Mola Mbua Ndoko: Wisdom and Ways of the Bakweri People

231. Titi Ikoli.

A most outrageous insult to womanhood.

Mokpwe culture and tradition asserts that every woman is born beautiful, tidy and attractive and that she maintains these traditional qualities without fail at all times in all places throughout her life.  This opinion is not subject to debate or review. 

Any expression of doubt about this assertion or any insinuation, demonstration, illustration that is at variance with this opinion and if made in the presence of at least one witness is viewed as a heresy and a grave and notorious social crime known as Titi  Ikoli - an abominable insult to the dignity and privacy of womanhood. 

Furthermore, to subject a woman or her clothes to any condition that ridicules her dignity and privacy or to make indecent remarks about her dress constitutes a Titi  Ikoli  crime. 

In short, Titi  Ikoli is a distasteful, outrageous oral or physical insult to the traditional beauty, dignity and privacy of womanhood.

245. “vamo fulu nguu-nde”.

Unwarranted recall of past mistakes and misfortunes of a person.

People don’t like their past mistakes to be discussed.  No person welcomes scornful reference to his misfortunes.

vamo  fulu  nguu-nde = an unwarranted scornful recall of past mistakes and misfortunes of a person.  The intention is to ridicule.

Examples:

(i).   In an angry exchange of words between Elive and Mokambi, Elive challenged Mokambi to explain to the crowd that had gathered round them why he Mokambi has missing teeth.  Kaave then explained:

“Mokambi  !  You were caught red handed harvesting cassava in the farm of Ewuna  Mwanje  In the scuffle that ensued between you and her children Ewune hit her hoe on your lips”.

Ngowa was completely embarrassed.  He made no response.

(ii).  The village community sympathized with Naliongo for being an epilepsy patient.

The community was therefore shocked when at one of their assemblies Tuuva called Naliongo “this feeble creature who collapses frequently” (“ono  mwaana  mwinge  mo  juume  asete  te  lifokowa”).
The community punished Tuuva heavily for being scornful to a sick person.

(iii).  In the course of a quarrel between Molungu and Mokonde when Mulungu addressed Mokonde as the son of a rehabilitated ex-prisoner the crowd murmured
“amo  fulu  nguunde”

Lexicon:

mwinge = weak, feeble.

juume = tiny

fokowa/lifokowa = to tumble

livaku = a hoe.

fulwa/lifuluwa = to uncover; expose.

Oma Nanu
Imba Thomas Mbua Ndoko
Chicago ILL, USA 

244. Traditional chants relating to family reunions and formal general assemblies in a village.

“Mbando  liyo, liyo” = We sincerely pray that peace and tranquility will prevail.

Prelude:
“Mbando  liyo, liyo” = We sincerely pray that peace and tranquility will prevail.

Chants.
(i).  “me-singo-wene  !  mesa-singo-wene”  is a chant and citation of a Traditional Doctor in action on the occasion of re-activating or reconstituting a family shrine – “Yowo  ya  Litumba”. 

The chant reminds members of the family concerned to understand that all of them “sitting on that bench” (Ewonga  Mokosa) are descendants from a common maternal ancestor.  The relationship that exists among them is built on blood.  It can never, never be erased.

242. (i) a laani ma maava. (ii) a laana ma maava.

He has used his two hands to pull food from inside the bowl.

“a  laani  ma  maava” OR  “a  laana  ma  maava”

suggests/insinuates that he is dishonest or he has been dishonest.

Mokpwe traditionally eats from a wooden bowl (ewoki), using (i) a splint (ikaku) extracted from the bark of a branch of a palm tree or (ii) a wooden spoon (toe).  Tradition requires that one hand only should be used to pull out food from inside the bowl. 

197. “osuki foni moto, isono wa, i-tane ja-fa-fane i-mbusa ja maa”.

You have not yet attained the social status to qualify you to eat from the same bowl with me and consequently allow the back of your hand and the back of my hand to rub each other.

Yasi  nanu:  At an annual diner of a certain sect, participants ate in groups of four-five-six persons.  Each group ate from a wooden bowl (ewoki). 

Surprisingly, one youth abandoned the group to which he was assigned and joined a group of high priests of the sect. 

As he was about to lower his hand into the bowl  one of the high priests held his hand and asked:

“Young man, what are you about to do  ?”.

240. eti ya lilo ema taneya na e-Mwemba.

Unfortunate utterances sometimes coincide with the evil hand of the witch at work.

Maito, maito kaii.  (It’s time to tell tales).

Yasi nanu.  In the course of a quarrel between Ewake and Kema  Nyame over harvesting honey from a particular cave at the savannah zone of the Mountain, Ewake made utterances  that Kema would die if he failed to stop harvesting honey from the cave. 

Five days later Kema visited the cave and harvested honey.  Kema was overtaken by severe storm and heavy rain fall. He collapsed and died a few metres away from a cave in which his colleagues were taking refuge.  Public opinion was that it is Ewake who killed Kema through Ewake’s practices of evil witch craft