Page-091-R
*ikũ [ ˩ \ ] a type of room in Bini
* houses containing a hollow on
* the floor called ukpafɛ̃ [ ˩ ˥ ˩ ] into
* which the rain-water flows from
* an open space in the roof (v.
* Roman atrium and piscina);
* the various shrines of the
* ancestors and the powers wor-
* shipped by the family are found
* each in one ikũ. So there is an
* ikũ n-aɽu‿erha [ ˩ ˥ ˦ ˧ ˧ ˧ ] ikũ of
* the father’s shrine, and an ikũ
* n-aɽu‿iye [ ˩ ˥ ˦ ˧ ˧ ˧ ] ikũ of the
* mother’s shrine. The former is
* the first ikũ: ikũ n-uɣ-oɽe [ ˩ ˥ ˦ ˧ ˧ ],
* i.e. the ikũ of the outside uɣa
* [ ˩ ˩ ], the latter, the second ikũ:
* ikũ n-ɔk-adesɛ [ ˩ ˥ ˦ ˩ ˩ ˩ ] (ke [ ˥ ])
* the middle ikũ. The third ikũ is
* that of Olokũ: ikũ n-aɽu‿olokũ
* [ ˩ ˥ ˦ ˧ ˧ ˧ ˨ ]; it is always long and
* narrow and may contain an
* ɛɣodo [ ˥ ˩ ˩ ] or ukpafɛ̃ (which is
* the same); not all houses seem
* to possess it, but in former times
* every house is said to have had
* one. The third ikũ is the last
* one of those to be found in the
* houses of “ordinary people”.
* It is then their private ikũ, ikũ
* n-od-uw-owa [ ˩ ˥ ˦ ˧ ˧ ˨ ] “ikũ of the
* inside of the house”, and will in
* that case not contain the Olokũ-
* shrine which will be kept at
* od-ɛriɛ [ ˩ ˥ ˦ ]. The father’s and
* mother’s shrines must, if pos-
* sible, not be kept in the same ikũ;
* therefore, if a house has only
* one ikũ, besides the private
* apartments, the mother’s shrine
* is in the ukp-ube [ ˥ ˥ ˩ ], i.e. in an
* ɔgwa [ ˩ ˥ ] opening into the room
* containing the ɛɣod-ɛriɛ [ ˥ ˥ ˩ ˥ ],
* or else the two shrines, though
* in the same ikũ, are kept
* on different ibas [ ˥ ˥ ]. There is