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157 At the Back of the Black Man's Mind By R. E. Dennett
The EMATON (Pl. XVII) is an iron staff ornamented with two figures of the chameleon,
the signs of wisdom, one just above and one below four leaf-like figures pointing
downwards representing AJA, or that knowledge of medicines and lore supposed to be
taught to man by the fairies who take certain people into the bush for this purpose.
Then opposed to the AJA at the top of the staff is a bunch of figures surmounted by the
representation of a horse and a bird.
This bird they call the AKIAMAWLO, which translated means-There existed previously
the continued state of the living thou and him.
The figure of the horse bearing the bird stretches across the circle of figures to points
between the two prongs of two figures. They call this ESIN (the act of exposing to sight).
The figure marked 3 on the sketch represents the two tail feathers of the bird called
ARIOKPA (the first one who sees). This bird is also called IFE or love, and IFE is, as you
know, a town in Yoruba land, from which all people are said to have Come. (Can this
mean that the BINI believe themselves to be the children of the spirit of light and love?)
The above, like Mawalala, stand outside the formula.
Category 1. Figure 8 is meant to represent that semicircular knife which is used to
separate the skin from the body of the yam and is called ELULIMA, the act of having to
keep on boring (the Bavili look upon the sky as solid, and so do the Bini, in the sense
that a roof is solid). This semicircular knife, then, conveys the idea of " the heavens."
Category 2. Figure 7 represents the flat round hoe with which they hoe the earth, and
they call this figure EGWE, the act of being.
Category 3. Figure 10 represents the axe OGWANA (the relative in law of OGUN, the
Yoruba "power" presiding over implements of war and hunting). The story says that an
old lady who would cut wood on their first day (=Sunday) was banished to the moon.
OGUN =blacksmith who by the help of fire makes his implements.
Category 4. Figure 9 represents the machet called IKHU (the act of cutting up the dead
wood, which is a motion).
Category 5. Figure 5 represents the flat (fish-knife-like) knife that the Oba of Benin used
to carry in one hand. It was held upwards towards the heavens when the King made a
prayer of supplication, and is called EBEN, connected with the word EBAW, sacrifice or
offering, and the Dove. I am not at present able to associate this knife with harvest.
Category 6. Figure 6 represents the knife used by the Oba to slay men or animals for
sacrifice, and it is called ADA (one who propagates) This certainly entails suffering. And
finally we come to the two-pronged figure joined as it were to IFE, which is called ELELI
(the witness who speaks).
Thus was the Oba as God's representative on earth reminded of his descent from God
through IFE, and so did the EMATON convey to all who chose to look at it that man is of
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