Page 109 - Empires of Medieval West Africa

E m p i r E s o f m E d i E v a l w E s t a f r i c a

supernatural beings daily and specialize in pleasing and manipulating
the ones who shape the course of events.
Worship as Part Whatever goes wrong, the Mande do not believe in accidents.
of Life Whether it is illness, early death, failure to have children, injury, crop
Today, there are failure, business failure, or any other kind of problem, it is thought to be
mosques for the Muslims
in Mande communities. caused by an enemy, an evil genie, or by being exposed to uncontrolled
But there is no house of spiritual energy called nyama. Proper relations with genies and correct
worship for traditional manipulation of nyama can result in good health, achieving one’s goals,
Mande religion. People and prosperity.
practice their religious Of all the occupational specialists, blacksmiths are generally
beliefs at all times and regarded as the most qualified to mediate between humans and genies.
with virtually everything
they do. For rural villag- Not all blacksmiths are willing or able to attempt the manipulation of
ers in traditional culture, spiritual power, though. And other people such as bards (jeliw) and
the activities of farming, knowledgeable elders (including women) share these tasks. One reason
hunting, fishing, trading blacksmiths have the inside track on healing and sorcery is that their
in the weekly market, ability to create essential tools and weapons out of raw materials seems
walking through the like magic.
bush between villages,
performing daily chores, It is blacksmiths who perform circumcisions, but only a few dare
and even speaking have to. This is because the powerful spiritual force called nyama is released
spiritual significance. in dangerous amounts as soon as the flesh is cut. It is believed that if the
Music, song, dance, oral circumciser does not know how to protect himself, he can be blinded.
narrative, sculpture, and When dangerous animals are killed, they release enormous
crafted works of all kinds amounts of nyama, so many of the greatest hunters have been black-
are expressions of the
Mande system of belief. smiths. Other magical practices dominated by blacksmiths include
They can be seen and rainmaking and divination (predicting the future).
heard in performance, Divination is an important part of the Mande belief system, and
media, museums, and specialists have many ways of doing it. One of the most common meth-
galleries worldwide. ods is to throw cowrie shells onto a woven straw mat or tray. The usual
number of cowries is 12, but totals of 16, 20, and 40 are also used. The
scattered cowries are interpreted according to the patterns in which
they land.
Small stones can also be thrown and interpreted according to how
many stick in the diviner’s hand or are snatched up in a quick follow-
through motion. Other diviners drop kola nuts or horsehair into a cala-
bash full of water and interpret how they float or read their patterns.
Still others use a leather pouch or “black bag” containing small bones,
dried bits of animals such as tails, scraps of paper with symbols drawn
on them, and other mysterious objects.
In sand divination the diviner smooths a pile of special sand into a
flat surface. While saying incantations (magic words), he or she draws

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