Juju

He had cloaked himself with his layan zana
Touched the soft leather amulet with its coil of goat hair
The few grains of paradise and base of shea paste and kaolin
The talisman that worked to render him invisible to adversaries

Skimping on protection, he was mindful of what many forgot,
That, for greater effectiveness of camouflage, one also needed baduhu
But you take what you get in these foreign lands, what have you
Moreover these were inflationary times, you made do with what you could afford

Still, you had to be careful when sitting to not show your soles
Avoiding also that the leather bag would touch water - taboo
Worn close to the body, he whispered thrice the name of the jinn
Spirits alighted and settled next to this Cartesian thinker

He could never understand those who closed the door to the unseen
Was it the faint hope that the invisible would pass them by? Hubris
It was a wonder that otherwise intelligent folk would speak mockingly
Of naive superstition, countering with harsh words and disbelief

A full grown man, degrees and all, steeped in the best of western education
In his business, he dealt with derivatives and complex financial transactions
A weariness overcame him, for he knew that even with the best preparation
It was touch and go with the spirit world, the strength of his protection

He'd heard the arguments about proof, reproducibility and evidence
That the signs and wonders we'd all witnessed were mere chance events
They'd plead so-called logic, rational they'd say, appeals to authority
And dismiss known cases as one-offs, charms that spoke to religiosity

And it was not even a matter of African electronics
Rather it was an unearned fealty to methods scientific
Oh well, he'd keep his juju close to his heart as if for safekeeping
As the proverb went, you can't convince someone who's sleeping

Juju, a playlist

A soundtrack for this note (spotify version)

• Eri Okan (Conscience) by King Sunny Ade
• Afro Juju by Sir Shina Peters
• Iba F'Oluwa/Ajokodabi Ile by Ebenezer Obey
• Ja Funmi by King Sunny Ade
• Afro Juju Center by Sir Shina Peters

See previously: Articles of Faith

File under: superstition, tradition, Africa, culture, observation, perception, faith, religion, poetry, toli

Writing log: January 21, 2023