When the people from Bendega came near the town of Inkum, Abang, who was disguised in the dress of an Egbo and covered from head to foot in a very fantastic costume, sent some boys to Oga with a message telling him to come out and meet them. Oga was so proud at hearing that a play had come all the way from Bendega to escort him to the town that he willingly went out to meet them, not knowing that the real Abang had come with them.
When Oga arrived at the place where the people who had brought the play were resting in the shade of some large trees which grew by the side of the path, Abang stood up, and having thrown the Egbo dress on one side, he took off Oga’s skin and placed it on the ground, at the same time telling Oga to do the like. At first Oga refused, and begged Abang not to shame him before all the people, but Abang insisted upon having his own skin back again, so Oga was forced to exchange. The people then knew that they had been deceived by Oga and that he had taken their presents wrongly. They told the real Abang that they were sorry they could not give him any more presents, and that the best thing he could do was to help himself from the things which had been given to Oga in his name. Abang however, was kind-hearted, and allowed Oga to keep all the presents he had received, as he was very poor and he was sorry for him having such a wretched body and being all covered with sores. And now whenever people are asked to change their skins they always refuse, but sometimes they will lend their best cloth to a friend.
Told by Abbassi of Inkum.—[22.7.10.]
XXVI.—Concerning the Ju-Ju Against Elephantiasis, or How the Hares
Lost their Long Tails.
Okpa was a ju-ju man living at Okuni many years ago, and the name of his ju-ju was ’Nda.[9] The old man continually made sacrifices to his ju-ju of goats and fowls and all the young men of the town brought him presents as sacrifices so that they should not get the disease, which is very common throughout the country. Whenever a sacrifice was about to be made, all the people who belonged to the society used to meet together and sit down all round the ju-ju, but as the law of the ju-ju was that no man should open his legs, the people always tied their knees and ankles together with tie-tie, because if anyone opened his legs he would at once get elephantiasis.
Once while the people were feasting and playing round the ju-ju, the hare came along with his fine tail, and seeing them all eating goat’s-flesh, fowls, foo-foo and yams, he asked Okpa if he might join in the feast, as the hare was very greedy and could never resist eating anything he saw. Okpa told the hare that he might join in the feast, but that when he had finished eating he must make the usual present to the ju-ju, and that if he went way without paying something very bad would happen to him. The hare agreed to this, and sat down amongst the people and took his share of all the food; but as he was enjoying himself so much he did not notice that the people were sitting in rather a peculiar fashion, so he sat down in the ordinary way with his legs open. When the food was finished the ju-ju man tied one of the young green shoots from the palm-tree round each of the members of the society. He then dipped his hand into the ju-ju pot, and having touched them one after the other on the forehead and breast, he told them to depart. But he did nothing to the hare, and when he came to where he was sitting he called upon the newcomer to go and bring the usual present of a goat or a fowl to sacrifice to the ’Nda ju-ju. The hare said he had nothing to give just then, and got up to go away, but found that a certain portion of his body had swollen to such a size that it touched the ground when he stood up. He then saw that he had caught the Elephantiasis, and asked Okpa to cure him of the disease, but the ju-ju man said he could not help him until he had made his proper sacrifice to the ’Nda ju-ju.
As the hare was very poor he was in a great state of mind as to how he should pay, and although he begged hard Okpa would not listen to him; so at last he made up his mind to consult his wife, and started off, dragging the Elephantiasis with him. On the road he planned how he should get rid of the disease and at last asked the Elephantiasis to leave him for a little time, as he wanted to relieve himself. The Elephantiasis replied that the hare could relieve himself quite well without his going away, so the hare was compelled to do so; he then returned to the path again.
After he had gone a short distance further the hare thought he would try another trick to get rid of the disease, so, seeing some rubber vines growing near with ripe fruit, he said to the Elephantiasis, “I am still very hungry, are you not hungry also? I want to climb up and get that ripe rubber fruit, but cannot do so as you are so heavy. If you will stop on the ground I will climb the vine and throw the rubber fruit down to you, and you can gather it and put it in the bag, and then we shall have plenty to eat on the road.”
So the Elephantiasis, who really was hungry, agreed to stop on the ground, and the hare, relieved of the great weight, at once climbed the rubber vine and commenced to throw down the fruit, which the Elephantiasis gathered and put in the bag. As the hare gathered the fruit he threw it further and further away from the vine, and the Elephantiasis rolled himself away after it until at last he had gone some distance from the tree, so the hare slid down to the ground, and ran towards his home as fast as he could go.
When the Elephantiasis got back to the vine he called out to the hare, but as he did not receive any answer he guessed the hare had run home, so he rolled himself along the path after the hare, but although he was nearly round he could not travel nearly as fast as the hare, who was a very swift runner indeed. The hare therefore reached his house some time before the Elephantiasis, and at once called out to his wife and told her to go and stay with a neighbour of his for a few days as he was running away from a man, and his enemies were following him to kill him or take him prisoner, and he feared that they might catch her. His wife then packed up her things and went off to their friend’s house, and the hare having said that he would probably be absent for some days, ran off in another direction, leaving his home deserted, so that when the Elephantiasis arrived he found no one about the place.