THE FEAST OF THE TREES 



and when I returned in the cool of the evening a vast 

 concourse of people had gathered and were waiting the 

 arrival of the Oba. Near the foot of the tree were the 

 Amofi performers putting the finishing touches to their 

 make-up. They had an elaborate set of mirrors adjusted 

 on their backs, the purpose of which was not at first 

 obvious to me. 



The arrival of the Oba was the signal for the begin- 

 ning of the first event. Quickly two of the young men 

 clad in their ceremonial costumes mounted the ropes 

 and suspending themselves mid-way between the earth 

 and the uppermost branches began to swing round on 

 the rope winding themselves up until the spring of the 

 rope forced them to unwind, which they did slowly at 

 first then spinning faster and faster until the rope began 

 to wind itself up in the reverse way. This was repeated 

 several times while the multitude held their breath, in- 

 tent on the dangerous looking performance. The light 

 was not good and from the direction of the onlookers, 

 the ropes supporting the performers were invisible, 

 creating the impression that they were circling in space, 

 as if by magic. 



Presently, they mounted higher and plucked leaves 

 from the tree and scattered them upon the assembled 

 crowd, who eagerly grasped them as they fell. Those 

 successful in obtaining a leaf congratulated each other 

 on their good fortune. 



The spell created by the early part of the performance 

 was now broken by the scramble for the leaves and 



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