30 african appropriations
shook hands and someone translated the greetings the spirits had uttered
in corrupt Hausa, Kafaran ordered a bench to be brought for his superior
and himself, and they sat down next to me. Together we watched the
dance of the other spirits, who belonged to different families, including
hunters, aristocrats, Fulbe, Tuareg, and Maguzawa, or pagan Hausa. Not
only were the three of us among the few who had been offered a bench
to sit on, but as I soon discovered, we had a number of other things in
common, such as smoking cigarettes, drinking bottled soft drinks, and
taking notes.
My new friends were the last to be called on to perform in front of the
musicians. “Black ones, lads of the governor, one can see your whiteness,
one can see your blackness,” sang Idi in their praise, exclaiming, “Let’s
drink fire, let’s taste the whip! Come forward, the one of Halima, owner
of a thousand bullets!” Marching more than dancing in their heav y boots,
they transformed the dance floor into a military parading ground. Their
performance climaxed in a powerful demonstration of their superhuman
invulnerability to fire. By stroking their bare chests with burning torches,
they “washed [themselves] with fire,” and when they “drank fire” like fire
breathers, they lit up the surroundings by sending large balls of fire up into
the night sky. Soon after they had finished their performance, the music
stopped and the audience began to disperse. The spirits, however, far from
swiftly leaving the bodies of their mediums, stayed on for a while outside
in the dark, where people consulted them about their personal problems.
Suddenly, I was approached by one of the Babule’s helpers, who told me
that Kafaran wanted to see me. I followed him to a dimly lit spot where
Kafaran, about to leave his medium, was waiting. “Did you get what you
came looking for in Nigeria?” he asked me, and I said, “Yes, almost.” “W hat
about maganin kwarjini, a ‘medicine’ which will ensure you the respect of
others?” I had to confess that I had not come across it yet, and he offered:
“I will give it to you!” However, he made clear that he expected something
in return: “W hat will you give me?” “Twenty naira,” I replied. He took a
deep, roaring breath and said, “Fifty naira!” We made a deal, and he asked
me to give the money to his “horse,” who would prepare the “medicine” for
me and from whom I should collect it the next day. I handed the money
to his helper, shook hands with the spirit, and watched him dismount his
medium. The moment he left, the medium fell to the ground. Gradually