Alleni Ethan Dah
27 July 2008
In many developing countries, including Nigeria, there have been fears that foreign, mainly Western, cultural values are fast pushing indigenous into extinction. Similarly, many cultural practices have been extinguished as a result of some religious doctrines which consider them 'harmful', 'sinful', or 'ungodly'. European and American values have so infiltrated African society that indigenous cultural values are sometimes considered by the local people as crude and barbaric.
In an effort to avert a situation where both the bad and good indigenous cultural practices are completely lost, scholars, traditional rulers, and government and international institutions like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have made the case for cultural re-awakening. These efforts have, apparently, been bearing fruit as some cultural practices are being revived and promoted across Nigeria. One of these is the traditional circumcision festival for male children aged 10 to 14, which takes place every four years among the Bille people of Demsa local government are of Adamawa state. They are also found in Mayo-Belwa, Jada, Yola North, Yola South, and Fufore local governments in Adamawa and Lau local government in Taraba state. The festival is known as Jabba.
With the passage of time, Jabba festival grows from strength to strength as more and more Bille parents at home and in the Diaspora present their male children for traditional circumcision during the festival. The reasons for this are not far-fetched. Jabba is an elaborate and significant rite for a Bille male which a patriotic and loving father cannot afford to deny his son. Any Bille male who does not go through the traditional circumcision rites is not seen as a "complete" man. In fact such a male will bear this "scar" for the rest of his life because he will not command full recognition nor respect among fellow Bille men and even women.
Moreover, Jabba serves as the basis for a well defined age grade system. Those who go through this rigorous and colourful rite at a particular edition remain mates and friends for life. Those ahead of one are considered seniors while those after are juniors, no matter the social, educational, economic and other status they attain in life. Any two Bille adult males seen as friends are mostly mates circumcised in the same year.
Although an immediate junior and his senior can do things together, each one knows his standing. Males and even females whose fathers are mates share jokes and team up against those whose fathers are senior or junior to theirs.
The four year period taken to prepare children (mazaba) for the Bille traditional circumcision festival is packed with events and other smaller festivals which shape them up for manhood. During this four year preparatory period, the children are taught farming, hunting, woodwork, weaving and other means of earning livelihood. They also learn the Bille language, proverbs and wise-sayings, value system, traditions and history.
The festival is a three day affair marked with various dances and rites. It is held in three settlements: Bille, Tereh and Dakusung. On the first day, the children, parents, relatives and others converge in the evening at a playground outside the town and dance. Those from the main town, Gbah, are joined by those from a group of clans known as Gilah, who actually are the custodians of the circumcision knife and who come first in the order of things during the festival.
The group, after dancing for about an hour, proceeds to the Chief's palace where the same dance is performed to the tune of flutes and a drum, but this time around accompanied with the beating together of the heads of newly harvested guinea corn by the candidates and their parents. The aim of this ritual is to seek divine protection and blessing for the candidates so that they can safely go through the risky and painful circumcision rites. Only women who have reached menopause later gather and use the guinea corn so deposited.
That evening after supper, the candidates proceed to camps inside the bush. The Gilah and Gbah groups have their separate camps. During the night, the candidates are shown how circumcision is performed. The dancing on that day is known as lelakiding while the camp is called bahtangsa.
Early the following morning, the candidates are dressed outside the village in a specially weaved material known as langtang. This material is used traditionally in dressing corpses for burial. The candidates also wear special helmets made of grass and two cow-horns cut to the desired size. After dressing, they march, holding staffs made of grass, towards the village. This march is known as jobiyo or the "dance of death". They are met by their mothers and other women at a point.
In the olden days, there used to be weeping at this point because the mothers knew that their sons had reached the point of no return and would be going through a lot of pains and hardship. Some women, to this day, weep during jobiyo.
At a point close to the village, the candidates mark a place which will serve as their camp, where they will be isolated and kept away from, especially, women while they recuperate.
In the past, candidates stayed in this camp, Bahgura, made of zana mats and corn stalk, for between two and three months. These days, camping takes five to seven weeks since the children are younger and heal faster with orthodox treatment. They also have to return to school. They sleep, eat and are treated in Bahgura.
Later on the second day of Jabba, the candidates have their heads shaved, with a small patch of hair left at the front. They have their final bath and are colourfully dressed in new wrappers and caps. That afternoon, they go for another dance known as walah. This is a sort of farewell dance and mark of honour to the Chief, Murum Bille. The Gbah groups are joined by Gilah people. It is to walah that most guests from outside Bille are invited.
After walah, the Gbah candidates proceed to the residence of a priest, Ndemolishi, while those from Gilah go to Kpapila's place where they pass the night. They sleep in the nude on zana mats and in the olden days, some mischievous elders used to spray them with cold water on this cold December night "to toughen them". That night, the candidates are counted by shaving the small patch of hair on their heads and a red chalk mark from head down the back.
On the third day, the actual circumcision takes place. The candidates from Gilah come first to Murum Bille's palace early in the morning in their colourful gear, this time dancing with mock tobacco pipes to say good-bye. After greeting the Chief, they return to their settlement. On the way back, they are all circumcised at a breath-taking pace.
After the last Gilah candidate is circumcised, the Gbah candidates are dressed up and first taken on shoulders by youths round their camp, then back inside. The first three candidates, Murum Bagurah, Mmambeda and Ndemolishi, all names of members of the Bille Traditional Council of Ministers, are circumcised. Youths from each clan now carry their candidates on their shoulders under umbrellas decorated with balloons and naira notes or even dollars in groups back home, accompanied by flutists and drummers. On the way, the candidates spray sweets and kola nuts on those accompanying them, seeking their blessing. These days children of the wealthy spray mint-fresh naira notes.
There is dancing in the house of each candidate as the group enters and locally brewed beer is brought out for visitors. After being taken round the ward, candidates are returned first to the camp, then to a space outside where they are circumcised using locally made knives with razor-sharp edges.
The moment the operation is successfully completed, the seniors of each candidate come running, flagging the wrapper which each candidate was earlier dressed in, to meet the mother and other females who stand away from the camp. There is dancing and singing of war and clan songs from the camp back to the father's house where dancing and drinking in earnest now begins, lasting late into the night.
In many instances, parents of especially "barracks boys" who were brought up in towns and cities and taken home, fear that their sons will disgrace them by crying when circumcised. There are however very few of such cases as the spirits of the children are raised by the courage of their mates. They also have their morale "boosted" by certain herbs they are administered with at one point or the other.
Jabba is a show of bravery. When a candidate is to be circumcised, a circle of men is formed. The candidate is undressed. He blows his horn and marches without any show of emotion to the centre of the circle, blows his horn and stands rigidly upright. The operation is performed with the knife after which the candidate blows his horn and marches out, sometimes laughing. Some even ask whether that is all the "noise" is about.
Over 700 candidates were circumcised on 29th December, 2007 at Gbah and Gila alone. More than 2,000 children went through the rites in all Bille settlements where the festival took place during the 2007/2008 edition.
After staying in Bahgura for weeks to recuperate, the candidates return home after a mini-festival. For the 2007/2008 candidates, the mini-festival took place on 2 February, 2008. One week before then, they had been taken in the early hours of the day to the river.
At a point in the river reaching up to the shoulder of most candidates, they were "soaked up" for sometime. It is to be noted that traditionally, while in the camp, the children are not allowed to take bath. Obviously the soaking in ice-cold water is to do away with the accumulated dirt on their bodies. One week after being soaked up, the Gilah candidates flag off activities for their return home. Early that day, they dress up in green leaves and leave camp where their mothers and other females join them for the first time since they were circumcised.
The group, with women ululating, heads for Murum Bille's palace where they join the Gbah candidates and their relatives. The Chief addresses the gathering. While the Gilah candidates head for the stream where they shed the leaves, take bath and dress in new attires and return home, their Gbah counterparts, also in new clothes, and their relatives head to the house of the three candidates who were first circumcised. Drinks are presented to those who turn up in each house.
From this point, candidates from each clan head to their place followed by relatives. All this while, the candidates, for each of whom a special staff had been made, have their heads bowed so that their mothers do not get a good view.
When they reach the front of each house, the mother of the candidate will come and greet her son and announce his new name. In the past, it was with this name that the candidate would be addressed by his mother and his juniors for the rest of his life.
After the naming, the mother presents a special gift to her son and the team enters the house for refreshment. They go round the ward collecting gifts. On subsequent days they visit their aunts and other relatives wherever they live.
It is with these gifts, made up of domestic animals, farm produce, farming implements and the like, that each candidate is to set up his own home. In the olden days, they used to marry shortly after.
Indeed, Jabba is such an exciting event that can best be appreciated through personal experience. To the Bille, it is their biggest festival and they are very proud of it. During Jabba, the thin line dividing Christians, Muslims and traditionalists in Bille is erased.
These days, wealthy parents slaughter bulls and give out presents like tee-shirts, fez caps, handkerchiefs, umbrella and the like, bearing portraits of their sons. And because of their high regard for this festival, even non-Bille mothers who in the past refused to have their children circumcised at home now encourage their husbands and invite their own people to come over. Similarly, Bille women who marry outside the tribe now insist that their first sons be taken "home" to be circumcised, as is the tradition.
It is worth pointing out that Jabba, which is by tradition flagged off at Bille, is repeated in other settlements, mainly Tereh and Dakusung, on subsequent days. Among the Bille, the boy passes through the circumcision rites and comes out as a man.
HIV-AIDS initially threatened Jabba since knives were used on more than one candidate and some parents have expressed fears over the safety of the operation. However, this hurdle was crossed with the agreement that each father should produce a knife to be used on each candidate. Also, sterilisation of knives using flame and spirit was adopted for those whose parents cannot afford one knife for each son.
Another emerging challenge is the growing number of candidates and participants on one hand and the shortage of traditional musical instruments, especially as regards the quality of sound that reaches those present, on the other hand. Going by the 2007/2008 Jabba experience, music, which is very much part of the festival has to be amplified using modern technology for people, especially visitors, to hear and appreciate.
Alleni Ethan Dah is a journalist with Adamawa Broadcasting Corporation, Yola
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