XXIII.—Why Edidor killed Her Husband and Her Lover.
Edidor was a very pretty Okuni girl. She was a good dancer and singer, and won the love of plenty of young men, but although she liked to enjoy herself with them, she would not marry any of them. At last, however, she met a man called Ode, to whom she took a great fancy, and married him. Ode was a fine young man, and many women wanted him, but he would have nothing to do with them, and did not marry any other wives, as Edidor asked him to look upon her alone. Ode had three children by Edidor, the first-born being a boy, and the other two girls.
After a time Edidor got tired of Ode and ran away to one of the Inde towns, leaving her children with her husband. She went about from one man to another as she had done before she was married, and attended all the dances and plays until at last Ode heard where she was. He then took his three little children to his father-in-law, asking him to look after them for him, as he was going to Inde to try and get Edidor to return to him. The old man did not want Ode to get his daughter back, as he preferred her to walk about and go with different young men, as in that case he would receive numerous presents from them, whereas Ode, having paid his dowry, never gave him anything. He therefore sent a message secretly to Edidor informing her that her husband was going to look for her, and advising her to try and kill him, so that the children would become his property, as he knew his daughter would not want to look after them.
When Ode was ready he got into a small canoe and started down river for Inkum, but he had only gone a little distance when the canoe sank, and Ode swam to the shore. He looked upon the sinking of the canoe as a bad omen and a warning to him not to go that day.
When he returned home his friends encouraged him to make another attempt to get his wife back, and advised him to take a larger canoe, which would not be so likely to upset. Ode started off in a big canoe the following morning; but when he got to the other side of the river he heard a kingfisher making a noise on his right-hand side, in a bush overhanging the river. Not knowing what this omen might mean, he stopped at Okanja, which is only a little way lower down the river on the same side as Okuni, and went to see a friend of his who was known to be clever at reading signs, and told him that the kingfisher had made a noise on his right-hand as he was going down the river. The man then said to Ode, “What kind of a child did you first get when you were married?” And Ode told him that his first-born child was a boy. Ode’s friend then said, “Your good fortune depends on your left.[7] You will meet with much opposition where you are going, and you will not bring back what you are going to seek.” So Ode returned to his canoe and paddled on with much suspicion in his heart. He landed at Inkum, and went to see a friendly chief called Aigonga, to whom he told his story and asked him for help. The chief gave Ode one of his boys to show him the way overland to Inde and they started off together.
Unfortunately for Ode, his wife Edidor had consulted a ju-ju man called Ekum at Inde, who had a very powerful medicine which enabled him to see what was going to happen, and this man told Edidor that her husband was on his way to catch her and take her home, and that if she wanted to stay at Inde she should hide herself at once.
When Ode arrived at Inde he searched all over the towns, but could not find his wife. He then asked some of the people what had become of her, and they told him that the previous day she had been seen talking to a very powerful ju-ju man, and that if he were wise he would leave his wife alone and go home at once, as his life was probably in danger. But Ode would not go home, and got an Inde boy to show him the place where the ju-ju man lived. Ode then asked Ekum what had become of his wife Edidor. Ekum did not at first reply, but gave Ode one sharp stick and one blunt stick, and after a time said, “Touch your body with the sharp stick and also with the blunted one; if you feel any pain with the sharp stick, go home at once and do not bother me any more; if you do not feel any pain, come to me to-morrow morning and ask me any questions you like concerning your wife.”
The Inde boy who had gone with Ode, directly they had gone a little distance from the house, strongly urged Ode to go home, as the sticks the ju-ju man had given to him were known to be very dangerous, and if he went there again Ekum would probably either poison him or call upon the lightning to kill him, which he was quite capable of doing. The boy also said that by far the best thing Ode could do was to ask his father-in-law to help him to recover his wife, and not to come to Inde himself again. Ode thought the advice good, and returned to Okuni with the two sticks Ekum had given him; these he gave to his father-in-law, telling him what had happened, and at the same time asking him to try to get Edidor back for him. When he saw that Ode’s life had been in danger and that he had escaped, the old man repented, and told Ode to stay at Okuni and he would try to make Edidor return to him. He therefore sent a messenger to Inde to tell Edidor to return at once to Okuni. But Edidor was enjoying herself too much, and had no desire to return to her husband. The ju-ju man also had taken a fancy to her, and when he found that Edidor’s father had been trying to persuade his daughter to return to her husband, he put some ju-ju into her food which made her take an intense dislike to her husband. When Edidor’s heart had turned and she found that she hated Ode, Ekum made some strong poison, which he gave to Edidor and told her to put it in her husband’s food, and that when he was dead she should return and marry him.
The next day Edidor started off for Okuni, taking the poison with her, and intending to kill her husband on the first opportunity, but when she reached the house Ode produced their three children and talked to her very kindly until her heart was cold. Edidor then lived with Ode for a month, until the ju-ju man, finding she did not return to him, made another strong ju-ju, which at once made Edidor want to go back to him at Inde. She therefore packed up her things, and was starting off for Inde when Ode seized her and said she was not to go. That very night Edidor put half the poison Ekum had given her into Ode’s food. He then became very ill, and died after two days.
Ode was buried by his relations, but Edidor only mourned a very short time and then ran off to Inde, where she joined her lover. Ekum was very glad to get her back again, and called all his friends together. He then killed a goat, and they had a big feast, and he told all the people that Edidor was going to be his wife.
During the night Ekum asked Edidor to marry him properly, but she asked him to wait for a time until she knew all his ways and habits, and she promised she would then marry him. For some little time after this Edidor went about with different men, but Ekum always found her out, and when she returned to him he would tell her what she had been doing and the name of the man she had been with. This made Edidor afraid, but she dare not leave Ekum altogether, as he might get the lightning to kill her or cause his ju-ju to catch her. Then Ekum again asked Edidor to marry him, and she agreed to do so, but said that before the ceremony took place she wanted to join his ju-ju, so that she might know everything and not be afraid. Ekum was pleased at this, and showed Edidor all the ju-ju he had, and explained them to her. When he had finished, Edidor was so frightened that she ran away and left Ekum. Ekum, however, looked into his ju-ju pot and saw at once where she was, so he sent a messenger, who seized her and brought her back. Then Edidor made up her mind to kill Ekum, so she went to his ju-ju pot which he always looked into when he wanted to know where she had gone or what she was doing, and broke it. She then cooked the food and put the half of the poison Ekum had given her for Ode into the food and gave it to Ekum to eat; he died the next day. Before Ekum was dead, Edidor ran back to her father’s house at Okuni.
When the Inde people found that Ekum was dead, they at once knew that Edidor must have killed him, as she had run away. They therefore went to Okuni to have the palaver judged. When all the chiefs and people had met together, Edidor was accused of having poisoned Ekum, her lover. Edidor then stood up and told the chiefs that Ekum had made her poison her husband, and that when she found his ju-jus were so powerful; she broke them, and gave half the poison Ekum had given her for her husband to him in his food, and that he had then died at once.
After considering some time, the chiefs decided that they would not punish Edidor, and said that “The stone Ekum had thrown had returned and hit him.”[8]
The chiefs then said that for the future, whenever a man had a poison ju-ju or other powerful medicine, he should not tell any of his wives or any other women, because if they wished to run away from their husbands they would first of all break their ju-jus and then poison them.
Told by Ennanni, an Okuni woman.—[1.7.10.]
XXIV.—How ’Nyambi punished Chief Oga for trying to commit adultery
with his wife Obim.
There was once a fine strong man living at Okuni, whose name was ’Nyambi. He was a good dancer, drum-beater and singer, and these qualities, combined with his good looks and fine manly beauty, won him the admiration of many of the young Okuni girls. He knew many of them, but never asked them to marry him.
At last, when ’Nyambi was about twenty-five years of age, he met a girl at a big dance, to whom he took a great fancy, and whom he wished to marry. So he went to her parents, and, having given them the usual presents, told them that he wished to marry their daughter Obim. The parents, however, were unwilling, and told ’Nyambi that they had already promised Obim as a wife to Chief Oga.
When Obim heard this, she told her parents that she would never marry Chief Oga, as he was too old, and she intended to marry ’Nyambi, who was such a fine young man, and she was very fond of him. The parents did their best to persuade Obim to marry Chief Oga, as they would receive far more presents and a bigger dowry from him than if they allowed her to marry ’Nyambi, who was not a rich man. Obim, however, was obstinate, and absolutely declined to have anything to do with the chief, so at last her parents consented to her marriage with ’Nyambi.
Then Obim and ’Nyambi took an oath that, when they were married, they would never part from one another, and they would both try to help each other and upset any ju-ju that Chief Oga might make against them, as they knew him to be a most revengeful man.
’Nyambi then bought the usual presents for the parents and collected the dowry, which he handed to Obim’s father and mother, and rubbed the girl with camwood. She was then circumcised and kept in one room until the wound had healed.
When the gun was fired off and Obim was declared to be ’Nyambi’s wife, Chief Oga was very vexed, and, although he wanted to speak to Obim, he dared not do so openly, as he thought the people might laugh at him if they saw him going after a woman who had only just been married, seeing that he had so many wives already himself. So, when it was dark, he went to Obim and told her that if she came to him he would make her very happy, as he had plenty of slaves who would do all the hard work and she would not have to toil in the sun. Obim, however, would not listen to him, so in the end the chief went away more vexed than before and more determined than ever to get hold of Obim, somehow or other.
That night Obim told her husband of the advances made to her by the chief, and they agreed not to take any notice, but to be very careful for the future.
The next day Chief Oga consulted a ju-ju man as to the best way to turn Obim’s heart, so that she would hate ’Nyambi and come to him. The ju-ju man, after casting lots, told the chief that it would be quite easy to make Obim leave ’Nyambi and go to him, and that all the chief would have to do would be to give Obim some tombo to drink, which he would prepare with a strong medicine in it. The ju-ju man then made the tombo and put a ju-ju into it, and the chief, having given him a big present, took the tombo to his house, and sent word to Obim that he wished to speak to her.
When Obim arrived, the chief offered her some of the tombo to drink, but she refused to touch it. Chief Oga tried his best to make her drink, but Obim would not do so, and said she had merely come to hear what he might have to say. Oga then tried again to persuade Obim to leave her husband and go to him, but Obim refused as before.
Finding this plot had failed, the chief went again to the ju-ju man and told him that Obim had refused to drink the tombo. He then asked the ju-ju man to poison ’Nyambi so that he might get hold of his wife, and when he had given him another big present, he went home.
The next day, the ju-ju man joined the society to which ’Nyambi belonged, and went to all the dances, looking for an opportunity to put the poison he had prepared into ’Nyambi’s drink, but he could never succeed in making ’Nyambi drink anything, as, whenever he went to a dance or a play, Obim made him promise not to drink anything at the dancing place and she would have drink ready for him when he returned home. This probably saved his life, as the ju-ju man was unable to poison him, so after a time he went to Chief Oga, and told him that the year of ’Nyambi’s death had not yet arrived, and he could do nothing with the young man.
Chief Oga then for twelve months did not try to do anything more to kill ’Nyambi, but sat down and waited until the proper time should arrive when he would be able to revenge himself upon ’Nyambi and take Obim away.
However, he frequently sent messengers to Obim, asking her to sleep with him, but she always refused. At last Obim became so annoyed at these repeated messages, that she told her husband what was going on between herself and Chief Oga, and advised him to revenge himself in his turn. She advised ’Nyambi to pretend to go down river to sell some camwood and she would then allow the chief to come to her at night when ’Nyambi should come in and surprise them together. Obim also told her husband that she hoped he would cut a certain part off the chief’s body, which would punish him properly and prevent his troubling her for the future.
’Nyambi thought the plan a good one, so he put some camwood into his canoe and told the people that he was going down river to trade, and did not expect to return for some few days. He then started off but did not go very far.
Directly the chief heard that ’Nyambi had gone, he sent a messenger to Obim, asking her to sleep with him that night. But Obim told the messenger to tell his master that she could not come to him, but that he might come to her alone at night, and he was to be careful not to let anyone know what was going on between them.
Chief Oga was so glad when he got Obim’s message that he at once went down to the river and washed himself. He then went home and put on a fine cloth and had food before it was dark. After that he sat down and waited as patiently as he could until all the people in the town had gone to sleep.
When he thought it was quite safe and no one would see him, he went very quietly to Obim’s house and knocked softly on the door. Obim let the chief in, and then fastened the door, telling him to lie down and that she would join him later on. Oga asked Obim to come to him at once, but she told him to wait a little, as all the people had not then gone to bed.
Very soon Chief Oga dropped off to sleep, so Obim went to the door very quietly and undid the fastening.
Not long afterwards, ’Nyambi opened the door and found Chief Oga asleep in his wife’s bed; so he fastened the door securely, and, having got his knife ready, made the fire blaze and woke the chief up.
When Oga awoke he saw ’Nyambi standing over him with his knife pointing at his breast. ’Nyambi told him to be quiet and not to make a noise or he would kill him at once.
He then said, “I find you as a thief and one who would commit adultery with my wife. I will not receive any present from you; I do not want to kill you, but I intend to take one of two things from your body, and, if you refuse, I shall kill you at once.” On hearing this, Chief Oga was very much frightened, as he was no match for ’Nyambi in strength; so he lay there for some time, thinking of his life, his wealth, and his wives, until at last he asked ’Nyambi what it was he wished to take from his body so that he might go.
’Nyambi said, “I intend either to take your eyes out, which will prevent your looking at pretty girls any more, or else I will cut a certain part of your body off, which will stop your doing them any harm in the future.”
Oga said he could not part with his eyes, so at last he consented to ’Nyambi’s cutting the part off his body, provided he promised not to kill him and to let him go.
’Nyambi promised, and having told Oga not to make a noise, he cut the thing off, and turned the chief out of his house. Chief Oga then went home, but did not tell anyone what had happened to him. He was in such pain all the night that he was unable to sleep, and when the morning came, he asked one of his wives to boil some water and bring it to him. She did as she was told, and the chief went into the back-yard and bathed and dressed the wound.
He then sent one of his boys to call ’Nyambi to him. When ’Nyambi arrived he did not go inside the house, but stood a few paces from the door, as he thought that Oga might try to do him some injury; but the chief said he did not intend to hurt him and that he might safely come inside. Chief Oga then implored ’Nyambi not to tell any of the young men of the town what he had done to him, and begged him to keep it secret until the day of his death. ’Nyambi promised, and went home and told his wife.
The chief’s wound took many days to heal, and at night, when his wives came to him, he had to send them away, saying he was not well. This went on for some time, until at last his wives got tired of being alone and began to desert him and go to other men, and very soon he was left with only boys in the house.
The chief then sent for all his wives to hear his last words. When they arrived, he said, “My dear wives, I am not angry with you for leaving me, for love of women has caused me to lose the dearest part of my body. But I will ask one favour of you, and that is, when I die you will all come and cry and mourn for me, as is usual. Then you will know why I did not sleep with you.”
The women then asked the chief what was the matter with him, so he pointed to his waist, and said he had great pain there, and was unable to move that part of his body. He then told them all to go away.
Chief Oga lived for a few more years and then died. His wives, who had by that time all married other men, got permission from their husbands to go and mourn for Chief Oga.
When the people took the chief’s body into the back-yard to wash it, they found that a certain part of his body had been cut off. His wives were very much surprised when they saw what had been done to their late husband, as, during his lifetime, he had been quite all right. They therefore went and told the chiefs of the town. The chiefs then came and inspected the body, and afterwards met in the palaver house to try and find out who had mutilated Chief Oga. The drum was beaten and the young men of the town were told to attend the meeting.
Directly ’Nyambi heard the drum, he called all his company to his house, and told them what he had done to Chief Oga. He also told them that what he had done was for the good of all people, and asked them to support him at the meeting, and if it came to a fight, that they should all be on the same side.
When they had heard the whole story, the members of ’Nyambi’s company agreed to back him up, and as they were the principal fighting-men of the town they went to the palaver house without much fear.
When all the people had arrived, the oldest chief of the town stood up, and said, “I have seen to-day what I have never seen before since I was born. Chief Oga, whom you all know, died this morning, and I went to look at his body. I then saw that a certain part of his body was missing. Now I want to know who did this thing, and what became of the missing part of the late chief. I shall be glad if any young man of the town who knows anything about this palaver will inform me.”
Then ’Nyambi stood up and questioned the chief, as follows: “What will be done to the man who did this? Will he be killed or will he be allowed to go free?” The chief replied that the man would certainly be killed, if he had mutilated Chief Oga by force without a very good reason, but that if they considered he was justified in his action, he would be allowed to go free.
Then ’Nyambi told the people that he had done this thing, and addressed them as follows: “When I married my wife Obim, while she was still in the circumcision house, Chief Oga went to her and tried to persuade her to go to him. After that he frequently sent messages to her, asking her to sleep with him, but she always refused. Again, when I was absent, Chief Oga went to my house to sleep with my wife, but I returned and caught him lying asleep on her bed.” ’Nyambi then asked the question, “What do you do when you catch a thief in your stack of yams?” And the head chief replied, “He is tied up to a tree, and left there to die.” ’Nyambi then said that he treated Chief Oga as a thief, but he took pity on him, and instead of killing him, he gave him his choice whether he would have his eyes put out or have a certain part of his body cut off. The late chief chose the latter alternative, so he performed the operation. He then called his wife Obim, who brought on a calabash the part of the dead chief’s body, which had been cut off and dried in the sun, as proof of what he had said.
’Nyambi then asked the chiefs whether he was justified in the course he had taken or not; and the chiefs, after consultation, agreed that he had done right.
A law was then passed that, if a husband caught another man in his house having connection with his wife, he could do whatever he liked with him in the house, but once the man was outside the house, he should not be molested, and the case should be decided before the chiefs.
But the chiefs also added, that the man who was caught committing adultery might defend himself as well as he could, and would not be punished for so doing.
Told by Ennenni, an Okuni woman.—[22.7.10.]