Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/674

364 This vessel is filled with a mixture of palm-wine and water which is kept there for the use of the souls of the departed members of the tribe. The tree and bowl are called nepong. The head-chief of Bagam prepared this tree and bowl after his large native hut (ndap fong) was completed some time ago. The assembly place for the souls (mobîu) is always kept clean by one or other of the chief's boy attendants. I witnessed the ceremony of supplying food and replenishing the bowl with palm-wine on September 7th, 1917. The head-chief, who was accompanied by his attendants, performed the rites himself, assisted by his senior attendants. The day of the ceremony was called mwoi shie. A young goat was handed to the head-chief at the nepong. He cut its throat, the blood being allowed to flow all over the ground in front of the tree. As this was done the head-chief said, "This is the food for the souls of the dead Eghāp." Each time he made any remark during the ceremony he prefaced it by mentioning the name of his late father (Fong ō tong). To anything said by the head-chief the attendants always replied, "mbie!" The liver of the goat was then taken out, and after being cut into small pieces was mixed with palm oil. This mixture was then placed in a small hole in the ground near to the bowl. The head-chief again said that he was supplying the souls with food. It is believed that during this ceremony all the souls of former Eghāp are assembled to partake of the food. This custom appears to be founded on the one prevailing in Bagam, that if any of the townspeople want food or palm-wine they go to the head-chief for it and are never refused.

The head-chief's nepong is naturally the principal one in the town, but each headman of a compound has one for the use of his own relatives (chup). If insects devour the food it is regarded as an excellent omen, because it signifies that the souls have accepted the food provided for them. Such insects are never destroyed, as they are considered to be messengers from the home of the dead.