34 
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
"Egbo plays" the chief character, or 
"image," as it is called, is dressed to 
represent the "Egbo" itself. 
It is the habit of the Egbo Club, at 
certain times of the year, to take the 
sacred images and other paraphernalia 
to a part of the bush where a little hut 
of green boughs has been built to receive 
them. Sentries are then posted to keep 
all intruders from coming within a mile 
of this spot. On one occasion two young 
girls, sisters, happened to have missed 
the patrol and have trespassed unwit- 
tingly within the sacred precincts, proba- 
bly in search of nuts or bush fruits, 
which abound everywhere. They were 
caught by the sentries, brought before 
the "Egbo," condemned to death, and 
hanged almost immediately. 
Their brother, who was a member of 
the highest grade of the society, was al- 
lowed, as a great favor, to be present 
at their death and afterwards to carry 
home the bodies to his family. Of re- 
dress, in such a case, there could be nei- 
ther hope nor even thought. 
The Egbo "image," of which each com- 
pany has at least one, is a figure robed 
from crown to heel in a long garment 
pierced with eye-holes (see page 35). 
It usually bears on its head a wooden 
framework covered with skin and shaped 
like a human head, often with two eyes, 
looking both ways — into the future and 
back to the past — the symbol of the om- 
niscience of the deity. This curious 
apparition runs up and down, generally 
accompanied by two attendants clothed 
in gorgeous close - fitting knitted gar- 
ments, usually of red, yellow, and white. 
Soon after my arrival information was 
brought that something of an unusual 
nature was happening in Oban. On in- 
vestigation it appeared that a certain 
chief had fallen under the suspicion of 
having, in the guise of a were-leopard, 
killed several cows and goats. Prepara- 
tions were on foot for ridding the town 
of him in a summary manner when the 
arrival of the "white man" put an end 
to the proceedings of the ex tempore tri- 
bunal. Chief Agbashan, a splendid hun- 
ter, is believed to have the power of 
transforming himself into an elephant — 
an accomplishment that would certainly 
be of great use to him when out after 
these creatures. 
An old woman of Oban, named Awaw 
Ita, was suspected of a still more sinister 
familiar. Her husband had a sore on 
his ankle. Somehow or other the idea 
got about that this could not heal be- 
cause a snake came out of her mouth to 
lick the wound every night while they 
slept. The case came into court, as the 
"Egbo Society" had tried and sentenced 
the woman, which of course they had no 
right to do. Curiously enough, as . in 
similar cases in our own country ( jring 
the Middle Ages, she herself firmly be- 
lieved in the truth of the story, and 
owned to it when she thought that such 
a confession might cost her her life. 
At a small place nestling at the base 
of beautiful purple hills, on one occasion 
the children gave a particularly charm- 
ing series of games, singing all the while 
in the pretty lilting way usual among 
them. Nothing could be more graceful 
than the waving arms and swaying liml)s 
of the little brown forms as they bent 
and moved, always in perfect time to 
their song. The musical faculty of this 
people is certainly wonderful, though 
developed along peculiar lines. During 
the whole period spent among them I 
have never heard a false note nor found 
a dancer or accompanist one fraction of 
a second out of time. 
At the little village of Niaji the only 
attempt at portrait modeling known in 
this part of the world is to be seen. It 
represents Maia, priestess of Nimm. 
The figure, modeled, rudely enough, in 
mud on a framework of sticks, is seated 
above the grave of the woman it com- 
memorates. Over her the frame of a 
tiny hut has been built, and round this 
are hung most of the things used by the 
dead woman in her life — all broken, ac- 
cording to the funeral custom of the 
race. No man is allowed to share in the 
mysteries of Nimm, though a woman is 
sometimes, though rarely, chosen as the 
head of "Jujus," in which both sexes 
share. 
Not even the fear of death would in- 
duce a male Ekoi to intrude at the cele- 
bration of the women's rites. Should a 
woman think that she has any cause of 
