Togbui Zikpe (The Chief's Chair ceremony)
Somehow I missed last year's Togbui Zikpe ceremony. Togbui Zikpe is Ewe, "Togbui" means "chief" and "Zikpe" means "chair." That is what the whole thing is about, a small wooden chair that has been with the village for generations and holds spirits. (Kinda similar to the Voodoo type of spirit meaning animal sacrifices and such.)
The chair is pretty small in scale and is more like a U-shaped bench. It is necessary to do this ceremony for Togbui Zikpe because you must thank it for answering your prayers from last year, and pray again for this year. People often ask for rain for the fields, good profits from their businesses and even to succeed on school exams. They also ask it to guard their village against enemies. For your prayers you must give the Togbui Zikpe gifts such as sheep, goats, whiskey, hand woven cloth, etc.
When I saw the ceremony it reminded me of the Voodoo Fete in the nieghboring village (see Gri Gri, Coupe Coupe)
This ceremony is 2 days, they start with covering the Togbui Zikpe in white cloth. There is a woman who also wears a white cloth and she carries the Togbui Zikpe on her head and runs out into the forest with a group of followers. There are drums that play non stop by some elders of the village.
When the woman returns with the chair she has guards escort her there with white painted sabers. They place the chair on a mat and cover it with woven cloth that are gifts and bottles of whiskey are placed beside it. The man in charge of the ceremony, takes sips of the whiskey and spits it out onto the chair.
They take the animals for the sacrifices (in this case a chicken and a ram,) kill them and use the blood mixed with corn flour as an offering to Togbui Zikpe.
After, the people cook the meqt from the sacrifices and all the participants eat it, even me. If we didnt eat all the food that would be bad luck. We kept calling children over to help.
This is where the man is about to put the chair on the head of the woman who will take it into the woods.
The drummers.
The woman is coming back from the woods with her guards holding the sabers.
The women with the chicken that is to be sacrificed.
The men praying to Togbui Zikpe and the ram that will be sacrificed.
The men mixing the blood of the ram with the cornflour.
The chair is pretty small in scale and is more like a U-shaped bench. It is necessary to do this ceremony for Togbui Zikpe because you must thank it for answering your prayers from last year, and pray again for this year. People often ask for rain for the fields, good profits from their businesses and even to succeed on school exams. They also ask it to guard their village against enemies. For your prayers you must give the Togbui Zikpe gifts such as sheep, goats, whiskey, hand woven cloth, etc.
When I saw the ceremony it reminded me of the Voodoo Fete in the nieghboring village (see Gri Gri, Coupe Coupe)
This ceremony is 2 days, they start with covering the Togbui Zikpe in white cloth. There is a woman who also wears a white cloth and she carries the Togbui Zikpe on her head and runs out into the forest with a group of followers. There are drums that play non stop by some elders of the village.
When the woman returns with the chair she has guards escort her there with white painted sabers. They place the chair on a mat and cover it with woven cloth that are gifts and bottles of whiskey are placed beside it. The man in charge of the ceremony, takes sips of the whiskey and spits it out onto the chair.
They take the animals for the sacrifices (in this case a chicken and a ram,) kill them and use the blood mixed with corn flour as an offering to Togbui Zikpe.
After, the people cook the meqt from the sacrifices and all the participants eat it, even me. If we didnt eat all the food that would be bad luck. We kept calling children over to help.
This is where the man is about to put the chair on the head of the woman who will take it into the woods.
The drummers.
The woman is coming back from the woods with her guards holding the sabers.
The women with the chicken that is to be sacrificed.
The men praying to Togbui Zikpe and the ram that will be sacrificed.
The men mixing the blood of the ram with the cornflour.
Labels: ceremony, chair, chief, traditional, voodoo
posted by Trega at
9:46:00 AM
1 Comments:
Hi, Jessica,
You're much tougher than I have ever been...I'm practically a vegetarian, because I love animals so much, so I never would have made it through that ceremony....I am glad you are ok, and I hope and pray that you and Alphonse come home to America safe and sound...
I will also be happy when those elections are over...
Love, always,
Grandma Andrea XOXOXO
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