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161 At the Back of the Black Man's Mind By R. E. Dennett MARRIAGE. There appear to be two kinds of marriages among the Bini. Among the upper classes the children are betrothed by their parents from infancy. The present may be a nominal one, such as four kolas, three cowries, and some palm wine, or it may be more. The man is supposed to keep on giving the child betrothed to him presents until she is grown up; he also makes her parents gifts. The seduction of such a betrothed girl is heavily punished. On the other hand, among the poor the girl is not necessarily betrothed, and a man may seduce her without legal punishment. The man may refuse to marry his betrothed, and then he has the right to give her in marriage to anyone, unless she is of noble family, when she can only be given to a free man. The girl may not refuse to marry the man to whom she is betrothed, or his chosen representative; but the father may at any time refuse to give his daughter to her betrothed, when he has to refund to him all the presents the would-be husband has given to her and her parents. When his wife conceives the husband gives her a cock to sacrifice. The son marries his deceased father's wives, who have not borne children to him. After the birth of a child, the father gives the mother another name; the child also will give her mother a name, a friend will also name her, and so one often hears a person spoken of by two or three names. Very few women in this country are true to their husbands, many of them having at least one lover. When a child is born the woman does not declare who its father is until her husband is dead. Many women live openly with their lovers; the great majority of cases in court are for return of wife, and many women prefer to go to prison than to return to their legal husbands. Often on the roads one passes a small tree planted by the side of the road, near where are chalk marks and a mound of earth, cowries, yams, and plaintains. This tree has been planted in memory of the fact that some woman or other has brought forth a child on that spot. SECRET SOCIETIES. The object that most of the secret societies round about Benin seem to have had at heart was to check the despotism of the rulers of the people, but often the ruler himself became a member of the society, and thus as its leader secured its services in furthering his own despotic ideas. www.globalgrey.co.uk
162 At the Back of the Black Man's Mind By R. E. Dennett The Beni call their society IGWOMORI, and it is said that while still a prince the late OBA OVERAMI became a member of it. The first crime this society committed was on the death of OBA ADOLO and crowning of OVERAMI, and, at the latter's suggestion, to execute all the late ADOLO'S councillors. OVERAMI then placed many of the IGWOMORI, sons of the lately executed councillors, in their fathers' place. The secret society of the ISHAN people played a great part in defending the Benin City chief ABOHON and other refugees after the British had taken Benin City in 1897-8. There are secret societies at OWOO and AKWE. The SOBO Society is called OTRADA, that at IFON, OTU, while we have only just had a sad experience of the influence of the EKEMEKU, or the Silent Ones, in the hinterland of ASABA. In an interesting article, dated May 13, in the West African Mail, Mr. Hughes, an earnest student of African customs, writes: "The EKEMEKU Society has for long been in existence. The aim and idea of its establishment was- "1st. To settle any tribal differences amicably. "2nd. To uphold the law and institution of their countries according to rights of usage. "3rd. To prevent any oppression by their kings and chiefs. "Of late the EKEMEKU Society has become composed for the most part of the younger and more lawless elements, who hold their meetings at night, who work by secret methods, and who are a continual source of terror to the more peaceful natives, whom they compel by threats of death to contribute to their society." On page 65 of Great Benin, Mr. C. Punch is made to say: "I should imagine the Bini would have the ORO fetish, etc. The Bini call this whip ELIMIDU, and it was given to the OKIASON (OKERISON) by the OBA. From the season IHAW to IGWE, men desirous of obtaining a title roamed about armed with an iron instrument, by means of which they endeavoured to kill seven or fourteen people. As witness of their prowess they presented the OBA with the dried breasts of the women and the dried penis of the men they had killed. With these parts of the slain men and women the OBA is said to have made certain medicine for fetish purposes. To give these "braves" a fair chance to accomplish their task, the OBA made the chiefs bring all their people to dance in his compound every night. The "braves" ran a great chance of being killed themselves, for it was known that they were about, and naturally the people kept their eyes open. Should one of these aspirers to the rank of nobility be killed by the man attacked, the latter took possession of his dried trophies, and continued the process of killing on his own account. www.globalgrey.co.uk
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