Anthropos 86.1991; 33-43
Authority,
(Cameroon)
Suppression of the
Robert J. O’Neil
Witchcraft, and Change in Old Moghamo
Sasswood Ordeal, 1924-25, and Its Consequences
Abstract. - There are 28 Moghamo-speakmg villages wth
more than 50,000 people in the North West Province
Republic of Cameroon. In the mid-19th century many seg
rented Moghamo lineage groups were moving tow
»Uda,ion. In the process leadership co-opted the sasswood
poison ordeal to protect their communities agams w
anxiety. With the penetration of colonialism t ^ econo . j
Political autonomy of local authority waned. The ntu
took on symbolic importance. When it was suppresse
and 1925 old leadership lost a mechanism agams
and also autonomy in ritual responsibility. From t a
secularization of local authority was accelerated Some < ,
participated in the colonial order to their bene t u
Moghamo was radically changed. New wealt , t e se
methods of witchcraft control, education, C nstiaru .
Native Court and Authority brought about a New Moghamo
W 1940. [West Africa, Cameroon, Old Moghamo, witchcraft
(ezek), sassword poison ordeal (goog)J
Robert John O’Neil, Ph. D. in History, Columbia Umv N-Y..
1987; Diss.; “A History of Moghamo, 1865 to ^ _
ity and Change in a Cameroon Grassfields GiiKiire.
Hill Missionary in Cameroon, 6 years with the M g
(1972-1978, 1984), 1988-89 Bamenda, Cameroon, re
Bali-nyonga and Associate at Bafmeng; 1990 sabba ic y
at Gonzaga University, northwestern USA.
the secularization of local authority with the goog
suppression as the pivotal event (O’Neil 1987).
This paper aims to introduce the Moghamo,
provide a background of their cosmology and
cultural belief, and describe the goog ordeal, its
suppression and consequences for local society
until around 1940.
During field research in 1984 for a his o y
Moghamo aged informants often J eV ^ a / w ; tc h-
Hfelong anxiety over the power of eze ^
craft). A few remembered a contro )^, chm ^ m; ^
W village-heads until the mid 1920s. g
ritual sasswood poison ordeal.
Based on that research 1 argued t at
ordeal had been considered the most e
mechanism for the control of witchcraft y^ ^
pre-eminent Moghamo lineage heads an
Pillar of Old Moghamo authority until its.s»PP
sion by the British administration m 19Z •
the perspective of local informants t e .
reduction in the power of Moghamo ea j
and changes in Moghamo society that o ^
Were symbolized by goog’s demise. 0 f
juxtaposed Old and New Moghamo m term
1. Moghamo
The homeland of the Moghamo is a transitional
zone between the forests of the upper Cross River
basin and the Bamenda Grassfields of North West
Cameroon. A formidable natural barrier divides
these two geographical areas. Eastwards from the
Momo River a crescent shaped escarpment, at
times more than a thousand feet high, appears like
a fifteen mile breakwater assaulted by a rolling sea
of wild palms and hardwoods (Ngwa 1989; 114).
Scattered throughout the hilly, forested coun
try to the south and west of Moghamo are set
tlements of the Upper Banyang, Betieku, and Am-
belle peoples. Rivers and streams of the Moghamo
heights fall into this basin and eventually reach the
Cross River (see Ruel 1969: 1 f.).
A small number of Moghamo villages clus
tered around Widekum and its market seem to be
thrust into the forest and foreign to its environ
ment. They are at the base of the main approach
to the Grassfields and Upper Moghamo villages.
For generations the market has been an inland
port for a passageway between forest and grass-
fields. Through it, and several others of minor
importance, founding communities have migrated
and a regional exchange has flourished. Efik and
Duala agents, followed by successive German and
English traders and administrators, have toiled up
and down the boulder strewn paths of its slopes
(Warnier 1975: 301 f.).
The Moghamo paths ascend the steep escarp
ment passageways until the forest umbrella abrupt-
