242 
N. W. Thomas, 
At Auci there are four families, two of which forbid erhue and the other 
two, boa and porcupine respectively. 
Forbidden animals are found in the Kukuruku parts of Northern Nigeria. 
At Uzukuri if a man says: “this food is rotten”, they may not eat it. At Ko- 
minio all forbid a big snake (iniokoko boa?); the chief forbids dog; he may 
not catch fish but may eat it; there is a proverb: If I do that may I eat dog. 
In another family if a man says; “Get up, drink water” they may not drink. 
In one compound if a woman goes to market and someone says do her: 
“Buy this for your husband”, she runs from the market. 
There are four compounds in Soso, two of which have forbidden ani 
mals — leopard and chameleon; they are not exogamous. 
At Ibillo women forbid dog; one quarter forbids tortoise, another pig, 
another a big monkey and the fourth (Hausa imabd). At Ibillo and Ibie if a 
man says to his wife: “You eat dog”, she leaves him; at Ibillo he has to pay 2/6 
to her father and mother before she goes back. At Ibie she does not go back 
at all and the husband cannot claim repayment of the bride price. 
At Eferun in the Sobo country the whole town forbids snakes, cats, rats, 
crocodiles, lizards. A family prohibition is called isekbe\ they are not sacri 
ficed and a wife may eat her husband’s isekbe. 
At Ajeyube they have the same prohibitions for the whole town, so too 
has Ugeli with the addition of orhua (= erhue). 
At Ewu bans are called aga\ the whole country forbids crocodile, snake, 
leopard and snail. There are also family aga, which they never kill, nor even 
allow in their houses, much less keep. Exogamy is practised and the wife 
does not eat her husband’s aga, even when she is not in his house. Enquiry 
however showed that only one out of seven chiefs present could name his 
own aga. 
Okpara forbids dog, leopard, crocodile and a big black snake called ogbo. 
They bury them if they find them. 
Ijesi, chief of Kokori, forbids dog for his mother, who came from Kwale 
town, where all forbid them. This ban will be handed on to his sons and his 
wives may not eat dog in his house. Leopard is forbidden to the whole town 
but they may take the skin and use it. 
Family prohibitions (ero) are found at Jesse, among them are: dog, bush 
lizard, bush pig, cow, bush cow and rat. 
In Benin City there are certain prohibitions connected with this ebo 
(demi-gods). 
Igbagon is a river, often identified with Olokun and, like Olokun, wor 
shipped by women; he did not permit women to eat fish and at one time no 
Edo woman would touch fish; the men had to cook it in the bush; if the women 
had eaten it their mouths would peel; as a purification they had to take afo, 
wash their mouths and swear before Igbagon that they would not touch fish 
again. Igbagon was worshipped chiefly at Ioxe on the Sapcba road. 
Ogba was originally a wife of the king of Edo. She ran away to Ogomo, 
who went to the king to beg for her, but the king would not forgive her. 
She went into the back of the house and began to cry and presently turned