The Shango Cult in Nigeria and in Trinidad

GEORGE EATON SIMPSON

Oberlin College

RINIDAD was discovered by Columbus in 1498, and some slaves were

brought early to the island. I n 1783 less than three thousand persons occupied the island, but in that year Spain opened Trinidad to settlement by
non-Spanish immigrants. The population grew to 17,718 by 1797, the year the
British took over the island. Between 1783 and 1797, a considerable number of
French colonists migrated to Trinidad from Granada, St. Vincent, the French
islands, France, and Canada. I n 1797 (de Verteuil 1858: 178), the population
consisted of: 2,151 Whites; 4,476 free colored; 10,000 slaves; and 1,082 American Indians. Herskovits and Herskovits (1947: 17-22) point out that the Trinidadian Negro is only secondarily of African derivation. Only 4,250 persons of
African birth lived in the island in 1876, 3,035 in 1881, and 164 in 1931. Most
of the Negro population of Trinidad came from other West Indian islands; a
few came from the South American mainland and the United States. Following
the abolition of slavery in 1838, indentured workers from India were brought
to the island, mainly as laborers on the sugar estates in the South.
A comparison of the Shango cults of the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria
and of lower class people of African descent in Trinidad reveals interesting
similarities and differences in the form and meaning of a number of culture
elements.

DEITIES IN THE SHANGO CULT OF TRINIDAD

In Nigeria, Shango, god of thunder, is the only deity worshipped in the

Shango cult. Other Yoruba gods have their own priests, societies, and cult
centers (Forde 1951 :29). I n Trinidad, Shango is only one of dozens of powers, including fifteen or more Yoruba deities, who are followed by persons
engaged in African work.
Olorun, the supreme god of the Yoruba (Frobenius 1913: I: 198; Johnson
1921: 26; Talbot 1926: 11:29; Parrinder 1954: 34), has not been transferred by
name to Trinidad. Two other Yoruba gods, Elefon and Obalufon (Bascom
1944:30), have been reinterpreted as Eternal Father and Jesus in Trinidadian shango. Ifa, god of divination, is not known to my informants in
Trinidad.
Frobenius (1913: I: 229) observed that black and white missionaries to the
Yoruba created misunderstanding concerning the Orisha Eshu by making him
the equivalent of the DevilssHe was told that Eshu ( . played many tricks;
Edju made kindred peoples go to war; Edju pawned the moon and carried off
the sun; Edju made the Gods strive against themselves. But Edju is not evil.
He brought us the best of all there is, he gave us the Ifa oracle; he brought the

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sun. But for Edju, the fields would be barren. Bascom (1944:38) regards
Eshu as a messenger of the orisha. Parrinder (1949:67-68; 1953:30-31) found
that Eshu may be used to protect from danger or to cause harm to others. According to Frobenius (1913: I: 234), Eshus abode was an underground Ina
(fire) or he lived in Inu (caverns) filled with fire in the mountains. No sacrifice
could be offered to him without fire, and every shrine in his honor had to be
purified by fire and ashes. A syncretism of Yoruba and Christian elements is
seen in beliefs and rituals associated with Eshu in the shango cult in Trinidad.
Eshu is paired with Satan, and many devotees believe that he is capable only of
evil deeds. Some informants hold that Eshu can perform good as well as evil
acts, but these persons advised against staying on too friendly terms with him.
At the beginning of a shango ritual, Eshus food, a calabash of water and a
calabash of ashes, is brought into the palais while one or more songs are sung
asking him to leave the ceremony. The carrying of the two calabashes outside
the ritual area symbolizes the dismissal of Eshu.
Shango, god of thunder and lighting, has rivers for wives: Oya (the Niger
river), Oshun, and Oba. In the Trinidadian cult, Shango is invariably equated
with St. John, Oya with St. Catherine or St. Philomena, and Oshun with St.
Anne or St. Philomena. I did not encounter Oba, nor have I seen her name
mentioned in the literature.
Ogun, ancient god of war, iron, and the hunt, remains popular in southern
Nigeria. No longer needed as a deity of war, Ogun is still important to blacksmiths, hunters, and through a n extension of his authority, motor drivers
(Parrinder 1953:25-26). Ogun, paired with St. Michael, is a powerful spirit in
the shango cult of Trinidad. Le Hkrissk and Herskovits have shown that
Sopona (Sopponna, Shankpanna, Shokpona, Sakpata) is a n earth god who has
come in recent years to be regarded almost solely as the smallpox deity (Le
Hkissk 1911: 128; Herskovits 1938:ch.27; Parrinder 1949:Sl). I n Trinidad,
Shakpana, who corresponds to St. Jerome, St. Francis, or Moses, is thought of
as a doctor.
Orisala (Orishala), known locally under different names, including Obatala, is said in Nigeria to have been closely associated with Olorun in the creation of the world. Also, he is believed to punish those who violate his taboos by
causing their children to be albinos, dwarfs, or deformed persons (Johnson
1921:27; Talbot 1926:11:31; Parrinder 1953:27). I n Trinidad, Obatala is
identified with St. Benedict. Yemanja, daughter of Obatala and Odudua (not
found in Trinidad), is the deity of the river Ogu. She is called Emanja, Amanja,
or Omanja in Trinidad and is equated with St. Anne or St. Catherine. According to Yoruba myth, Orungan, Yemanjas son, committed incest with her and
15 deities were born, including Shango and Ogun (Talbot 1926: 11:31; Parrinder 1949: 54, 55).
Osahin (Osayin, Osanyin), a Yoruba god of medicine (Lucas 1948: 153-74;
Parrinder 1953: 36), known as Osain in Trinidadian shango, is the equivalent of
St. Francis and is called upon in treating certain types of disease, especially
illnesses caused by evil spirits. Aja, a minor spirit in Nigeria (Lucas 1948: 153

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ff), is called Ajaja in Trinidad and corresponds to Jonah or Moses. A least one
shango priestess in Trinidad calls St. Peter by the name of the Yoruba twingods, BCji (Ibeji). OromelC, or St. Joseph, may be the Trinidadian name for
Oro (Parrinder 1953:35, 57); Erale, who is equated with Moses or Jonah, may
be the Yoruba god Erinle (Parrinder 1953: 30). Although Oko, the farm god, is
still popular in Nigeria (Parrinder 1953:24), none of my informants mentioned this deity and I heard no songs in his honor a t ~eremonies.~
A shango
goddess in Trinidad variously known as Mother of the Earth, Mama LaatC,
and Mother of All Nations, whose Catholic equivalents are St. Veronica,
Mother of Mount Carmel, and Eve (African name is said to be Aiyakba), is
not now an agricultural deity. Other alleged but untraced African gods named
by shangoists in Trinidad include : OmalalC, Abacuso, Bookbiaba, Bozeon,
Olomene, Areasan, Olopelofon, and Zazep.
The elaborate mythology which underlies and explains Yoruba religious
beliefs and practices has disappeared in Trinidad. As in some Brazilian
batuqzces and candomblds (Bastide 1960: 39-60), Catholic hagiography has
taken the place of the old myths.
TEMPLES

Frobenius (1913: I: 194) described two kinds of bangas in Yoruba country

in 1910, a four-cornered temple which was a room in a compouqd building and
a circular temple. The altar in the rectangular temple consisted of . . . a
stack of jars, used as the oracles shrine, wooden images with the Thunderbolt, cloth with plates of metal
. , the amulet-robes of the Shamans, wallets
hanging on the walls, etc. . . And he added: . . . there is an absolutely incongruous jumble of modern spirit bottles, old yellow-metal casts, ornamental
iron railings, all sorts of headgear and amulets, old pitchers, pieces of old stone
buildings, etc., etc., all huddled together. In 1953, Parrinder (1953: 17-19)
described the best known of all the pagan temples in Ibadan, the Shango
temple a t Agbeni visited by Frobenius in 1910. Although Parrinder found the
carved figures in the inner chamber to be striking, he calls the altar with its
thunder-stones, figurines, leather wallets, calabashes of charms, and offerings of kolas, meal and oil, a squalid sanctuary. In the years 1949 to 1951,
Parrinder found some 50 pagan shrines in Ibadan, not including open-air
shrines (Parrinder 1953: 6, 59). Among these were: six smaller Shango temples
in addition to the one mentioned above, six temples of Ogun, two for Yemoja,
one for Oya, two for Erinle, and nine for Oko. Parrinder (1953:59) says . . .
there are now great areas in Ibadan where no temples have been traced a t all.
One finds abandoned temples serving as storehouses or shelters for animals.
Often a few dracena shrubs mark the site of an old temple. Many temples that
are still used have an air of neglect, with broken and rotting drums, wormeaten images, and only a few old people to keep the cult going.
I n Trinidad, the chapelle of a shango cult houses statues and lithographs of
the saints, crucifixes, rosaries, candles, thunder stones, vases of flowers, pots
of water, bottles of olive oil, and such tools of the powers as swords, doublebladed wooden axes similar to the dance clubs (carved ritual axes decorated

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Shango Cult i n Nigeria and Trinidad

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with heads and thunderbolts in western Nigeria [Frobenius 1913: I ; 211,214]),

cutlasses, hatchets, daggers, wooden guns, wooden spears, bows and arrows,
anchors, boat paddles, drums, keys, banners, wooden crosses, shayshays (ceremonial brooms), chac-chacs (rattles), and shepherds crooks. In none of the
shrines that I saw were the African symbols kept in a separate room, a practice
followed in many vodun shrines in Haiti and in many of the candomblCs in
Brazil. However, nearly all of the objects on the altar and on the upper half of
the wall space in the chapelle are Catholic symbols. The stools (shrines),
thunderstones, and tools are arranged on the floor or on the lower half of the
wall space.5 Exterior shrines for Ogun and several other powers who are important to a given shango priest or priestess are established around the yard.
RITUAL OBJECTS

Many stones are utilized as ritual objects in West Africa, but neolithic Celts
are associated with the thunder deities, while granite and laterite rocks are
symbols of earth gods (Parrinder 1949: 15). Frobenius (1913:I: 212-18) refers
to the very special attention which was devoted to the lightning-stones
during a Shango cult ceremony and speaks of blood from the sacrifices streaming over the meteorites, the leathern coverings of the altar, the jars, and the
effigies. He states also that when the peasant finds a n ancient stone axe in his
fields, he carefully picks it up and puts it among his produce or upon the altar
of the God Shango as the symbol and instrument of his might, praying him to
bless his crops and send him rains and foison plenty. In Trinidad, pierres
are believed to fall from the sky. Every chapelle has its collection of thunder
stones of various sizes, usually kept in white plates or placed on the shrines, but
they are symbols of other powers as well as of Shango. The stones must be
washed each year in a mixture of certain leaves and water, and from time to
time they must be fed by pouring olive oil on them. Some cult leaders also
arrange the following ingredients around a n important stone: five slices of obi
seed, five grains of Guinea pepper, and a small quantity of cows milk. When
an animal is sacrificed during a ceremony, some of the blood is allowed to drip
on the stones of the power to whom the offering is being made. Some exterior
stools consist of a number of medium-sized and small stones placed on a
large flat rock.
Clay pots and jars containing water are ubiquitous in the shango centers of
Trinidad as they are in cult houses in southern Nigeria (Talbot 1926: 11: 20).
On entering a shango center in Trinidad during a nonceremonial period, a
prominent devotee goes to each of the exterior shrines and pours a small quantity of water from the jar found on the stool. Water is poured from clay pots
a t various times during a ceremony.
Sopona, the Yoruba smallpox deity, carried a ceremonial broom made of
sedge-grass or the branches of the bamboo palm (Frobenius 1913:1:240;
Johnson 1921:28). Shakpana, one of the aspects of St. Francis or, in some
Trinidadian cult centers, the equivalent of St. Jerome, St. Anthony, or Moses,
carries a shayshay while possessing a follower during a ceremony.
According to Talbot (1926:11:88), the usual symbols of Ogun were a cot-

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ton tree, a stone, and a piece of iron. I n Trinidadian shango, Oguns tool is a
sword or a cutlass which is fixed permanently in his outdoor stool.
In the shango cults of Trinidad, as among the Yoruba, drums are the most
important musical instruments. Shango cult drums in Trinidad, made in sets
of three, resemble the double-headed bala drums more than the other drums
found among the Yoruba-the igbin (open-ended log drums with single leather
heads, tuned by wooden pegs, which stand on three legs); the dundun or
gangan (two-headed, hourglass-shaped, pressure drums; or the shallow
hemispherical gudugudu drum with a single fixed head (Bascom 1953: 2-6).
The largest Trinidadian shango drum is played with one stick, the smaller
drums with two sticks. The smallest shango drum in Trinidad has the same
name, oumele, as the medium sized Yoruba drum. Gourd rattles and handclapping are used to accompany the drums both in southwest Nigeria and in
Trinidad. In addition to drums and chac-chacs (ordinary gourd rattles) Trinidadian shangoists have two instruments which, taken together, are the musical
equivalent of the slzekere rattle among the Yoruba. The shagby in Trinidad is a
drum made from a large, round calabash whose top has been replaced with a
piece of goatskin. The other object is a long, slender calabash filled with a string
of buttons which produces a tremendous volume of sound when shaken. Bascom (1953:4) says that the Nigerian shekere is a large calabash, up to two
feet in diameter, which is covered with a string net to which cowry shells are
fastened. It is a versatile instrument. When shaken, it serves as a rattle; it can
also be beaten like a drum, and thrown into the air and caught in exact
rhythm.
Every shango chapelle in Trinidad includes among its ritual objects a t least
one double-bladed wooden hatchet or axe similar to the plainest of the dance
clubs whose upper portions were decorated with thunderbolts (stone axes) in
the Shango temples of the Yoruba (Frobenius 1913:1:211).
DIVINATION

Frobenius found that among the Yoruba, two obi (kola-nuts), divided into
their eight natural sections, were thrown to determine whether a given person
was acceptable to a n orisha or to enable a diviner or a priest of the cult of Ifa
to interpret the oracle (Frobenius 1913: I: 190-91,228-29,243-46). A favorable
reply was indicated if four of the sections fell on the flat and four on the convex
side. Frobenius (1913:1:213) and Talbot (1926:II:lM)) mention the use of
cowries, as well as sections of a kola-nut, in divination. At a ceremony for
Shango, the diviner throws the kola-nuts or the cowries to ascertain the attitude of the god toward the worshippers, or the most prominent persons, as
shown by prophesying a fortunate or unfortunate year. According to Frobenius (1913: 1:213), if the answer given by the augur be unfavourable and indicates obvious displeasure on the part of the God, the sacrifice is repeated as
before until the answer be gracious.
No serious decision is made without
consulting Ifa, the oracle of divination named after the deity who controls it
(Bascom 1942:41-43; Forde 1951:29-30). Divination is based on a series of
256 odu (permutations) attained by casting a chain of eight seeds. I n Trinidad,

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a shango leader throws the two halves of an obi seed to determine whether a
ceremonial sacrifice is acceptable to a power or to obtain the answer to a
question outside a ceremony. If one round side and one flat side come up, the
answer is affirmative. If both round sides come up, the reply is negative. If the
two flat sides come up, the answer is a la fwah, that is, the obi laugh. I n
the latter case, the obi must be thrown until a definite answer is received. Other
ways of divining the future in Trinidad include gazing into a crystal ball, a
glass of water, or the flame of a candle.
In his early twenties the Yoruba adult male obtains his life horoscope (a
figure or permutation of obi seeds). According to Parrinder (1949: 159), the
figure is engraved on a small triangular piece of calabash, placed with the obi
nuts in a linen bag, and fastened by a string bearing several cowries. The horoscope is carefully guarded and if its owner needs to be reminded of its interpretation, he may consult a Babalawo (Ifa diviner) a t any time. Usually women
do not consult Ifa, unless they are childless or are told to do so by th6 Babalawo, but they keep seven nuts in a straw sheath which is wrapped in the waistcloth (Parrinder 1949: 159). An analogous practice in Trinidad, not limited to
males, is known as mournin, a secret ritual of fasting and praying during
which visions and revelations are sought. During mournin a devotee of the
shango cult or of the Shouters church, a fundamentalist cult, receives a gift,
that is, he finds out what his work (fate) in the cult is. One may return to
the mournin house several times to build and may thus receive new
spiritual gifts. A t the beginning of the mournin rite, the officiant signs
and seals for each participant two or more bands of cloth (chalks designs on
them and drips wax from a burning candle on the symbols). During mournin
or building one receives a Psalm or a chapter (from the Bible) and a hymn.
Pointing people (putting them to mourn) is done by leaders in the Shouters group both for Shouters and for shangoists, unless the shango leader also
carries on Spiritual Baptist work.
CEREMONIAL PRACTICES

Frobenius reports the sprinkling of blood on an altar, the draining of the

rest of the blood into a pot, and the cooking of the kidneys and the liver of the
sacrificial animals in the blood (1913:I: 191). In Trinidadian shango, some of
the blood of animal sacrifices is sprinkled on the stools (shrines) of the principal powers of a cult center during a big ceremony, some is collected in
vessels, and some is mixed with sweet (olive) oil, heated and served a t the
Last Supper on the final night of the ceremony. Also, the liver, part of a
hind leg, and part of a front leg of a goat are cooked separately without salt, as
are the liver, kidneys, head, and one leg of a fowl, as an offering to Ogun (St.
Michael).
Water is offered ceremonially to the gods in both the Yoruba and the
Trinidadian shango cults, but in addition in Trinidad an interesting syncretism
is seen in the belief that every shango initiate should be bapitzed if he has not
been baptized previously.
When a Yoruba was initiated into the Shango cult, he purified himself with

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an infusion made by bruising the leaves of two evergreen trees in a bowl of

water. He was then seated on a mortar and shaved. The water birds and the
tortoise, which he was required to provide as an initiation fee, along with other
animals, ceremonial objects, and cowry shells, were killed and their hearts removed. The hearts, together with slices of the flesh of a ram, a snail, an armadillo, a rat, a toad, a tadpole, an elephant, and a deer, were pounded together
with the leaves, and a ball was made of the mixture. According to Johnson
(1921 :26), the candidate now submits to incisions on his shaven head and the
ball of pounded articles is rubbed into the wounds. I n Trinidad, a person
gives a small feast a month or so after his first possession. A shango officiant
then washes his head with a mixture made by mashing certain leaves
(dragons blood, rockshen, lannebois, ayfaray) in a calabash of water and adding olive oil, red lavender, and aqua divine. On the same day, or later, the
daysunu (head washing) is followed by the rite of singbereh (head gashing).
After reciting a prayer in unison and singing a song in honor of the power concerned, the Master of Ceremonies makes three or five small gashes with a razor
or a razor blade on the followers forehead, chin, and arms. (Later, the person
may receive additional gashes-the usual number is three, five, seven, or nine.)
A paste, made by pounding the following to a powder-a dry obi seed, seven
grains of guinea pepper, seven wild okra seeds, seven house flies, an eggshell
from which a chicken has been hatched-and mixing these ingredients with the
same oils used in head washing, is placed on the cuts.
Frobenius (1913: I: 212, 213) mentions a big annual ceremony and feast in
the 14th month (November), and Trinidadian shango is noteworthy for its
annual four-day ceremony, with the date varying from temple to temple in the
months between June and November. Shangos preference for a cock or a ram
is the same in Nigeria and in Trinidad, but other powers in shango prefer
other offerings.
Concerning feasting and possession during a Shango festival in Nigeria,
Frobenius (1913:1:213-14) wrote:
The crowd begins to enjoy itself when the sacrifices have been offered. The cuisine is prepared
and the banqueting begins. . . .
Shango descends quite unexpectedly upon some man or woman dancers head. The inspirationist rushes madly to the Banga, seizes an OsC-Shango, a beautifully carved club, or a Sher6Shango, that is, the holy rattle. The individual begins to caper before the others. The afflatus is
patent. All agree in this: a being possessed by Shango or any other Orisha dances quite differently
from the ordinary folk. . The beater of the sacred Batta drum joins the dancer, and they leave
the temple court with all the rest a t their heels. He dances to his own house, followed by them all,
and then everyone well knows that this person is a friend, a darling of Shangos. Arrived at his
home, the God-favoured one will provide sacrificial rams, cowries, kola and drink for the commune,
so that they all may know and experience the gratitude he feels. . . Shango can possess several
persons on one day, but not concurrently. And what in their frenzy these rapt enthusiasts may say
passes for oracular truth.

. .

At an annual shango ceremony in Trinidad, the participants dance by moving back and forth within a short range, marking time, bending the knees and
straightening up rapidly, clapping hands, swaying, and, a t times, circling the
palais in single file with a springing step. When a power manifests on him,

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the dancing of a follower becomes more lively. He marches to and fro in the
palais, bows and whirls in front of the drummers, dances to the rhythms played
by the drummers in honor of the power that has possessed him, thrusts the
lower half of his body backward and forward, shakes his shoulders vigorously,
runs from the palais to the chapelle to kneel or to throw himself on the floor,
embraces other participants whether or not they are possessed a t the moment,
pours water from a jar a t the four corners of the palais, waves the implement
(sword, broom, oar, etc.) of the possessing power, sings, speaks the unknown
tongue, throws his head back and forth, groans, flings his arms, falls to the
ground, and seizes and shakes both hands of another person, possessed or unpossessed.
After the singing, dancing, and drumming have continued for several
hours, animals are sacrificed (cocks, goats, sheep, land turtles, and, perhaps, a
bull) and some of the meat, as well as servings of such other foods as rice,
coocoo (corn meal), corn, okra, and black-eyed peas, all cooked without salt, are
put on the stools as offerings to the gods. I n addition to food provided a t other
times for those participants who remain a t the leaders home throughout the
four-day Trinidadian shango ceremony, an amombo is obliged to have a feast
each afternoon or in the early evening for all in attendance.
I n 1943, M. J. Herskovits pointed out the need for a reanalysis of the possession-experience in West Africa. This comment was occasioned by some
observations in both northern and southern Brazil of the way in which a
possessed person returns to his normal state (Herskovits 1943: 505). This
intermediate condition, known as er&,is a type of semi-possession described
as the childishness that goes with every god. I n a later paper, Herskovits
(1948: 9) points out that the states preceding possession, and possession itself
in West Africa, have often been described, but the experience of coming out
of possession has thus far been quite overlooked. Concerning erC in Bahia, and
a t times in Trinidad, where it was discovered by Espinet and Eduardo, he
wrote :
The deity is envisaged as having withdrawn from his head but is replaced by that attribute
of the god which is his messenger, and his childhood state. . . . Some of them caricature the choreography of the ritual dancing for the gods, some feed the drummers, stuffing food in their mouths
as they play their instruments, some sing childrens songs or play childrens games or engage in
mischievous pranks. An exceptional one may be morose, or amorous, or quarrelsome. I n Bahia, a
troublesome erd would not be allowed by the cult-head to play, but would be ritually dispatched
(Herskovits 1948:9).

My findings on rbrb possession in the shango cult of Trinidad are:

1) Every power has a rCrC, a messenger-servant. RCrb have names (Big
Boy, Mexican Boy, Moon, etc.).
2) Usually a rCrC comes after a power leaves. A rCrC does not always come
after a power leaves, and occasionally a rCr&sarrival precedes that of
the power.
3) Some persons are possessed by a rCrC but never by a power.
4) A r6rC does not manifest on a person as powerfully as does a power.

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5) Often one can get the r6r6 to come more quickly than the power.
6) The r6r6 may bring a message explaining what a power demands. The
power may or may not arrive later in the ceremony (W. and F. Mischel
[1958: 2531 say that the werL in Trinidad delivers no actual messages.)
7) RCrCs are mischievous, They talk loudly, turn somersaults, and talk
about everything they have seen.
8) R6r6s are afraid of powers. If a r6r6 is manifesting on a person and
powers are manifesting on others, the r6r6 will not come into the palais.
When Shango leaves, his servant comes. This rCr6, called coubayduy, is
the head of all r6r6s. He is regarded as a power and can, therefore, come
into the palais. The other r6r6s stay outside the palais while he is there
unless he calls them in. If he and other powers are not present, they
enter the palais. When he enters, all of the other r6rCs have to run outside the palais. He tells them that if they wish to come in and enjoy the
feast they must be quiet and obey him. Usually, they are quiet while he
is there.
9) R6r6s always come during a ceremony-never outside a ceremony.
10) When a rCr6 comes to a person, he may help him with his workcarry water, build a fire, or assist him in other ways.
As a part of their reinforcement theory about possession, W. and F.
Mischel (1958: 256) suggest an alternative interpretation to the view that Cr6
possession is a transition from a state of ecstasy to one of normalcy. They
wonder if childish, regressive behaviors are not still pleasurable to the individual, both directly and for their possible symbolic meanings. They see within wert possession the re-enactment of behaviors which are still gratifying but
no longer acceptable. Certainly this type of possession substantiates the idea of
varying degrees of possession (W. and F. Mischell958: 253).
A series of death rites are conducted by the Yoruba. Ceremonial feasts are
held by the Ogboni, Oro, and Egungun secret societies (Forde 1951:29). The
widows are led out of town for a minor ritual on the seventh day, and one week
later a member of the Egungun comes to the house, calls upon the dead man,
and gets a reply from another Egungun. The next morning the masked Egungun comes to the house, impersonating the deceased (Parrinder 1949: 120).
Members of the society represent the spirits of the departed when they return
40 days after death to visit their relatives, and they are active in the annual
ceremonies for the ancestors (Parrinder 1949: 129; 1951: 77-78). A second
funerary service is performed by the Yoruba, the interval depending upon the
importance of the deceased (Johnson 1921: 138; Forde 1951: 29).
The Yoruba secret societies are not found in Trinidad. Some orisha
people give a feast for all of the dead relatives on All Saints Night (November l), but others honor only the powers on this occasion. Shangoists do not
hold a ceremony for the dead on All Souls Night (November 2). Regardless of
denomination, lower class Trinidadian families of African descent may hold
one or more of the following rites: a wake, a Third Night, a Nine Night, a

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Forty Day, and an Annual Memorial. As in Haiti, Jamaica, and other parts of
the Caribbean, these multiple rites for the dead are syncretisms of West
African and West European beliefs and practices.
SOUL CONCEPTS

Among the Yoruba, the West African multiple soul concept includes the
okan (the personal soul or heart which a t death becomes a disembodied spirit),
the spirit (emior iwin), and the ojiji or shadow (Talbot 1926:11:261-62;
Parrinder 1951 :77-78). By incantation, an evil person is able to summon the
soul of a deceased person and interrogate it, a procedure considered quite
different to communicating with the spirits of the ancestors in a reverent way
or in seances during which priests or attendant mediums are possessed by departed spirits of men (Talbot 1926: 11: 191-92; Forde 1951:30). The Yoruba
attribute many misfortunes and illnesses to the anger of spirits of the dead
(Talbot 1926: II:305). I n Trinidad, many shangoists believe in two aspects of
the human spirit: the soul and the shadow. They hold that a good member
of the cult can obtain remedies from the dead for the treatment of the sick, and
that an evil operator can capture an evil spirit and use it for his own purposes.
WITCHES

In southern Nigeria, witches are thought to be able to assume the form of

birds, owls, cats, or ants (Talbot 1926: 11: 209; Parrinder 1951: 138). Although
this metensomatosis may be effected from good motives, it is believed that it is
utilized mainly by those who seek to harm an enemy by spoiling his crops or
injuring him personally (Talbot 1926: 11: 228). Witches are supposed to feed
upon children in preference to adults, to have the power to prevent delivery of
a child, to produce miscarriage, and to cause di5culties in menstruation (Talbot 1926:11:206). Belief in legawus and sukuyans is widespread among lower
class Trinidadians. Some say these hags can turn themselves into dogs or
other animals, and that they can fly either by removing their skins or by rubbing a certain kind of oil on their bodies. They are said to suck the blood of
their victims. The beliefs about witches in Trinidad seem to be syncretisms of
West African ideas and of Western European notions concerning the Zoup
garou.
HEALING

Herbs and medicines, mixed with ghee, palm oil and nut oil, as prescriptions given by Shango to the priest, were used widely among the Yoruba. And,
according to Frobenius, the Batta drum was also powerful medicine (Frobenius 1913: 11: 217). Leaves are extremely important in popular healing
formulas in Trinidad, and they are often boiled or crushed in water and mixed
with one or more oils (palm, olive, coconut, castor, whale, shark, etc.). Drums
are beaten in Trinidad when a healer undertakes to cure a person who is
seriously ill, especially one who is possessed by an evil spirit.

1214

American Anlhropologist

[64, 1962

DREAMS

Among the Yoruba, dreams are believed to portray future events and distant happenings. A juice or a powder may be placed on or near the eyes a t night
to stimulate the power of occult sight. Diviners determine which dreams are
transparently clear and will come true, and which are symbolical or go by
opposites and require interpretation (Parrinder 1951:191). Leaders of the
shango cult in Trinidad say that some dreams are perfectly clear, e.g., an order
from a power to move his flag from one side of the house to the front yard, but
that others have to be interpreted. One may receive healing remedies through
a dream-experience, or a power may give one a message or a warning to pass on
to another person. If one dreams that he is keeping a feast, or that he has
been sent to the river to perform a ritual, he is supposed to carry out such acts
later.
CHARMS

Frobenius (1913: 11:202-3) reported the daily use of amulets by the

Yoruba, and Talbot (1926: 11:180) described medicines which were put into
a bracelet, anklet, or small bag to be worn by the person for whom it was made.
Parrinder (1949: 173-74) writes of a wide variety of charms, including rings,
girdles, bracelets, chains, leather packets filled with leaves, whistles, miniature
knives, small brooms, and the teeth and horns of wild or domestic animals, in
Ashanti, Dahomey, and Nigeria, and (1953: 61) specifically of charms utilized
in Ibadan today. I n Trinidad, charms prescribed by shango leaders, and by
others who practice the occult arts, include shield rings; red armbands; sacks
containing incense or written prayers; and red braid, tied with knots a t each
end and a t the middle, worn around the waist.
One offensive charm in West Africa consists of laying a trail of prepared
soil across an enemys porch or around his hut (Parrinder 1949: 176). I n Trinidad, grave dirt may be thrown in an enemys yard to injure him, or one may
grind a piece of a nest of wood ants, mix this powder with ground black pepper,
grave dirt, musk powder, and compelling powder, and sprinkle the combination in front of an enemys door. Contagious magic in the form of destroying
an enemys hair clippings, nail parings, or earth from his footprints is found
both in southern Nigeria (Talbot 1926: 11:182) and in Trinidad. Such practices, like love philtres in the form of potions, ointments, or powders (Talbot
1926: 11:180), are widely spread types of magic in Europe and Africa, and undoubtedly the Trinidadian varieties are syncretisms. House guards and shop
guards are employed in West Africa (Parrinder 1954: 114-15) and in Trinidad.
Parrinder (1951: 214) refers to the prevalence of quack remedies, lucky
mascots, and horoscopes in Britain today and points out that %ome of these
are exported to Africa, where they come to be regarded as the white mans
occult secrets and clues to his power. I n the interpenetrations of civilizations
in Africa and the New World, charms provide unlimited opportunities for
syncretism.

SIMPSON]

Shango Cult i n Nigeria and Trinidad

1215

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

Neither in Nigeria nor in Trinidad are the members of the shango cult
limited to a particular family or lineage. Bascom (1944: 37) reports that there
are some orishas, including Sbngo, whose If&cult-members come from many
different sibs but in any of which they comprise, a t most, one or two households. He says that an individual may become the worshipper of a particular
orisha in two ways: (1) by continuing to serve a god worshipped by his father
or his mother, or (2) by being called by a n orisha to become a worshipper
(Bascom 1944:23). The first is the more customary method, but, since a n individual may worship several orishas, he may utilize different methods to obtain them.
Although affiliation with a given chapelle is not dictated by kinship bonds,
most of a Trinidadian shango leaders relatives attend a t least the annual ceremony. Several members of a family which is unrelated to the cult head may be
attached to a cult center, but many devotees become involved with shango on
an individual basis because the leader has cured them of an illness or helped
them in some other way. At the ceremonies I attended, there were always people from some distance as well as those from the immediate area. During the
main ceremonial season of June through November some persons attend part
or all of one or more ceremonies each week. As long as individuals are well-behaved, one is not supposed to exclude anyone who wishes to come to the palais.
The shango priesthood in Trinidad, with its amombos, is simpler than the
Yoruba magico-religious personnel with its categories of Ada-ushe (shamans
who battle malignant spirits), Babalawo and Oluwo (diviner and high priest of
the cult of Ifa), and family and communal priests, the Abosha and the Adje
(Frobenius 1913:I: 200, 202, 228, 243,245,189). The cult head is in full charge
of the Trinidadian shango establishment, but he or she has close friends and
associates who assist in carrying on the work, especially the main ceremonies. Such persons play a prominent part in the singing and praying. They
keep a watchful eye on those who become possessed by the powers and they
themselves get possessed. Others help by cleaning the leaders yard, arranging
the objects on the altar and the walls of the chapelle, and cooking the food for
offerings and for meals for the participants. Usually one or more men are paid
a small fee to kill the animals used as sacrifices. The drummers are extremely
important and must be well treated.
Most cult heads invite from four to seven amombos to their large annual
feasts. These guests are shown the greatest respect, receive the finest hospitality that the host can provide, are consulted about ritual procedures before
the ceremony starts, and, in most cases, take an active part in the rites. If a
person is primarily a healer, she may bring in an outsider to conduct a n
orisha ceremony.
NUMBER OF CULT CENTERS AND CULTISTS

No information is available concerning the number of centers devoted to

the worship of Shango among the Yoruba today. I n 1951, Parrinder (1953:6,

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[64, 1962

17-20, 59) found seven temples in Ibadan devoted to the worship of Shango
and one that was associated with Oya, one of Shangos wives. He observed that
many of the 50 pagan temples were small and neglected, and that few had
more than 30 or 40 present a t the weekly sacrifice. The annual festivals attract
large crowds, and casual visitors seek help a t the temples in time of need.
Parrinder (1953 :59-60) concludes that paganism has declined markedly in
Ibadan in the past 60 years, but he adds that it would be a mistake to conclude
that paganism may shortly disappear from the town, and that it is not capable
of surviving in other forms.8
It is impossible to estimate accurately the number of shangoists in Trinidad. Some devotees attend a number of the large, annual ceremonies given in
different cult centers. Some persons attend a Shouters church regularly but
participate from time to time in shango ceremonies. Some shangoists attend
the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Baptist church with some
regularity. For some, the principal attractions of shango are the healing and
conjuring which are available through cult leaders. There are several dozen
shango cult centers in Trinidad, with a total of thousands of devotees and additional thousands of marginal participants and client^.^
THE ACCULTURATIVE PROCESS IN TRINIDADIAN SHANGO

In analyzing the interpenetrations of civilizations in the New World, the

problem is to find how European, African, American Indian, East Indian, and
other elements have been combined into a cultural whole. In the shango cult of
Trinidad, no traces of Carib, Arawak, or other American Indian influence are
evident. Despite the fact that persons of East Indian descent constituted 36.5
percent of Trinidads population in 1960, I found little evidence that Hindu or
Moslem beliefs or practices had been incorporated in shango. Independently,
two leaders asserted that they had an East Indian power (Baba and Mahabil)
in their pantheons.l0 Crowley (1957:822) reports that the Yoruba god Osain
is syncretized with the Muslim saint Hossein, grandson of Mohammed, and is
described by his Negro devotees as a wild Coolie mon. Some Shangoists
claim they have traveled to India during trance-experiences and have acquired special knowledge there, but I found no indication of such edification
and I heard no East Indian songs or prayers during shango ceremonies. East
Indian ingredients are included in some of the magical formulas used by persons of African descent in both the shango and the Shouters cults.
The African retentions in Trinidadian shango which show the least degree
of change include: the use of drums and rattles, the emphasis on rhythms and
polyrhythms, handclapping and foot patting, dancing as a part of religious
ceremonies, animal sacrifices, revelation by the gods in giving remedies to men,
and the belief that the gods intervene in the affairs of men.
Among the reinterpretations of African elements are: the names and some
of the characteristics and powers of Yoruba deities, public possession by the
spirits, the multiple soul concept,utilizationof the spiritsof thedead,divination
by throwing kola-nuts, ritual acts in initiation ceremonies, ritual objects

SIMPSON]

Shango Cult i n Nigeria and Trinidad

1217

(ceremonial broom, thunder stones, clay pots, double-bladed wooden axes,

rattles, drums), perfumes or oils, the use of blood, uses of leaves, and uses of
stones.
Syncretisms, a form of reinterpretation where old and new are merged into
a functioning unified entity of clear bi-cultural derivation (Herskovits
1948:553) are found in: the ritual uses of water, the numerous death rites, and
the extensive use of charms. Some items, common to both Europe and Africa,
seem to have reenforced each other in the New World and may be called
parallel traditions. In the shango cult of Trinidad such traditions include the
use of dreams in divining, beliefs in witches, and the use of a life horoscope.
European-borrowed traits and reinterpreted European elements in shango
are: the names of Catholic saints, Catholic hagiography, the Bible as a ritual
object, the words and melodies of Catholic songs, books of magic, the cross and
crucifixes, candles, shepherds crooks, keys, incense, rosaries, and divination by
gazing into a crystal ball, a glass of water, or the flame of a candle.
We are not dealing here with accidental or random parallels, but with continuities and changes in a historic stream of culture.ll Two Afro-European
cults have developed in Trinidad, each representing a blend of West African
and Christian elements. The acculturative process continues in Trinidadian
shango and in the Shouters faith through mutual borrowing of beliefs and
practices.
NOTES
1 This study was made in June-December, 1960, with the assistance of grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, U. S. Public Health Service [Grant M-3847 (A)], and from the
Committee on Productive Work, Oberlin College. Read at the meetings of the American Anthropological Association, Phladelphia, November 17,1961.
Bastide (1960384) points out that in Brazil, even in the towns, eachnationwas too small to
recreate the specialization of the African cults. Each candombM, under the authority of one priest,
paid homage to all the gods.
8 See, for example, Johnson 1921:28.
4 Bastide (1960:91) says that the old agricultural deities were forgotten completely by the
20th century in Brazil. He remarks that in Africa these gods benefited the whole community, but
in the new setting, fecundity of flocks, of crops, and of women would have benefited Whites.
Somewhat transformed, the gods of war, justice, and vengeance became important in the thinking
of Brazilian slaves. Among the most important powers in Trinidad are: the storm god (Shango),
the war god (Ogun), and gods associated with disease and with healing (Shakpana and Osain).
6 Bastide remarks that during the period of slavery in Brazil, black gods had to hide behind
the statues of Catholic saints or the Virgin. As syncretism proceeded, the altar with statues of the
saints was made highly visible to convince occasional White visitors that the members of the
candomble were good Catholics. Bastide (1960:380) says that the Catholic altar has no functional
role in ceremonies where the orisha are honored.
8 Messenger (1960: 272) reports that possession among the Christ Army followers in the Anang
Ibibio of southeastern Nigeria is a controlled phenomenon consisting of shaking the arms and
shoulders while staring skyward in a manner similar to that followed by indigenous diviners. Another type of possession-violent possession-is found in the Anang who are members of the
ancestor society. Bastide (196O:SZO) reporls (1) that Brazilian blacks make a distinction between
possession by the gods and possession by spirits of the ancestors and by Eschou,and (2) a diversity
in the sojourns of the gods. The latter include states of tokhoucni (guides or young gods who
open the road to other Vodous), as well as the M type of trance.
f

A merican Anthropologist

1218

[64, 1962

7 The purpose of this charm is to prevent a husband or wife or a girl friend or boy friend from
running around. Compare with Parrinder (1949: 174): Girdles around the waist or hidden out
of sight, are protections against loose-living. Knots are frequently used, the knot having the virtue
of preventing, tying, a spell.
8 I n 1954, Parrinder (p. 145) wrote: In many places it is becoming the respectable thing to
declare oneself a Christian or a Muslim; it shows that one is modern and educated. Three years
ago I made a survey of the proportion of religions in the city of Ibadan. Figures supplied by the
churches gave ten per cent of the population as Christian; I suggested that about twenty per cent
might include adherents. A census taken since then shows that even more, just a third of the total,
wish to be regarded as Christian. Muslims I put a t anything up to half, in the complete lack of
statistics; but the census shows that some sixty per cent put themselves down as Muslims. The
number of confessed pagans in this modern town is not much more than seven per cent. But this
does not mean that many people are not still pagan in outlook, and even in practice; vast crowds
take part in the annual fire and fertility festival in honour of the hill goddess of the town.
In 1951, nine Christian denominations maintained 27 mission churches in Ibadan, and there
were, in addition, 19 separatist sects with 31 churches (Parrinder 1953:202-3).
In 1946 (West Indian Census 1946, Part G, 12), the percentages of Christians in the total
population were:

Roman Catholics
Anglicans
Presbyterians
Wesleyans

34.5
24.2
3.6
2.5

Baptists
Moravians
Seventh Day Adventists
Other Christians

2.2
1.3
1.2
1.3

Shangoists and Shouters were not listed in the 1946 Census, but thousands who were recorded as
Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Other Christians undoubtedly were
regular or occasional participants in the two Afro-Christian cults.
The 1960 Census of Population of Trinidad and Tobago has not been issued, but a preliminary
bulletin provides the following percentages of Christians in the total population of 827,957:
Roman Catholics
Anglicans
Presbyterians
Wesleyans
Baptists

36.2
21.1
3.9
2.2
2.2

Other Christians
Seventh Day Adventists
Jehovahs Witness
Pentecostal
Not Stated & No Religion

2.2
1.5
0.5
0.5
0.5

The schedule on religion in the 1960 Census includes Spiritual Baptists (Shouters) in one of the
Baptist categories, but figures for this subcategory are not given in the preliminary bulletin. The
1960 schedule does not list the Shango (Orisha; African) cult (see Population Census Division
1961b).
The 1946 Census showed that 35.09 percent of the population of Trinidad and Tobago consisted of persons of East Indian descent. I n 1960, the East Indian population constituted 36.5
percent (see Population Census Division 1961a). Members of Hindu religious groups made up 23
percent of the total population; Moslems were 6 percent (see Population Census Division 1961b).
It should be noted that some East Indians are Christians and are included in the percentages given
for these denominations.
lo Baba is the Yoruba word for father or ancestor (Bastide 1960:560).
11 See M. J. Herskovits 1956: 12948.
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