International African Institute

The God of Smallpox: Aspects of Yoruba Religious Knowledge

Author(s): Anthony D. Buckley
Source: Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 55, No. 2 (1985), pp. 187-
200
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African Institute
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1160301 .
Accessed: 20/06/2014 10:03

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Cambridge University Press and International African Institute are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,
preserve and extend access to Africa: Journal of the International African Institute.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Africa, 55 (2), 1985

THE GOD OF SMALLPOX:

ASPECTS OF YORUBA RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE

Anthony D. Buckley

The idea that the knowledge of an individual is an articulationof a culturally

shared paradigmaticframeworkof concepts is now familiarin anthropology.It
is one derivedfrom the work ofT. S. Kuhn (1962), who arguedthat, for natural
scientists, the definitions and solutions of problems normallytake place within
an existing frameworkprovided by the paradigmaticwork of a great scientist.
Since then severalattemptshave been made to indicate that, in fields other than
the strictly scientific, the knowledge which people have of their physical and
social environmentsis similarly an articulationof paradigmaticideas (Ardener,
1971, 1978; Barnes, 1969; Buckley, 1976, 1982, 1983; Willis, 1967, 1972, 1978).
This article will attempt to develop this methodology in the field of Yoruba
religion.1 Its focus will be Sonponn6, the Yoruba god of smallpox, a ferocious
and vindictive god who not only causes smallpox, but who is also responsible
for a form of madness.
It is not intended to convey the impressionthat there is a single body of con-
sistent religiousdogmaheld by all Yorubapeople, or indeedby groupsof religious
specialists, on the subject of S6np6nn6, or on any other significant religious
subject. Speaking generally of Yoruba religion, it is clear that there is a con-
siderablevariety both between the different towns which make up the Yoruba-
speaking peoples and also between individuals. Idwui's summary of Yoruba
religion, for example, is full of conflicting traditions. He even points out that
the gods who are masculineto some people are feminine to others(1962, passim).
Sonp6nn6 is not immune from this variety of conflicting tradition. Simpson
(1980), for example, writes of a babaldwofrom Ibadon, who portraysSonp6nn6
as a close colleague of the god Qbatala in the processes of childbirth. This
opinion is quite at variancewith what I take to be a more widely held opinion
that S6nponn6 and Obatala are implacable enemies. The organizationof the
cults of Sonponno seem also to differ quite significantlyfrom place to place. In
the Ibadon of Simpson's description there is but one cult, with its own single
annual festival. In Barber'sOkukiu(1981) the Sonponn6worshippersbelong to
seventeen distinct cults. She quotes a local proverb, 'Orfiko metadinl6gunni
6risa S6nponn6pin si' ('The god S6np6nn6divides into seventeen names'),and
indicatesthat each name correspondsto a differentcult group, severalof which
are made up of only a single individual. Each of these groups recognizes dis-
tinctive facets of the god's personality and each observes distinctive taboos.
Differences between Yoruba towns are not at all confined to religion. Lloyd
(1962) pointed to considerablevariationin social structurebetween the different
towns. And in the field of medical knowledge the comments of Prince's infor-
mants in Abokufita(1968) concerning the illness 'aiperi'2were quite foreign to
my own informantsfrom Ijebu and Osogbo. Yoruba religion, no less than the
rest of Yoruba life, is a field for discussion and debate, and not at all one for
dogmatic unanimity. Nevertheless, within this diversity there are regularities,
and it is these which permit the discussion and debate to take place.
The overwhelmingproblem in Yoruba religious studies is complexity. Even

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
188 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX

when one presents, as does Simpson (1980: 37 ff.), data about Sonponno given
by the people of a single town, complexities crowd in. In his discussion of the
annual festival in Ibadon, for example, he lists some twenty ingredientsused in
an infusion which is sprinkledon the earth. He then lists nineteen other items
which are selected for sacrificeto the god. The preparationof this infusion and
the subsequent sacrifice constitute only a small part of the overall ceremony.
Clearly, if complexity of this sort is to be disentangled,the analyst must tread
carefully,and by settinghimselflimitedobjectiveshe may avoidaddingconfusion
to complexity.
My intention in this article is to cut through some of the complexity in the
hope of revealingat least some of the regularitiesto be found in Yorubaculture.
The articlewill not even attemptto give a definitive account of the god, for such
an attemptwould be wholly inappropriatein a culture where regionalvariation
and individual idiosyncracy abound. Rather it will explore specific items of
knowledgewhich Yorubapeople have expressedabout the god, and attempt to
show how each of these items possesses a similar internalcoherence. The items
were indeed selected because, at least to my own initial gaze, they did not,
considered together, seem to possess any special coherence.
I have indicated elsewhere (Buckley, 1976, 1984) that statementswhich at a
syntagmatic level are mutually inconsistent may nevertheless be organized
according to the same paradigmaticstructure. My contention here is that
comments upon the god S6np6nn6, drawn from a wide variety of sources, are
intelligible as articulationsof a single paradigmaticframework.As it happens,
the statementswhich I shall here consider are not stridently incompatiblewith
each other. It will not, however, be suggested that the individuals responsible
for these utteranceswould be willing to express a common set of dogmaswhich
are never incompatible.
Three areasof Sonponnobelief and practicewill here be considered.The first
is that the god of smallpox might be annoyedby anybodywho spilt waterupon
the earth.This idea is connectedwith the fact that one of his best knownepithets
is Ilegb6n6, which means 'hot earth'. The second is the fact that Snponno is
held to be responsibleboth for smallpox and for madness. This pair of illnesses
did not appear to me to have any obvious empirical connection. The third is
the knowledge that Sonp6nno is offended by dancing, drumming and
merrymaking,and that such practicesare forbiddenwhen smallpox is rampant.
It is notable, for example, that dancingand drummingare not forbiddenduring
epidemics of other illnesses such as influenza or cholera.
The sources for this study are quite varied.My generalfieldworkin 1969-71
was concentrated in the cosmopolitan city of Ibadon, where the babaldwo
(diviners,priests of Ifa) Messrs Fat6oogunand Aw6tunde,who live near Osogbo,
and Adebaw6,who comes from Ijebu,were my main informants.Also to be used
here are a number of written sources. My approachcarrieswith it an implied
assumptionthat there exists a pan-Yorubaparadigmof thought, but this is not
to be the main thrust of my argument.I am convinced that my informants,who
come from somewhat diverse geographical backgrounds, do share common
paradigmaticassumptions even though these are expressed in often divergent
statementsabout the world. But it would be improperto claim in a short article
that I had in any sense 'proved' that such a paradigmexists. Not only are my
examples too few and perhaps (it might be argued)too well selected to permit

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX 189

such a claim, but also to claim that everybodyin everypart of Yorubalandshared

the same paradigmwould be both presumptuousand almost certainlyfalse. All
I wish to claim here is that the paradigmwhich I have discovered from my
informants' statements is one which seems also to be articulatedin a number
of written ethnographicaccounts of the Yoruba from a variety of sources past
and present.
Because of the impressive variety to be found not only in onponnopractice
but in almost all the rest of Yoruba culture my intention is to keep the present
discussion narrowly confined. The task will be to show how a very few com-
parativelydiscreteitems of knowledgewhich Yorubapeople have expressedabout
the god of smallpoxare articulationsof a single paradigm.In the process,patterns
will emergewhich arerelevantto a broaderpictureof Yorubareligiousknowledge
and practice.

SONPONNOAND THE HOT EARTH

I shall begin with a general account of the god and his disease which was given
to me by one of my informants, Baballa Fatoogun:
WheneverSonponn0comesinto the worldhe is accompanied by eburu,otherwise
knownas woroko[a type of spirit].3These are thingswhich causethe evil wind
Whenthis evil windblowson to anyone,this will becomesmallpox
[ategunbzuburu'].
the personwill becomehot and the S6np6nn6will be comingout of his
[egbo'n6];
body.S6nponn6 uses a type of arrowknownas ofdSonponno. Wheneverhe shoots
his arrowinto the air, smallpox[egbono]will afflictthe personor tree or animal,
whateverthe wind fromthe arrowtouches.Woroko comesout of the arrowin the
formof wind.This is whythe old menpraythat'evilwindmaynot beatus' ['afeefe
buiburuk6 ni fe li wf o'] ... Sonp6nnoalwaysvisits the world[ayel and also the
heaven[orun]andhe will affectbothplantsandhumanbeingsso thatthe plantswill
shrivel up [ro]. This is why it is said: '. . . dry season is killing people; dry season
is coming;the cowardfeelsanxious;the chestof the lazypersonis jumpingwithcon-
vulsions'['eerun
fipa; 6gbeleiib6;ominfi fiko ojo;aynifo 6le girl']
The connection which Fat6ooginhere draws between S6np6nn6 and heat can
be discovered in published accounts of the god (e.g. Id6owi, 1962: 95-9; Par-
rinder, 1961: 3 ff.). The associationis most emphaticallyevoked in the epithet
Ileegbdno, which means simply 'hot earth'.
In conversation I often found that people were reluctant to use the terms
,nponno or Ileegbono, or even that they were mildly offendedwhenever I used
these names. While herbalistsand others directly concernedwith the treatment
of disease were less squeamishabout it than others, even they tended to use the
shortened form of his name, Egb6no. To avoid employing the god's name, it
is usual to refer to him as Qba (the king), orObaliaye (king of the world),
Oluaye (lord of the world), or Oldde (owner of the outside). The term Ileegbono
(hot earth) can even euphemistically be turned into IIe ttuti (cold earth).
Concerned lest the name II tutuiimplied some genuine association between
S6nponn6 and the cold earth, I asked another informant, Mr Adebawo, why
Sonponno was called Ileegbdno and IIe tutut. He replied:
It wascalledEgbdnoin the oldendays,but whenthey foundthatthe diseasespread
moreand more,when they calledit by its name,Egbond,they stoppedcallingit
Egbdn,andchangedit fromIleegb6nd toIIe tutf, so thatthe god mightno longerbe

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
190 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX

annoyed... Everybodyknowsthatanythinghot is not good.Thatis why we callit

II tutui(coldearth).Therearemanydiseasesof whichwe havechangedthe name.
Forexample,esoorzn[a typeof neckulcer]is nowcalled'jiga'.This is becauseif we
call it by its realnameit will spreadthe more.
Adebaw6'sopinion, which confirms that of Id6wfi (1962: 94) leaves us in little
doubt that the occasionaluse of the term lii tutui(cold earth)carrieswith it no
hint of ambiguity.The associationbetween Sonponnoand hot earth is complete
and unequivocal.

EARTH, WATERAND A YORUBAPARADIGM

Accordingto Id6wfi (1962: 95) - and this reinforcedby my own questioning in

Ibadon - anyone who pours water on the earth risks incurring the wrath of
Sonponno, and for this reason will first of all beg the god's pardon in a brief
formal prayer, 'ag6 o Ol6de' (excuse me, Owner of the outside).
To understandhow this might, in a small way, help in preventing smallpox
there is a need to relate it to the association between S6np6nn6 and the hot
earth through a discussion of the more general paradigmsof Yoruba thought.
In an earlierpaper (Buckley, 1976) I expressedthe central Yoruba paradigm
through an image of the cosmos as a structureof colours. The-earth, I asserted,
was 'red' (pupa).The sky and the rain which fell from it was 'white' (funfun).
Covering the redness of the earth was a thin 'black' (dudu)topsoil which hid
it from view, so that, when the white rain mingled with the red earth, the soil
would be fertile. When, as is not infrequent,the red laterite(ilepa)is not hidden
then, however much rain falls upon it, the land will
by the black topsoil (il?ddu),
remain barren.
In Fat6ogin's description of S6np6nn6, which I have just quoted, this view
is obliquely expressed. During the dry season, when open stretches of land are
exposed to the hot sun and the dry harmattanwinds, not only do plants shrivel
and die, but also the black topsoil becomes thin and patchy, making visible the
redness of the laterite beneath.
In the same paper I argued that this paradigmaticstructureof colours could
also be discoveredin Yorubaideas about the human body. Just as the black top-
soil providedthe necessarysecrecy behind which red earthand white rain could
safely mix, so, in conception, the black skin of the mother could provide the
secrecy which allowed a child to be conceived through the mingling of red
menstrualblood and white semen. This same structureis perpetuatedafterbirth
with the existence of blood and water in the body. There is thus an important
sense in which the human body is thought to be a combinationof red and white
substances beneath a concealing black skin (Buckley, 1976).
Yoruba ideas about smallpox can easily be incorporated into this second
articulationof the paradigm.All my informantsagreed that smallpox (egbdno)
could be identified by the presence of red and white blemishes on the surface
of the skin. In terms of the paradigm,the redness and whiteness concealed by
the black skin had been revealed. When the illness of Sonp6nn6 is attributed
to the pouring of water on to the earth, both articulationsof the paradigmare
used simultaneously.When S6np6nn6is in the vicinity, the red earth is already
emerging from its black covering, but since the real danger lies in mixing this
earthwith water, it seems that Sonponnodoes not afflict people throughthe red

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX 191

earth itself, but ratherin the mixing of redness and whiteness outside the con-
cealing blackcovering.Just as the rednessmixes with white on the black surface
of the earth,so do the red and white spots of smallpoxappearon the blacksurface
of the human body. To mix water with the hot earth is thus to invite
$onp6nno's anger upon oneself. A polite apology is, therefore, a useful
precaution.

SONPONNOAND IFA

The second of the difficulties with which this article is concernedis that of the
relationbetween smallpoxand madness.Before discussingthis problemdirectly,
however, I wish to show how the articulationsof the paradigmwhich have so
far been given have more general implications for Yoruba symbolism. By this
means it will be more possible to see why both smallpox and madnessare placed
together in the cult of Sonponno.
I had purchased a gaudily coloured statue said to be Sonponn6 and was
anxious to discover the significance of the 'red', 'white' and 'black' spots with
which it was painted. On one level I had no difficulty. Everyone agreed that
these were the colours of Sonponno, both the illness and the god, though some
thought that the 'black' spots were unnecessary. Ellis (1894: 74) supports this
interpretation,noting that the colours are red and white only.
In itself the colouring of Snponn6 seemed to present no problem to Yoruba
thought - smallpox spots were red and white - and I had to reconcile myself
to obtaining no more penetratingstatement about the relationshipbetween the
god and his colours than this. There was, however, a problem connected with
these colours, and it was defined and solved in the form of a story. Here is one
version of the story as it emerged in Aw6tfinde's response to my asking why,
in some towns, babaldwopaintedthemselveswith the same colours as Sonponno
at the festival of Ifa:
WhenOrunmila[thegod of divination]wentto fightS6nponn6at [thetownof] I1e
Ife, he was firstof all overpowered
by Sonponn6andbecameaffectedby smallpox,
but he afterwards beathim.Whenhe hadoverpowered Sonponn6, Orinmilasaidthat
theyshouldgive him all the waterin Ife. They gavehim the waterandhe drankit.
But it did not defeat the disease. After this, he said that they should
give him all the blood'to drink. They gave him the blood, killing many animals but
to no effect. After this, they complainedto Ifa that he had come to save people from
Sonponn6 but that in doing so he had killed all the animals. Ifa then went to his
house. When they celebratehow Ifa came to Ife they usually dress like this [indicating
the statue]. They do it at I16Ife, calling it the festival of Agb6nnire.4 Araba is the
name of the person who dances like this every year. He runs from the palace to the
house of Orunmila.
This story, which is a variant of one of the more importantYoruba myths, is
effectively an exegesis upon Yorubasymbolism. The problemsit deals with are
somewhat abstruse. The first is that Ifa comes to bring death to the town by
drinkingwaterand the blood of sacrifice;the secondis that, not only in the annual
festival of I1 Ife, the images of Ifa are painted in the colours of the god of
smallpox.
I suggested above that the red and white colours symbolic of Sonponno are
used to symbolize the dangerwhich arises when these colours, normallyhidden

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
192 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX

by blackness,emerge into the open. The problemderives from the fact that Ifa,
on one level at least, is not associatedwith the dangerof revelation.On the con-
trary, Ifa is usually regardedas the embodiment of all that is safe, happy and
healthyin the world.It is he who by his knowledgeof medicinalplantsand animals
provideshealth and success to individuals.It is he who, through the divination
process, is able to give the correct advice at crucial moments for the benefit of
the town.
Indeed, an initial contrast may be drawn between Ifa and Sonponno as,
respectively, the gods of secrecy and of revelation. Sonponno is the god who
reveals the redness and whiteness which should be hidden in the body and in
the earth, and who thereby destroys the natural world and the life of both
individuals and whole communities. Ifa is, above all else, associatedwith the
blacknessof secrecy.His cult is often referredto simply as awo, the secret. While
unlike the members of other secret cults - particularlyOgb6ni - the babaldwo
are not especially secretive, their secrets are neverthelesswell enough guarded
merely by the fact that they are embodied in 256 groups of verses, and that no
one could be consideredthe owner of these secrets until he had devoted years
of apprenticeshipto their study.
The story shows that, despite the fact that Ifa is a secret (awo), his symbols
are painted, at least on certain occasions, with the red and white or otherwise
varied colours of revelation, death, destruction and skin disease. It also shows
that in bringing health and peace to a town Ifa is also a source of death and
destructionin his insistenceupon being given a sacrifice.The story is consonant
with Ifa practice.Nearly every verse of Ifa chanted in divination demands that
a sacrificebe made. Not every sacrificeconsists of a letting of blood. But never-
theless the message of each Ifa verse is that the only way in which a supplicant
can avoid disaster is by making an appropriatesacrifice. The story of Ifa and
Sonponn6 indicates that, in an ideal sense at least, Ifa, the secret, brings good
health and well-being, but only at the expense of revelation and death.
These destructive qualities of Ifa contrast sharply with the ones which first
spring to the Yoruba mind as the qualities associatedwith Ifa. To bring order
and health to the town and to the individual,the verse must be chanted and the
secret revealed. But the price of this revelation is danger or death. The myth
which was told to me shows how these contradictoryqualities are united in the
one character.

SONPONNOAND MADNESS

By carryingthis comparisonof Ifa and Sonponno a little further, it is possible

to explore the more central problem of this article. Not only does Sonponno
bring smallpox, but he also causes a type of madness (wereSonponno)which is
cured using techniques (ero Sonponno)that are in essence the same as the
treatmentsused for the skin disease.
A numberof writershave found the associationbetweensmallpoxand madness
to be problematicaland explanations have been suggested. Prince (1960), for
example, hesitantly overcomes the difficulty by referring to the admittedly
infrequent cases of smallpox encephalitis. Idbow (1962: 96) speaks loosely of
'restlessnessand delirium'.Others,however(Leightonet al., 1963: 104;McLean,
1964; 22-3), are content to note the connection without seeking to explain it.

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX 193

Argumentsderivedfromnotionsof deliriumarenot very convincing.One reason

is that it is as well known among Yorubaherbalistsas among Europeandoctors
that deliriumis a commonfeatureof virtuallyany seriousailmentinvolvingfever.
Smallpoxis not peculiarin this respect.Besides,nowherehaveI heardit suggested
by herbaliststhat the madnessof Snponno forms part of a syndromeinvolving
the skin disease. If there is to be a satisfactoryexplanationof the relationship
betweensmallpoxand madnessit shouldbe sought not in the etiologiesof Western
medicine but in expressions of Yoruba knowledge about the two illnesses.
Here is Fatoguin's description of the madness of Sonponno:
Sonp6nn6can makea personmad.If the wind does not give a personsmallpox,it
canenterhis heart[okon]andcausehimto talkall kindsof nonsense.Forthe person
will be speakingonlyto the eburu[servantsof S,nponn6]andpeoplewill notbe able
to understand whathe is saying.The personaffectedwill thinkhe is doingthe right
thingandall otherpeoplewill seemto him to be animals.He will thinkthat he is
the only wise person.Thus he will becomemad.
I have shown the eburuSonponno'which Fat6ooginearlier identified with the
wind in the role of the spreadersof smallpox;Fatoogun now presentsthem con-
versing with men to makethem mad. It is interestingthat in this respect Yoruba
knowledge of Snp6nno and his servants(or children)correspondsvery closely
to ideas found in the Ifa cult. Just as Sonp6nno has many servants,so also does
Ifa.
Centralto the ritual of the Ifa cult is divination. This takes place through the
selectionof one of the 256 groupsof verses(odu),which is recitedfor the guidance
of the client. Each odz has a name derived from that of the sixteen primaryodu
which are senior to the other 240. But the oduIfd are more than mere collections
of verses.As Bascom(1969:47-9) tells us, they aregenerallyregardedas intelligent
beings who take an activepartin divination.The babaldwowho chantsthe verses
has fallenunderthe guidanceof one of the oduspirits.The odu,as Bascomrightly
says, are a distinct categoryof being, neither ebora(spirit)nor brisa(god). I have
indeed watchedsacrificesbeing offeredto them individuallyin an Ibadanmarket
place. In this they are remarkablysimilar to the eburuSonponno,who have a
very similar status.
Taking furtherthe comparisonof Ifa and Sonponno, the guidance offered by
the odu Ifa may be regardedas in part the same as and in part the opposite of
that given by the eburu Sonponno.The one gives rise to the chanting of the
babalawowhich bringsorderand contentmentto the world;the other is the cause
of the ravingsof a lunatic.It was with this problemin mind that I askedFat66giun
whether the children of Sonponno were in many ways similar to the odu Ifd.
He replied:
They arenot similar.Eburuandwborok arethe childrenof S6np6nn6,andthereare
moreof themthantherearepeoplein the world.They haveno otherworkthanto
be usedby Sonp6nn6as toolsforfighting.Someof themhe maysendagainsthuman
beings,animalsand trees.They usuallyrideon air.
Eachof the oduIfd has its own assignmentgivento it by O16run[God]andthey
arestilldoingtheirworkto this day.Theytakecareof humanbeingsby curingtheir
sickness,givingthemchildren,givingthemmoneyand protectingthem fromtheir
enemies.They also preventwars. If bad spirits[eboraburuku]are comingfrom
heaven,they can stop themor preventthemfromharminghumanbeings.Thereis
one who is in chargeof airto see thatthe windis alwaysblowing,one in chargeof

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
194 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX

the rain,one in chargeof the sun. Thereis one who is to openthe doorfor human
beingsto enterheavenandalsoonewhoopensthe doorforchildrencomingintothe
world.Thereis oneon theapataagbarisaala whosemissionis to askthepeoplecoming
intothe worldtheirpurpose.He will advisethosewhowishto cometo the worldto
do bad thingsto changetheir purpose.The servantsof Sonponnoare exactlythe
opposite.
The proper contrastto be drawnbetween Ifa and Sonponno is not, however,
the immediatelyobvious one that the one is 'good' and the other 'evil', but rather
that the formercontains,within his personalityand activities,manifestambiguities
while the latter is entirely self-consistent.
S6nponn6and his servantsbring a diseasewhich kills vegetationand destroys
both individuals and communities. Ifa and his servants too are destructive,
demandingthe deathof animalsand men, but they also bring contentment,peace
and good health. The messagesspokenby the servantsof Ifa are often confusing
- they are spoken in a rather archaicYoruba and contain praise-nameswhich
are frequently both importantto the meaning of the verse and obscure. Also,
I have heard it suggested that Ifa is responsible for the fact that people speak
different languages, and are thereforeunable to communicatewith each other.
These qualities,which are identicalwith the qualitiesassociatedwith the multi-
colouring of Sonp6nn6, are counterbalancedby the fact that Ifa is a secret who
is able to reveal his hidden knowledge in a controlled, ritualized manner such
that meaningcan be discoveredin the midst of confusion and, throughthe death
of sacrifice,peaceand ordermay be restoredto the town and healthto individuals.
Because Ifa is able to move between the concealmentof secrecy and the reve-
lationof his secrets,he is ableto residesafelyin the town. Indeed,as his knowledge
embracesvirtuallyevery aspectof Yorubalife, Ifa is most emphaticallyidentified
with the town. Sonponno on the other hand destroys communitiesby his very
presence and, when his servants talk to an individual, makes people 'seem to
him to be animals'.At all costs, therefore,Sonp6nn6must be constrainedto live
away from the town, hidden deep in the forest, where his dangerousqualities
may be concealed. The relationshipbetween Ifa and Sonponno, defined by the
story of the fight between the two gods, has thus provided a valuable clue to
the relationshipbetween smallpox and madness. The absence of concealment,
in the Yoruba paradigm,is something which allows the colours red and white
to be revealedin smallpox;it heraldsthe arrivalof death; it brings a confusion
which can physically destroy the inhabitantsof a town or make them appearto
individuals as though they belonged to the forest.
The delicate balance between secrecy and revelation in the cult of Ifa allows
order and health to be maintained by the occasional controlled revelation of
somewhat confusing truths, followed by a ritualized death. When Sonponno
comes from the forest into the town he does not hide his presence.The hot wind
reveals the red earth and infects the black skin with red and white spots. His
wordsare not concealedin the slightestdegreefromthe individualsto whom they
are addressed,and therefore they bring with them unqualified confusion.

SONPONNOAND MERRYMAKING

I come now to discuss the prohibitionon drumming,dancing and merrymaking

reported to be generally practised when Sonponno is in the vicinity. In

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX 195

particularI wish to consider the alterationsin the normal burial procedure.

Normally, when a man dies, he is buried in the family compound. His near
relatives initially begin with a visible show of grief, but as the ceremonies pro-
gress sorrow gives way to celebration,with much eating, drinking,dancing and
music. When someonedies of smallpox,on the contrary,that personis not buried
at home; instead he is carriedoff into the forest, either by the priests of the god
or by specialundertakers(cf. Idowu, 1962: 98) who bury the body, perhapskeep-
ing parts of it for use in medicine. Expressions of sorrow, dancing and merry-
making are either totally absent or muted for fear of the god's anger. Id6wu
explains this practice as one of elementary hygiene:
Thereis no doubtthattheexclusiverightof specialundertakers to suchfuneraloffices,
andtheremovalespecially of allarticlesusedby thepatientbeforehisdeath,area result
of the earlyexperienceof the Yorubaaboutthe diehardnatureof the germsof this
disease . . . That the germs of smallpox belong to the class of germs which do not
asa rulediewiththedeathof thevictim,theYorubahavelearntby experience.[1962:
98]
McLean extends this mode of explanation to the more general prohibition on
dancing, drumming and merrymaking:
Cardgames,ludoanddraughtsshouldnotbe playedduringan epidemic.This belief
maybe relatedto thebanon drumming;
bothhavea possiblerationale
in theavoidance
of crowds.[1964:21]
I believe that these attempts to associate the prohibitions on dancing and
drummingwith notions of contagion are mistaken. There does in fact exist an
indigenous germ theory which is widely used by Yoruba herbalists to explain
illness (paceLeighton et al., 1963: 113). Most illnesses are said to be caused by
germs (kbokro),and in certaincases these germs are said to be transmittedfrom
personto person. Notions of contagion,however,are not an especiallyimportant
feature of Yoruba germ theory. Moreover, while many epidemic illnesses such
as typhoid, cholera and influenza are believed to be caused by germs, smallpox
is not. Nor are there any prohibitionsupon dancing and drummingin the case
of illnesses other than smallpox and Sonponn 's special sort of madness. Here,
for example, is Awotunde's description of the custom:
When Sonp6nn6kills a person,no one shouldrejoice.For if thereare any cele-
brations,he will be annoyedthat,despitethe evil thathe has doneto thesepeople,
theyarestill happy.He will thenaffectmanyotherpeople.GodhasgivenSonpnno
such a powerthat, if he kills in anyone'sfamily,they mustnot be angrybut must
insteadbe thankingSOnppnno, or else he will be angrythatpeoplearenot awareof
the evil thathe hasdone.This is why peopleusuallycallSonpinn 'Alapadupe' (the
ownerof kill and thank).AnyonewhomSonponn6kills, we shouldnot say thathe
died [6 ktu],but ratherthathe rejoicedandwent [6 yo lo], becauseif it is saidthat
the persondied, S6nponn6will be annoyedthatpeoplearecallinghim a murderer
[apaniOn].
Given that Sonponno is a god and not a germ, the most directly plausible
reason why dancing and drumming should be prevented during a smallpox
epidemic is that such activities would attract him into the town. SQnp9nn6is
a god who normally lives in the forest. In the two versions which I have of the
story of Ifa and S,np nno, it is in the forest that Sonponno meets Orunmila,

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
196 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX

his adversary.So also is it with those who would sacrifice to S'nponno. Both
Ellis (1894: 74-5) and Idowui (1962: 101) note that shrines constructed to
Sonponn6 are kept in the forest and are located well away from the town.
Abrahamnotes that sacrifices to Sonp6nn6 are simply thrown into the forest
(1958: sonp6n:n6n, 2e). And where he is brought into the town to the accom-
paniment of music and dance, people fear the onset of an epidemic (Simpson,
1980: 40 if.).
If Sonponn6 spends much of his time in the forest, so also do many Yoruba
men. Like Sonponn6, they are attracted into the town by the prospect of
dancing and drumming.Dancing and drummingare closely associatedwith the
town and with the corporate groups which Sonponn6 so frequently seeks to
destroy.A Yorubafarmertypicallyhas two or more houses. The most important
is in the town and providesthe focal point of his lineage activities. He is likely,
however, to spend most of his time some considerabledistance from the town,
working on his farm. He will then live in a house in his village, or perhaps in
a still smallerhouse nearthe individualplots. When farmworkis slack,or simply
when he needs to relax and meet his kinsmen, he will return to the town. One
of the more pressing reasons for returning is to engage in the ritual activities
of the town. A person will make a point of returning for the more important
festivals. Whether he simply wishes to enjoy himself, or whether he has to take
part in one of the many rituals which punct 'te town and lineage life, he will
take part in events dominatedby dancing ant. drumming.
The general associationof dancing and music with the activities of the town
as a corporategroup is more narrowlydefined in the case of burial, where the
rituals, mourning and celebrationsare rigidly confined to the lineage. But here
too the associationof dancing and drummingwith the town is clear. Here, for
example, is part of an Ifa verse from Bascom's collection:
Aroof the houseandAroof the farmweretwo friends.The divinersaidthatthey
shouldmakea sacrificelest theybothmeetdeathat the sametime.Aroof the house
refusedto sacrifice,andAroof thefarmalsofailedto appeaseEshu.5Aroof thehouse
diedin the house,andAroof the farmdiedon the farm.They saidthatAroof the
farmshouldbe carriedto the house.Whenthey hadcarriedAroof the farmto the
house,they saidthathis childrenshouldcomeandbeginthe entertainment for the
deadfortheirfather.Buttheysaidthattheyhadbeenso longon the farmthatthey
no longerknewhow the drumsshouldbe beaten.[1969:253]
While there is little likelihoodthat in practiceso many lineagememberswould
stay in the farm long enough actually to forget the burial ritual, the verse does
point to the polarity inherent in Yoruba life between the cultural activities of
the town, associatedhere with burialand drumming,and the ordinaryworkaday
life of the farm. That the prohibitionof dancing and drummingis intended to
avoid attractingSonponno into the town is borne out by the following story,
which was recordedby Ellis (1894: 73) but which I heard informally repeated
by a native of Ilesa and is indeed quite well known. Since I made no recording,
and hence have no transcriptof a modern version, here is Ellis's:
Shankpanna is old andlame,andis depictedas limpingalongwiththe aidof a stick.
Accordingto a myth,he hasa witheredleg. Oneday,whenthe godsareall assembled
at thepalaceof Obatala,andweredancingandmakingmerry,Shankpanna endeavoured
to join in the dance, but owing to his deformity, stumbled and fell. All the gods and

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX 197

goddessesthereuponburstout laughingandShankpanna in revenge,stroveto infect

themwith smallpox,but Obatalacameto the rescue,and, seizinghis spear,drove
Shankpanna away.Fromthat day Shankpanna was forbiddento associatewith the
othergods,andhe becameanoutcastwhohassincelivedin desolateanduninhabited
tractsof country.
Dancing and drummingare not only enjoyableactivities which might attract
any forest dweller. They are also cultural activities with a significant emphasis
upon revelation.They are also considered'hot'. Drumming in particularshould
be considered revelatory. The reasons are twofold. First there seems to be a
semiotic connection, as Needham (1967) has pointed out, between drumming
and communication.But secondly, and more obviously, drums are used among
the Yoruba not only for music in the narrow sense of that term, but also for
speech. A drummerdoes not merelyplay drums; he also uses them to transmit
verbal messages. Drums are indeed used to sing the praises of individuals and
social groups. They are a form of corporatedisplay. They are 'hot', too, in the
purely physical sense that they are usually practisedin the open air beneath a
hot sun, and thus cause the body to become hot. And as one of my informants
remarkedabove, 'Everybody knows that anything hot is not good.'
I do not wish to suggest that, becausethe culturallife of the town is intimately
bound up with dancing and drumming, Yoruba people regardtheir towns and
culture as inherentlyhot and thereforebad. I do, however,believe that the town,
and particularlythe revelatoryactivity associatedwith the town, are thought to
be attendedby danger.In consequence,they like these activitiesto be conducted
with the correct degree of control. In general, revelation, for the Yoruba, is a
dangerous necessity.
I have arguedthat Ifa, the cult which, morethan any other,laysclaimto embody
the totalityof Yorubacivilization,is thought to be precariouslybalancedbetween
the excesses of secrecy and of revelation. In Ifa, as in nearly all other aspects
of Yorubaculture, the greatestdangerin this polarityattachesitself to revelation.
Once this is understood,it is possible to understandthe delicacy with which the
symbols of the Sonponno cult find their place in the broaderYoruba culture.
Although Sonponn6 is relegatedto the forest by those who wish to keep him
there Sonp6nno is not to be thought of as a god of the forest. Sonponno is
ratherthe god who shrivels the plants and who lays bare the hot, dry, red earth.
One of Sonponn6's commonest epithets, Oldde(owner of the outside) is con-
cerned with just this characteristic. Ode, the outside of which S6np6nno is
owner, refers most precisely to those open stretches of land, neither forest nor
enclosed building, which are open to the elements. Nowhere in Yorubalandis
one more likely to encounter the hot, dry, barren red earth than in the town
and those areas of forest which have been cultivated. Civilization and
overcultivation are the prime cause of hot, red earth.
I have shown, however,that civilizationis not by any meansconstitutedmerely
by the revelationof that which is hidden. On the contrary,the essence of health,
peace and security consists in the avoidance of excess and in particularin the
control of excessive revelation by secrecy. For this reason, all the significant
Yoruba truths are contained in more or less secret cults.
It would be a mistake to draw too stark a contrast between S6np6nn6 and
other Yoruba gods. Sonponno is without doubt one of the most unpleasant in
the Yoruba pantheon. Yet even he has his beneficial side. I asked Fat66ogn if

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
198 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX

he did any good. He replied:

Yes,Sonponn doesgoodas well as evil.Everyebora[spirit]hasits ownformof help
that it can do for people.S6np6nn6is also the ownerof the sun, andwe all know
thatthesundoessomegoodforus. He is theonewhois responsible forthemovements
of the sunin the skylikea canoe.He is alsoresponsible
forthe dryseasonandforall
the thingsthat derivebenefitfromthe dry season.The good that Sonponnodoes
seemsgreaterthanthe harm.
It is perhapsa little paradoxicalthat, despitethe sharpcontrastwhich the above
myth has drawn between Ifa and S6nponno, Sonponno nevertheless is
inherentlymerely an ordinarygod comparableto many others. By contrastwith
the cool Ifa, Sonp6nn6is, as I have argued,unambiguouslyrevealingand hence
dangerousor 'hot'. The appropriateresponse to this hotness, however, which
is determined by the paradigm, is to hide him away. In this, Sonp6nn6 is
similar to Sng6, Ogun, Esf or indeed to Ifa himself. Like most Yoruba gods,
Sonp6nno can bring benefits to the public at large and to his devotees in
particular.These benefits do not detractfrom his dangerousqualities. He is the
one who strips the forests bare, who rendersthe earthbarren,who turns people
mad and who revealsthe red andwhite spots of smallpoxon the blackskin. Those
who seek to makeuse of him thereforemust treat him with appropriatecaution.
Members of the Sonp6nn6 cult, like those of the other 'hot'-gods,seek to make
use of the god and his powers. Idowui(1962) and Simpson (1980), for example,
show how there are sometimes elaboratetechniques to bring down the wrath
of the god upon one's enemies, and, indeed, because of this, the cult was for
many years strictly controlled by law. But, as in other cults, the followers of
o6np6nn6make use of his power by enveloping it in a strict secrecy. Oddly
enough, because of the uncontrolled nature of S6np6nn6's revelations, the
greateris the need tor secrecy. 'lhus while the secrets of Ifa exist to be readily
revealed, those of Sonponn6 are less easy to penetrate. For most people, who
want little to do with him, Sonp6nn6 is a god to be hidden deep in the forest
where he can do no harm.
The purpose of this article has been to show that discrete items of Yoruba
knowledgeabout the god of smallpoxpossess an internalcoherencederivedfrom
a single paradigm.I have not attempted to show that these discrete items are
consistent at a syntagmaticlevel. To do so would be to assume that the people
who share a given paradigmnever disagree or that an individual might never
changehis mind. This articledoes not pretendto clearup complexitiesof Yoruba
symbolism and iconography. To discuss the infinite complexity of the many
exampleswhich are apparentlyinconvenientto the thesis presentedhere would
be an endless task certainlybeyond the scope of a brief article. Like the earlier
paper (Buckley, 1976) from which it is derived, this is a preliminaryattempt
to find coherence in complexity. This coherence is derived from the fact that a
single paradigmgeneratesa multiplicityof sometimesmutuallyinconsistentideas.
The Yoruba god of smallpox has often been discussed by commentatorswho
have sought to reducethe knowledgeand practiceassociatedwith him to Western
medical paradigms.My view is that, if o6np6nnois understood in the context
of a Yoruba paradigm,the knowledge which Yoruba people have of him will
be seen to have a rationalityof its own.

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX 199

NOTES
' This articleis partof a largerstudyof Yorubamedicineundertaken with the supportof the
Leverhulme Trustandthe Esperanza Trust.Someof the ideasthereinwill be developedin a forth-
comingstudyof Yorubamedicineto be publishedby OxfordUniversityPress.I wishparticularly
to acknowledge thesupportandhelpof ElizabethTonkinandJ. A. Ayand6hiun. Andmostespecially
I amgratefulto mythreeinformants, MessrsFat6ogun,Adebaw6 andAw6tfinde, whoseideasformed
the basisof my research.
2 For all of the people I asked, aiperiis identical to girl and readily glossed as 'convulsions'. For
Prince'sinformants(1968)aipericomesin twoforms,whiteandblack.Thewhiteis calledeeld,which
forsomeof myowninformants is a skinailmentakinto leprosy(Buckley,1976).The blackis called
inorun,whichPrinceidentifieswithpellagra.Prince'sinformants seemto claimthatwhiteandblack
'aiperi'shouldbe held in somesortof balance.
3Eburuor wborok area distinctkindof evil spirit;theyareneitherorisinoreborabut arefound
only in conjunctionwith Sonpinn6.
4 Agb6nnire, or morecommonlyAgb6nniregin,is a namegivento Ifa.
Esuithe trickstergod is usuallyoffereda portionof the sacrificesmadein Ifa ritual.

REFERENCES

Abraham,R. C. 1958. Dictionaryof ModernYoruba.London:Universityof London Press.

Ardener, E. 1971. 'The new anthropologyand its critics', Man (N.S.), 6, 449-67.
1978. 'Some outstandingproblemsin the analysisof events', in E. Schwimmer(ed.),
The Yearbookof SymbolicAnthropology.London: Hurst.
Barber, K. 1981. 'How man makes God in West Africa:Yoruba attitudes to the orija',
Africa, 51, 724-45.
Barnes, S. B. 1969. 'Paradigms,scientific and social', Man (N.S.), 4, 94-102.
Bascom,W. R. 1969. Ifa Divination:Communication betweenGodsandMenin WestAfrica.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Buckley, A. D. 1976. 'The secret:an idea in Yorubamedicinalthought', in J. B. Loudon
(ed.), Social Anthropologyand Medicine.London and New York: Academic Press.
1982. A GentlePeople:a Studyof a PeacefulCommunityin NorthernIreland.Cultra,
Holywood, Co. Down: Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
1983. 'Neighbourliness:myth and history', Oral History, 11, 44-51.
1984. 'Walls within walls: religion and rough behaviour in an Ulster community',
Sociology,18, 19-32.
Ellis, A. B. 1894. The Yoruba-speaking Peoplesof the Slave Coastof WestAfrica. London:
Chapman & Hall.
Idowu, E. B. 1962. Olodumare:God in YorubaBelief. London: Longman.
Kuhn, T. S. 1962. TheStructureof ScientificRevolutions.Chicago:University of Chicago
Press.
Leighton, A. H., T. A. Lambo, C. C. Hughes, P. C. Leighton, J. M. Murphey, and D.
B. Macklin. 1963. PsychiatricDisorderamongthe Yoruba:a Reportfrom the Cornell-
AroMentalHealthResearchProjectin the WesternRegion,Nigeria.Ithaca,N.Y.: Cornell
University Press.
Lloyd, P. C. 1962. YorubaLand Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
MacLean, C. M. U. 1964. 'Attitudes and Beliefs Relating to Health and Disease in an
Urban West African Community'. Ph.D. dissertation,Edinburgh University.
Needham, R. 1967. 'Percussion and transition', Man (N.S.), 2, 606-14.
Parrinder,E. G. S. 1961. WestAfrican Religion:a Study of the Beliefs and Practicesof
Akan, Yoruba,Ibo and KindredPeoples.London: Epworth Press.
Prince, R. H. 1960. 'The use of rauwolfiafor the treatment of psychoses by Nigerian
native doctors', AmericanJournal of Psychiatry, 117, 147-9.
1968. 'Pellagra:its recognitionand treatmentby the Yorubahealersof West Africa',

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
200 THE GOD OF SMALLPOX

Verhandlungen des XX. InternationalenKongressesfur Geschichtede Medizin, Berlin

August 1966. Hildersheim: Olms.
Simpson, G. E. 1980. YorubaReligionand Medicinein Ibadan.IbadanUniversity Press.
Willis, R. G. 1967. 'The head and the loins: Levi-Straussand beyond', Man (N.S.), 2,
519-34.
1972. 'Pollutions and paradigms',Man (N.S.), 7, 369-86.
1978. 'Magic and medicine in Ufipa', in P. Moreley and R. Wallis (eds.), Culture
and Curing.London: Owen.

Resume

Le dieu de la variole:aspects de la connaissancereligieuse yoruba

Sonponno, le dieu yoruba de la variole, est appele 'Terre chaude' et est mis en colere
par ceux qui renversede l'eau sur la terre. II est responsablenon seulementde la maladie
de peau qui porte son nom, mais encored'une sortede folie. II est offensepar les pratiques
de danse et le son des tambours.Ces traitsbien connus de Sonponno sont presentesdans
cet article comme les articulationsd'un paradigmede connaissance.
Selon ce paradigme,la cultureconsiste en un 6quilibredelicat entre secret et revelation.
Dans le corps humain, et egalement dans le cosmos, les substances rouges et blanches
sont normalementcachees sous une surfacenoire. Elles ne sont revelees que sous forme
accompagnatricedu danger. Dans le culte de Ifa, l'oracle, cet equilibre entre secret et
revelationest tout specialementbien maintenu. Le contraste,mais aussi l'affinite, entre
Ifa et Sonponno est capture dans un mythe. En poussant cette comparaisonplus loin,
il est possible de voir exactementpourquoiil est proprede considererSonponno comme
l'agent instigateurde la folie. Alors que Ifa est un culte de secret qui pourtant revele
ses secrets et par consequent apporte la mort, Sonponno est un dieu sans vergogne qui
depouillele monde, la terre,les plantes,les corps humainset la cultureelle-memede leurs
faSadesdissimulantes.

This content downloaded from 109.113.239.17 on Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:03:53 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions