bakwerirama: The Spider as a Seer

INTRODUCING BAKWERIRAMA

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By Lyombe Eko (originally published on Fakonet in 2001)

Mbosi o no titowe
Mbo mbosi mbo
Mbosi o no titowe
Mbo mbosi mbo
Ekuku lu'uwa
Mbo, Mboszi mbo

This chant is part of Mokpe folklore and philosophy. It is the chant that a sick person or a person who needs help has to chant before he or she is seen by the doctor or soothsayer. In Mokpe folklore, the seer or soothsayer is the spider.

It is believed that the person or creature that is best placed to "untie" or heal a sick person is one who is a specialist in tying up things--we know spiders tie their victims in their webs. Similarly, the person best suited to "open" people's eyes is one who is an expert at “shutting” the eyes of his victims. This is also the spider. In addition, the spider has several eyes (that is a scientific fact). That is why he is the seer in Mokpe culture. Thus, when the Whakpe go to a healer they chant:

Mboszi o no titowe
Meaning: Mboszi, wipe or clean my eyes (Mboszi is the sticky material /secretion that accumulates on the eyes when one has conjunctivitis - conjuntival discharge). Mboszi is also the nickname of the spider. The mystery and paradox is that Mboszi, the spider, uses mboszi (impurities) to clean away mboszi (infections and impurities).

Mbo mboszi mbo
An alliteration (repetition/response using the name of Mboszi).

Mboszi o no titowe
Repetition of the first line

Mbo mboszi mbo
Repetition of the refrain/response.

Ekuku lu'uwa
Repeat Mbo Mboszi mbo nine times/ do nine paces* (This last line is hard to translate into English). *Nine is the lucky number in Mokpe while two is the unlucky number.