Where Humans and Spirits Meet, 4 [Unguja, i.e. Zanzibar]

pp. 60-61, 65 makabila (‘tribes’ : singular /kabila/ ‘tribe’)

p.

kabila : "ma-s`e^t.ani ya __ "

who are __ spirits

from __

p. 65 special greeting

60

ruh.ani

Muslim

<arabia

S`olila

 

kibuki

Christian

Madagascar

[Maeva (p. 69)]

 

habes^ia

"

Abyssinia

Koi-Hatra lae, hatra cum, Maris^ mama

 

rubamba

kaffir

Pemba Island

Tarire

 

kisomali

Muslim

Somalia

 
 

kimaasai

kaffir

[Tanganyika]

 
 

kinubi

 

Nubia

 
 

kihadimu

 

S^iraz (Iran)

 
 

kizungu

 

Europe

 
 

"Mashetani ya kizungu used to appear primarily in a place called Makunduchi in the South Eastern part of Unguja."

 

61

"There are ... no spirits known to people in Zanzibar Town who are perceived as being from Zanzibar Town."

 

pp. 63-64 etiquettes of spirits differ according to kabila

p. 63

"When attending rituals, Zanzabari women and men are ... very careful to wear the sort of dress and use the colors and fragrances favoured by the spirits for whom the ritual is performed. It is also important to greet the spirit in the correct manner. Spirits of all kinds are [fastidious], and ... people try to please the spirits by following the tastes and styles of the spirits in question. This is ... a way by which people show them respect by conforming to their habits and values ..., and this is expressed through taste, style and relationships.

p. 64

... these differences are perceived as fixed among the spirits. In this sense it is the people who live in a universe of possibilities, not the spirits. Spirits are categorical, where humans are not."

"once people know the ‘tribe’ of the spirit, the spirit’s behaviour is rather predictable. The spirits are perceived and specified as different from each other both in terms of cultural stereotypes and in terms of gender, and one person may have several spirits belonging to different makabila and of different sexes."

p. 64 instances of kabila of a spirit

kabila : "s`e^t.ani ya __ "

who is a __

kibuki

"Christian spirit from Madagascar (Bukini)."

c^angombe

kaffir "nomad spirit from the mainland."

pp. 65-66 rite for identifying spirits (in a woman)

p. 65

The woman "sat on the floor with her feet stretched out; she was covered with a shawl (khanga) and held her hands on her knees." In order to summon a s`e^t.ani of a specific kabila, the officiant "covered her head and shoulders" with a cloth of the color matching that praeferred by the kabila; and "sprinkled her with rosewater", while burning the incense praeferred by the kabila.

p. 66

However, for a s`e^t.ani ya kibuki, the officiant removed the shawl covering the woman’s head, "because the masheitani ya kibuki do not like the tradition of covering the head."

pp. 65-66 colors of, and incenses favored by, categories of possessing-spirits

p.

color

incense

s`e^t.ani ya __

65

white

udi (aloe wood)

ruh.ani

 

black

uvumba

rubamba

 

red

udi

habes^ia

66

(none)

sandarusi (gopal)

kibuki

pp. 65-66 behaviour of possessing-spirits of particular makabuki

p. 65

"Among masheitani ya habeshia only the kings and queens can speak in the human world." Among them, a commoner s`e^t.ani "could only nod".

p. 66

A male s`e^t.ani ya kibuki "wanted the prescribed ritual lasting for five days and requiring twenty bottles of imported brandy".

{The difference (from those indicated on p. 56) in #s of days for ritual and of #s of bottles would apparently serve to distinguish individual sub-tribes of this kabila.}

pp. 66-71 countries & languages of ma-kabila of ma-s`e^t.ani

p.

66

68

70

71

s`e^t.ani

ruh.ani

kibuki

rubamba

habes^ia

from __

<arabia

Buki-ni

Pemba

Habas^

language

<arabic

ki-buki

Swahili

ki-habas^

p. 79, n. 4:10 sub-tribes of ma-s`e^t.ani ya ki-swahili

rubamba,

umundi,

kumbaya,

punbwa,

mc^anja,

mc^akavi

pp. 66-70 specific spirits

p.

s`e^t.ani ya __

named __

from town __

66

ruh.ani

jinni s`e^h^ Sule^man bin Moh.ammad bin Sa<id

Musqat.

68

ki-buki

Damandizo Damandizuzuriwa ["married to Danazeze" (p. 70)]

Maote (Mayotte)

 

"

Ndamusfali Ndamanes ["married to Ndasatima" (p. 70)]

Duwani

70

rubamba

Muzi wa Sanda Wajinni wa S`ariff wa Nkatamalini

--

pp. 67-68 peculiarities of ma-s`e^t.ani ya ruh.ani

p.

peculiarity

67

"The singing gradually turns into ... the repeated ‘Allah hai’—God the living one – as they perform special bodily movements."

 

"When the remedy is prepared a rupee coin has to be put into the pot, followed by the various ingredients in a special order. ...

68

The dish on which their food is served is covered with a white cloth."

 

"masheitani ya ruhani often, although not always, inhabit persons of the opposite sex; that is, a male sheitani ya ruhani inhabits a woman, or vice versa. ... just like human beings, masheitani ya ruhani are attrcted to persons of the opposite sex, and for that reason they usually inhabit those persons. In such cases, the male sheitani ya ruhani and the woman whose body the spirit inhabits might have a sexual relationship – they might even marry."

pp. 68-70 peculiarities of ma-s`e^t.ani ya ki-buki

p.

peculiarity

68

"Only women are members of the ritual groups ..., and the ritual leader is always a woman. ... however, ... among men, homosexuals in particular participate actively during the rituals. Other men will tend to watch the ritual from a distance."

69

"people present ... are given ... talmalandi (limestone ...) mixed with water, applied on the forehead, in front of the ears, on the neck and throat. Then the ritual leader says a prayer to Danahare Mdumwazi (God, the Great One). ... Those masheitani ya kibuki who have not been arranged for by the persons they have inhabited can only dance on their knees; they cannot stand up as do masheitani ya ruhani.

Masheitani ya kibuki prefer husic from a rattle (kayamba) and from the accordion." {The accordion is much-played for Sakalava spirit-possession caerimonies in Madagascar.}

 

dawa : "Preceding the various herbs and leaves, seven coins are put into the pot."

 

"none among the audience should wear ribbons or pins in their hair {is this an objection to the hair-pins worn by the Danai:des women?}, nor should anyone in the audience cover their head. Masheitani ya kibuki adore the sight of straight, blond hair. ... Masheitani ya kibuki dislike not only shoes but also glasses."

70

"When a person is inhabited by a spirit, he or she will usually get both a male spirit and his wife ... . When the husband spirit is in the head of one person, his wife will be in the head of another person. The husband and wife may also in turn climb to the head of the same person."

p. 68 "Hasheitani ya kibuki are Christians from Bukini, that is, Madagascar, and ... they are, more specifically, of Sakalava origin." {But the Malagasy, of whom the Sakalava have tended to retain their indigenous religion, derive from the Naju (Ngadju) of Kalimantan; so "Christian" must be a misnomer here, due perhaps to the slight phonetic similarity between /naju/ & /nazi[r]/. Kneeling may also be misperceived as a "Christian" practice.}

pp. 70-71 peculiarities of ma-s`e^t.ani ya rubamba

p.

peculiarity

70

"Their names ... refer ... to what they do or on which day or in which month they were born. ... These spirits move to the rhythm from two sticks beaten against each other (mkwasa), and they dance whilst standing. Their body movements are said to be similar to that of dwarves."

71

"Instead of the term chano for food, they use ng’ao ... . ... The dish is covered with a black cloth."

pp. 71-72 peculiarities of ma-s`e^t.ani ya habes^ia

p.

peculiarity

71

"Only the kings and queens among the masheitani ya habeshia ... introduce themselves by full names. ["masheitani ya habeshia usually come in pairs distinguished by status, i.e., royalty / servant" (p. 79, n. 4:12).] The commoners among masheitani ya habeshia do not have individual names."

72

"None of the spirits stands on their feet except the spirit of the ritual leader. The other masheitani ya habeshia sit down and perform their particular bodily movements."

pp. 74-75 titles of ritual leaders of the ma-kabila

p.

kabila : "ma-s`e^t.ani ya __ "

ritual leader

74

ruh.ani

walimu

 

rubamba

waganga, who "has knowledge of sorcery (uganga)."

75

kibuki

fundi

pp. 66-73, 79 c^ano (‘food’); dawa (‘remedy’)

s`e^t.ani

c^ano (food)

components of dawa

ruh.ani

pp. 67-68

honey,

halua (Turkish delight),

small bananas,

boiled eggs,

dates,

raisins,

sherbet

p. 79, n. 4:6

mdalasini (cinnamon),

rihani (sweet basil),

mc^aic^ai (lemon grass),

mkadi (screw pine),

hiliki (cardamom),

yasimini (jasmine),

mawardi (rose),

pac^ori (patchouli),

udi (aloe)

ki-buki

p. 69

honey,

sherbet,

tambuu (betel-nut & clove)

p. 79, n. 4:9

mkono (banana palm),

mpera (guava),

kivumbasi (fragrant basil),

tipi-tipi ("small red seed with black dots"),

mdimumsitu (wild lime),

mc^aic^ai (lemongrass),

mkwaju (tamarind),

mlangamia ("parasite {epiphyte} which grows on cloves"),

rihani (sweet basil)

rubamba

p. 71

dried octopus,

big bananas,

coconut,

raw eggs,

manda bread,

cassava,

popcorn

p. 79, n. 4:11

mnuka mave (shrubby herb),

kivumbasi (fragrant basil),

mkundekunde (shrub bearing a runner bean),

maurikali ("a kind of stinging fly"),

mc^akaazi ("much branched tree with small yellow flowers"),

mafus^o {"seagrass" ("NPS", p. 52a)}

habes^ia

p. 72

coffee,

ginger-tea

p. 73 halua mixed with popcorn

p. 79, n. 4:15

dalia ("yellow mixture of powder used by women for adornment"),

maras^ (rosewater),

rihani (sweet basil),

zabibu (grape),

udi (aloe),

hal-ud (perfume)

"NPS" = Efstathia Ioannou & Vassilios Roussis : "Natural Products from Seaweeds". In :- Anne Osbourn & Virginia Lanzotti (editrices) : Plant-Derived Natural Products. Springer Verlag, 2009. pp. 51-82. http://books.google.com/books?id=Y8SpVXEng4QC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=mafusho&source=bl&ots=wzIotZwLD4&sig=cFqQW5OWZIlalfy07KqZJUdBbUo&hl=en&ei=Y_ryS_3WM4P-8AberIzNDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=mafusho&f=false

SOCIAL IDENTITIES, Vol. 5 = Kjersti Larsen : Where Humans and Spirits Meet : ... Identified Spirits in Zanzibar. Berghan Books, Oxford, 2008.