KPOWAMOH-ei-NEPO

Kpowamoh-ei-Nepo (late 19th century), meaning literally “mad man cannot be coaxed,” was the leader of the Tongo Players, a famous Mende institution that used savage methods of crime detection, particularly of witchcraft, in the pre-colonial period. (N.B: In African usage, the correct orthography of Nepo’s name is “Kpowamo-ei-N3po.”).

Nepo, who rose to prominence during the 1880s and 1890s, is said to have come from the Taiama region, in what is now the Southern Province, but he is believed to have lived at Monghere further to the east “and only came out himself if the palaver was a big one.” Possibly a peripatetic Kpaa-Mende institution, the exact origin of the Tongo Players is not known.

But whenever suspicious events, such as sudden deaths, frequent disappearance of persons, and so on, baffled the local priests, they were called in. The office of leader was believed to be hereditary, and Nepo himself was held in such awe that if he had to cross a country in a state of war, hostilities would immediately be suspended to allow him free passage. By the time he came into prominence, “leopard murders” were very common in the Sherbro, and the local rulers were much troubled. It was thought that the murders were committed by people who had used the power of witchcraft to transform themselves into leopards.

Contemporary accounts uncritically called these murders “cannibalism,” and this inaccurate use of the term has survived till the present day. The outbreaks of murder in the late 19th century were committed by persons disguised as leopards who removed parts of the human body to make “medicines,” and there was strong economic and political undercurrents connected with them.

The Tong Players had their intelligence system, and would only respond to a request to perform when all reports had come in. Then they would proceed to the town which had invited them, where they would hold a ceremonial dance around a great fire at night. They would appear, specially robed, with the leader carrying a large horn filled with “medicines.” Towards the end of the dance, he called out several people, struck them with the horn, and if it stuck to the chest or forehead, that person was found guilty, that is, he was denounced as a “human leopard.” The guilty person was immediately set on, beaten severely, and burned to death, while his property and that of his relatives were seized and distributed among the chiefs.

In 1890 there was a fearsome outbreak of “leopard murders” in Imperi in the Sherbro. The rulers reacted vigorously, and, apparently at the instigation of the Rev. D.F. Wilberforce, called in the Tongo Players. A gruesome holocaust followed. By a terrible irony, Gbana Bunje, chief of Gbangbama, one of those who had urged calling in the Tong Players, was himself found guilty of “leopard murder” and was burned to death with more than 20 others. Evidently, rival chiefs bribed the Tongo Players to get rid of their wealthy competitors.

The colonial administration was horrified, and persuaded the chiefs to agree not to call in the Tongo Players again. But in 1891 there was a fresh wave of murders. The outraged chiefs petitioned Captain C.W. Soden, the frontier officer in Imperi, for permission to recall the Tongo Players. Ignoring his refusal, the two most indignant among them, Ka Tegbeh and Ba Shia went ahead and summoned Kpowamoh-ei-Nepo. An even more ghastly holocaust followed, in which at least 100 people were burnt, including Ba Shia. Alarmed that the cure was getting worse than the disease,” the colonial administration decided that both must be suppressed.

Accordingly, Nepo and his Tong Players were brought to Bonthe on a witness warrant where George H. Garrett, the manager of the Sherbro, was ordered to send them to Freetown for trial. However, he delayed, apparently unwilling to send Nepo for trial. This was because Garrett was opposed to Macfoy, and therefore favoured Nepo, whom he thought also to be opposed to him.

On May 8, 1892, a second order came banishing the Tongo Players from the country. Garrett used it conveniently to release Nepo and others. They returned into the interior whence they came, and nothing was heard of them again. The colonial administration took over the detecting and policing functions of the Tongo Players, but allegations of “leopard murder” or”cannibalism” have never entirely disappeared until the present day.

ARTHUR ABRAHAM