soup with mudfish for the widow, still by the tampoi. She eats that food alone, but any woman whose husband is late and the final funeral rites have been performed can eat that food [as well].

 

5.2.2.5 Taking the widows to their living quarters

Aduedem (2019: 25): When she has finished eating, the rituals for that day come to an end, and the widow is led inside. She will rub her back against the dalong before [entering] the room to lie down.

According to some information, a widow can choose a husband immediately after undergoing the bath.

 

5.2.2.6 Biisa lika (closing the female breasts)

Anyiini (an unmarried woman from Anyenangdu Yeri), 1997: If an older married woman has died, her daughters of childbearing age bring a samoaning to the house of mourning. If this ritual is omitted, the milk in the breasts of the childbearing daughter would ‘leak out’ or the breasts would be covered with boils (?).

 

5.2.2.7 The poali leather arm ring with medicine

Anyiini (Anyenangdu Yeri): On the second day of the Juka, many participants put on a poali leather arm ring with medicine. Some regard it as juju, others ‘just for fun’. This custom exists throughout Bulsaland.

 

5.2.2.8 Vie cheesika

Azognab (2020: 50; information provided by Atombil Andoagelik of Sandema in 2018): In addition [to the widows’ bath], on this [second] day, every household in the community is expected to bring a basket of millet or sorghum to the funeral house to be shared. This is called vei [vie] cheesika ([literally meaning] ‘contributing to the grave’). Although the millet and sorghum are shared among the elders and the undertakers, it is believed they are for the deceased person as part of preparing him or her for the journey to kpilung (the land of the living dead).

 

5.2.3 The third day: Sira manika dai (the day of millet porridge preparation) is also called lok tulimka dai or lokta juka dai (the day of burning the quiver) or – at a woman’s funeral – puuta dai (the day of puuk pots)

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa: I [F.K.] arrived at the compound with my assistant, Danlardy Leander, at 5.45 a.m. on 27 April 1989.

 

5.2.3.1 Kpagluk sacrifice (Cf. kpagluk of the Kumsa celebration, 4.2.2.1)

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Wiaga-Mutuensa (fn 88,270b): At 4 a.m., about 40 chickens and two rams were killed, and their heads were cut off completely. Their blood flowed onto bows, arrows, and quivers (not seen). The arriving guests brought chickens as gifts for the deceased man. The fowl were immediately killed at the left side of the entrance to the compound. Their feathers were stuck to the wall; the de-feathered chickens were immediately roasted over the fire. Behind the house, sacrifices to the deceased woman were made.

 

5.2.3.2 Skin bag oracle

Ajuzong Yeri, Wiaga-Mutuensa (fn 88,270b): At around 8 a.m., a skin bag (bunlok) was opened. Millet grains and liquid shea oil had been poured into this bag the previous day. If the oil had hardened, it would be a bad sign – for example, a mistake was made at the funeral celebration, or one of the participants would soon die. In this case, however, the oil remained liquid.

 

5.2.3.3 Zong-zuk-cheka: Musicians on the flat roof (cf. 4.2.1.10 on Kumsa dai)

At the Juka funeral of Asiuk, Musicians played three ginggaung (cylinder drums), one namuning (horn trumpet), one sinleng (double bell), and one wiik (flute) on the flat roof.

U. Blanc (2000: 223): The drumming on the flat roof at dawn signals the beginning of the [Juka] ritual.

(p. 221): The kobisa of the deceased are responsible for the musical performance.

 

5.2.3.4 Preparation of the meal and its distribution (also for offerings to the quiver)

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa (fn 88,272a): While it was still dark in the early morning, the widows prepared the millet porridge to be sacrificed to the quiver. At 9 a.m., neighbouring women had prepared the millet porridge with fish (jum-goalik) and yams and brought it in a procession to the house of mourning.

Later, about 20 kpalabsa-bowls with white or reddish millet porridge (from zamonta), and about 20 chengsa with sauce (see photo), and many calabashes with fish, yams, bumbota (edible tubers from the bush), koosa (bean cakes) and suma (round beans) were placed behind the granary (bui) in the cattle yard.

The food prepared for visitors from other sections was distributed. Only half and full orphans from a section were allowed to eat part of it. The names of the sections were called out one after the other, and each section representative could choose a dish. However, one black calabash was reserved for the sacrifices to the bow and quiver and for the elders. Some ‘impertinent’ guests took fish or meat from another dish in addition to their own. They might have been reprimanded but could not be prevented from taking this additional food. We were also offered food in the dabiak.

Juka funeral of Asiuk (fn 94:14b): Over 20 bowls of millet porridge (mostly in chari bowls) and over 15 calabashes of chicken, guinea fowl, or fish were ready to be eaten. Some of the millet porridge was served with kamsa bean cakes. In general, yams must always be among the dishes served at such meals, but they may only be prepared by close relatives (daughters or widows of the deceased). All the prepared food was taken to the chief’s mother’s quarters and placed at the entrance to her room.

Speeches were held. Bowls of millet porridge were also placed in the quarters of Agoldem (Asiuk’s eldest living brother) and almost all the other courtyards. These bowls had been brought from other compounds. There was a red mass (of kamsa?) on one bowl.

Many people kept arriving with gifts (e.g., chickens, guinea fowl). They were obliged to give everything to Agoldem, Asiuk’s brother. A delegation from the Sandemnaab had also arrived.

Godfrey Achaw (fn 73,48b): The food is prepared in the room of the dead man and spread out in bowls in the courtyard: millet porridge, guinea fowl meat, chicken meat, meat from bush animals, dried meat, bean cakes, etc. Neighbouring women help with the preparation as needed. The chief mourner tells the women to [whom they should] give the food by pointing to them.

Yaw, 27 January 2006 (fn 06,6b): Millet porridge is also called lokta sira (‘quiver’s millet porridge’).

Aduedem (2019: 25): On this day, they cook Bambara beans, yams, cakes (kamsa), jollof rice, [and] bumbota (Tacca Leontopetaloides [endnote 102]), and an animal may be killed for the TZ. When the kobisa [return] on this day, each comes with TZ. By the evening, the TZ they prepared in the house is served in several earthenware bowls, including one very big one. TZ in a big earthenware bowl with a cake on top of the TZ is sent to the kusung dok for the elders, and another TZ and cake is given to the san-yigma of the widow for his toils. The yam is arranged around the TZ in a big chari [which will be given to the kobiik kpieng, the head of the kobisa], and the rice and some bumbota [are placed] on top of the TZ. Now, taking a chin sobli [endnote 103], they put a number of mudfish, the Bambara beans, and rice inside it. Then all the TZ is arranged in the courtyard (dabiak) with the TZ in the big chari together with [the] pots of pito. Then, the elders in the kusung are called in and told that these are the TZs, [and] they should use them to perform their funeral. The elders pick four bowls of the TZ with some pots of pito and give them out to be kept in the kitchen (gbalong/gbanlong). Then, they give one bowl of TZ to the [deceased’s] siblings (if any). After that, they ask everyone to snatch (chiak) the rest of the food.

Danlardy Leander, 17 April 1996 (fn 94,87b): Kamsa bean cakes are distributed (individually?) to relatives, neighbours, and friends.

Azognab (2020: 50; information provided by Akaalie Aginteby of Sandema in 2018): Every household among the kobisa (the family lineage) in the community) is expected to bring at least one kpalabk (a local ceramic bowl) of saab (millet porridge) with soup and either fish or guinea fowl meat in the evening of the sira manika dai to the funeral house. All this food, together with the one prepared in the funeral house, is presented and kept open in the courtyard where the funeral takes place. This is described as sira zaaka (‘the placing of millet porridge’). After a speech has been delivered by the kpagi (lineage head), the food is shared among the community members.

James Agalic, master’s thesis (fn 88,4a): Cooked food is brought to the deceased’s house by the kobisa. It is placed in the yard of the deceased. Nobody may enter this yard because the ancestors eat there from the food. After the lok cheka, the food is shared. The arrows are distributed among the sons of the deceased.

 

5.2.3.5 Parik kaabka, the sacrifice to the compound wall by men

Aduedem (2019: 25f): When the chiaka is over, the nisomba [elders] take their four bowls of TZ (kept in the gbanlong) and go to put them by the bui (barn) in the kraal (nankpieng) without uttering a word. Then they take the four bowls of TZ [back] outside and put them by the parik [compound wall]. Then, they call the kobisa to perform their sacrifice for them. Two of them get up and wash their hands with water. Then, fetching all the food items brought out plus bogta soup (prepared by the widow) into their left hands in the form of a mixture, they smear that on the parik while mentioning the name of the deceased, saying: ‘Fi ngandiinta ni nna, nuru bi mwan ka’ ([literally meaning] ‘this is your food; be aware there is no one [food?] again’). This ritual is done three times. Taking some pito, they pour it on the smeared food on the parik, saying: ‘This is your drink; there is no one [pito? person?] again’ … After that, they wash their hands. The rest of the food is eaten.

(p. 30): The sons also provide a fowl for the elders, and those responsible for sacrificing the wall use it to sacrifice to the wall again. As they smear the blood on the wall, they say: ‘That is all; there is no funeral in this house again [any longer]’, and children take it [the chicken] and roast [it].

 

5.2.3.6 Sacrifices to the bows and quiver

Note: Is this the kpagluk sacrifice described in 5.2.3.1?

Juka Funeral of Asiuk (fn 94:15a): At around 4 p.m., Asiuk’s quiver was brought from his mother’s room into the dabiak, and a chicken and then a sheep were killed over it. The dead sheep was thrown over the compound wall to the outside. The gravediggers (vayaasa) went out and skinned the sheep that was given to them, but everyone could eat it.

Juka at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa: At around 4 p.m., about 40 chickens and two sheep were killed for the dead man’s bow, quiver, and arrows. The heads of the chickens were cut off completely. The dead sheep was thrown over the outer wall. The gravediggers went out and cut up the sheep. Its meat was for themselves, but everyone could eat it.

Aduedem (2019: 26): In the dabiak, the sons or other relatives provide a cock and a male animal (either a billy goat or a ram), and the log and tom (quiver and bow) of the deceased are brought. White untwisted fibre (bok pieluk) is used to tie the quiver and the bow together. The cock and the animal are sacrificed to the quiver. While sacrificing, mention is made, ‘Your sons are giving you these [animals].’ Only those whose fathers are late and their final funeral rites [have been] performed can eat the meat (that is sacrificed to the log). The cock is roasted outside, but only the liver and a piece of meat from the skinned ram’s forelimb (bogi) are roasted with the fowl. The presiding woman grinds salt and adds shea butter to it in a chin-sobili [black calabash]. The roasted meat is kept in the chin-sobili with salt and shea butter. [It] is used to sacrifice to the log again. (Anytime they are sacrificing to the log, they say ‘ngua fi nganta, nuri bi mwang ka’: ‘receive and be aware there is no person left’ [endnote 104]). After that, they use some pito and pour a libation on the log. They can then … chop their roasted meat while [it] is kept in the animal’s skin. When they have finished, they hang a [branch] of the damburing tree on the gbong, [which is] a ‘flat roof of [a] house, [a] raised platform (on top of a house’ [endnote 105]). The log is then carried by the two gravediggers (each holding one side of the log) and [hung] with the damburing on the gbong. Then, [they] leave for the kusung (outside).

 

5.2.3.7 Preparations for burning the quivers and other weapons

Juka funeral of Asiuk (fn 94,15a), 10 July 1994: On the fourth day two gravediggers carried the quiver like a mat from the dabiak to a flat-roofed house in the courtyard… The two gravediggers who later burned the quiver fetched it from the roof and brought it to the room of the chief’s mother, where they discussed the procedure for the following activities. Apart from them, only orphans were allowed to enter the room (e.g. not Danlardy, as his mother was still alive; I would have been allowed to enter).

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa (88,272a+b), 27 April 1989: A dambuuring branch with a light-coloured fibre was lying in the middle of the dabiak. The wood was used to burn the bow and quiver. Next to it, by the grave, there lay a bundle of loose mat stalks (see photo). In the dalong, men (gravediggers?) prepared a bundle with a quiver and bow. All the children were driven away. Someone fetched a very small, bloodlessly killed chicken and threw it over the nanggaang wall.

 

Danlardy Leander, 18 March 1996: There are branches of the dambuuring tree (Gardenia erubescens?) on the quiver.

Godfrey Achaw (fn 73,49b): Bows and arrows are chopped into many small pieces at night. Children, old women, and people who cannot keep secrets may not be present (Godfrey was also always forbidden). The elder who chopped up the bow sacrificed a goat. All people with at least one parent still living may not eat the meat.

 

5.2.3.8 Sacrifice to the quiver in the dalong

Aduedem (2019: 27): Those two gravediggers who performed the log ritual enter [the compound] again, and after removing the log from the gbong, they send it inside the dalong [ancestors’ room]. In there, they collect mwiena (ngmiena, straws of elephant grass), spread them [out] and put the log on them, and the mwiena are rolled around the log and tied with bog pielung [white fibre]. Another man comes into the dalong, sits [down] by the entrance and blows whistles while the daughter-in-law (if her father is dead and his final funeral rites were performed; otherwise, a different woman steps in for her at this time) uses mwiena again [and] lights [a] fire, and that fire brightens the room for the rituals in the dalong. The TZ, yam, rice, cake (kuosa, koosa), bumbota, etc., that are prepared (the second time) are used to sacrifice to the log [quiver] in the dalong. Let it be noted that no one whose father is alive or dead but whose final funeral rites are not yet performed is allowed to see the log kaabka (the sacrifice on the log). Again, as the food is cut and put on the log, the [phrase] ‘nuri mwan [ngman] ka nuri mwan ka’ [‘the man is no longer there…’] is repeated.

5.2.3.9 Carrying out the weapons

Juka funeral of Asiuk (fn 94.15b, under day 4): Gravediggers carried the weapons over their shoulders like a stretcher out of the (discussion) room and the compound. Men in everyday clothes danced a kind of war dance with sticks. As this was the last farewell to the dead man, the women wept.

Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa (fn 88,272b): After 9 a.m., two men carried out a bundle wrapped with a bright kazagsa fibre containing about ten quivers with arrows and ten bows. The bundle was wrapped with a light-coloured kazagsa fibre. Some weeping women followed the quiver (see photo). This was the final farewell to the dead.

Aduedem (2019: 27): When the sacrifice is finished, two people carry the log out while someone remains in the dalong watching the leftover food. As the two people move out with the log, the relatives of the deceased follow, mourning and wailing.

 

5.2.3.10 Chopping up and burning the weapons (lokta juka)

Chopping up a bow in Ajuzong YeriUpon the burning of the weapons, the soul of the deceased moves into a localised realm of the dead. For the Atuga-bisa, who constitute the largest group among the Bulsa, this realm is called

Ajiroa and is located near Chana. According to U. Blanc, the burned or broken things (weapons and pots) were returned to the dead via their destruction.

Juka funeral of Asiuk: The quiver that had been chopped up into small pieces (lok cheka) with an axe (liak) near the chief’s bui in the cattle yard was burnt. Greetings in the kusung followed the burning of the chopped-up quiver.

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa (fn 88,272a+b): The gravediggers carried quivers and bows, some of which had traces of blood, behind the tampoi. There, they untied the kazagsa string and smashed the quivers with the back of an axe. They cut the bows in half with the axe blade on a wooden base (see photo). All parts of the chopped bows were burnt completely. As a reward for their work, the widows gave each gravedigger a calabash of fish.

Ayomo Ayuali (fn 1994,50): His grandfather had two quivers. The quiver burnt at the Juka funeral was never used except for war dances and was made in advance for the funeral; Ayomo still used the second quiver for war dances. The bow of Ayomo’s FF was not in the compound, only that of his father (reasons?).

Danlardy Leander, 17 April 1996 (fn 94,87*): Anyenangdu also had two quivers; only one was burnt at the Juka.

Yaw (fn 97,38b): The quiver is turned around once before burning (tulim). This is why the day is also called lok tulimka dai. The burning always happens at the na-vuuk (cattle drift) in front of the compound. Before the destruction, a chicken and a guinea fowl are killed together over the quivers and ceramic pots. Two men hold the chicken, and a third cuts it in half (not at the neck!) with a knife. Many people are disgusted by this cruel (wicked) way of killing a chicken. They run away or look away; those who watch may become blind. The name of the ritual is bantika (‘to say goodbye’). Cf. kpiak gebika: 3.4.1.2 and 3.7.2.1 (ngarika).

Aduedem (2019: 27f): When they get to the kraal, they put the log by the bui and cut it (the log) [and] the dambuuring into pieces, and the woman who set the fire in the dalong brings that fire, [which] is used to set the pieces of the log on fire [endnote 106]. It is only at this point of burning the quiver (log) and bow (tom) – or, in the case of a woman, the destruction of the puuk – that the soul of the dead is released and can now properly enter the land of the dead [endnote 107]. These rituals of destruction evoke strong emotional outbursts [from] close relatives because only then have they finally lost their relatives [endnote 108].

When the fire is dying down, the two gravediggers tell the sons of the deceased to put out the fire [that is] burning their father’s quiver. The sons bring a pot of pito and a hoe blade, [which] are put aside. The daughter-in-law (or the woman who stepped in for her, depending on whether her father is alive) who set the fire in the dalong also brings another pot of pito and water. The two gravediggers pour her pito and the water into a calabash. [Using their left hands, all those in the kraal] fetch the contents (pito and water) in the calabash and wash their faces (to wipe away the tears from the crying) while moving around the burning quiver. The rest of that pito is poured on the fire, and the hoe blade is thrown into it (the fire – or perhaps ashes by then), saying they are quenching the fire [that is] burning their father’s quiver.

J. Agalic, master’s thesis (fn 88,4a): The eldest son performs the lok cheka. After that, the food is shared. The arrows are distributed among the sons of the deceased.

U. Blanc (2000: 222): At the Juka for a man, the quiver, bow, and arrows are broken and burnt.

 

5.2.3.11 Destruction of pots in front of the compound

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa (fn 88,272b): Women brought a bimbili pot and one (or two?) calabash(es) out of the compound to the place where the gravediggers had destroyed the quivers. All the vessels were smashed to the ground. This ritual was performed on the men’s side of the compound for women who, as ‘daughters of the house’ (yeri lieba), did not die in a foreign compound (see photo).

 

5.2.3.12 War dance in everyday clothes and ‘first storming’ of the tampoi

Juka funeral of Asiuk (according to information from Danlardy Leander): While the quivers were being carried out of the compound, young men in everyday clothes danced a war dance with simple sticks. After carrying the quivers out, they all stormed the rubbish heap (tampoi) three [?] times.

Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa (fn 88,272b): Even before burning the weapons was completed, a boy of about 15 years ran around the compound with a zangi forked post. He was followed by boys and girls shouting wildly. They carried sticks, zanga (forked posts), and dalta (rafters). Then, one boy hurried up the high tampoi, and all the others followed him. In this way, the tampoi was “stormed” several times. Girls also formed themselves into war dance groups and paraded around the house several times. The groups displayed ritualised, aggressive attitudes towards guests (including F.K.) by running towards them threateningly and then leaving them again.

 

 

Aduedem (2019: 28): As the fire is burning, the sons of the deceased continue wailing and performing a war dance (lielik) since [while?] the fire is burning their father’s quiver. This fire burning is also viewed [as] a natural fire disaster, [which] is why they perform the war dance: [it is] a sign of their readiness to rescue their father’s quiver.

Atuick (2020: 91): …(Atuick: Fourth day). All who consider themselves children of the deceased man, including the cheri-deiroa, perform a war dancing over the remains of the louk.

 

5.2.3.13 Burning of the mat stalks

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa (fn 88,272a+b): In the house, a small fire was still burning in the dalong. The stalks of the mat that had been lying loose in the courtyard next to the dead man’s grave all morning were burnt there (see also 5.2.3.8).

 

5.2.3.14 Puuta mobika or puuta cheka (destroying the puuk pots)

Juka funeral at Ajuzong Yeri, Mutuensa, (fn 88,273a): At around 11 a.m., on the main road leading to Yisobsa, Chiok and Badomsa, the destruction rituals for the pots of the women who died as wives in the mourning house took place.

 

 

11 a.m.: Three women (from Yisobsa, Chiok and Badomsa) brought two double calabashes (base calabash bowl and lid) that were tied with white kazagsa fibres to the path for the deceased woman from Yisobsa. Before opening the lacing, the woman from Yisobsa knocked four times on the upper calabash. Inside the calabash was a kpaam-kabook (clay pot for shea butter, here with a square lid, see photos). Some informants call the vessel puuk, whereas puuk usually means a knobbed pot. The women broke the lower calabashes (partly with their feet) on the path and brought the intact lids back into the compound.

11.35 a.m.: The same women destroyed the vessels for the deceased woman from Atana Yeri (Chiok), a little behind the first destruction site. The kpaam-kabook contained foods like dried chicken meat or dried fish. The empty clay pot was thrown to the ground with a swing from a height of about half a metre, and broke it. The intact, smaller calabash with the food from the kabook was carried back into the house.

Various forms of kpaam-kabook (puuk)

12 p.m. (fn 88,273b): The same ritual was performed for the woman from Badomsa. Here, too, a woman tapped the calabash four times before she opened it. The clay pot held no contents. This time, a woman knocked it on the ground. The same happened with the larger calabash, from which only one piece broke out. The pot rituals (puuta mobika) were completed at 12.20 p.m.

Ayoling Yeri, Wiaga-Badomsa (fn 88,197b); the Juka was only observed from Asik Yeri on 28 January 1989: Anurka’s younger brother Abarimi died exactly five days after Leander. A woman carried out the puuta mobika. There were several large pots between the two kusungta.

Awaribe Yeri (the rain god’s house, Kobdem, my observation and information from Baba in Sandema-Kobdem, fn 1984,27a+b): At the back of the compound, ten clay pots were stacked in two sets of five each. From bottom to top, the vessels were stacked as follows: samoaning, bimbili, kpalabik, kaam-soluk, and cheng. The upper two pots had fallen from the left pile, but no one was allowed to touch the pots (to replace them) except gravediggers (vayaasa) or a widower whose wife’s funeral had already been held. The pots belonged to Atinpilie (my watchman’s wife), whose funeral was brought from the neighbouring house. The second wife was Apoaliba, the mother of the yeri nyono. Only she had lived in the dok (room) located by the outer wall where the pots stood. The pots were only part of the women’s household goods; the other pots were still used in the house. In the puuk ritual of the Juka funeral, the pots will be held by four women and taken to the path leading to each woman’s parental home (in this case, Kandem and Wiaga). They will release (one?) pot at a time. If it does not break on the way, it is a bad sign – for example, something has been done wrong, or the dead woman is angry because something has been forgotten. The shards will be pushed aside; they no longer have any meaning. Calabashes will also be destroyed with hands or feet along the way.

Atoaling Anueka and my observation (fn 84,0b, also 84,23a): In Anueka-Yeri (Sandema-Yongsa), I observed three stacked samoaning pots in the cattle yard by the outer wall belonging to Abiako’s wife (Anueka’s mother). They were supposed to be outside the compound by the outer wall, but the wall had collapsed. The pots would be destroyed during the woman’s Juka funeral. In contrast to Kobdem, there was no ban on touching them here.

Margaret Arnheim (Gbedema) 1978ff (fn M5b+34a): Several pots are broken on the footpath to the deceased woman’s parental compound. They are not typical cooking pots.

Agoabe (Anamogsi’s son) on the Juka (of an unknown individual) in Anyenangdu Yeri: Destructions took place on the seventh day (with this counting probably including the rest days). Esi and Achiilie (married to Anamogsi’s sons) broke the calabashes and pots that the dead women had used during their lifetime. Some of the vessels had been given to them by daughters-in-law. The calabashes and clay pots are called senlengsa (‘double bells’).

Yaw (fn 97,38b): According to Yaw, a knobbed pot (puuk) is destroyed.

Danlardy Leander (fn 97,61b*): Only the pots of older married women are destroyed, not those of young women.

Sandford from Kadema-Kpikpoluk (fn 73,161b): At the funeral of a woman who has borne children, a knobbed pot is broken at the intersection of important footpaths. The shards remain there. A new knobbed pot is provided with leaves and roots; it later receives sacrifices.

U. Blanc (2000: 222): Women from the dead woman’s section of origin break their pots on the way to their parents’ compound.

Atuick (2020: 91): However, the Juka rites of a woman are much more complex, with the cheri-deiroa playing an influential role. In this case, women from the paternal home of the deceased mother-in-law must arrive [during] the evening of the third day of the [Juka] rites. They usually come along with their own puuk [a ball-like ceramic vessel with a lid that symbolises a woman’s womb during funeral performances] to participate in the rites. [As a group,] the wives in the compound … must acquire a puuk for the rites to commence. The cheri-deiroa must also acquire a puuk for the rites. The next morning, on the fourth and final day of the rites, the visiting women will take their puuk to the san-yigma’s compound to hand it over to him and ask him to help them present it to the husbands of their sister(s). The san-yigma then leads them to the compound where the deceased lived, exchanges pleasantries with the elders, and hands over the puuk to them after making the following statement: ‘As our daughter is preparing to go home, this is something that belongs to her that we have brought for her to take along with her.’ The family collects it, after which some women from the compound sponsoring the funeral go to the compound of the san-yigma with their own puuk, flour, and meat from both the animal killed and a guinea fowl [to use in] the saab for the performance of the rites. They prepare the saab there and place it in clay bowls before carrying the food and the puuk towards the funeral house. Before they get to the funeral house, they wait at a distance from the compound.

(p. 92) The following day, all three puusa [plural of puuk] are taken back to the same spot where the women met the previous day and broken into pieces, except for the puuk provided by women of the deceased person’s compound, which is handed over to the cheri-deiroa for keeping. Thus, the puuk provided by the women from the deceased’s paternal home and the one provided by the cheri-deiroa are both destroyed, but the one from the wives from the compound sponsoring the funeral is presented by the chilie to the cheri-deiroa as an inheritance from her deceased mother-in-law. [As] the eldest son’s wife, the cheri-deiroa receives this puuk as the rightful inheritor of the deceased’s household and property, and she is expected to keep it until her own demise.

 

5.2.3.15 Dancing on the potsherds

Margaret Arnheim (Gbedema): Only people from her own section will dance on the potsherds. The impersonator of the Juka funeral is also present at the potsherd dance. Margaret was potentially able to dance at this ritual in the Gbedema Chief’s compound.

 

5.2.3.16 Production of a fine, light-coloured powder