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171 At the Back of the Black Man's Mind By R. E. Dennett UKHURE sticks found on nearly all altars throughout the country. Great chiefs have as many but generally found in couples or threes. lt was late in the afternoon on the 27 th May, 1904, when the boys placed my chair in the shady side of a square in the town of UGBENI, so that I might witness the OVIA dance. Three men carried UKHURE sticks and placed them near to me against a wall. A boy carried one decorated with a tuft of strips of palm leaves. A crowd of women were to my left, a crowd of men just opposite to me, while children were as six, seated on the far side of the women. Certain masters of the ceremonies pushed back the crowd until there was room enough for the dancers in the middle. There were ten dancers, five dressed in one fashion and five in another, and they formed themselves into a circle. Though these dancers were not dressed as extravagantly as those at OTWAW, yet they were picturesque and curious enough to be worth describing. Five were dressed as follows:- A huge head-dress, attached to a kind of crown. A triangular wooden framework, covered with red cotton cloth, in the centre of which was a small mirror, while feathers of the hornbill ran up two sides of the triangle and around the top of the crown. A couple of the tail feathers of the parrot were attached to each of the feathers around the crown. The crown itself was of wood, surrounded by bands of gold or silver braid. Two square pieces of glass inserted into the crown gave it the appearance of having eyes. Below this was a mask of network, and over this was hung a small piece of a consular uniform rich in silver braiding. Then from the crown long streamers of red cotton cloth were suspended. The cape, or mantle, was of strips of palm leaves, and they had a garment of similar make tied round their waists. Instead of the black, neatly-netted work underwear of the EGUGU, these dancers wore ordinary cotton pants and shirts with long sleeves. Around their legs just below the knee they wore a string of negro bells, while around their ankles they had anklets of dried seeds that rattled. The five others were dressed like the five just mentioned, save for their head-dress. They had the netted mask and crown and red streamers flowing from it, but the upper part was of light branched woodwork, from the branches of which hung many red parrot feathers in couples. The dance commenced by the masked men beating their sticks while the women sang, and the men behind the circle walked backwards and forwards, with their shoulders pushed upwards, cooing like birds. Suddenly a couple of the masked figures rushed into the centre of the circle, and stamped the ground violently in front of each other. Then the others ran round in a circle, all their movements in perfect accord to the time they kept beating with their sticks. Then one of these clumsy-looking figures came into the centre of the circle, and commenced that spinning and roundabout motion already described in the dance at ITE, but instead of cannoning against one of the circle, the dancer in this case righted himself in time, and started stamping before one in the circle, who had to stamp back at him. www.globalgrey.co.uk
172 At the Back of the Black Man's Mind By R. E. Dennett Many of their songs were sung in parts and were very effective, while the dancing was excellent. No one is supposed to know who these masked people are, and for a whole month they live in the grove sacred to OVIA, and are fed by the public. Any village in the district can send for them to dance there by paying for them, and they say that the dancing brings health to the people. OTON is the name of the burial dance and song. Those who have lost one of their own house carry an empty box, covered with cloth, mirrors, and beads. They sing OMAWRARIYOYO, and parade the streets. Sometimes it is some years before this is done: it is then a sign that so-and-so's father has at last been buried, and that the son has now amassed sufficient wealth to succeed to his father's honours. www.globalgrey.co.uk
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