Pragmatics
9:3.357-382 (1999)
International
PragmaticsAssociation
THE PRAGMATICS OF DUABo 'GRTEVANCEIMPRECATION'
TABOO AMONG THE AKAN
Kofi Agyekum
0.Introduction
This paperaddresses
duabc 'grievanceimprecation'asaverbal tabooamong theAkan
of Ghana.Akan belongs to the Kwa group of languagesfound in West Africa. It is the
indigenouslanguage with the largest number of speakers in Ghana. The paper
addressesthe notion of the magical power of the spokenword with regard to duabc. A
linguisticanalysisof duabc will be presentedin terms of its etymology,morphology,
typology, syntax and semantics.In the frameworkof the ethnographyof communication,
thispaperlooks at the pragmatic featuresof duabc, the participants andits performative
aspects.It also discussesthe situations under which the verbaltaboo is mentioned and
it considersthe sanctionsinvolved. All this is supportedby empiricaldatacollectedamong
theAkan in 1994.1
Verbal taboo is an important aspectof the Akan languageand culture. There are
varietiesof verbal taboos in Akan. They include ntam'reminiscential oath', duabc
'imprecation', nsedie 'self-imprecation', atennidie 'invectives' and ammodin
'unmentionables'
(seeAgyekum 1996).This paper, however,concentratesonly on duabc.
Duabc'grievance
imprecationby invocation' is a type of religiousverbal taboo which
involvesthe employment of magical and supernaturalpowers to causeharm to one's
addressee.
Duabc is normally relatedto supernaturalpowerswhich people consider as
valuableand powerful. Duabc normally occurswhere there is a grievancebetween a
speakerand his victim. We shall be looking at the types, functions, structuresand the
prototypicallanguageusedin duabc. We will alsolook at the categoriesofcommunicative
participantsconnectedto this type of speechcommunication.Thereis a Ghanamapatthe
endof thepaperthat showssomeof the towns,villagesandrivers mentionedin thetext and
theirrelationshipwith Kumasi and Accra, the capital of Ghana.
1. Theoretical framework
Duabc can best be analysed in the general framework of the ethnography of
communication. Hymes (1972) proposes an ethnographicframework which takes into
account the various factors that come into play in speaking.Thesefactorsare summarily
put in an acronym, SPEAKING:
I This paper is a modified form of a chapter from my M.Phil. thesis from the University of
Trondheim.The thesis was issued as University of Trondheim Working Papers in Linguistics 30 (1996).
358 Kofi Agyekum
S-settingand scene,P- participants, E - ends, A-act sequence,K- key
I- instrumentality, N- norms of interaction and interpretation, G- genre.z
In the analysis of duabc , we shall look at the setting in terms of place and time,
participanls in terms of the peoplewho are connectedwith it, and ends in terms of the
purposeforthe duabc. Actssequencerefersto the eventsthat culminateinto theduabc
speechactivity and how they havebeenstructured,keying is viewed in termsof the tone
and mood of the participants in the act, instrumentis the mediumof language usedand
in the caseof duabc,itis the spokenwords.The normsrefertothesocio-culturalnorns,
values and conventionsattached to duabc, ffid in fact, thesearethe issues that make
it a verbal taboo. The genre is a religious one and this capturesthe spiritual and
supernaturalaspectsof this communicativeevent. Someof the componentpartsof duabc
are speechacts. Anything that comes out during duabc, would be considered as an
integral part of the whole communicativeevent.
2. Duabc 'grievanceimprecation': The Duabc as a verbal taboo
The duabc taboo is purely a religiousverbal taboo. It is the practice of the Akans in
invoking supernaturalpowers in defenceand in the executionof certainforms of justice.
This has given rise to the origin of imprecationbasedon the desireof the imprecator to
harm the target. Akan duabc 'imprecation'normally arises out of enmity,breakdownof
love, lack of peace, conflict, anger,social avoidance, selfishness,attempt to eliminate
a fellow, curse, etc. This is the reason why I have labelled duabc as 'grievance
imprecation'.
Duabc is a verbal taboo because it derivesits effect from supernaturalpowers
whosemight the ordinaryman cannot match andwhoseactionsandbehaviourpeoplecan
neither predict nor decipher. For this reason,one should avoid invoking supernatural
namesin certain contexts(seealso Rattray 1969a; Wagner 1987 233).It is believed that
when a persontrivialises the namesof the deities, he is defiling and blasphemingagainst
them. Duabc is discouragedbecausethesesupernaturalpowers(otherthan God) arequick
to angerandtheir punishmentsarevery severe.This, however, doesnot meanthat duabc
is totally tabooed, for like all the other verbaltaboosin Akan, therearecertainsituations
when it canbecomementionable.
Generally, duabc is an expressionthat is invoked with the intention to punish the
targetedperson. The consequenceof the duabc is that it puts the referent into an
awkward situationthat affectshis life andproperty. In psychologicalterms, it affrontsthe
face of the target when he is within the communicativesituation. The event may also
affront the faceof by-stander.(cf. Gofknan 1955,1981; Brown andLevinson 1987).
2Inthispaper,Hymes'(I972)modelisusedtogetherwithSaville-Troike's(1989:138-157)model
for Communicativeevents.Saville-Troike's (1989) model consistsof the following main features:genre,
topic, purpose/function, and setting (all categorisedunder "scene or extra-personal context of the event").
The others are key, participants,messageform, messagecontent, act sequence,rules of interaction and norms
of interpretation. In effect, there is a stong relationship between Hymes' and Saville-Troike's models.
Thepragmatics of duabc 'grievance imprecation' taboo among the Akan
359
Not only does duabc affront the victim, but in the final analysis all duabc
expressions
areconsideredtaboobecausethey tamperwith people'slives andallegedlykill
themoff. Duabc may harm an entire family and in some casesbe reversedto kill the
imprecator.A reduction of the populationthrough imprecationis considereddetrimental
to the society. It is becauseof the social impact of duabc that the Akans have
institutionalised
it as a tabooexpressionrestrictedto be usedasa weapon of a lastresort
in somedefinedcontexts for bringing aboutsocialjustice.
3. Duabc activity: Internal structure and participants
The internal structure of duabc as a single speechactivity hasthreemajor constituent
parts and they are: (a) protactic proposition, which representsthe invocation(of the
nemesis)
and the cursingaspect(the speechact; performativeverb), (b) the apodictic
proposition,which indicatesthe purposeof the use of the imprecation,and (c) the
proposition, which statesthe punishment.
commissive
Thereis a prototypical frame in duabc in Akan which pragmatically involves at
leastthreeparticipants or more.Thesearethe imprecator (speaker),imprecatee (target)
andthe nemesis(addressee).Each of the participantshas a communicative role in the
speechevent. The participants and their roles are presented below. Apart from the
parlicipants,
thereis the messagethat links the imprecator andthe nemesis.This will be
to asthe mand. 3
referred
(i) the speaker
(ii) the target
(iii) the addressee
(iv) the message
-)
-)
-+
--)
lst. person
2nd. or 3rd.
person(s)
supernatural,the power broker, God, deity, the
nemesis
the mand
the imprecator
the imprecatee
The first participant is the imprecator (speaker/theperformer) who embarkson the act.
Theimprecator functions asthe animatorof the powerful words and it is his wish which
fulfils. The imprecatorsendsa mandto theNemesisto actupon it. Mandswith
thenemesis
personsubjectsexpressthe speaker'sintentionto get the addressee
or hearer to do
second
something.
The second participantis the addressee,the centraland coreparticipantof the
wholeact. It is the sourceof the power for the causativeact to inflict harm or death. It is
power (an invisible participant) and it may be God or any of the deities.
thesupernatural
participant
is
referredto in this paperasthe nemesis.The Nemesisis definedin Greek
This
mythologyas"the avenger;personificationof the gods' retribution for violation of sacred
law"(LongmanEncyclopaedia,lst edition 1992:743).Thenemesis(addressee)
is never
3 Accordrng to Leech (1983: 116) "mands constitute a more general category than what we
normally understand by command. They reflect a common element of meaning shared by the three
moods:Imperative, infinitive, and present subjunctive. Mands invoke or conjure up a stateof affairs which
is envisagedas unfulfilled".
360 KofiAgtekum
physically present in the communicativescenario;however,it takesactive part in the
spiritualaspects.
The imprecatee is the targeted personwho bearsthe brunt of the duabc (he can
be in the secondor third person). According to the nofin and constitutionof the Akans,
the potential imprecatee must not be there at the time of the utteranceof the
imprecation.In somecasesthe imprecatormay not be known or may be a third party. In
somesituationshoweverthe imprecateemay be present (seenitanduasection5.3.1).
While the imprecator and the imprecatee are [+human], the nemesis is normally
supernatural[-human].
The structure of duabc canbe illustratedas follows: theimprecator employsthe
mand to pray the nemesrs (deity) to inflict any of the possiblepunishment(s)which the
nemesisdeemsfit on theimprecatee. Thepunishmentsinclude nightmares,misfortunes,
siclcness,birth problems, madness,death or any other. The punishmentsareunordered
and they may be one or more dependingon the gravity of the offenceand the wish of the
imprecator.
The imprecator cansay"I give you to the deitiesto dealwith you". The imprecator
implies that the punishmenthe wantsto be afflicted on the imprecateeis beyondhis power
and control. The imprecative frame can be as in the examplebelow:
1.
Se saa asem yi
a
wode ato
me
so
yi
If suchmatter this which you
take Consec. Put me
top
this
.s€
enye
nokore
a AsuoDebi
nku
wo.
If
Neg.is
true
thenAsuo Debi
Imp.kill you
('If this accusationyou have levelled against me is untrue, may River Debi kill
you'.)
Structureof Example I :
If this statemenVactX is false/defamatory,etc. then nemesisY shouldkill you Z.
4. The linguistic structure of Duabc
This sectiondiscussesthe linguistic skuctureof duabc in termsof its semanticorigin,
etymology, ffid syntax. In the linguistic structure,it is possible to omit some of the
internalpropositionsand participantsof duabc as listedin 3. above.
(i) Semanticorigin of Duabc
The act of duabc literally involves an attemptto use a stick to hit somebodywith the
intention of killing him or her. In reality, it is ratherthe useof words which is believed by
the Akans to have some "inherent power" to kill people. This is done by handing the
personover to somesupernaturalpowersto usetheir powersto perform the act. They can
proceedto harm or afflict the victim with disease,death, etc. onbehalf of the imprecator.
This samemeaning of duabc is preservedin the final proclamationused in thejudgement
Thepragmaticsof duabc 'grievanceimprecation'tabooamongtheAkan 361
of casesin Akan arbitration.a
(ii) Etymology and origin of the word Duabc
Theetymologyof the word duabc is derivedfromtwowords:anoundua'stick'and
averb
bc'to hit'. Duabc is, therefore,a verbalnounfromtheverbalphrasebc dua 'hit with
a stick'. Here is an illustration of the processof modificationof a verb into a noun
imprecation.
[[bc + dua] VPll
ttl
ry + Nl
'to imprecate'
vPll -)
--)
[dua+ bc] I.IPll
tl
INP+v]-NPll
'imprecation'
It is likely that in the olden days, beforethe introductionof iron and metal weapons, the
Akansuseddua/abaa 'ctubs' as their major weapons in wars and for execution, hence
their usagein duabc 'imprecation' and also the judgement proclamation. Duabc is a
spiritualexecution where the physical executionis encodedin the spiritual world.
(iii) Omissionof nemesisin Duabc'grievanceimprecationl
In someduabc tabooexpressions,the imprecatoravoids mentioningthe nemesisbut may
voicethe punishmentwhich should befall the imprecatee. Theseare like the informal
duabcwe shall seelater. Sincethe imprecatorhimself cannotmete out the punishment,
itisassumedthatthereis
anunspecified
agentwhois goingtocarryitout.Little(1987)
pointsoutthat cursesin which the agent is not specifiedareoften in the form ofpetitions
to othersto intervene. Generally, the imprecationsin Akan are couchedin the form of a
mandor a petition for supernaturalintervention. Below are exurmplesof "agentless"
imprecations.
(2) nba a ede
ba dee wo- remfa
bi
nhye
Babyrel. be call baby foc. you neg.take some
neg.put
('Asfor what we call a child you will neverput one on your back.')
w'akyiri.
Poss.back.
Thisimpliesthat the imprecateeis cursedneverto have a child.
oAmong the Akan, after
a casehas been settled through arbitration, the chiefs spokesmanmakes
a proclamation. The proclamation has some relation with a curse except that in the proclamation it has a
purelymetaphorical significance. Here is the proclamation.
Se asern a esiie yi, se wammaX amfowo amma ha amma Nananom amfa asopa antie bi enna
anka womuaabaa so na wode bcJ ne tirim na wokum no a wodi no aboa.
"In the casethat ensuedbetween you and X, if X had not brought you here before Nananom, for
them to have used their good and attentive ears to hear and go through the case, and ifyou had
taken a stick/club and hit him on the head and if you had thus killed him, you would have terited
him like a beasVanimal."
362 KofiAgrekum
(3) Dee ctee
me kookoo
yi dee afuo biara a cde bedua
Who he- Pastpluck me Poss.cocoa
this foc. farm any which he-usesplant
egya nhye no.
mu no
in that
fire Imp.burn it
('As for the onewho pluckedmy cocoa, any farm in which he plantsthe cocoashould
get burnt'.)
(4)
ctan me
Onipa blnefo a
Personsinful who he- Pres.hates me
('May any sinful man who hates me die.')
biara dee
any as for
cnwu.
he- Imp. -die.
(iv) Omissionof the apodicticpropositionalcontent
ln some instances,the apodictic propositional content indicating the reasonsfor the
imprecationmay be omitted as in the examples below.
(5a)
(5b)
yie.
cbc
bra biara a €renye
Saa nipa no
he play life any which it Neg.Prg.do well
That personthe
('May that person never prosperin any venture he embarks on in his life.')
ano da
wc
renhunu
ne
ho
wiase
Onii ko
world
Personthat Prog.Neg. seePos. body front neverbeat
yi
mu
this
in
('That personwill neverbe prosperousin his life').
In the abovedata, all the expressionsin bold lettersare the duabc taboo expressions.
They arepunishmentswhich the imprecatorwantsto befall on the imprecatee.Sometimes
the imprecator may leave the apodictic propositional part but the cursing part must
obligatorily appearto show that he hasthe intention to imprecate. Theseforms can only
be usedin situationswherethe apodicticpropositionalcontent ofthe imprecationhasbeen
statedearlier on in the discourse.
(v) Omissionof the curse component
It is possible in certain contextsfor the imprecatorto omit the curseor punishmentand
entrusteverythingto the discretionof the nemesis to punishthe imprecatee.I cite below
such a variety recordedat Assisiriwa on the 3rd. of April 1994. The woman imprecator
poured some drink on the ground and also threw and broke an egg on the ground and
imprecatedas follows;
(6)
Dee
'He who
korJ
one
a
who
cfaa
m'adeeyi
he-Pasttake my thing
cfaae,
Asuo Offin
he-Pasttake River Offin
menhunu
this I-Neg.-see
wo na wonim
you foc. you-know
onipa
person
enti
so
Thepragmatics of duabc 'grievance imprecation' taboo among the Akan
363
lkyere wo tumil.s
fshow yolu powers]r.
('I am not ableto seeor recognisethe onewho took my thing, River Offin you are
the onewho hasan idea so exerciseyour powers').
In theaboveexample, the punishmentis left open by the useof the expressionlqtere wo
tumi 'exerciseyourpowers'. The punishmentcanbeanyofthe typeswe havementioned
earlieron andis exercisedaccordingto the discretionof thenemesisbasedon the gravity
of theoffence.
(vi)Anticipatoryimprecation
It is alsopossibleto havean anticipatoryimprecation,wherethe speechactis not complete
atthetime of the utterance. One can saythat it is a delayedspeechact.It is normally put
in a conditionalclausegiving the imprecateeample time and opportunity to manoeuvre.
In Akan, suchan imprecationmay be markedby the conditionalmarker se 'if as in;
(7a) Se
labue adakano
sika a
wia
obiara
so
ewc
If
anyone
Egr. go openbox the on
steal money which it be
nku no.6
mu
no a Kyinaman
in
then Kyinaman Imp.
kill
him
('If anyoneopensand stealsthe money in this box, may the deity Kyinaman kill
him'.)
Intheanticipatory
imprecation(alsocalledprovisionalcurseby Little 1987)themalefactor
orimprecatee
is madeimpersonalandgenericby theuseofthe pronounobiara 'anybody'.
Here,theconditionalclausemarkedby the marker se 'if hasalsogot an ingressiveftcbue"a goingto the placebeforethe act of openingtakesplace." (Theingressivemarkers
in Akanbe 'come'andkc 'go' referrespectivelyto a comingor a going to a placebefore
therealactionof the verb takesplace.) Structurally, the se in the ingressiveintroducesa
suppositionalcondition intended to pre-empt an act. A speaker can also utter the
anticipatory
imprecationas follows .
(7b) Onipabiara a cbebueadakayi so awia sika a ewc mu no Kyinaman nku no.
('May the deity Kyinaman kill any personwho opensthe box andstealsthe money
in it'.)
In the examplesof anticipatory imprecation above, the speechact is not complete
because
one of thenecessary
conditions(themalefactoror the imprecatee)is not met. The
imprecation
is left openand generaland it may or may not happen.By the power of the
5River Offin is one of the major rivers in the Ashanti Region of Ghana
6 Kyinaman: This is another powerful deity in a village called Nobesu near Kyekyewere.
People
tust its magical powers so much that they employ it very often in imprecation and oaths.
364 KofiAglrekum
spokenword the imprecationis potential, and it becomesfunctionableat the appropriate
time when a victim commits the anticipatedoffence. The condition will then be met for
theimprecationto be accomplished
andthemalefactoris thencursed(cf. Little 1987:184).
The question that arisesis, what happensif no malefactor falls into the hap? The
name of the deity might havebeenmentionedin vain andthat is tantamountto defilement
and blasphemy. The speakerwill be using the imprecation as a protectivedevice to his
personal advantage at the expenseof the whole society. Theseare among the main
reasonswhy such imprecationshave becomeinstitutionalisedverbal taboosin the Akan
community.
4,1. Lexico-semanticform of Duabc
In this section, we shall considerthe natureof a prototypicalduabc in terms of the type
of verbs and complementizersthat are usedin duabc utterances.The prototypical verbs
used are lcye 'to arrest', nya 'to afflict' andlatm 'to kill' and they are ordered.Depending
on the gravity of the offence and the intendedpunishment,the imprecatorwould choose
any of theseverbs.The scaleof the affliction by the nemesismovesalong a continuum of
stagesas in the framebelow:
lcye -'+
'arrest'
nya -+
'eeVafflict'
kum.
'kill'
We analysethis structureaccordingto the natureof the punishmentsmeted out by the
nemesis.
(a) lcye 'to arrest'
This is the first level of the punishmentwhere it is believed that the nemesissendshis
spiritual policemen to arrestthe imprecatee.According to my informants, this is where
the victim may start having nightmares and unhappy dreams and may become
psychologically unsound. If the person realisesthat the affliction is causedby a
supernaturalbeing and runs to the deity and performs the necessaryrituals, he may be
free. The fines and punishmentsinvolved at this stage are minimal.
(8)
Dee wafa
me sika
no
Kwaku Firi nkye no
Personwho perf. take my money
the
Kwaku Firi arrest him
mma me.
for
me.
('May the deity Kwaku Firi arrestthe one who has stolenmy money'.)
(b) nya 'to afflict'
The second stage is nya 'to geVafflict', where the deity is supposed to get hold of the
Thepragmatics of duabc
'grievance
imprecation' taboo among the Akan
365
victim. It normally startswith an illnesswhich worsensday by day. The personmay visit
variousmedicinemen but all to no avail until it is revealedthat he is under the affliction
of a spell. If he is ignorantof being a targetof a duabc 'imprecation'and rushesto the
shrineof the deity, then the highestdegreeof the punishmentis setin motion. Here is a
nya example.
(e)
nnya no.
me ntomano Ayanta
cl{c-wia-a
Onipa a
get
him.
my cloth the Ayanta
Personwho he go stealpast
('May Ayanta afflict someharm on the onewho stolemy cloth'.)
(c) kum 'to kill'
Thisis themostprototypicalverb, it is the highestdegreeof the punishments.The verb
lwm'tokill'means 'to causeone to be out of existence' Let us considerthe examples
below.
a
ho
bio
me kunu
(10a) Se wo!
Wosi
my husband body again then
You step
If you!
nku wo.
Akonnedi
Imp.Kill you.
Akonnedi
('If you ventureto have a further affair with my husbandmay the deity Akonnedi
kill you'.)
gsaqseno
so a Tegarenku
st
nan
(10b) Wode
wo
on thenTegare Imp.
the
your
land
step
leg
You take
wot
you.
('May Tegareslay you if you shouldstepon the land (in dispute)'.)
Theverbkum'to kill' is placed in an indirectcausation(execution)wherethe imprecator
anotheragent( the nemesis)to spirituallykill the imprecatee.By the magical
requests
powerof the spokenwords, the imprecatorthushands the offenderover to a supernatural
that we really seethe magical power
power(seeTambiah1968). It is in suchutterances
lines: "If I physically beat,
along
the
following
speaker
thinks
of the spokenword. The
so I will rather handyou
a
offence,
you,
committing
criminal
kill
I
may
be
or
confront,
overto the spiritual world so that I will not be committedin any wey." According to
powersis not in itself sufficient
Montagu(1967: 57) "the mereexistenceof supernatural
togenerate
theprocessofcursing. Only whentheindividualis forbiddento takejudgement
to assist
intohis ownhandsis he likely to hit upon the ideaof compellingthe supernaturals
himin theexecutionof his judgement".
t Tegare is a renowned and powerful deity taken from the Northem Region of Ghana into the
AshantiRegion. Many towns and villages had/have this deity in various forms.
366 KofiAgtekum
(1la) Dee
wafa me sika no
Antoa Nyamaas
Personwho perf.
take my money the Antoa Nyamaa
('May Antoa Nyamaakill the personwho hastakenmy money'.)
nku no.
Imp.kill him.
The duabc tabooexpressionin the abovedatais Antoa Nyamaa should kill him. The
imprecator is the indirect causer and the nemesis, Antoa Nyamaa,the direct causer or
the instrument to effect the killing; the imprecateeis the causee.The imprecateeis not
named, he is representedby the pronoun no 'him'. In pragmatic terms, the above
utterance implies that, I, the speaker (in the possessiveconstruction), am hereby
invoking the deity Antoa Nyamaa to kill the unnamedtarget.The example cited above
could stylisticallybe statedas:
(1lb) Dee
wafa mesika
no
dee Antoa Nyamaa
na
He who perf take my money
the
as for Antoa Nyamaa
Foc.
nku
no.
Imp.kill
him.
('May the personwho hastakenmy money be killed by Antoa Nyamaa'.)
In the above, the speakerstrengthensthe imprecationby the use of an exclusive focus
marker na and also the topicalisingmarker dee 'as for' which topicaliseon the
imprecateeand nobody else. The na focusesattentionon oneparticularnemesis,Antoa
Nyamaa, which is going to mete out the punishment. The focusmarkers are usedto lay
emphasison the degreeof the seriousness
of the intentionof the speakerand aimed at
making the imprecation very effective.
(d) Other variantsof the curse/punishment
component
Apart from theseprototypicallexico-semanticexpressions
of the curseand punishment,
we also meet otherssuch as Onyamentua wo kn, 'May God punishyou', cmmc dam,
'may he make you mad', cmma asem no nsi
n'anomna cno ara nka n'enomasem (lit.)
'maythe issue appearin his mouthsothat
he shouldsayit from his own mouth', i. e. 'may
he confess',mfa nsuonto neyom 'mayyou put a streamin his stomach',Jngu n'animase
'may the personbe disgraced',mmusuo
nka no 'woebe unto him', and still many others
accordingto the will and wishesof the speakerand the gravity of the offence. One of the
most harmful of all the imprecationtaboosis wherethe imprecatorinvokesthe Alrnighty
God as follows: Onyankopcnmpae agradaa nsi onipa korJ no tirim, 'May God strike
the head of the personwith lightning'. This is becausethe energy in lightning kills
instantaneously
and the tnget hasno time to pleadfor forgiveness.
8 Antoa Nyamaa: This is
a shrine harbouredin a small stream called Asuo Nyamaa in a village
called Antoa some seven miles away from Kumasi. It is a very renowned deity and people in the Ashanti
Region very often use it for duabc 'grievance imprecation' and nsedie 'assertiveself-imprecatory oaths'.
'grievance
Thepragmatics of duabc
imprecation' taboo among the Akan
367
4.2.The syntsx and pragmatics of Duabc
This sectiondiscussesthe syntax and pragmaticsof duabc. It looks at its conditional
clauses,transitivity, mood, aspect,tense, polarity,and person.
Thesyntaxof the imprecationis suchthatit carriesa conditionalclauseinitiatedby
theconditionalmarker se 'if . This indicatesthat the imprecatoris not absolutelysureof
thetruth condition of the case and that is why he is leaving it in the handsof nemesesto
handlethe casefor her/him. For this reason, if it turns out that the suspectedimprecatee
is not the guilty party, then he is free. Conversely, if he is guilty the supernaturalbeings
will punishhim accordingly.
(12a) .Se
If
barimayi
the
man
de
take
ne
his
ho
bodv
aka
Perf touch
cbaa
no
woman the
no.
nku
a
Kyinaman
him
Imp. kill
then Kyinaman
('If this man has had a sexualaffair with the woman, may Kyinaman kill him'.)
In the use of se in the above conditionalimprecation,the imprecatorhas a specific
in mind. The conditional type of imprecationmay also be expressedby the
imprecatee
useof a genericterm asonipa 'a person',without a specificimprecateein mind. Here is
anexample:
me kookoo no nyinaa no SesimanNtoa
(l2b) Onipa a w-a-besesa
all the
SesimanNtoa
Personwho he perf.collect my cocoa
ma
me.e
no
ku
for
me'
him
kill
(l\4aySesimanNtoa kill the personwho hascometo collectall my cocoa'.)
We canidentify two tlpes of duabc in termsof their transitivitywith regardto
'he hashit
thementioningof the imprecatee.Thereis the true transitiveWabc dua (lit.)
'hit'
'tree'and
is dua
the
stick','hehasimprecated'. Herethe direct objectof the verb bc
imprecateeis not mentioned. The referentis opaqueandmay thushaveno opportunity to
pacifythenemesis.In this type of transitivity,offenders(includingcloserelatives) may
notbe awarethat they are targetsof the imprecation. One can say somethingas follows,
m'adee yi a ayerayi dee merelabc dua, 'As for my item which is missingI am going
to casta spell'. In this type of curse, thereis a threat and the deity is not mentioned,but
of the expressionbc dua puts fear into the hearers.This forewarns the
thepresence
victimto take heed and either bring the thing back or find a way of appeasingthe
imprecator.
The secondtypeis ditransitiveduabc andit is a typeofdoubleobjectconstruction
in Akan (seeOsam 1997;SaaandEze 1997). In the ditransitive,the personimprecated
ismentionedand the name comes inbetweenthe structurebc......dua asin'.
t SesimanNtoa: This is a shrine in Nkoranza. one of the maior towns in the Brons Ahafo Resion
ofGhana.
368 Kofi Agyekum
M
ebc
IFut. -hit
Agent Fut. hit
X
X
Goal
dua.
stick. ('I will imprecateX.')
Theme
In the ditransitive, the referent is transparent. It is, therefore,consideredthat the
consequenceof the imprecationis more seriouswhenthe target'sname is not mentioned.
If the victim becomesawareof the imprecation and finds proper ways of pacifying the
of the duabc canbe deactivated.Therearecases
nemesis,the anticipatedconsequences
where peopledie becausethey might havebeentargetsof curseswithout their knowledge.
Victims of a spellor a curse,who realise it very early areableto consult somedeities for
adviceand solutions.
Oneofthe most importantpragmaticcharacteristicsof duabc asa speechactis that
the speakermust be in the first personsingular me'I', andthe tensemustnot be in thepast
but either in the presentor future. In terms of aspectit shouldbe in the imperfectivebut
not in the perfectiveexceptwhen it is a duabc being reportedby anotherperson. Here the
reporteris not performingtheduabc at the sametime thathe is speaking.For this reason,
it is not to be consideredas explicit performative.(seealsoSearle 1969, 1976).
In terms of mood in imprecation, the apodicticpropositionis normally in the
indicative. However, the imprecated mand is in the imperativein the form of a polite
command(a speechact of request)on the nemesis.The imprecatorrequeststhe nemesis
to useits powersto punishthe imprecatee.In termsof polarity it is alwayspositive, not
in the negative,becauseit is somethingthe speakerwishes to happenbut not thathe wants
to deny its occurrence.
Duabc, may be said to contain a speechact verb bc..iua'cast spell' which is
usually referredto ascommissivein the generalliterature.The structuralterm commissive
propositionrefersto the part of the duabc tabooexpressionwherethe speakermentions
The explicit commissive
the punishmentwhich shouldbe metedout to the imprecatee.r0
verbs would rather be (lEe, nya, lar*), thosementionedin the commissiveand not the
implicit verb(bc..dua)ortheirclauses(seealsoAustin1962;Ray 1973:19;Leech1983:
206; Wardhaugh 1992: 284).
Accordingto Leech(1983:206) commissiveshavea posteriortime reference,i. e.
they refer to a time frame later than that in the main verb or at the point of the utterance.
Even thoughbc...dua'castspell' as a phrasalverb is usuallyimplicit, the claim madeby
Leech(1983)appliesto the duabc ritual as a whole. This is becauseat any point one is
imprecating another, the effect of the imprecation is expectedto comeat a time after the
utteranceand never before.
r0 In actual usage the phrasal verb bc...dua appearsin a clause mebc...dua'I cast a spell'.
This
clauseis almostinvariably omitted in the context of duabc usageand is, therefore, implicit. We, therefore
propose that in Akan, the clause contaimng the phrasal verb should be taken to refer to the whole duabc
ritual, rather than the phrasal verb in isolation.
The pragmatics of duabc 'grievance imprecation' taboo among the Akan
369
5.Typologicalclassificationof Duabc
Thissectionlooks at the types of duabc along two parameters.The first is basedon
the
nemesisinvokedand the secondis basedon the appropriateness
of the duabc. We thus
have
(a)
(b)
'Minor Duabc vs.
Major Duabc
Appropriate vs. SpitefulDuabc
Amongthe Akan, the gravity of a duabc may partially depend on the offence
committed,but the most essentialparameterfor the assessment
of the gravity of a duabc
expression
is the nemesismentioned.The supematuralpowersusedasnemesesareranked
in termsof the degreeof their powers. Dependingon the offence, an appropriatenemesis
is selected
to execute the mand. Basedon this background,one can talk of minor vs.
maiorduabc. We shall also look at instanceswherethe minor or major duabc is said
to beusedout of spite (nitandua).
5.1.Minor Duabc
Minorduabc refers to a situation where a minor deity is used as the nemesis. A minor
deityin thispaperrefersto a deity with no establishedsacerdotalsystem.rr The deity in
thiscontextcanbe a family deity,or that of a small streamwithout apriest. Thesedeities
areusuallylocalisedand not known in many partsof the Akan state. One can imprecate
asfollows:
(13) Dee c twaa
me
boradee
Personhe cut Past my
plantain
mfa
ne
nsuo nto
ne
Imp.take
its
water put
his
('May the skeam Bcne run through the
plantain'.t2)
no
Asuo Bcne
the
River Bcne
yam.
belly
stomach of the one who stole mv
It is believedthat punishmentsinvolved in the minor duabc arevery minimal and can be
slightsicknesses,nightmares, etc. Duadane 'pacificatoryrites' can easily be performed
towardoff thewrath of the deity. The pacificationrites cost less,and canbe performed
outsidethe shrinewith ordinary water and by word of mouth. It may be performedby a
familyheador any elder.
rr In the Akan concept
of supreme beings, major deities include powerful supernaturalbeings and
Godwho is their 'summus inter paris'. Since, God is the head of all the major and minor deities,
it seems
moreconvenientto have a triadic system of deities in Akan as shown below.
-+
-t
Minor
Major
Supreme
Lessergods
Powerful gods
God
12A stream
running through the stomach of an offender implies that the person will have a
continuousand serious diarrhoea which cannot be treated by any orthodox medicine.
370 KofiAgtekum
5.2.Major Duabc
Theseareimprecationswhich involve the mentioningofnamesofrenowned andpowerful
deitiesin the Akan society.Thesedeitiesare believedto be powerful becausethey are
unforgiving and may even kill imprecatees.They usually have establishedsacerdotal
systems to act as human intermediariesbetween them and the living.
Some of the Akan deities corurectedwith thesemajor duabc, include Antoa
Nyamaa, Asuo Ayantar3,Kwaku Firi, SesimanNtoa, Akonnedi of Lartehra,Tegare,
Gagau,r5Kyinamanso, etc.When their namesarementionedin imprecation,peopleare
will be very grievousand severeand may extendfrom
of the view that the consequences
the target to his entire family, all dependingon the intentions of the imprecator and the
degreeof the offence. Apart from this, pacificatoryrituals in thesemajor imprecational
spellsarevery costly. They may involve the paymentof varioussumsof money,offering
of eggs, fowls, sheep, drinks, etc. which may put a whole family into bankruptcy.
Victims of major imprecationsmust travel to the shrinesbefore the rituals can be
performed.It is becauseof the fearof sanctionsby the communityandthe consequences
of themisuseof duabcwhich canresultin the imprecatorhimselfbeingpunishedby angry
nemeses,togetherwith other reasonsand factorslisted in sectioni that peoplewould
alwaystry to avoid the useof suchtabooexpressions.
The Akan peoplearemuch more scaredby imprecationsthat involve the invocation
of deitiesthan thosewhich are informal curseshke mmusuonka wo 'woe be unto you'.
Again apart from the duabc where the imprecatee is struck with lightning by God (see
4.1), the Akansattachgreaterimportanceto the abosom'gods'thanto the Almighty God
duringimprecation. It is not the casethattheydo not believein the existenceof thepower
of God. Like the Christians,the Akan believethat God is slow to anger and, therefore,
if they entrust an imprecationinto his handshe may not inflict the punishmentat all or
is the more reason
may not do it in time to satisfythe intentionsof the imprecator.16This
why most imprecatorsemploy the abosom'the gods'otherthan the Supremebeing asthe
power, imprecations
nemeses.In this sense,althoughGod is the Almighty supernatural
involving the use of his name may be categorisedunderthe minor imprecation.This is
baseduponthe speedwith which he acts, the magnitudeof thepunishmentmetedout, and
the absenceof an establishedsacerdotalsystemin his name.
'' Asuo Ayanta: This is also a River deity near AsanteBekwai which people employ rn duabc and
nsedie.
]a Larteh: a town in the Akuapcm District of the Eastern Region of Ghana, is the place for the
Akonnedi shrine.
t5Gagau is a deity in a town called Asaman in the Agona District of Ashanti in Ghana (see Ghana
Map)
r6SeeJoel 2:13 ..... "Rehm to the Lord your God, for he is graciousand compassionate,
slow to
anger and abounding in love and he relents from sending calamity."
'grievance
Thepragmatics of duabc
imprecation' taboo among the Akan
371
5.3. Appropriate and spileful Duabc
This section addressesthe appropriateness of an imprecation. The appropriateness is
defined in terms ofwhether the imprecation is proportionate to the offence and whether the
imprecator imprecates appropriately or out of spite.
5.3.1.Nitandua'Spiteful grievance imprecation'
'hatred' and dua 'imprecation', and literally
Nitandua is made up of two words; nitan
means hatred imprecation and glosses as'spiteful imprecation'. This is the most grievous
of all types of imprecation among the Akan. One rnajor denominator of all the cases of
spiteful imprecation is that it is disproportionate to the offence committed. Other
sociological and emotional factors like enmity, hatred, jealousy, breakdown of love, lack
of peace, conflict, anger, social avoidance, seffishness,attempt toeliminateafellow,
can also set in. The offence could also be based on suspicion or mere hearsay. Nitandtta
can be major or minor depending on the nemesis invoked (see above). The contexts of
the use of nitandua are the followine:
(a) participantsinvolved,
(b) the scopeof the imprecation,
(c) setting,in termsof place and time of the imprecation.
An imprecationwould be consideredasa nitandua in a situationwherea person'sitem(s)
get(s)missingor stolenand he asksX aboutit and in spiteof X's denial, the imprecator
insistson using an imprecation. It is assumed that the speaker is pronouncing the
imprecationout of sheerhatred. Nitandua also occurs in situationswhere there is no
justificationwhatsoeverfor the imprecation.It alsoinvolvescaseswherean imprecator
goescontraryto certainlaid down Akan customsand institutionsand imprecatesfor his
ownegoistictendencies.For example,an adult shouldnot imprecatechildrenwho have
committedan offence out of ignoranceand without any intention. If the imprecator
simplyneglectstheir ageand imprecates, rt ts nitandua.
Nitandua can also be defined in terms of the scopeof the punishment on the
If theimprecatorstatesthatthepunishmentshouldnot be limited to thevictim
imprecatee.
alone,but shouldbe extendedto coverhis whole family andall otherrelatives(vicarious
punishments),
then of coursehe hasgonetoo far. Hereis an exampleof suchanitandua.
(14)
Onipa a
wabewia
efie
ha
mpempenadee
Personwho Perf.-come-to-steal house-here jewelleries
yi
no]; efie biara nso a
dee
[Kwaku Firi kill
kill
him] house every foc. which
this
foc.
Firi
fKwaku
bewura mu no nso [bc fie hc ].
cde mpempenadeeyi
enter
he-useiewelleries this
in that foc.[ruin house there].
('Thepersonwho hasstolenjewelleriesfrom thishousemay [KwakuFiri kill him].
Again any houseto which thesejewelleriesmay enter, may you fruin the entire
houseand depopulateit]'.)
372 KofiAgtekum
The actualtaboowords in the squarebracketsabove arewhat we term asnitandua. The
reasonis thattheoffenceof anindividualshouldnot affectinnocentpeople.Theseinnocent
partiesmay not be able to find out the causesof their woeswhen the cursestartstaking
effect.
In termsof setting, it is againstAkan traditionto imprecatepublicly in the street,
such an imprecation is consideredto affect the whole village, town or state. The
imprecatoris punishedby the eldersand the necessarycustomaryrites are performed.
Nitandua is a very seriousact and, therefore, attracts heavy penalties and sanctions. I
provide here an exampleof nitandua recordedat the Asantehemmaa'scourt during my
researchin Kumasi in 1994.
Case1: Brobbey vs. Nana Akua (atl of Ntonso near Kumasi)
Venue:Asantehemmaa'sCourt: "Kumasi Manhyia"
Date : 14thJune1994
Participants: Members of the judiciary of the Court, the Queenmother,the
partiesinvolved and audience.
Backgroundof the case:
Therewas a fight befweentwo families, whereKwameBrobbeyinsultedNanaAkua, a
younggirl. He usedsomeinvectivesreferringto her sexualorgans.He went to the extent
of sayingthat her armpit and her sexualorgansstink. Upon this, the lady Nana Akua
imprecatedas follows:
(15)
KwameBrobbeyeese wo ne wo yere da a Antoa Nyamaa ne Akorckcto
Kwame Brobbey if you and your wife sleepAntoa Nyamaaand Akorckcto
nku
wo.
you
Imp.kill
('May the deitiesAntoaNyamaaandAkorckcto kill you if you havesexwith your
wife'.r7)
In fact, thisparticularcasewastried twice. In the first instance,Brobbeywas found guilty
ofusinginvectivetaboowords.In thesecondpart,NanaAkuawasfoundguiltyofusing
a duabc taboo expression, thus restrictingBrobbey from having sex with his wife.
Brobbey remarkedas follows "Since sheimprecatedme I havenot venturedto have sex
with my wife". Tl"risproveshis belief in the magicalpowerof the spokenword.
The eldersof the court ruled that sincethe duabc was usedin the street. it is
nitandua'spitefulimprecation'.By Akan hadition, this type of nitanducimpliesthat she
hasimprecatednot only the personbut the peopleof the entirevillage andsanctionsmust
be imposedon her.After that,shewas orderedto go andpaciS thenemesesso asto ward
off the wrath of the eods.
'' Akorckcto
is a maior river deity in the Asona Dishict of Ashanti Reeion of Ghana.
'grievance
Thepragmatics of duabc
imprecation' taboo among the Akan
373
Case2: Kwaku Bio vs. Kwasi Buronya
Venue: Asantehemmaa's Court: "Kumasi Manhyia"
Date: lOthMay 1994
Participants: Members of the judiciary of the Court, the Queenmother, the
parties involved and audience.
Background of the Case:
Kwasi Buronya imprecated Kwadwo Bio by invoking Antoa Nyamaa and the River Bia.
The matter of imprecation was as follows: Kwadwo Bio inherited the legacy of Kwasi
Buronya's late father. Bio took all the property of the deceased including, his cocoa farm,
houses,golden ornaments and his clothing. Buronya imprecated as follows:
(16)
Se wode
nxepapa
ntoma ka
wo
ho a Antoa Nyamaa
If you take
my father
cloth touch your body then Antoa Nyamaa
ne
Asuo Bia
nku wo.
you.
kili
and Asua Bia
('If you should wear any of theseitemsbelongingto my latefatherAntoaNyamaa
andAsuo Bia shouldkill vou'.)
Deliberationof the case:
"Thists anitandua'spitefulgrievanceimprecation',soifwe do not performthe customary
ritesand offer a live sheep, the river will inflict someharm on the imprecatee. The
imprecatorshouldbe pronouncedguilty."
This particularcasers a nitanduain the sensethat Kwasi Buronyaknows that the
inheritoris permittedby custom and tradition to usethe cloth. If he imprecateshim
because
of this, then of course,the imprecationis basedon hatred. Kwasi Buronyawas
foundguilty and askedto pay someamountof money, andto providetwo life sheepand
onebottleof alcohol for the pacificatoryrites to neutralisethe imprecation.In this case,
KwasiBuronyawas not much disturbedaboutthe otherpropertieslike the cocoafarm and
thehousewhich were immovable.He washoweverdrivenby jeaiousyto seeKwaku Bio
wearinghis father'srich clothes.
Case3: Alhaji vs. Yaa Agyeman
Venue: Asantehemmaa'sCourt: "Kumasi -Manhyia"
Date: 24'h May 1994
Participants: Membersof the judiciary of the Court, the Queenmother, the
partiesinvolved and audience.
Accordingto thenarrationYaaAgyemanpreviouslyfetchedwaterfrom theAlhaji'shouse.
At somepoint, Alhaji askedthe womanto reducethe frequencyof her visits to the place.
Lateron, therewas a squabblebetweenthe Alhaji andthe woman'schildrenwhen they
were playing football and this finally endedat the police station. After the police
374 Kofi Agltekum
deliberation, the woman went to the Alhaji's house with eggs and abottleof schnapps and
imprecated as follows:
(17)
Se
enye
me me ba
na boroo
If
wode
it Neg.is
ato
no
ne my child
so
a
Foc.beat
your child
Antoa Nvamaa
nku
wo ba
na
and
wo.
you
Perf. him
top
then Antoa Nyamaa
Imp. kill you'.
('If it is really not the casethat it was my child who beatyour child as alleged,
and you have falselyaccusedhim, then AntoaNyamaashouldkill you'.)
court and the woman was found guilty of
Alhaji brought the caseto the Asantehemmaa's
the performanceof the act and the utteranceof the imprecation.After the reprimands,
sanctionsand the fines imposedon the woman, shewas askedto perform pacificatory
rituals to neutralisethe effectof the imprecation.
An imprecationmay be settledat the traditionalarbitrationby the secularand
religious administratorsand the party found guilty (imprecatoror imprecatee)is fined.
Sinceduabc tabooby its power of the spokenword canharm the imprecatee,it must be
deactivated or neutralisedafter the arbitration.The neutralisationof its effect is done
throughsomeinvocations,incantationsandthe performanceof certainrituals.The major
aspectofthe ritual involves the appropriateuseof language.Thetermusedrsyerel{tdane
dua no (lit.) 'we are going to upturn the imprecation'.This meansthat we are going to
pacif,, the nemesisand deactivatethe magicalandharmful power of the imprecationto
make the imprecateefree.
Peoplenormailyusethe expressionNanakclatwea, wodi bem, 'Nanayou deserve
an apology, I am at fault', asthe pacificationformula. Accordingto NanaBanahene,one
of the senior spokesmenof the Asantehene,"the expressionlalatwea is an apologetic
deviceanda cleansingverbaltool a victim usesto cleanhis lips andmouththathavebeen
defiledby the useof the duabc verbaltabooso that his mouth will henceforthneveruse
sucha tabooexpression."
5.3.2.AppropriateDuabc
Generally speaking, sincethe society doesnot encourageimprecation,thereis not a
ready madeterm for appropriateimprecation. Our attentionon duabc'imprecation' is
therefore focusedon nitandua'spiteful imprecation'. Notwithstanding, imprecation
performscertainsocialfunctionswhich may allow theuseof it andthis is what we discuss
in section6 below.
6. Socialfunctions of Duabc verbal taboo
Although duabc as a verbal taboo carriessomesanctions,thereare situationswhere the
sociefyallows it to be usedfor self defence,protection of property andotherpurposesand
theconsequences
could be acceptable.Thesecasesincludetheft, slander, libel, marital
cases,etc. Eveninthese instances,sanctionsmay beimposedtodeterpeoplefrom
the
'grievance
Thepragmatics of duabc
imprecation' taboo among the Akqn
375
wrong usage of these imprecations. We also saw earlier on that duabc is one of the
strategiesused to deal with one's enemies who may be pursuing him in diverse ways (see
example 4). Among the Akan an imprecation can be embedded in a libation prayer where
the genre gives the speakers the opportunity to use imprecation on known and unknown
people and even tribes and states who they think hate them. Let us consider a marriage
engagement libation text below.
Onueaduampon nsa!
Abosom nnuasa mommegye nsa!
Asaase Yaa nsa!
Ayokofoc nsamanfoc nsa!
Asonafoc nsamanfoJ nsa !
Agonafoc nsamanfoc mo nsa nie!
Biretufoc nsamanfoc nsa !
Yeafre baako yi dee na yeafre mo nyinaa.
Mommegyina yen alryi alq)igyina pa.
Enne da yi na ene da bi se.
Enne da yi na nlo ara mo nana Yaa Pokuaa
Ye de no rema Kwasi Owusu awaree.
Mo adaworome mommegyina wcn alq)i alryigyina pa.
Momma wcn awares no nkJ so.
Momma wcn nwo abaduasa.
Momma wJn abrabo nsi wcn yie.
(lB)
(19)
Audience:
Wcpe sika a momma wcnnya bi.
l4/csc ahahan mu koraa e momma ennane sika.
fOnipa bcne biara a ctan yen dee
Momma cnwu uwia ketekete.J
[cman biara a ekaa wcn nko na anka Asanteman agyigya dee
Momms Cnhwe ase ponC.
lbc bra biara a mommma no nnye yie.
Momma emu nnipa nyinaa ase nhye.
Na yenlafa wcn agyapadee nyinaa dommumJ
Mommehyira yen a yeahyia ha yi nyinaa.
Mommegve nsa yi nnom no preko.
Mommma mmusuo biara nka yen.
Yen a yeahyia ha yi nyinaa nlot,a so.
Mo ne kasa.
('Otweaduamponthe Almighty God hereare drinks!
Deitiesof thirty fold rush for drinks!t8
AsaaseYaa the Mother Earthherearedrinks!
'tThe expression 'drinks' is a poetic shorthandfor 'here is/areyour drink(s).
376 Kofi Ag,,ekum
Ancestorsof the Oyokoc clan drinks!re
Ancestorsof the Asonaclan drinks!
Ancestorsof the Agona clan hereareyour drinks!
Ancestorsof the Biretuo clan drinks!
Ancestorsof the ekoc na clan drinks!
Oncewe haveinvokedone we haveinvokedall of you.
Come and give us firm support.
Today is a greatday among all otherdays.
It is today that your granddaughteryaa pokuaa
Is beenengagedto Kwasi Owusu.
By your grace comeand give them a firm support.
Let their engagement
prosper.
Let them give birth to thirty fold.
Let them havea prosperousmarriage.
If they searchfor money let them find it.
If eventhey takehold of leaves, let them turn into money.
( 1 8 ) lAny sinful man who hatesus
Let him die an afternoondeath when the sun is overheadJ
( 1 e ) lAny nation which wishesthe downfaltof theAsantenation.
Let herperishfrom theface of the earth.
If she embarksott any economicventurelet it fait.
Let all thepeople in that nation perish
So that we will go and takeall theirpropertiesas bootyJ.
Come and blessall of us here.
Let us not fall into any predicaments.
Give us long life andprosperity.
Come and drink this onceand for all.
Audience: Thanksfor a good speech.)
In the abovetext, the expressions
in the squarebracketsareimprecationswithin a
libation text' The first one(ex. 18)is againstanyenemyandthe secondone(ex. l9) refers
to any antagonisticnation.
In the oldendays, duabc wasoneof the statemechanisms
for the implementation
of statelaws.20On thepolitical scenein Akan,therecanbe animprecationfrom thecmanlgteame'the state'sspokesman'asfoliows:
'e Oyokoc: This
is one of the eight matrilineal clans of the Akans. The others are Agona, Ekocna,
Asona, Aduana, Biretuo, Asakyiri and Asennee. Every Akan is supposedto come from
one of theseclans.
Members of the same clan considerthemselvesas brothers and sistersand trace themselves
to one great
grandmother. During libation, the ancestorsof theseeight clans are invoked.
The speakercan list all of
them or mention some and say that once some have been invoked it is assumedthat
all of them have been
invoked.
to It is recorded
in the Old Testamentthat imprecation was one of the methods Moses used in
enforcing the law of God (cf. DT. 27-28). Little Lester (1987) also recordsthat the
discipline of the faith
of Islam is also maintained in part by curses( eur'an 2: 16l).
'grievance
Thepragmatics of duabc
imprecation' taboo among the Akan
(20)
377
Dee
cbeye
dcm
atia
chene biara no
Asuo Bosom
Fut. do
Personhe
crowd against chief any
the
river deity
Tanc nku
no.
Tanc Imp. kill
him.
('May the river deity Tanc slay anybody that rebels against the king.'2r)
Amongthe Akan, asin many otherAfrican societieslike Tanzania,law andmorality may
be maintainedby the useof imprecations.In Akan, theprevalenceof suchcursesactsas
a mechanismto instil fear into the peopleto behave themselveswell.
McKenzie (1993 145)arguesthat the formula"Cursedbe...."functionsas a way
ofmaintainingstabilitywithin the community. Pronouncinga curseon onewho hasacted
in waysthat violate acceptedsocialresponsibilityis a way of expellingthat personfrom
thecommunity.In this case,curse is alsorelatedto themaintenanceof the convenantthat
t h e L o r d m a d e w i t h l s r a e l ( J1
e1
r .: 1 3 , D e t . 2 7 : 1 5 - 2 5 ) . "T h e r e i s a l s o t h e u s e otfh e
"preventive
curse" as a standarddevicefor theprotectionof sacredplacesaswell asdeeds
or agreements
betweenpersons(seealso Little 1987:183; McKenzie 1993:I44-I45 for
socialfunctionsof curse).
7. The human participants in Duabc
Amongthe Akan, duabc can be employed by any person.The only exceptionsare
certainsacredpersonsin the Akan community who are prohibited from incurring the
risks associated
dangerous
with duabc. Among the Akan, traditionalpriests,chiefs, and
kingsshouldneitherimprecate,nor be imprecated.Suchpeoplearethe custodiansof the
deitiesand should therefore revere them and arerestrainedfrom using their names in
vainso asto defile them.
Womenalsooccupycertainspecificpositionswith regardtoduabc.In additionto
thepriestsandthe chiefs,pregnantandmenstruating
womenshouldneitherimprecatenor
be thetargetof imprecation. The reasonis that first and foremost a menstruatingwoman
is considered
to be uncleanandmust, therefore,havenothingto do with deitieswho are
regarded
assacred,for shemay defile and disempowerthem. With regardto a pregnant
woman,thereis the fear that any harm resulting fiom imprecationor swearingwill affect
theunbomchild. Montagu(1967:37-38) alsorecordsa similar issueamongthe Maoris
ofNew Zealand. He writes "Even to the presentday the Maoris of New Zealandstrongly
believein thepower of thecurse.Pregnantwomenmustnot swearnor cursetoo much for
thismay endangerthe baby'swelfare."
Certainspeechactslike in a wedding,the matrimony, commissioningof a ship,
sentencingsomebodyto life imprisonment,etc. in Europeanculturesrequire specific
authoritativepeoplewho have the right to mentionandperform them. Induabc, however,
there are no specific authoritativepeople who have the sole authoritativepower to
imprecate.Little ( 1987)recordsthatin orderfor thecurseto be effective,and in orderfor
the utteranceto be consideredas a speechact, certain conditionsmust be met. These
rr Asuo Tanc is the river deity for the Asante state of
Ghana. In the olden days, whenever the
Ashantiswere going to war, they had to consult this deity.
378 KofiAgtekum
include the presenceof proper actors(participants),time, place, verbal formulas,and
gestures.
In the sociolinguisticaspectof the valueof duabc, it is recordedandpointedout
in many societiesthat the conceptsof imprecationandoatharein someway instruments
of the weak. Accordingto Little (1987),thosewho have physical, military or judicial
power tend to use suchpower. They use it to maintaintheir vision of order. It is rather
the aged, the sick, thepoor, the orphaned,the outcastwho lack such power, and hence
they resortto the power of the spokenword. Theybelievein the instrumentalityof words
and their causal"power" to make and unmake(seealso Thomas 1971: 502-512).My
interview really confirmedthis when I askedto find out which categoryof peoplewere
interestedin imprecatingand swearing.
More than 90Yoof my intervieweesansweredthat it was normally the poor and
those in the lower ranks in the society. One of my informantsOp. Kwaku Addai of
Assisiriwa in Ashanti told me "as for a rich man if you stealhis ten poundsit doesnot
affect him so he will not imprecate." The rich, the higher rank, andthe dignitariesin the
societvwill normally prefer to sendtheir casesto court. My researchrevealedthat in the
Akan society, in termsof gender,it is womenwho areparticularlyinterestedin usingthe
court for threemonths.This court
taboowordsof duabc.I attendedthe Asantehemmaa's
generally dealswith feminine and domestic caseswhich the king's court, saddledwith
stateandparamountcases,doesnot have time to handle.In fact, about50% of the cases
tried therewerethoseof duabc'grievanceimprecation'andtheparticipantswerenormally
women, especiallymiddle aged ones. Therewerefewercasesthat involvedimprecation
betweenmen and women or betweenmen only.
The researchfindings alsorevealedthat non-Christiansand illiterateswere much
more engagedin duabc thanChristiansand literates.The Christiansdo not believe in
the power of the deities,andagainthey feel that invokingthe deitiesimpliesthe worship
of idols. The literates who have been influenced by western culture also distance
themselvesfrom African traditionalreligion andthereforedo not engagethemselvesin
imprecation.
In much the sameway it was foundout thatparticipantsrnduabc aremostly found
in the rural areasratherthan in the towns and cities. Thosein the citieswould normally
seek redressat the legal courts insteadof resortingto imprecation. It is possibleto
combinesomeof thesesocialindexes,that is to saythat an imprecatormay belongto two
or more of them. He can be an illiterate,urbanand non-Christian.The questionthen is
which of thesesocialindexes carries more weight. The Christianfactor is more prime
in the sensethat one could get a literate non-Christianperson in the city who would still
be interestedin imprecation.
Notwithstanding the categoryof peoplementionedasbeing interestedin duabc,
thereareidiosyncraticformsof linguisticbehaviourtowardstheseissues.Somepeopleare
normally interestedhduabc irrespectiveoftheir socialclasses,sex, religion, education,
rank or statusin the society. In fact, I know of a university graduatewho still engages
in imprecation.
Thepragmatics of duabc 'grievance imprecation' taboo among the Akan
379
8. Conclusion
Thispaperhasdiscussedduabc as a religiousverbaltabooin Akan. Sincein duabc the
spiritualcomponent is obvious, the taboo nature of the expressionsbecomesvery
dangerous,becausepeoplefear the wrath of thesespirits and nobodywould risk his life
by mentioningan unmentionable.In duabc, thereis the magical power of the spoken
word.Quiteapart from this, thetabooalsostemsfrom theimportance and reverencewe
attachto the deities.Thereis alsothe issueof facethreatsin duabc cases.For example,
aI any time a duabc verbal taboo is utteredin public, the facesof the audience are
affronted.
ln duabc the imprecator invokes the supernaturalpowers to impose harm or
punishmenton the imprecateeespeciallyin situationsof conflict. Duabc involvesthree
(the deity- nemesis),and the target
participants,the speaker(imprecator),the addressee
for the imprecationand the punishment(imprecatee).Thereis a message,which is the
mand.In termsof the structureof the language,we sawthatthe prototypicaltype of verbs
usedarearrest, ffiict andkill.
Duabc has threemain parts. Theseare the protactic proposition,which is the
invocation, the apodicticproposition,statingthe reason(s)for the imprecation,and the
proposition,statingthepunishment.It is possibleto omit eithertheprotactic,
commissive
apodicticcontent, the commissivepropositionor the imprecateein certaincontexts.
In terms of types of duabc we saw that we canhave an anticipatoryimprecation
wherebythetabooexpressionforewarnswould-be-victimsto avoidsayingorperforming
certainacts.We alsodistinguished
betweenmajor andminor typesof duabc basedon the
typeandpower of the deity which is invokedandhow soonit metesout the punishment
unto the imprecatee.We arguedthat all the renowneddeitiesin Akan are invoked for
majorduabc while the smallerandlesspowerful ones areusedfor minor duabc.Major
duabc is employedwhen the offenceis grievous.We pointedout that althoughGod is a
supremedeity, becausehe is all-forgiving, and sinceno sacerdotal systemhas been
established
in his nameby the Akan, duabc which involve his namemay be considered
asminorduabc taboos.For this reason,Godis notregularly invokedfor duabc purposes.
Apartfrom thesetypes,we alsodiscussed
nitandua 'spitefulimprecation',caseswherethe
imprecationis disproportionate
to the offenceandthe imprecatorimprecatesthe target
out of sheerhatredand envy.We notedthat amongthe Akan, this type is about the most
grievousduabc taboo,and it attractsheaviersanctions.
Among the Akan, thereis the possibility of warding off (by pacification) the
wrathof duabc imprecation.This is done first by settlingthe matterin the presenceof
the secularand religious authoritiesby the impositionof fines. After this, rituals are
performedto pacify the supernatural
powersandanappealis madefor forgiveness.In view
of the fact that in duabc a person's life is at stake, peopleare advisedto refrain from
theseutterances,and children - as part oftheir socialisationprocess- are educatedand
cautionedaboutthe useof theseexpressions.The paper finally looked at the sanctions
of duabcand commentedon the humanparticipants.
380 Kofi Agrekum
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