Aug 5

A  strange day. The day began with a long and hard session of drumming with Kwasi. In the afternoon  we were taken with Kwasi to a funeral of the Unity Drumming Group, of which  he is a member. Most of the afternoon is a blurr to me because of the red liquor that Jambolo, the driver, was distributing. They call it red. It is poured from a crown royal bottle and tastes like sherry only way stronger. Apparently, it is the home brewed alcohol called Akpeteshi with herbs added to it. I do remember being taken by Kwasi to shake hands with the dignitaries and dancing a sort of Konga with a woman named Akua, but the rest is a blurr.

After supper, Michael took me to see the Boko, which is a diviner who tells your fortune or Kpoli by consulting the Afa divination. According to Michael, the most intelligent members of society often become Bokos and the rituals of learning Afa are very secretive.  He came out from behind a curtain with a young assistant. Godsway acted as interpreter, as the Boko was very old and did not speak English. I sat on a grass mat beside the assistant with my legs extended. The Boko sat in a reclining chair, and Godsway sat in an upright chair beside him, so I was looking up at them both from my place on the floor. I paid 10 Cedi and was told to whisper my question to the money. The assistant shuffled a collection of stones and beads and asked me to choose 17. He asked me to put them in my hands and divide them. He tossed a string of beads back and forth and consulted them to know which hand to open and set aside. Then I divided the remaining stones and he went again. We continued until there was only one left. He told me that dark brown seed pod meant the answer to my question was no.

From there the assistant gave me two beads, one for yes, one for no and told me to shuffle them, one in each hand. The Boko asked the questions in his easy chair and the assistant consulted the beads and told me to reveal on hand or the other. There were so many questions that I lost track, but the brown seed pod was revealed each time except for one, regardless of how many times I changed hands. After many repeats, Godsway told me the Boko’s result. The summary version is that I am the daughter of the Sea God, I am surrounded by many evil spirits, and to get rid of them I must give up alcohol, peanuts, and wearing the color red.