"The Ibo tribe lives in most of the country, but they are ruled by the Aros
clan," said Mary.
"Who are they? Tell me something about them, Mary. I know so little about
the tribes, except those who come to Calabar or send their girls to our
Institute."
"The Aros clan are a wise but tricky people. They live in thirty villages
near the district of Arochuku, where I would like to begin a mission. They
are strong and rule the Ibo tribe because of their trade and religion.
They trade slaves, which their religion furnishes. When they cannot get
enough slaves that way, they raid Ibo villages and capture the people who
live there and sell them."
"You say their religion furnishes them with slaves? How is that possible?"
"The Ibo tribe and the Aros pray to the juju god. They believe the juju god
lives in a tree. They think this tree is holy. Each village has its own god
and sacred tree, but the main juju used to be about a mile from Arochuku."
"But you haven't told me about the slaves," interrupted Miss Wright.
"I am just coming to that," said Mary. "This main juju, called the Long
Juju, was reached by a winding road that goes through a dense jungle and
leads at last to a lake. In the center of the lake is an island on which
was the Long Juju. Here hundreds of people came to ask advice from the
priests and to worship. When the people came here, the Aros clan had
captured them.
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