PANGOLIN ORACLES FIG. 8 (below): Pangolin scales on a leather thong. Tshokwe, Musho, Angola. Length of scales: 6 cm. Museu do Dundo. Drawing after Heintze 2002: 214f, pl. 584. FIG. 9 (below): Initiates with hats that imitate the shape of the pangolin head. Komo, DR Congo. Photo: Wauthier de Mahieu. From Wauthier de Mahieu, Qui a obstrué la cascade? Analyse sémantique ches les Komo du Zaïre, Editions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme, Paris, 1985. 97 decoction of ground scales with maize root and aloe will make birth easier if drunk by pregnant women or poured on the front of their body, where the liquid probably runs down to the vulva. It can also be poured into the ground through a series of holes in order to protect a fi eld against thieves. Using the power that can be obtained from pangolin scales is not without risk. The possible consequence of entering one’s own fi eld on the same day as touching a scale or a piece of bone is that the maize kernels will fall off the cobs during the harvest (personal communication Marbod Kinunda, Utiri, 2007). In other places, scales may be used without fear, as in the custom of a Tshokwe group in southern Angola, where nursing mothers wear leather strings with pangolin scales (fi g. 8) around their chests in order to encourage the fl ow of milk (Heintze 2002, 214f). In some places, the dangerous or harmful aspects seem to have become dominant. The Komo of DR Congo avoid any contact with the giant pangolin because even just touching a scale is deemed harmful. Together with the dwarf crocodile, it is one of the dangerous beings that possess harmful powers. If by chance one of these animals is killed, then the dead body must be taken to the local “keeper of the rites,” who lays it beside the middle post of his house and neutralizes its magical powers by smoking it using certain plants that are freshly gathered and burned. During the initiation of boys, their knowledge of the dangerous powers of the pangolin and the crocodile is deepened by means of special rituals. The “keeper of the rites,” the only person who may hold a pangolin scale in his hand, dips one in kaolin and uses it like a palette knife to draw straight lines on the boys’ bodies. This representation of the scale structure is accompanied by a symbolic combination of both feared animals: The boys use the skin of the crocodile to make hats that are cone-shaped in imitation of the shape of the head and the tail of the pangolin. The pointed top is left open and a feather is stuck into the opening to represent the tongue of the pangolin (fi g. 9). The boys wear broad bands round their legs, decorated with dried seed capsules, sabé, which rattle when they walk and dance, reminiscent of the sound made by the scales of the pangolin (de Mahieu 1995: 200f, 205, 288). But this ritual visualization of the animal is associated not only with initiation. On the death of a highly respected man, the mourners dress in the same way and crawl about on all fours, as if searching for the deceased. One of them mimes the pangolin and with hesitant movements pushes himself over the corpse, beginning from the feet, as if the pangolin wants to swallow the deceased (de Mahieu 1980: 95, 98f; 1995: 288f). By contrast, the Lega (DR Congo) consider the pangolin to be a “wise” animal, “bigger than an elephant,” a kind of culture hero who taught humans how to construct the roofs of their houses based on the model of its scalecovered back.8 In the ceremonies of the bwami society, body parts of the pangolin (both the white-bellied and the giant pangolin) play different roles depending on the rank of the participants (Biebuyck 1973: XIX, 75, fi g. 91). For the Lega, a “pangolin knife” is a ritual possession of the highest dignitary. It is used to kill, skin, and cut up certain animals that are otherwise protected and may not be killed. The meat is then distributed according to an elaborate system; however, an additional ritual must be carried out afterward, interpreted in the description as a purifi cation rite (Biebuyck 1953: 908, 921–924; 1973: 95f, 98f). The patrilineal Lega identify the pangolin with the mother’s brother, and the sister’s sons are responsible for killing the sacred animals and distributing the meat at the feast of the bwami society (Lewis 1991: 519). There is also a relationship between the prestigious nkumi society and the giant pangolin among the Hamba of DR Congo. Only a few initiates, such as clan leaders, may ritually eat the meat of the pangolin at cultic feasts held at a secret place. At these feasts, the dead animal (fi g. 10) is presented on a wooden plank (de Heusch n.d.: 8; de Heusch 1985: 32f). The Bushong of DR Congo traditionally regard the big ground pangolin as one of the animals that must be brought to the king if they are killed by hunters because they are considered to be carriers of spiritual forces and symbols of kingship and fertility (Vansina 1964: 109f). Mary Douglas’ research on the Lele of southern DR Congo shows that a man’s reputation and social prestige are largely determined by his position in the society of the “pangolin men.” High-ranking members of this society have ritual privileges (for instance, they may eat the meat of the white-bellied pangolin), and they are authorized to practice divination. Men who have demonstrated their special relationship with the pangolin by fathering twins or triplets are admitted as members of the society. Unlike the leopard, who is considered to be an evil sorcerer, the pangolin is a friend of humans and as such it gives “fertility” in the sense of procreation and birth. According to Douglas, this is not a case of magical aid given du rituel de la circoncision FIG. 10 (below): Slain pangolin. Hamba, DR Congo. From Luc de Heusch, Vie quotidienne des Mongo du Kasai, Exploration du Monde, Brussels, ND (est. 1955).
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