On marriage, before going to the bridegroom’s house, each maiden of the town is brought by her friends to this shrine and, bending before the image, dips her hand into an earthen pot filled with ‘medicine’ which is placed there in readiness. Then she rubs her hands over the Juju, after which she laves them in a small bowl filled with pure water. Again she passes her left fingers over the image and afterwards over her own body; ‘for’ as the head chief explained, ‘Ibudu Nwa is a very strong Juju in our town and will surely grant fruitfulness to all those who carry out these rites. So we were taught by our forefathers and this we believe even to-day. Should any man doubt, he has but to look round and see the many piccans which are born to our town.’ [Illustration: FIG. 30. Ibudu Nwa at Ale-Barada] Between the upraised arms, resting upon the place where the head should be, is a market-basket, full of dried roots, seed yams, etc. Outside the shrine, each protected by a small shed, were two unusually large phallic pillars, to which bridegrooms bring offerings. Across all, from post to post, rising like Venetian masts, were long chains made from linked rings of creeper, from which hung, at intervals, inverted bowls with gay-coloured strips of cloth waving to and fro in the breeze, like those decorating the canopy of Ibudu Nwa. To the left stood a great tree, its trunk hung round with white cloth, the reputed home of a powerful and beneficent nature spirit. Before the principal shrine sprang little saplings of the bush which Ale first brought when she came swimming through the wide waste of waters to form the first abiding place for her children--men, beasts, trees and flowers. Altogether Ale-Barada is a charming spot and the manners of the sons of the soil were unusually gentle and friendly. They willingly answered every question, in striking contrast to the inhabitants of the next town, Oduaha, where a Juju of somewhat different type is to be found. This was sullenly explained to us as without name and only used for protection--‘not to give piccans.’ The canoe upon its head was likewise stated to have been put there ‘only to look fine. Not for any purpose.’