Gods (kemwinkemwin) market: Ritual items

everywhere!
Skulls, ancient cowries, even tortoise
By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin-City
Relics of normal life in time past are much sought after in sacrificial preparations. Some of these
objects and materials, to the uninitiated, are very hard to come by. To the uninitiated, seeing a
tortoise could probably be at the zoo, but for those who indulge in sacrificial practices, they
know where exactly to go, they know the right market and they know the right people to call on.
The traditional Oliha and Ekiosa markets in Benin City are the right places to go if one needs
those rare animals, native chalks, coins and several other materials which have spent over two
hundred years. Feathers of rare birds like ostrich, sparrow and even vulture, all of which have
different connotations, as investigations revealed, you can get in these markets also.
Things that were hitherto used as means of exchange in the days of old including cowries have
now become ingredients of sacrificial preparations. Invariably, earthen pots serve as vessel for
the preparations. Earthen pots are still very popular in Benin because they keep food steamy.
Local restaurants serve delicacies like black soup, banga soup or even pepper soup in earthen
pots. Whereas earthen pots play major role in the preparation of several sacrifices performed by
traditionalists, these sacrifices are kept mainly in junctions because they believe that many legs
cross such places.
The practice continues among Binis, according to a resident. The practice is still very relevant
here, basically, because we love our tradition which includes sacrifices, he boasted. There was a
time Bishop Margaret Idahosa of Church of God Mission was asked to comment on the
proliferation of churches in Benin City, and she said, Is it not better we have that than the usual
sacrifices we see in the streets?

Madam Christianah Oliha I am a juju worshipper

Investigations revealed some of the reasons people resort to the agelong practice of sacrifice
include protection, search for luck, down turn in circumstance. Others do it to seek the face of
the gods against conditions such as bareness, stagnation or to even ward off evil or unpalatable
situations. On a collective note, individuals or groups gather to make sacrifice like in cases of
annual festivals such as the Igue festival in Benin Kingdom or other customary or periodic ones.
Some of these sacrifices are believed to be capable of appeasing the ancestors or the gods of the
land. In other instances, sacrifices have been made to bring or stop rain depending on the
situation.
Situations have been seen in the past where celebrants who have invested heavily in coming
ceremonies including burial, birthday parties, call traditionalists to offer sacrifice to avert rain
during the occasions. In such instances, curious observers can see at a corner of a big party or
event people making wood fire and pouring palm oil and local gin to seek the face of the gods
and avert rain. We have the Osun Oshogbo festival in Osun State, the Olokun festival in the
South-west and even in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, which all serve as pointer that people are still
enmeshed in sacrificial offerings, if not obligations. Elsewhere people sacrifice to deities which
they connect to, including Ogun, Olokun,Yemoja, all of which investigations showed still have
active priests watching as gatemen in their (the gods) continuous existence.
To further buttress the import of these deities and sacrifices in Benin Kingdom and even other
parts of the country, the people of Ikhuenebo in Uhumwonde Local Government Area of Edo
State, recently, vowed never to cede any of their shrines to the people of Iguomo. Iguomo had
claimed that the land, where over twenty shrines are located in Ikhuenebo community, belongs to
them. The chief priest of Ikhuenobo, Chief Enawakponmwhem Aighobahi, who took Sunday
Vanguard round the shrines, said they will rather die than give up the shrines.
He narrated, Our shrines were founded by Oba Ewuare the Great who led Benin Kingdom from
1440-1473. Where I am standing now, Oba Ewuare is the founder of this Okwuainebenaka
shrine. This shrine is number two in the hierarchy of all Okwaihe in Ikwe. We have been here

since over one thousand years ago, we are not strangers. You can see the structure of the shrine. I
am the Ohen; among the top 16 Ohen chief priests, I am the second in hierarchy. The senior one
is at Ewiekoyu.
I am a descendant of Ohiobonikwe on that lineage because the title is hereditary. So it came to us
as a shock that Iguomo community said that the whole of Ikhuobo land belongs to them.
One could see that the community had not relented in their efforts to give the gods what belongs
to them through daily sacrifices. This observation led Sunday Vanguard to Kemwinkemwin
market, as the line where the sacrificial materials is called in Oliha and Ekiosa markets.
The visit was quite revealing. Sunday Vanguard went with a Bini interpreter, Ogieva
Oyemwenosa, because those who deal in these materials are elderly women who are
traditionalists and dont speak English. It was learnt that the materials are used for sacrifices both
for good and evil, while those who deal in them are also pure traditionalists who worship
different gods. Walking round Kmwinkmwin could be scary because you see the skulls of
monkey, owl, pigeon, sparrow, hyena, live tortoise and their skulls too. Any customer around the
line definitely came to buy one sacrificial object or another. Foreigners also come from Europe
and America to purchase these things because Sunday Vanguard was informed that some white
people also worship Olokun (river goddess).
At the Kemwinkemwin line of Oliha market, 76-year-old Madam Christianah Oliha explained
some of the materials to Sunday Vanguard: What I am holding now are the Azolokun, Ad and
the Ebn, used for worshipping Olokun. This one is Uleko, someone that has had his bath with
juju is the one that wears it. I have taken that bath, so I am free to wear it.

*Cowries for sale

What about native chalk. What is it used for?
Native chalk (Orhue) is used for juju dance; it can be ground and eaten. When you grind it, you
put it in your hand and use it to praise God. Whether you go to church or you serve juju, when

you pour
it out in your hand, you add salt to it and you use it to praise God to guide you and your family.
What about cowries?
Ikpigho (cowries) are used to worship Olokun. We use them for good things, we dont throw
them away. You can use them for Orunmila (god served with white clothes), you can use it for
Sngo, and you can also use it to plant evil.
How long have these things been in existence?
It has been long, over two hundred years. I grew up to meet them. When I was growing up,
Anini (Benin coin used those days for transactions) was used to buy things. Initially, cowries
were being used for transaction. From the cowries, we started using Anini. It was the Anini that I
grew up to meet. From Anini, we moved to Ekpini. All of them are here. From Ekpini, we started
using Kobo. Cowries were used for transaction during the time of my forefathers.
Alligator pepper
It is used when one wants to perform a juju ceremony. Alligator pepper mixed with Afr, native
chalk (rhue) and ash (Emu) is used to clean abomination. With native pepper, you use it to
cleanse yourself before you start the juju ceremony. This is what was applicable in the days of
old. You grind the native chalk, put your leg on it and count six, take it round your neck which
signifies cleansing before entering inside for the main juju ceremony.
Asked when she started the business, Madam Oliha explained that she was into yam and goat
business before she entered the juju properties (Kmwinkmwin) business and so far it has
favoured me and my family.
She continued: This business has been good for me. It has improved the life of my children, it
has given me all I require in life. People started the business before most of us, our mothers were
in this market before they died but today it is our turn. I have spent over 15 years in the
business. Explaining some of the materials in her shop, she said: This is the head of a goat
used for sacrifice. This is the head of a bush meat (Akwgh), it can cure epilepsy. This is called
Akw. This one is medicinal; it can be used to cure people suffering from pile and cough when
burnt. Asked what the clothes in her shop represent, she said: The red is for worshipping Satan
or Olokun. If you want to worship Olokun, it is the dark red that you will use to sew a very big
skirt and shirt (Buluk). For Sango (god of thunder), you take both the red and white. For Ogun,
you add the red; black and white together in sewing the skirt and shirt. The broken eggs are used
for child bearing while the native pot is used for bathing when performing juju, you can also use
it for cooking medicine.When Sunday Vanguard tried to find out whether she goes to church,
she asserted: I am not a Christian. I am a juju worshipper. Not that I dont believe in God, I do.
A clean mind serves God. My intentions are good toward men and women; I dont feel hatred for
anybody. I will not see a rich man and be angry with him. I feel the pains of others and I will
always beg God to assist them. I am not a devil, I worship juju. My mind is even cleaner than the
so-called Christians who attend church every Sunday. Juju worshipping is our tradition and you
are punished when you do evil to an innocent person.

Gods market
Jehovahs Witnesses
At Ekiosa market, Kmwinkmwin blossoms too. Madam Rose Omorodion, who declared that
she was a juju priestess, started by narrating the history of the market. According to her: Ekiosa
market started with the Jehovahs Witnesses; this was where they built their church when they
came to Benin and that is why it is called Ekiosa meaning Gods market. When they left, we
came here and started selling provisions, yam, plantain, beans, rice and this our business also
started. The market started like that before government came to build it for us; then it caught fire.
We did not know what caused the fire but this is the second time they are building the market.
This is the Kmwinkmwin line of Ekiosa market; it is a place where you can find the things of
the old including the native pot (kh).
The native pot can be used to worship Olokun which we serve in the river. This one is the statue
of the Olokun (displaying it to Sunday Vanguard), called Aza. This one is the white mans money
while the other one is the cowrie used for business transaction in the days of old. After the
cowrie, we had the coin. So we said the cowrie cannot be destroyed because of its importance
and we decided to keep it. This one is Unin. You can use it to cook and it is also medicinal. This
one is the statue of Sngo (Ukiisngo). The other one here is Ek. It is chewed when a man or
womans stomach is hot, especially pregnant women. We have the olden days knife used in the
shrine of Orumila. We use the tortoise to prepare serious juju medicine.
Asked why she took to this trade which is against the Christian faith, Madam Omorodion
declared she had no apologies being a juju priestess. I am a real juju woman, a river goddess. So
I can be called upon at any time if Sango is troubling someone. I can heal the person. I can also
deal with people that are being troubled by the river, I can bath the person and it will stop.
Traditional healing of river spirit which is called Ogbanje by others is better than what they do in
churches.
If we traditionalists want to bath a child from the river, we fetch some leaves, squeeze them
together and use it to bath the child. When I was a child, I used to die every day due to spirit. But
when an old man from Kokori was invited, he bathed me and showed me how to deal with the

river goddess after he said I am a goddess from the river. I became okay and since that time I
have never been sick and I am over 60 years now. I have the powers today and that is why I help
people with similar problem. Some people come from abroad for help, I bath them and when
they go back they are never sick again. Asked to react to the comment that the tortoise is a
powerful animal for rituals, she stated: Yes. Even when a person is cursed by Ogun to die, the
tortoise can be used to relieve the person from that curse because, since the tortoise is a tricky
animal, the curse on that person is averted by the tortoise.
On her part, Madam Mary Erhese told Sunday Vanguard that that the materials they sell also help
in preparing rituals for Benin sons and daughters who travel abroad. Her words: There are
mothers who come to us for help for their children who travelled and have not reached their
destination. They will come to us to give them materials and, when we do, before one month,
that child will get to where he or she is going..