552
was required [77] 
to pay compensation to the family of the
accuser, which had lost one or more members as the result of the guilty man's witchcraft.
It was stated that an accuser could save the life of a guilty man (i.e. of one who
did not immediately vomit) by calling on the poison to leave the accused, saying:
"Sasswood [78] 
I thank you, you have shown his guilt;
come forth now and leave him." The accused would then vomit, but he would suffer
from illness afterwards.
Compensation generally took the form of a small boy or girl, who was handed over
by the family of the unsuccessful litigant[79] 
to that
of the successful litigant. If the unsuccessful litigant had been the offspring of
an exchange marriage, then the boy or girl given as compensation had also to be the
offspring of an exchange marriage, i.e. had to be a patrilineal relative of the unsuccessful
litigant. But if the unsuccessful litigant had been the offspring of a marriage by
purchase then the boy or girl given as compensation had to be the offspring of a
marriage by purchase, i.e. had to be a matrilineal relative.
There is a charm against witchcraft[80] 
which is known as Ngub
Sho or the rites of the Ngub bark. The head of a family, in order to safeguard
his household, goes out to the bush and obtains a piece of the bark of a certain
tree known as Ngub. On reaching home he keeps the bark concealed, for if any
woman should look on it would lose its virtue. He places the piece of bark on the
ground, covers it with a layer of the sacred grass known as jiro, lays a chicken's
head across the bark and grass, and then cuts off the chicken's head. He next pares
off a little of the bark, places it in the beak of the chicken, and buries the chicken's
head at the entrance to his compound, together with some of the jiro grass
and the fruit of the Gardenia ternifolia tree. Next he takes a bundle of straw,
lights it, and begins singing the chant used at the funeral rites of a woman. At
the conclusion of the chant he kneels down over the buried head of the chicken and
says: "I am a lover of my fellow men and work mischief on no one. If any woman
comes to this house to kill me or any of my people by witchcraft may she be killed,
even as I now kill the fire of this torch." So saying, he presses the grass
torch against the ground until the light is extinguished. He then lights another
bundle of grass, and singing the chant used at the burial rites of a man he utters
a prayer that if any
Plate 57
Mambila Warriors
Note to L hand photo: [81]