ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
IKOM FOLK STORIES FROM SOUTHERN
NIGERIA.
BY
E. DAYRELL,
District Commissioner, Southern Nigeria.
OCCASIONAL PAPERS, No. 3.
LONDON:
PUBLISHED BY THE
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
50, GREAT RUSSELL STREET, LONDON, W.C.
1913.
[Pg iii]
PREFACE.
These folk stories have been told to me by natives of the various countriesto which they relate in the Ikom district of Southern Nigeria. In all cases theyhave had to be translated by an interpreter, and frequently it has been foundnecessary to employ two. Some of the stories are very old and have been handeddown from one generation to another, but it is most difficult, almost impossible,to judge with any degree of accuracy how old they really are. The word “dowry”comes frequently into these tales, and is used as meaning the amount paid to theparents of the girl by the husband. In the introduction to my Folk Stories fromSouthern Nigeria, published in 1910, Mr. Andrew Lang suggests that the term“bride-price” would better express the institution, and, no doubt, he is perfectlyright. I have, however, adhered to the old expression of “dowry” as it is ingeneral use, and is so well known on the “Coast.” When a man is asked howmuch “dowry” he paid for his wife, he will frequently produce his “bush book,”consisting of bundles of small sticks tied round with “tie-tie,” one bundle for eachyear. He will then take one stick from a bundle, and holding it up will say:“That is two calabashes of tombo I gave to the father.” He will then place thestick on the ground and take another, saying “This is one fathom of cloth I gaveto the girl.” The next stick may represent twenty yams given to the mother, andthe following sticks may mean twenty-five rods, a silk handkerchief, a bar ofsoap and some bottles of gin. And so he goes on until the bundles are finished,the value of each article being noted in order to ascertain the total amount paid.The marriage customs vary considerably in different parts of the district. Inmost of the Cross River towns above Abaragba there is no restriction placed onyoung girls as to sexual intercourse, but when they are married twenty-five piecesof cloth (value 5s. per piece) would be paid as damages for adultery. There is,however, an old custom existing between several towns that no damages canbe claimed for adultery. It may be of interest to the reader to state here brieflythe usual form of marriage in vogue in this district as the point of several ofthe tales turns on the position of the woman with reference to her husband orlover. I do not, however, propose to enter into details, but merely to indicatewhat constitutes a binding form of marriage in this part of the countryaccording to native custom. When a man takes a fancy to a young girl andwishes to marry her, he informs the parents of his intention, and gives thempresents. For example, the mother would receive a piece of cloth, and the fathera piece of cloth and two bottles of gin. The brothers and sisters of the girl wouldbe given tombo to drink, and in addition the sisters would receive one fathom[P BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!
Sitemize Üyelik ÜCRETSİZDİR!