The Rules of Juju

The rules of juju are largely made up. That’s not to say that there aren’t rules, only that in real life the rules are obscure, debatable, undocumented, and of course, because juju does not work, unprovable.

In Orisa, I invented a book that listed the rules of juju, titled: Juju Rites & Rituals. They were in fact principles dressed up as rules. People were so fascinated by them, they asked me one of two questions: where had I found the book, which is like asking a Satanist where a book of black spells can be found, or where could they buy a copy, so they could see the rest. To those who would know more, I am sorry, there is no such book, not even a pamphlet, but here is the list from the pages of Orisa. Of these, one that I and almost everyone my age who grew up in Nigeria knows, is that juju does not cross water.

I didn’t just make up rules for Orisa, I wrote down things that struck me as true about juju. In Tales of African Mysticism - Volume I: Yomi’s Stories for example, Yomi refers to the 5th rule - Most babalawos and iyanifas are cheap fakes, yet even fakes can be deadly if they follow their instincts. By documenting principles as rules, I outline some of the worldbuilding structure my stories must inhabit. Unlike a Stephen King book, there will never be an explicitly evil juju being in my writing. I suppose this connects to rule number one – juju has no equivalent in white people’s magic. It has no benevolent form, but neither has it an evil form, which brings us back to rule #7. It’s complicated, but no rule is allowed to undermine any other.

The rules, as they appear in Orisa

1. Juju has no equivalent in white people’s magic. For one thing, it has no benevolent form.
2. The wise will not casually invoke the spirit world nor loudly profess their faith. Juju is neither hard of hearing nor kind to those who disturb its peace.
3. Juju requires balance. If you want something good for yourself, you must be prepared to do something bad to someone else.
4. There is power in a name. If you hear your name but don’t see who spoke it, always say: ‘Is it me you want?’ If your question is not answered, leave that place and never return.
5. Most babalawos and iyanifas are cheap fakes, yet even fakes can be deadly if they follow their instincts.
6. Juju needs no voice, even ants communicate without speaking. What is said in prayer matters, but it is more important to listen, or you will not know when you are no longer alone, and the time to be silent has come.
7. There is neither good nor evil in juju, only in those who invoke it. To understand its forces, watch a child pull the legs off a spider. A creature of juju will tear an innocent child apart out of the same sense of idle curiosity.
8. The claim that white people have no juju because juju cannot cross water is false. Juju seeks out life and can travel in anything that lives. Nobody knows why white people have no juju. Perhaps they are just lucky.
9. Juju has its own Catch-22. If you are its victim and are not driven mad by the experience, then you were already mad.
10. The human soul is meat to a juju spirit. It can eat mutton, but it prefers lamb.
11. The dead do not return in any form. If you see what looks like a dead person and expect it to show human traits, you will not live long.
12. If you put a chicken’s head and kola nut in a calabash, you can only summon flies. If you wish to summon juju, bring hatred and tears of despair.
13. Juju has no sliding scale of punishment. If you survive an encounter with it, don’t feel pleased with yourself; you were not meant to die.
14. Juju’s decline in the face of modern religions is inevitable. People have become reluctant to worship deities that have no idea who they are and couldn’t care less what they want.
15. Those who summon juju have no latent power. They know one trick and that trick will cost most of them their lives.
16. The earth nourishes and nurtures us. Look upwards for blessings if you must but remember to pour libation on the ground.
17. Òrìṣàs know the difference between truth and honesty. Their existence, like gravity, needs no honest explanation to be true.