NGAS TRADITION, CULTURE & NORMS

NGAS TRADITION, CULTURE & NORMS 

In Ngas traditional religion, only males are circumcised.

Circumcision (Vwang) is usually carried out on young adults who are getting to a new phase in their lives. This stage marks the beginning of education into the Ngas religion. The young adults are camped in a far place away from home, this rite of separation usually last for about 30 to 60 days, and many mysteries of worship, the ancestors and the spirits will be revealed to them. This is the period to test and know who is who among the young men. The brave are referred to as real men (gomis), while the weak might never get to the end. If a person dies during this period, the slogan is that “won se kora”, meaning that the ancestors have eaten him up. No woman is allowed to see “wong” or the participants.

Therefore, when wong is coming, the slogan used to inform people about his presence is “mat lammo!” meaning that all women should hide or disappear. This also holds for male children who are not circumcised because they are considered as women.

The first and most important thing for any male to be a man is circumcision. Part of the training is that you will be severely beaten to an extent that if you are not brave you will die. Another form of training is that they will introduce you to “wong mwa” (ancestors). From there, you will also be taken by night to go and see the graves of your ancestors.

Before the end of the camp, you will be taken to “Lit” (shrine), and there, you will be taught how to worship the ancestors and some basics or rudiments of the traditional religious system will be revealed. Gonet says that ““Manok” or “wong gum” is concerned with the circumcision and initiation of boys” (1994:60). This “wong” instills discipline and removes fear from the young men, he also removes the women nature out of them so that they hold sacred everything that is done and this cannot be revealed to any woman, not even your mother or wife later in the future.

At the end of this initiation, the rite of incorporation into the community is marked by a festival, welcoming the warriors back home, not as the boys who left some months back but as men, tested and trusted. During this celebration, the Ngolong (chief) will come to the village square to welcome them. The families of the initiated men will also come with gifts for them. Family in Ngas land includes the father, mother, grand and great grandparents as well as uncles and everybody that is related to them. The gifts for these young warriors include: Pas (spear), banne (traditional attire), skin of wild animals and different things will be presented to them.

It is imperative to say that initiation into the traditional religion does not end after the circumcision, but that as one grows in obedience and dedication to the worship of “wong wma,” the more the person is initiated into more forms and ways of worship. The key to this is being truthful and living a morally pure life.

From this stage, you are not to engage in fornication or adultery, because you will become “ngo sa bis” an evil person and as such cut off from the shrine worship. In fact, the greatest evil that one can do is to go into sexual relationship with somebody’s wife. You will be an outcast and it will never end well with you. This is illustrated in the statement that “ngo sa bis khi rap kin” meaning that associating with this kind of person is putting yourself at risk or under attack by the ancestors.

MARRIAGE

The first criteria for marriage in Ngas land is that the man must be circumcised, while the woman must have experienced menstruation (but le nyi). There is a kind of dance called “Nahiet” and if a man knows how to sing, dance or play the drum (kung) very well, ladies will usually rally round him. If he likes any of them, he will have to inform his parents to investigate her family and thereafter start the process. Another way of getting to know who you want to marry may be an interest of the parents; in a way of continuing with friendship, parents can organize that their children marry each other. A young man may also have interest in a lady and approach her (kwem). If she agrees, he will relate it to his parents.

After this stage, the parents of the young man will go and introduce themselves to the family of the lady, and inform them about the interest of their son. They usually go with “taba” (tobacco). Before the parents agree, the lady must be consulted first before any one smokes the tobacco. If the says yes, she is pledging and agreeing that the process of marriage should continue, but if she says no then nothing will go on again.

The next thing after the tobacco is “kin” (salt). The salt will be share to all the extended members of the family, informing them that their daughter is about to marry. After this period, the friends of the young man will snatch the girl to his home. Since they are not yet married, the girl will stay with his mother. The following day, she will be taken back to her parents with four to five goats as dowry. The man will then organize his friends to go and farm for his in-laws.

The man will build houses, usually round shape, and harvest grasses that will be used to roof the houses. The lady will in turn invite her friends to assist her in weaving the grasses for the roofing, as well as building the places for cooking and house work. She will still return home to her parents before she comes back fully as a wife. The women in her family will then organize a send-forth for her. What they do is to educate her on how to run her family. They also tell her that this is how we do things in our clan, so if you go, do this and that.

DEATH AND BURIAL IN NGAS LAND

When a person dies, the Ngas people usually mourn (mep) for three days. This is a period of wailing, where the relatives of the deceased and the whole community come together to sympathize with each other because they are fully integrated. After three days, the mourning is concluded (mwa fat pi), but the impact of the lost remains with the community for a while.

When an elderly person dies, it is said that he has joined the ancestors, and a lot of shrine worship and sacrifices will be done before burial. Conversely, when a young person dies, the wailing is usually more because they believe that somebody must be responsible for his death. Mr. Gompil Y Bonkul said that “he will grieve his son very well because he knows that somebody or a witch is responsible for his death” (interviewed in Amper). This concept is reflected even today in the sense that when a person dies, the first consideration is who killed him.

Burial is done by digging a grave (tun), usually in the form of a well, and the deceased is placed sitting down of a stone, facing the East, and a big stone is rolled to seal the tomb.

The deceased is usually dressed in the traditional attire to meet the ancestors. Very few people are allowed to see or touch the dead body, it is sacred and a taboo for children or women to touch it. Very elderly men as well as the men perform the burial rites. Sacrifices are done to send the deceased ancestor to the spirit realm where he can watch over them as the living dead.

The chief’s (Ngolong) tomb is just one, and when he dies, the tomb of the former Ngolong will be reopen, the bones of the former chief will be put aside so that the deceased chief will be buried. Burial of the chief also include rites and sacrifices to the ancestors.

CONCLUSION
Having gone through this tribe and carefully study it’s concept of God, spirits and the world in general, the writer will say that no matter how great these traditions seem, our final stand as Christians is the biblical concept of God, spirits, and how man can worship God in truth and in spirit.
Any attempt to go out of this is going back to the traditional religion of our past ancestor.
It is mind bogging to see that the traditionalists gave themselves completely to the unknown God who is far away from them, yet committed to him in upholding purity and rites in their worship. The way these people were able to put themselves in worship is really commendable; the scriptures made it clear that in the conscience of man, he knows that somebody somewhere who is bigger and better than him is responsible for all that is around him.
The shocking thing is that many so called ‘Christians’ today are neither Christians nor traditionalists. While thinking that they are out of traditional worship, they have not fully giving themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. Until we come to reality in Christ, we will be a lost generation who just exist without real essence or purpose in life.
The quest for God and how to worship him was the soul of Africa by African traditionalists. They tried to reach to God but could not reach him because they worked base on what their ancestors passed to them. For us Christians today, Christ has set a pattern for us to follow and unless we go after him, we may as well be chasing shadows like the people of the old.

It is my prayer that you will not just read this document and feel proud about the Rites of Culture of the Ngas People but that you will value your relationship with God even better than any other relationship.

Mu Rotshak!!

We the BEST!!!!

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Introduction Video Clip

THE NGAS HISTORY

The Ngas Tribe of Nigeria



A man with Ngas tribal marks

 Ngas people are found mainly in the state of Plateau in central Nigeria. Over the years, many have migrated to other states where they have become indigenes. These states include Bauchi, Kaduna, Nassarawa and Taraba States.

Beliefs based on legend suggest that the Ngas people migrated to Plateau State from the Northeastern part of Nigeria around Borno State and are actually relations of Kanuri people.

Basically, the culture of Ngas people is the same with those of most African tribes. In naming a new born for instance, consideration is given to the circumstance surrounding the birth of the child. Children are usually named by their own fathers or grandfathers. When permitted, a mother can also name her child.

Wong is an Ngas masquerade that comes out during festive occasions. A child born during such a festival is named Ngowong. The prefix “ngo” means “the one with” A male child born on a rainy day is named Ngofwan (the one with the rain) and Nafwan if the child is female. A name like Ngochuk (one with the knife) is usually given to a child that took an unusually longer period to urinate after he has been born. A knife becomes significant in the sense that if the situation persists, it will become necessary to use a knife to open up the urethra. Ngokwat (the hunter) is a name given to a boy that was born on the day of hunting or at a time when his father was always going to the bush to hunt.

Ngas people have a type of medicine known as mwolak. The mwolak of every family is unique and is meant to give protection to family members against evils. According to Ngas tradition, a man on a mission to fetch mwolak doesn’t talk to people he meets on his way. He gets to the bush, uproots the plant and comes back without saying a word to anyone. Before it is taken, mwolak is dissolved in a traditional brew in a fresh calabash that has not been touched by a woman. Members of a family take their turns to kneel down before the calabash with their hands held to the back while an elderly person dips a special straw into it and brushes it across the mouth. Later each family member again takes his turn to take a sip directly from the calabash. A child born at a time when this medicine is been administered is usually named Ngomwolak.

In Ngasland, parents usually contract marriage at a time when the kids are too young to understand what marriage means. The parents of a young child reserves a wife for their son from a family they hold in high esteem. The children are then informed when they are fully grown.

Paying for a wife involves farming for the eventual in-laws and lasts for as long the courtship lasts. There is also the offering of cakes of tobacco and salt for the father and mother of the girl respectively. In Ngasland, the parents of the girl don’t specify bride price. Traditionally, it is known that two goats are offered to the parents of the girl. One is for them and the second is to be taken to the maternal uncles of the girl. It is the formal way of informing them that their niece is getting married. When the use of money became relevant, it is offered in addition to the goats and is meant to assist the girl’s parents in the area of dowry. Again the amount of money offered is dependent on the financial strength of the boy’s parent.

In Ngasland it is customary for a mother to eavesdrop when her daughter attends to a visiting husband-to-be who usually stands and talks to the girl some meters away from her. The aim is to ensure that her daughter don’t get so close as to arouse temptation for the expression of sexual feelings. Where a girl makes the mistake of getting too close, the mother warns her against such carelessness after the boy must have gone.

Certain girls in Ngasland are usually set aside to be used for special rituals. It is a taboo and a grave offence for a man to even come in contact with such a girl as long as it is done with the intention of satisfying sexual covetousness. To save the man from tragic consequences, his family offers a goat and corn to be used in cleansing the girl. The goat is slaughtered and the corn is used in preparing a brew. These are offered to appease the gods in a shrine.

Another abhorrent thing in Ngasland is extra-marital conception. A girl that becomes a victim is not allowed to have her baby in the house to avoid defilement with the stain of her blood.

In the run up to a wedding, the eventual groom and bride join hands to build their own house. The boy with the help of his friends build the house and find the poles to be used in roofing while the girl with other women including her mother source for the grass to be used in roofing the house. The women also do the plastering of the house using mud derived by dissolving the anthills (luntezu) of tiny harmless termites (ntezu) in water.

When a bride (madzap) arrives her home, the first food prepared (ntanang) is special and is served to everybody in the house. The bride is nicknamed Ntanang as a result.

Situations do arise where a boy not engaged to a young woman by parents falls in love with her to a point that he wishes to have her as a wife. He then makes her his wife by compulsion. This is done with the help of his friends with whom he lays ambush on the girl on her way to the market or river. His parents immediately inform the girl’s parent that they shouldn’t worry about her whereabouts, indicating that she is in their custody. In some cases, the girl refuses and insists on marrying the man that has labored for her love. Where the girl wishes to remain, an arrangement is made for her sudden in-laws to pay the losing man by putting a commensurate amount of labor in their farm.

In the course of the year, Ngas people have two major festivals. There is the Moslum usually observed around March/April. During this festival, a local brew is prepared and is used in a ritual during which the people request the blessings of the gods for a good harvest. Moslum is celebrated in Lur which is a part of Kabwir district, Ampang, Munok, Mwel, Dungung, Kaler and surrounding neighbourhoods. Mustar, the second festival is performed around September to give thanks for a splendid farming season. It is celebrated in the villages of Dawaki, Gyangyan, Tablong, Seri, Shuwer, Gunji and environs. The people of Garam do have another festival that is peculiar to them.

Ngas people don’t practice inheritance as it is done in most African tribes. When a man dies, his land is not shared among his children. Whoever wishes to build a house, for instance, takes a portion of the land and builds his house on it. It is the same with regard to farming. Each son of a deceased man takes one of his father’s farms and uses it to grow his food. Since shifting cultivation is common in Ngas culture, he shifts to another piece of land when he so desires. Livestock belonging to a death man are also never shared but are taken and used to address the needs of any member of the family. This stands in contrast to the common practice of sharing them among his children as practiced in other cultures.

Offences are settled at the family level. Where this is not possible, it is taken to the palace of the king where the king passes his last judgment after hearing from the plaintiff, the defendant and their witnesses. Domestic animals are given as fines. Where the offence is involves murder, the offender is given away to the family of the deceased. He does all the work the deceased person would have done for his family and is thus compensation to that family for their lost one.

During their lifetimes, Ngas men often belong to different age groups. When a man dies, his spirit has to, in turn, be released by the different groups to which he belonged before his family can bury him. This ritual is a most as it is believed that anything contrary will set off series of heartbreaking events within his family. The dead in Ngasland are usually buried in vertical graves by placing them in sitting positions such that they rest their heads on their palms. A stone is placed on the entrance of the grave and covered with the excavated material. A small sign is placed on top, indicating that this is a grave. It is common for a relation to be buried in an old grave rather than have a fresh one dug. When one dies, the oldest grave is identified and the bones assembled and put aside to make way for the new corpse. There is however a single grave for kings within the same family in Ngasland. A king can be buried in a grave today and his successor buried in the same grave tomorrow if it becomes necessary.