Dance of the Bassas at Abaji

Abstract

Some time ago the Society acquired a series of water-colour drawings by Mrs. Kennett which were shown for several months in the Exhibition Room. Later we have received from her a series of notes upon the drawings, and have now the pleasure of reproducing, unfortunately only in black and white, some of the drawings with relevant notes. The whole series will be found in the Map Room collections.-Ed. G.J. THE Bassas are agriculturists and their methods of cultivation have never varied. They dislike any suggestion of innovation, or of modern laboursaving contrivances. They have no knowledge of the rotation of crops, and where they have once grown yams, there will they continue to grow yams, and the same conservatism is applied to their crops of guinea-corn, cassava, groundnuts, etc. They will hack down trees ruthlessly in order to supply themselves with supports of the right height up which to train the bright leafage of the yams, and a plantation often presents the appearance of a forest of gaily festooned maypoles. Their one implement is a gigantic hoe; this has a splayed-out blade which is set at an acute angle to the wooden handle. When visiting Abaji, a district in the north of the Koton Karifi Division of Kabba Province, we were fortunate enough to witness a Bassa harvest dance. Our coming coincided with their New Year, at which time they keep their harvest festival. The local chief, a man named Okuru, an Igala, arranged that we should also see Guari, Igala, Igbirra, and Gana-gana entertainments, and there was much similarity. The shuffling dancing steps and the monotony of the drumming and the forced humour of the antics of dodos were not interesting. One dodo, a man disguised as a female, with sham breasts of attempted anatomical realism, was frankly revolting. After a short while the dodos turned a few half-hearted somersaults and cartwheels, and lost themselves among the crowd of spectators, who were duly kept back from the wide open space in front of Abaji resthouse by Okuru's police. There came a wild jangle of bells, and the weirdest objects came charging up the centre drive. Fortunately I had been warned that the Bassa greeting might be alarming, but even so was scarcely prepared for what happened. There seemed to be a babel of noise, the crowd shouted and chattered, the drums beat, and about forty Bassas, their bodies and faces whitewashed, their heads adorned by horns and other strange head-gear, rushed towards us. Pausing to give forth loud coughing noises, something between forced groans and grunts, each man calculated the distance nicely and swung the great hoe he carried within an inch of our noses. It was difficult not to flinch, and to appreciate such an alarming greeting. Some of the men were nearly naked, but others in honour of the festival had arrayed themselves in a multitude of gaily coloured garments; some wore purple, plum-colour, apple green or scarlet pantaloons; some had short jackets and skirts, and most wore grassy aprons behind. Many of the headdresses were shaped not unlike Roman helmets, a semicircle from back to front, but set with cowries and bits of looking-glass in symmetrical design; many strings of cowries hung from the edge of the semicircle to the wearers' feet. I do not know upon what animal grew the gigantic