The African Students Association (ASA) discussed Juju, a type of African mythology, at their Friday night meeting in the Mattin Center.
In addition to discussing and debating the specific myths, spiritual practices and superstitions, the ASA members introduced additional elements of Juju from their own childhoods.
An aspect of Juju that sparked debate among meeting attendees involved human and animal sacrifice. Some of the African religions that incorporate Juju have similar structures — one supreme god, who is worshipped indirectly, and several minor gods, who are appeased via sacrifice.
Several polytheistic African religions have used the sacrifice of human beings, baby goats and vulture eggs in religious ceremonies.
Meeting attendees brought up Okija Shrine, a compound in eastern Nigeria that made headlines in 2004 when state police raided it and discovered 50 decomposing or shrunken bodies and 20 human skulls on the premises. More than 30 priests were arrested and found guilty of poisoning the victims with chemicals and subsequently looting the victims’ homes.
ASA members were quick to express their disapproval of human sacrifice in modern Juju practices. Junior Ohemaa Kwakyi talked about the difficulties that entail changing violent practices that have been widely accepted in communities for centuries.
“I want people to understand that [human sacrifice] is one of the things that people have passed down from generation to generation to generation and [that], in their minds, it works,” Kwakyi said. “The struggle is how to show them a different way of doing things. It’s tough when you have to explain to someone that what they think is the only way [of practicing their religion] is not right.”
Junior Marlene Kanmogne also expressed her thoughts on changing the practice of human sacrifice.
“I wonder if it becomes a little bit different and more complex when a person is offering themselves up [as sacrifice] and saying this is something [they] need to do because [their] faith is so strong,” Kanmogne said.
In addition to discussing sacrifice, ASA members talked about common and comical Juju superstitions. Examples included not picking up money off the ground to avoid transforming into a goat and not letting others rub one’s head to avoid losing intelligence.
Another superstition that the ASA discussed involved only walking backwards into rooms where someone has died; according to tradition, walking in backwards gives spirits ample time to leave the room, and people who do not walk in backwards risk getting slapped in the face by an angry spirit.
Kwakyi said that her family emphasized many superstitions because of their practical, everyday value.
“I was taught by my mom that a lot of these myths are [told] so you don’t do the wrong thing,” Kwakyi said.
Kwakyi referred to a popular African myth, which other ASA members said they were also told as children: Do not whistle at night or you will invite in evil spirits. However, she said she thought the reasoning behind the myth was a little different.
“Don’t whistle at night because you don’t want to wake everybody up,” Kwakyi said.
Other ASA members then brought up additional myths, such as that of Madam Koi Koi, a ghost who supposedly haunts boarding schools, which is designed to keep children indoors at night.
The ASA discusses various aspects of African culture at all of their meetings, which take place every Friday in the Mattin Center.
