| I’m in mermaid
cult, but I also believe in Jesus
By FAVOUR ONWUKA
Wednesday,
July 4, 2007
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• Stella Kalu
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Dr (Mrs.) Stella Kalu, Ozonanze Queen (Eze nwanyi) believes
that practice of native medicine is inborn and not learnt. She said that native
doctors are meant to save and not to destroy lives.
Herbalist traditional
medicine
Roots and herbs are gifts from God. God created roots and herbs
for human consumption and the practice is as old as man. Our ancestors used roots
and herbs and they lived longer than people of today. You don’t need to
go and learn how to practise native medicine, it is inherited. It runs in the
family. I inherited native medicine practice from my ancestors.
It all
started when I was a child, about three years old. I used to follow my grandfather
to his shrine and whenever we went there, I told him to give me his ofo so that
I would use it to consult the oracle and he would restrain me, saying it was not
yet my time. Roots and herbs were always revealed to me in my dream.
Encounter
It
all started when we lived in Enugu where I was a hotelier and my hotel business
was booming. I used to have money which I didn’t normally know the source.
Though in my dreams, I was always shown roots and herbs which I did not accept.
Then, we used to attend Sabbath church in Abakpa Nike, Enugu. It was when my children
started dying and I had problem of conception that I was told in my church that
my problem was caused by a marine spirit.
I lost my son and the second
one was sick to a point of death. We took him to hospital and he did not respond
to all medications given to him. The doctor, a white man, told us that his ailment
was spiritual, that we should try native medicine. My landlord was not happy because
we just packed in, so he took us to one native doctor.
While at the native
doctor’s shrine, as the treatment for my child was going on, I fainted.
And the native doctor said that I was possessed with marine spirit and that I
should not conceive again until I was through with my native initiation. She requested
I should bring a white basin, seven packets of candle, plastic buckets, cup, incense
and plates, which I brought.
After four months, I took in but when the
pregnancy was eight months-old, I was sick. I had a swollen body. I didn’t
go to toilet. I couldn’t urinate, no food. The only thing I saw were stars
in every corner of my room and my head kept on turning. My husband asked me why
I was constantly turning my head? I would ask him if he saw stars in the room?
I saw little children singing and clapping their hands, saying it was time for
me to die.
They placed a coffin before me, which I rejected. They brought
a gold coffin which I accepted and even lay in it. My hotel business started going
down. If I cooked soup and other delicacies after some minutes they would go sour.
All the bags of garri, rice and beans I bought became rotten instantly. This kept
happening until I had no money to continue and I had to stop. After two weeks
of my initiation into marine spirit (Owu mmiri) I gave birth to my son,
Ozoemenam.
Relationship with God
I have a strong relationship
with my God. I believe in God Almighty, I believe in Jesus Christ. I do call God
Almighty before treating anybody. I read the Bible and I do pray with my family.
I do go to church, it is only that Christians segregate a lot. If you go to church,
they will begin to think otherwise, for that I decided not to go to church again,
for it is better for me to be on my own. I do welcome people on evangelism and
we share the word of God together. The work I am doing is for God, I help people
who are sick or has one problem or the other I don’t kill or do wickedness
to people.
Native doctors
Native medicine is natural;
it is not learnt. It is like a gift. If you are gifted in the use of roots and
herbs to cure sickness, you will be seeing it in your dream. I was always shown
roots and herbs with their names in the dream which I always wake up to write
down. Like in my case, I inherited it from my grandfather; it runs in our family.
We have two types of native doctors – those that are born to be
native doctors and those we called Dibia Oti Nkume. They are the ones
who learn how to practise herbs and roots and they are also into wickedness. A
good native doctor will always have his/her ofo, nzu and odo, which signify peace.
You don’t need to practise evil.
Mode of worship
I
belong to White Star mermaid cult (owu mmiri) where I am the secretary
and when we are going for an outing, we normally dress in white/red George with
white blouse, cowries bead, ofo, nzu na odo, powder, scent, kolanut (oji), alligator
pepper (ose oji) and if you have your serpent you can carry it along with you.
And before you do any work for a person, you must consult the spirit (itu
ogu/ikpatu owa).
Area of speciality
I help women
who are looking for the fruit of the womb. Men who are infertile maybe as a result
of low sperm count or they contracted disease, like gonorrhea, syphilis which
was not treated. I give them herbs and roots. Some women have fibroids and I do
give them roots and herbs; children’s convulsion, people looking for good
luck, women who are disturbed by marine spirit, ogbanje, in fact, people who have
one problem or the other do come to me for help.
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