make an offering to an ancestor with the fore-
knowledge that the physical acceptance of the
offering is impossible, it is the fact of remembrance
and the act of giving that aide in the remittance of
trouble. Diviners—those Banyarwandans who can
commune with the spiritual realm—are sought
out to examine the source of a personal problem.
Conversely, sorcerers are thought to be criminals
who practice a learned form of sacred power that
can harm others. Being suspected or accused of
sorcery is a serious matter, while being convicted
of sorcery is punishable by death.
Malachi D. CrawfordSee alsoGod
Further Readings
Lane, E. (1973). Kigeri II Meets That Peculiar Lady,
Niyrabiyoro: A Study in Prophecies.History of
Religions, 13 (2), 129–148.
Maquet, J. (1954). The Kingdom of Ruanda. In Daryll
Forde (Ed.),African Worlds(pp. 164–188). London:
Oxford University Press.
BARIBA
The Bariba, also called theBaatonu,Baatombu,
Baruba, Bargu, Burgu, Berba, Barba, Bogung,
Bargawa, or Barganchi, are the Baatonúm-
speaking ethnic group of the northern part of
Benin Republic in the Borgou-Alibori province.
They actually call themselvesBaatonu(singular)
andBaatombu(plural).
Originally, the Bariba migrated from northern
Nigeria to establish in Benin. However, a few
of them, about 60,000, are still found in that
country today, which represents one tenth of their
population in Benin Republic. The Bariba are
the largest ethnic group in northern Benin and the
fourth largest group in the country, following the
Fon, the Adja, and the Yoruba, thus representing
10% of the population of Benin Republic. They
are predominantly herders (who raise poultry and
livestock), farmers (who grow corn, sorghum,
cassava, yam, beans, peanuts, rice, and cotton),
and brave professional hunters.
Many Bariba are known to be superb cloth-
weavers as well. The latter, especially Bariba women,
create excellent designs of woven cloths patterned in
beautiful colors worn as traditional attire. The most
notable festive event among the Bariba is the annual
celebration in honor of the ancestors, called the
Gaani, which is observed throughout major Bariba
cities, namely, Kandi, Kouande, Nikki, Parakou, and
Pehunco, the largest city, home to more than
200,000 Bariba out of 365,000 inhabitants.
The Bariba society is strictly hierarchical and
caste-like. There are groupings as varied as the
rulingWasangarinobles and warriors, the com-
monersBaatombu, the enslaved people of varying
origins, the Dendi merchants, and the Fulbe
herders. The Bariba still have kings and chiefs
in various regions, such as theBanga(Ruler) in
Kouande, the Saka (Ruler) in Kandi, and the
Sarkin Nikki(Ruler) in Nikki.
Religion is one of the most significant aspects
of the Bariba communities and a strong determinant
of their Cosmology. Many Bariba, like most ethnic
groups in northern Benin Republic today, are prose-
lytized Muslims. The Dendi traders, who were
preaching throughout the north of the country, intro-
duced them to Islam. Otherwise, the original religion
of the Bariba is the African Traditional Religion or
the Popular Traditional African Religion Everywhere
(PTARE), as the leading Afrocentrist, Molefi K.
Asante, termed it. Despite Islam’s stronghold in the
northern Benin Republic, the majority of the ruling
upper class Bariba communities continue, against all
odds, to practice their indigenous religion, PTARE.
In the Bariba Cosmology,GuSunon(Gu= rain,
Sunon= Ruler), hence Ruler of Heaven and Earth,
is the Supreme God. The Bariba never call on Him
directly and invokeGuSunonthrough the instru-
mentality of several deities known asBunu. The
Goribu(i.e., the dead in general) and theSikadobu
(or the family divine ancestors) are venerated as
well. There are several worship places, which are
by a tree, in a river, or in a farm. Each sacred tem-
ple is overseen by a traditional priest, who presides
over various sacrifices, theGnakuruto the gods,
and performs benediction orDomaruon various
occasions—in times of calamity, disease, famine,
drought, during the enthronement of a dignitary,
and during festive celebrations. Various meanings
are attached to the places of worship. They
are either linked to an event of primal significanceBariba 107