- 著者
-
上田 将
- 出版者
- 日本アフリカ学会
- 雑誌
- アフリカ研究 (ISSN:00654140)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.1977, no.16, pp.23-35, 1977
In this paper I consider <i>kithitu</i> (pl. <i>ithitu</i>) among the Kamba, a ‘Bantu speaking’ people in Central Kenya. <i>Kithitu</i> is a kind of magical medicine (<i>muthea</i>) in a broad sense. Its form is a medicine container, such as an animal's horn or a human tibia, in which magical medicine is packed. Medicine is mainly made from plants, but it is very difficult to know the constituents of medicine because secrecy about the ingredients is strictly kept.<br>There are many kinds and many uses of <i>ithitu</i> among the Kamba, but in this paper I examine Kilonzo's <i>kithitu</i> which is very well-known in the northern part of Kitui District. There are many oral traditions and much gossip about the <i>kithitu</i> in which its potency and the people's fear of it are always expressed.<br>Here I consider how the Kamba explain the various qualities and power of the <i>kithitu</i>, including:<br>1. The owner must keep his <i>kithitu</i> in the bush (<i>kitheka</i>) far away from his homestead (<i>musyi</i>). If he puts it in his homestead, the people of his homestead will die because of the strong effective power of the <i>kithitu</i>.<br>2. After using the <i>kithitu</i>, the owner and the persons concerned must not leave it without wiping off their eyes, hands and the soles of their feet with a mixture of juice from some plants and the soil of an ant hill, or with <i>mwoyo</i> (the undigested contents of a goat's stomach), because they have to cleanse the destructive power of the <i>kithitu</i> before coming back to their homes.<br>3. The <i>kithitu</i> sometimes comes near to the owner's homestead from the bush and cries like a man asking a goat's blood to drink. On such occasions, the owner must kill a goat and take the blood to the <i>kithitu</i> immediately. It is said that if he neglects this, all the members of his homestead will die.<br>4. The owner of strong <i>kithitu</i> can not have his real sons. It is believed that his real sons die young one after another because he always uses the <i>kithitu</i>.<br>5. The <i>kithitu</i> is used in oaths as <i>kuya kithitu</i> (to eat <i>kithitu</i>). It has the power to judge the truth. The accuser and the accused go to the bush and each of them swears over the <i>kithitu</i>, saying that if he tells a lie the <i>kithitu</i> may kill him. But people don't swear over the <i>kithitu</i> directly without <i>kusuna kavyu</i> (to lick a hot knife), ordeal as the first step, because the <i>kithitu</i> is so dangerous that a liar is killed with it. Swearing over the <i>kithitu</i> is connected with law, morals, values, legal procedure, clan conferences (<i>mbai</i>), political power and so on.<br>The <i>kithitu</i> is used as <i>uoi</i> (magical power to knock down an enemy or a rival). When some person encounters serious difficulties brought by his enemy, he visits and asks the owner of the <i>kithitu</i> to kill his enemy. The owner chants a spell against the enemy, striking the <i>kithitu</i> with a twig.<br>The Kamba categorize <i>uoi</i> into two parts: <i>Uoi wa mundu ume</i> (<i>uoi</i> of man) and <i>uoi wa mundu muka</i> (<i>uoi</i> of woman). The <i>kithitu</i> belongs to the category of <i>uoi</i> of man. It has the characteristics shown below:<br>(1) A person who wants to use the <i>kithitu</i> must pay money to the owner. It costs about three hundreds shillings (equivalent to about fifteen thousands yen). <i>Kuthooa kithitu</i> (to buy <i>kithitu</i>) means to use <i>kithitu</i> as <i>uoi</i>.<br>(2) Women and children cannot approach and use the <i>kithitu</i> because administering it is always attended by some danger and secrecy. Only the male adults can use it.<br>(3) It is forbidden to use the <i>kithitu</i> without socially justified reasons. To use <i>kithitu</i> is basically permitted by the society, but only if people follow the prescribed pattern of usage. The <i>kithitu</i> as <i>uoi</i> is deeply related to the kamba magico-religious beliefs a