'Nggwase' as a Mode of Domination and Stability in Society

Nggwase, the regulatory association, was described to me as the most terrifying secret society in the community. The Fon himself is removed from the violent and coercive aspects of nggwase and from war. Members of the dynastic core unit may not join nggwase, though sons of princesses may. It is said that ' nggwase is the father of the Fon' and this implies that it wields more power than the ruler. Though nggwase could not physically remove a Fon from office, it could fine and ostracise him for any act which the society considered anti-social whereupon, as one of my key informants put it, 'all his wives would run away'.

All non-members are prohibited from nggwase meetings and may not approach the house where it's weekly meetings are held, most of its activities being secret. Whenever it appears in public the identity of its members is concealed by various masks. These are the symbols of the magical and religious powers which it still maintains over the people. The council of elders of the association enjoy considerable administrative and judicial powers. As Drummond-Hay remarked 'The chief and council dictates the policy of the clan in peace and war; before the chief and elders are brought those who have transgressed against clan law and custom; whilst in his sacerdotal office, the chief assisted by the elders makes those prayers and sacrifices to the gods and ancestors so necessary to the welfare of the clan' (1925: 19). It inflicts punishment, decreed by the Fon, against crimes such as witchcraft, murder and adultery with royal wives, as well as disciplining its own membership. Nggwase is a gender-specific institution: no woman may become a member. Membership of nggwase reinforces the social status and prestige of senior males.