Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria

by Elphinstone Dayrell

When the head slave came, he said to Chief Erim, “I have been your slave ever since I was a small boy. Surely you can trust me. Let me go and consult the ju-ju man on your behalf, and he will tell me what you should do in order to get well again. You have only to give me your loin-cloth, and then when he has seen it he will know what is the matter with you after he has cast lots.”

Chief Erim agreed to this, and told his head slave to take two boxes of rods and some fowls as a present to the ju-ju man. The head slave kept the fowls and rods for himself, and did not go near the ju-ju man, but the next day he went to his master and said that he had consulted the ju-ju man, who had said that the chief’s life was in danger, and that he had been poisoned by his Okuni wife, who wanted her son to inherit her husband’s property. If Chief Erim wanted to get better, he should at once send the wife and her son to Okuni, as they were both witches, and that in three months’ time he would be quite well again. The ju-ju man also said that if it had not been for the small ju-ju in the middle of Chief Erim’s compound, who had been fighting the witches for him, he would have been dead long before. The chief should therefore make a sacrifice of a white cock and a goat to the ju-ju for his help.

Chief Erim then told his wife to go back to Okuni and take her son with her. He also told the head slave to sacrifice the white cock and the goat to the ju-ju. This was done, but instead of getting better, chief Erim died in less than a month, and his son Oga Erim inherited his father’s property.

When the chiefs of Inkum heard of the disease which Chief Erim had died from, they made an order that the body should be buried in a deep grave in the bush, that the funeral should not be kept as usual, and that no one was to mourn for the dead chief, as the sickness he had died from was a very dangerous one, and if anyone cried for him they would get the disease. The chief’s body was therefore buried without any of the customary funeral rites, which saved Oga Erim a large amount of money.

It did not take the slaves long to realize that they were very little better off for the death of their late master, as Oga Erim carried on much in the same way as his father had. The first woman slave who failed to bring her twelve cakes of camwood was given forty lashes instead of fifty, but Oga Erim said that he was young yet, but that as he got older he would be much more severe and punish the people far more cruelly than his father had ever done, as he intended to be very wealthy, and they would have to work much harder than they had done during his father’s lifetime unless they wished to be badly punished.

One day when he was vexed with a slave, he tied him up to a tree and led the driver ants to him, so that he died in great agony. After a time things became so bad that the slaves decided that they must kill Oga Erim, but they did not like to do so at once, as they thought that the Inkum people might suspect them, in which case they would be tortured in many different ways, so they resolved to wait two years before they revenged themselves upon their cruel master.

As the time went on Oga Erim became harder on his people, and some of the slaves were flogged and tortured almost every day; he seemed to take great delight in their sufferings, and spent much time in devising new forms of torture.

When Chief Erim had been dead two years, the head slave called all the other slaves together, and said that the time had arrived when Oga Erim must die, as he did not think that they would be suspected if they were careful. The slaves then discussed the best way to kill Oga Erim. One of them said, “Let us make him blind in both eyes,” but the others would not agree, and said he should be killed at once, as if he were only blind he would know what was going on and would still be able to punish them. At last it was decided to poison Oga Erim, so the slaves brought a very strong poison made from the horns of a ram and some of the hair from the mane cut into small pieces. They then called Oga Erim’s name and told the ju-ju to kill him and not to harm anyone else. The poison was then placed in Oga Erim’s food and a few hours after he had eaten it he began to vomit and spit blood; so when the sun was going down he called for the head slave and asked him to get him some medicine to cure him. The slave advised his master to leave the compound and go to his farm-house until he got well, as he thought that someone must have put a ju-ju in the ground where he was lying, which caused him to be sick. As Oga Erim was unable to walk, the head slave ordered four slaves to carry their master to his farm. In the middle of the night Oga Erim died in great pain, and one of the slaves at once ran off and told the head slave what had happened. He told all the slaves to be quiet and not to tell anyone until he gave them permission, as the head slave knew that directly Odoggha Eyu heard of his brother’s death he would at once come to Inkum to keep the funeral and take all the goods which were formerly his father’s. The head slave then went to the body of Oga Erim and got the keys of the houses where all the rods and other valuables were kept. When he got back to the town, he opened the store where all the rods were, and having called all the slaves together, he divided the rods amongst them all, and then locked the door again. He then went to the house where Oga Erim kept his walking-sticks, brass pans, pots and other expensive articles, and having opened the door, divided these things up and locked the door. After this the head slave divided up the cows, goats, sheep, pigs and fowls between them all, but he left five cows in the compound so that the funeral might be properly kept. He then told some of the slaves to carry their master’s body to the town, but before this was done he warned all the slaves to be very careful not to keep any of their dead master’s property in their own houses, as they might be accused of stealing, so he advised them all to send their things to their different friends’ houses where they could be kept for them without anyone knowing. A messenger was then sent to Odoggha Eyu to tell him that his brother was dead. The chiefs were also informed, and many people came to mourn, the women throwing themselves on the ground weeping.

When Odoggha Eyu heard that his brother Oga was dead, he called his company together to go with him to Inkum, and remembering how wealthy his father had been, he hired many slaves to carry the property back to Okuni. He also borrowed a large number of rods to provide a big feast at the funeral and to give his friends and the slaves he brought with him plenty to eat and drink.

When Odoggha Eyu arrived at Inkum, he asked the head slave to hand the keys of his brother’s house to him, so that he could satisfy himself that everything was in order. But the head slave told him that it was the custom for him to bury the dead body first, and that after the feast the keys would be handed over; he also added that everything in the house was as his brother Oga had left it, and that all the doors were locked. Odaggha Eyu then bought five slaves, promising to pay for them after the funeral; these slaves he killed and placed in the grave with his brother. The five cows which remained in the compound were also killed, and their heads were put in the grave. The bodies of the cows were given to the people to eat. Many men and women came to the funeral, as it was known that Oga Erim was rich, and Odoggha Eyu provided food and drink for them all, and the feasting, dancing and singing was continued for five days and nights. The grave was then filled in and beaten down, and the outside was polished. The head slave then handed the keys to Odoggha Eyu, who went first of all to the house where his father always kept his rods; when he opened the door and went inside there were no rods to be seen. Odoggha Eyu stood there silent for some time, wondering what had become of all his father’s wealth and how he could manage to pay all the debts he had incurred on account of the funeral expenses. At last he asked the head slave what had become of all the rods which his father formerly possessed, and whether his brother had spent them all. The slave replied that he had received nothing himself, but suggested that the spirit of his late father had taken all the rods away.