Of Spirits: Their likes and their ethnicity

It is a rapidly disappearing truth but there are demons. The demons afflicting my native Mijikenda often have names. A seer knowledgeable in these matters typically identifies the offending demon. Of interest will be the way the spirit manifests itself. The ‘Mdoe’ spirit wickedly hides in a healthy mother only to wreak havoc on her infant child. The poor child will be a sickly on account of an evil spirit lodged in her mother.  

A simple dance can exorcise a spirit- here it is for water

The poor mum of a sickly child will have to dance to mournful songs to exorcise the spirit. Not only that-  at the moment of exit the spirit will have to be given a new home in carefully selected puppy. It will be a chubby puppy ripe to host a demon. After hours of dancing, she will be possessed of such passion as usually comes over dogs when they bite. It is never easy to bring a woman to such passion. Probably only her child’s suffering can foment such ferocity. It is a must that this happens for the only way to be rid of the Mdoe spirit is for the sickly child’s mother to bite off part of the puppy’s ear. Next time you are in Rabai if you see a puppy with part of an ear missing just know it was for a good cause.

I have heard it said it’s better for a mother to suffer the Mdoe spirit than the Gongolo spirit. The Gongolo spirit is actually the millipede spirit. It causes stunting in children. The mother of the stunted child will undergo therapy under the rhythmic beat of a cowhide drum. In attendance to point out to the witchdoctor where to apply medication will be a giant millipede.  As the singing and drumming goes on, the poor mum lies naked as the giant millipede crawls all over her exposed skin. Where the millipede pauses to nibble, the witchdoctor will make an incision then apply medicine. I am told the horror of the millipede crawling on a woman’s bare skin is enough to bring healing by other means. Nutritional means are preffered.

Other spirits are not as tormenting. The Mpemba spirit only demands a new pair of khanga or dress every month. It will keep the woman well-dressed and happy. Occasionally when she is very low in spirits the Pemba spirit will call for a night of feasting. The sullen woman will seat draped in new clothes as others make song to rouse the spirit out of her body. She will be unimpressed and the promise of gifts will entice the spirit out. When the spiritual release comes the sullen woman will rise to dance. From then on the night will be one of merry-making. It is rumoured women possessed by the Pemba spirit will typically wait until the harvest season or when the husband makes a windfall to fall into depression. Pemba, of course, is that beautiful island off Zanzibar. It has a bewitching effect on our Mijikenda women.

The Mkamba spirit, named after the neighbouring Akamba people, infects one with anxiety. It is a gender-neutral spirit typically provoked by the sight of fish, water bodies or even a uniformed policeman. It is not ordinary anxiety. When it grips the man or woman it makes them suicidal. They can leap into the water or run off like a deranged person. The limbs become wobbly. Often the person possessed by the Kamba spirit has to be restrained. Luckily, a night of music is all it takes to drive out the demon.

Not so with Mwarabu. This is one spirit too expensive to treat. It is the Arab spirit. It is only appeased with expensive jewellery. Gold is very effective in appeasing the Arab spirit. The single trinket is not enough. Every spiritual attack is to be calmed by a new acquisition. The woman unlucky to be attacked by Mwarabu has the rare distinction of wearing gold. If her husband is too poor to afford the gold, electroplated trinkets will contain the demon. However, only high carat items fully appease the Arab spirit. It rarely strikes men.

Msomali is a wild spirit exorcised by vigorous dancing. It is from the Somali people known for the high propensity for violence.  It affects men and women. Of course the only way to exorcise the Somali spirit is to jump and clap as the Somali do in their dances. That should be enough to calm a person with a short fuse. The energy expended in vigorous dancing exiles the violent tendency along with the spirit.

Luckily for all of us it is rare for one person to be afflicted by more than one spirit at a time. Seems each demon picks its woman... or sometimes man. Some demons are more common than others. For some reason Mpemba and Mwarabu which are very difficult to treat or appease are fairly common. I am not imputing anything improper on Mijikenda women since illness is illness but the two spirits seem welcome among them.

At the slightest annoyance she will warn, ‘Nina Mpemba wangu! Nina Mpemba wangu!’. Literally, it means ‘I have my Pemba spirit’. In reality it means you are provoking the said spirit. Of course provoking the spirit comes with costs. The concerned husband will want to minimise costs by being especially loving and gentle towards his woman.

I wonder which matters more- the spirit or the person. I suspect it is all about the person all the time- except in desperate times when a child is involved.