Juju magic ‘more controlling than chains’ says Harvard expert.
Lizzy Idahosa used the fear of a juju curse against the two women
In October 2014, it was reported in the news on BBC how the Crown (Criminal) Court in Cardiff, Wales, in the United Kingdom tried a Nigerian lady, Lizzy Idahosa, for human trafficking offences. The court heard how the 24-year-old woman put two other women through a ritualistic juju ceremony in order to commit them to a life of prostitution. The fear that gripped the two ladies prevented them from disobeying the orders of Lizzy Idahosa after they were trafficked into the United Kingdom and forced to work in the sex trade. The women said they were forced to take some oaths and endured some harrowing rituals resulting in instilling the fear of terrible reprisals if they broke their oaths.
Giving expert evidence at the trial, trafficking expert, Siddharth Kara, from Harvard University said: “Juju exerts a kind of control that’s so much more potent than chains or locking someone up.” He stated further that “It’s control of the spirit is far more powerful and insidious.” The court was told that juju was a “substantial issue” in parts of Nigeria and, all over Europe, women who have been lured into the sex trade using the fear of the magic can be traced!
In Yorùbá, we refer to juju as oògùn (re|do|do), the same word is used to describe medicine used to treat pathological problems. So, when it comes to medicinal remedies, there are the pathological and the magical aspects to it. The herbalist, oníṣègùn, practises the medicine which is used to remedy pathological problems. However, the practice of native medicine (ìṣègùn) is holistic and takes into consideration the psychic aspects of the condition of the patient. What is noteworthy is that all oògùn has two sides, just as orthodox medicine is said to have side-effects.
In the human trafficking case referred to above, the dominant issue that cropped up as a constant is FEAR! Yes, the rituals performed were aimed at producing a certain effect. In psychology, we know that the human mind is capable of producing physiological reactions. As an instance, we know that with fright, adrenaline, a harmful chemical, is produced. This is essentially the mind-body connection. The new paradigm now tells us that the mind is not imprisoned in the brain; every aspect of our cells vibrates with energy. We know that if one consumes a toxic substance, it immediately affects one’s gastro-intestinal and causes havoc. The effect of psychically directed poison may not be as immediate or effective as one ingested. The main condition needed for the efficacy of psychically directed poison is FEAR! When oògùn is directed at an individual, it is the poisoned condition of the mental state that allows such oògùn or juju to manifest. When psychologists or metaphysicians refer to the term Mental Poisoning, this is what they mean. Inú mímọ́ ju oògùn lọ (A clean mind, free of fear and guilt, is more effective that any charm).
To close this discourse, let us refer to the popular work of the late Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart. The aspect of the work referred to is the occasion when the missionaries requested land from the Mbaise community and they were offered the Evil Forest, where corpses of suicide victims, or anyone who died abominably like the ogbanjes were dumped. The thinking of the community in allotting the Evil Forest was that within seven days, the perceived evil in the forest would have a negative effect on the missionaries and, most likely, kill them off. But to the bewilderment of the community, the missionaries survived. The reason the missionaries survived was because they had not associated evil with the forest. In their minds, they had a suitable land to build their church.
In our next discourse, Who is a Babaláwo, Oníṣègùn and Adáhunṣe? Their roles in African Spirituality.