Swem Is A Place And Not A Thing!

Culture, Stories 6/03/2017 by Pastor Samuel Gar

It is a Mountain in the Republic of Cameroon and not a pot or calabash or any other fetish object. Any person versed in Tiv history and culture will tell you that. It is Karagbe’s Swem (what is popularly called Swem Karagbe) that is a thing, an object, and fetish. The real Swem which is Divine and of God was displaced and replaced by this fetish one (and our traditional rulers are well aware of this). A coup d’etat was cleverly planned and executed by the enemies of God and of the Tiv nation when Karagbe replaced the original Swem with a replica. After returning from the errand on behalf of the Tiv nation, he told the Tiv people that he had brought Swem (their God) to them and so they didn’t need to go to Swem Mountain to meet God thereafter. This is the origin of the current object in the Tor Tiv’s palace called Swem (u Karagbe).

Swem is a replica of the Biblical Mount Sinai.

Mount Sinai was Israel’s place of meeting with God. It was a Holy Mountain. Nothing unclean could approach it and live. When the Tiv people came into present day Nigeria from Cameroon, they chose and dedicated Swem Mountain as a replica of Mount Sinai.

Firstly, it was to be a memorial and a reminder that they are descendants of Abraham. Secondly, it was to serve as the Holy of Holies where they will meet with their God: the God of Abaver (Abraham), the God of Gbirekper (Isaac) and the God of Iyorkor (Jacob). When the children of Israel were approaching the Promised Land from Egypt, the tribe of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh erected a similar memorial as recorded in Joshua chapter 22:9-32.

Swem mountain was revered by the Tiv people. Whenever the land faced drought, famine, war, pestilence or any serious adversity, holy men would be selected go to Swem mountain and commune with God and bring back answers and solutions. This was the original Tiv lifestyle. Why Karagbe (a Minda elder and leader of this group) turned back from this journey to Swem Mountain has not been clearly explained for historical documentation. I trust that it will be done under the current Tor Tiv.

The Tiv people have ever been a Godly, principled and God fearing people and never fetish.

Yes, their interaction with foreign peoples like Udam, Jukun, Etulo, Alago and others brought about significant corruption of the Tiv way of life. Intermarriage and trade began to erode the Tiv fabric and the Tiv began to imbibe strange cultural values. Highly demonic practices gradually but steadily found space in the Tiv lifestyle: Imbyor-ivungu, Girinya, Atsuku, Ivom-unden and several of these fetish practices and cults sipped into the Tiv fabric and took root downward.

Today, these have become venomous and perilous snares to the Tiv people. Karagbe’s Swem equally sneaked in during this dark period of Tiv history! The new Tor Tiv and the Tiv Traditional Council must take steps to vigorously return the Tiv people to their original cultural fabric and values that define the true Tiv identity!

History has full proof that the Tiv people had no gods or idols. They worshipped the One True God who they referred to as Aondo U Sha! (The God Above). In fact, the Tiv tribe is perhaps the only tribe in Nigeria that does not have other gods as part and parcel of culture. Witchcraft and magic and fetishism were abominations in Tiv culture. Culprits were paraded, punished, disgraced and banished where necessary. This is well known. How then can any knowledgeable Tiv son or daughter associate the Tiv people with cultism, fetishism, witchcraft, sorcery, magic and the like? They were and still are very un-Tiv!

The story is the same about what is today called Ikyarem (the snake). Originally it was Ikyarem (friend). Tiv people never worshipped nor revered snakes or any lower animal. There is no such reference in Tiv history or culture. It was Ikyarem (friend) that helped the Tiv people overcome that obstacle and not (Ikyarem (snake). All through Israeli and Tiv history, God would send an Angel (a friend: Ikyarem) to provide supernatural solutions to them. Ikyarem (friend) was changed to ikyarem (snake) to align with the new fetish Tiv spirit of the time. This Ikyarem (friend) symbolism also has Biblical roots. It was a reference to the Biblical supernatural crossing of the Red Sea and the River Jordan by the children of Israel. The depicting of this supernatural experience of the Tiv was another pointer to the fact that they belonged to Israel: a reference to their Abrahamic lineage. It had nothing to do with satan or snake!

It is my prayer that the new Tor Tiv will help our Tiv youth with the correct Tiv history so that they will imbibe proper values that made the Tiv people unique and awesome! Most Tiv youth in their 40s are appallingly ignorant of true Tiv history and culture. What they know is the jaundiced, polluted, doctored, and dismembered Tiv history and culture. Unless this is done and done quickly, we will bequeath the future of the Tiv nation to successors that have no true sense and grasp of the Tiv National Conscience! This will quickly lead to the Tiv Waterloo! Permit me to rest my case!

You may also want to read and contribute on ‘Swem is a place. Swem is a thing’

13 thoughts on “Swem Is A Place And Not A Thing!

  1. Azembaka ushahemba

    How can i see the picture of SWEM?

    Reply
  2. Gladys

    This is enlightening. We the tiv people need to trace our way back to the one true God (Aondo Usha) especially at this time of tribulation. God bless the Tiv Nation.

    Reply
  3. ANONGU IORHEN MOSES

    I like your position on Swem. It is quite referential and educative. I have also penned down a robust research work on Swem which will soon hit the ground. It is very informative and critical.

    Reply
  4. Einstein

    I love this

    Reply
  5. Ala Terungwa MONDAY

    After reading this article about the history of Swem and the Tiv people, i have come to a conclusion that there are basically two different narrative of Swem and Tiv. As people, i think there is need for the current generation to reconcile these two narratives for future of the next generation to come.

    Reply
  6. Alusha Joseph Tersoo

    Tiv people and Africans are not the descendants of Abraham. You are a goddamn liar. Part of what you said might be true but I’m not believing any shit you said about mount Sinai and anything biblical in the bible. You are the one that doesn’t know about Swem, pastor whatever you call yourself

    Reply
  7. Ahange Vershima

    I feel the writer is just trying to force the traditional life of the Tiv with christianity but I don’t see any correlation between this two

    Reply
  8. Apst Jiga Thaddeus

    From Apst Jiga Thaddeus, The Bible says let the Wicked continue to be Wicked and let the Righteous continue to be Righteous, the Pastor wrote the truth and you Argued and heap insults continue arguing the truth until you find your way to hell.

    Reply
  9. TARKAA GODWIN

    we shall all sail to our GOD(SWEM)

    Reply
  10. Anom Iorwuese Michael

    Pastor we are not your herdsmen the Israelites what is all this madness about Israelites have you gone crazy about Israel or what.

    Reply
  11. Anom Iorwuese

    Pastor what is all this madness about Israelites if you want to become am Israelites you better go nationalize there stop involving Tiv nation in that mess

    Reply
  12. Dezmond Yahuda

    Thankyou Pastor for being bold enough to speak out and tell the world that the Tiv are one of the lost tribes of Israel. Even though many of them are insulting you and rejecting there true identity, it is good that you have revealed it. Shalom.

    Reply
  13. Jeremiah Orpaa

    While your article is eye opening, I find it hard to agree that there’s any connection between the Tiv and the Israelites. Your writings claim that the Tiv were maybe part of the Jewish nation in time past but sadly no historical data suggests so. Help us understand how Tiv religion operated independently from Jewish History because what i see here is an attempt to reconstruct Tiv History in order to suit biblical informations and it’s just not adding up.

    Reply

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