ABSTRACT
Yammu2, a village elder, went on to tell how Kɛyawedikɛ gave the hunter gifts of sorghum seed, farming utensils and poultry, together with instructions in cultivation, beer brewing and animal husbandry. The hunter, who was a member of the Benammoutchaabe – one of the twenty-three Bebelibe3
communities – returned home and successfully followed Kɛyawedikɛ’s instructions (see also Huber 1979: 40-48). Benammoutchaabe community members are also known as the siyawesi yanbɛ (siyawesi ‘owners’). Today, this story of the hunter’s encounter with the siyawesi bush dwarfs is recounted when explaining how the Bebelibe discovered sorghum, yam, beans and other foods (see also Huber 1973: 386). With a population of around 69,500 people, the Bebelibe are largely rural
and live in loose-knit villages in the mountainous area of the Atacora region, in the northwest of the Republic of Benin. Most of the Bebelibe are located in the Commune of Cobly, with additional villages in the neighbouring Commune of Boukoumbé and across the border in Togo. Many rely on subsistence
farming and growing cash crops for their livelihood. All of the Bebelibe with whom I have spoken testify that Uwienu is the Supreme Being and creator of all. The first Catholic missionaries arrived in the Commune in the late 1940s, whereas the first Protestant missionaries arrived in the early 1950s (Akibo 1998; Cornevin 1981: 436, 440-441, 453-454). Whilst an estimated 10 per cent of the population now attend a church, Islam remains marginal. The majority of the population continue to be guided by the beliefs and practices of their ancestors and for many people paying homage to Uwienu through his intermediaries is an integral part of life. These intermediaries include community/lineage guardian shrine entities, ancestors and the siyawesi (see also Huber 1973: 378). Since their initial encounter with the hunter, the siyawesi have maintained an alliance with the Bebelibe and regularly choose individuals to become diviners. In this chapter I present the case of the siyawesi bush dwarfs and their
ongoing relationship with the Bebelibe. Such human-like beings are known throughout the region and hold positions of varying importance in West African ontology. Bush dwarfs are frequently referred to in ethnographic works dating from the 1920s onwards (e.g. Cardinall 1927; 1931; Rattray 1927; Jackson 1977a; 1977b; Fainzang 1986; Kirby 1986; Maurice 1986; Erny 1988; Ovesen 1990; Tengan 1990; Bonnet 1981-82; 1986; 1994; 1995; Goody 1997; Guigbile 2001; Koabike 2003 and Heraud 2005) often in subsections dealing with ontology, divination, sacrifice, aetiological and procreation beliefs or social structure. To date, the only published literature that mentions the siyawesi specifically has been written by Hugo Huber (1973), a Swiss anthropologist who conducted research amongst the Bebelibe in 1966-1967. Although people across the region usually refer to these entities as bush
dwarfs or bush spirits, different authors have employed a wide range of vocabulary when interpreting the given vernacular term, which suggests that there is some uncertainty about how these entities should be viewed and classified. Maurice (1986: 448-450) alone refers to them as nains (‘dwarfs’), démons (‘demons’) and esprits (‘spirits’). They have also been labelled as ‘fairies’ (Bannerman-Richter 1987: 30; Goody 1997: 64 n.69; Rattray 1927: 25), ‘pixies’ (Cardinall 1931: 77-96) and ‘sprites’ (Goody 1962: 212). I prefer to call them ‘bush dwarfs’ as terms such as ‘spirit’ do not adequately express their embodiment for those who see and relate to them, nor does it convey their lifestyle, which reflects – and is thought to precede – that of their human counterparts, as the opening story demonstrates (see also Goody 1997: 65-66; Kirby 1986: 61-62; Ovesen 1990: 150; Tengan 1990: 6-7). I recognise that the term ‘dwarf ’ also has its limitations, as it runs the risk that they are reduced to mythological beings. Thus, when I write about the specific situation for the Bebelibe, I employ the Mbelime terms kɛyawedikɛ and siyawesi. I consider the case of the siyewesi pertinent. Although the many descrip-
tions prevalent in the existing literature indicate an underlying assumption that – for the societies concerned – these entities truly exist, little has been written that addresses the reality of their existence. One exception is
Bannerman-Richter’s (1987) autobiographical account about the mmoetia of Ghana. Bannerman-Richter recounts his journey from scepticism to accepting that the mmoetia exist after personally meeting and interviewing some of them in 1970. Having lived amongst the Bebelibe for over thirteen years, I cannot dismiss the siyawesi as imaginary (see also Geschiere 1997: 20-21). I am in the same position as Geschiere (1997: 23) was when he wrote about witchcraft: although I cannot personally verify the siyawesi’s presence, I cannot deny the obvious reality of the siyawesi for those I have spoken with. I hope to demonstrate that the question of the siyawesi’s reality should be taken seriously, whilst also showing that how people engage with them changes depending on different trajectories of modernity (Geschiere et al. 2008: 5). I start this chapter by describing the siyawesi’s appearance and behaviour
before moving on to examine their place in Bebelibe ontology and role in divination. With reference to testimonies given by those I interviewed, I subsequently address the question of reality and the impact of post-colonial modernity as represented by the arrival of institutions such as churches, Western-style health care and an education system modelled on the French one. I conclude by proposing that bush dwarfs are not merely mythical beings but that they really exist.
