Back when I used to live in Nigeria, I was a big fan of
Ogbanje exorcisms. Now for those of you who don't know what that is, I'll tell you. An
Ogbanje is a spirit kid whose only reason for allowing him/herself to be born is to torment the parents by dying young. Don't ask me why, I wasn't one. All I know is these out of this world spirits love to come in human form, usually very handsome and intelligent, and then they die at a tender age. They love this vicious cycle of torment so much they actually don't care if people find out. I say this because suspicious parents give their
Ogbanje children some physical mark like a scar to help test the theory that some evil spirit is messing with them. The kids die and are reborn with these scars. It's all quite bizarre.
Anyway, at some point these parents can't take it anymore so they arrange for an exorcism which is carried out by some badass native doctor. The sole purpose of the exorcism is to find the evil child's link to the spirit world, a small stone called the
Iyi-uwa, which is buried deep in the earth. The ceremony usually involves the native doctor getting this child into a trance-like state, just enough so the child can lead him to thte location of the
Iyi-uwa. Once the location is determined, nativo digs up the stone, destroys it, and the child lives. Simple as that.
Now the reason I tell this story is not just to sound sophisticated, but to draw your attention to
OOIOO's new album,
Taiga, which sounds a lot like the music you might hear at these exorcism rituals. Of course, the Japanese all-female rockers add some pop here, some psychadelic tension there, but make no mistake about it - this is perfect exorcism music. Atmospheric in part, entrancing in part, playful in part, mystifying and nature-freaky in part. Most exciting of all, this Taiga is one of the very original albums I've heard this year. And because of it, you got to read a bloody good African story.
Listen:
Read:
Things Fall Apart by
Chinua Achebe. He describes the Ogbanje ritual in the book.
Abiku, a poem by Poet Laureate
Wole Soyinka. Abiku is the Yoruba word for Ogbanje.
Buy:
Taiga
