Bwami

« Bwami has a transcendent force of its own. Whenever bami attend initiations, this force precedes them; thus just by being there and going about their business, they ensure the strength and wellbeing of the country without resorting to cult action. Moreover, the objects used by the bami in initiations contain a force of their own. The ashes of the leaves used in initiations and burned afterward have healing power; so does the dust removed from ivory statues.[…] The ivory sculptures, and in particular the anthropomorphic figurines, have a special power in that they can increase and strengthen a person’s kakamo (the fact of being alive; life-force; health). When a person is thought to be very sick and the normal pharmacopoeia seem to fail, he is given water to drink in which some of the surface dust from the figurines has been mixed” (1973: 137 et 174).