Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria

by Elphinstone Dayrell

In the olden days at Okuni, when the women were circumcised, they were kept in the fatting-house for a long time and given plenty of food to eat. There was a wealthy chief at that time living in Okuni, called Okim. He had a daughter named Essama and a son called Ode. The chief was very fond of both his children, and when Essama grew up he bought a male goat and had it cut to make it grow bigger, so that when his daughter was circumcised and kept in the fatting-house he would be able to give her the goat to eat. Both the goat and Essama grew up together, until the time arrived for the girl to be circumcised and kept in the fatting-house. Then Chief Okim told his son Ode that he was to be his sister’s attendant while she was kept in the house, and that he was to look after the goat.

Essama stayed in the fatting-house for several months, until one day several of the girls of her company came to visit her. As she had nothing to give them to eat, she at last thought of her father’s goat, which was being kept for her, but she dared not kill it while her brother Ode was in the house. She therefore sent him down to the river with a basket, and told him to fill it with water and bring it back to her. Ode did as his sister told him and took the basket down to the river, but he found that the water ran out of the basket almost as quickly as it went in; he therefore remained at the water-side some time. This gave Essama a chance to kill and cook the goat, which she ate with her company. Essama reserved a leg, some of the soup, and a yam, which she placed in a pot and hung over the fire to keep warm for Ode when he returned from the river.

It was late when Ode came back to the house, and he told his sister that he was sorry he could not fill the basket with water. He then asked her where the goat was. Essama replied that she had not seen the goat walking about anywhere since he had gone down to the river, and advised him to search everywhere for him. Ode did so, but failed to find the goat. When he came back and told his sister, she pointed to the pot and said, “There is your food,” so Ode took the pot down, but as he did so some of the soup fell over him out of the pot, as it was quite full. He then sat down and began to eat. While he was eating, his father returned from the farm, and, missing the goat, asked Ode what had become of it. When he heard that the goat could not be found, the chief made a great palaver with Ode, who began to cry. His father then said he was convinced that someone must have stolen the goat, and that all his people, including his son and daughter, would have to go through the ordeal of crossing over the river on a rope, to find out who had stolen the goat. So the next day all the people assembled, and the spider was called upon to settle the palaver, as he was the chief man who settled these trials.

The spider went across the river, spinning his web as he went, and then returned to the side where the people were standing. The spider then told each man and woman to say before they started to cross the river, “If I stole Chief Okim’s goat, let the rope break with me when I get to the middle; but if I am not a thief, let me cross over in safety.”

One after the other the people crossed over the river on the spider’s web quite safely, until at last there were only left Essama and her brother. Ode went before his sister, and when he reached the middle of the river the web broke, and he fell into the water, disappearing at once.

The chief then began to lament, saying his goat had been stolen, and now his son was drowned. He then told the people to go into the river and try to recover Ode’s body. The young men at once dived in and searched everywhere, but could not find any trace of Ode.

As his son had been drowned, the chief would not allow his daughter to cross the river, and returned home with his people very sorrowfully. Chief Okim then ordered his people to tie up a bundle in a cloth to represent his son, and all people were ordered to mourn. A deep grave was then dug, and ten men were killed to accompany the Chief’s son to the spirit-land. The bodies of the ten men were then put in the grave, and the bundle representing the dead Ode was placed on top. The grave was then filled in, whilst drums were being beaten and farewells to the chief’s son were being shouted by the people. Several goats were killed, and a big feast was held, and the chief commanded all people to mourn for one year.

When the year of mourning was over, Chief Okim decided to build a new house, so he sent his boys to the river-side to get tie-tie. While they were engaged in drawing the tie-tie from the trees, one man named Oyonga heard a voice calling out, “Who is drawing the tie-tie there?” He stopped pulling and looked round everywhere, but as he could not see anybody, he went on pulling again at the tie-tie. The voice then called out again, saying, “Tell my father to bring a white goat, a white ram, a white cock, and a white chicken to the river-side and sacrifice them to the river ju-ju, and tell him that if he does this I shall be set free.” Oyonga then asked the voice who it was speaking, and the voice replied, “I am Ode, Chief Okim’s son who was lost, as when I took the pot down some of the soup made from my father’s goat, which my sister had stolen, fell over me, so that when I tried to cross the river on the spider’s web it broke by the ordeal and I was lost in the water.”

Oyonga then ran back to the town and told the chief what he had heard. When Chief Okim heard what Oyonga had to say, he was vexed, as he did not believe him, so he ordered him to be tied up to a tree and given fifty lashes. Oyonga pleaded with the chief in vain, and he was flogged.

When Oyonga had sufficiently recovered from the flogging he had received, he begged the chief to go with him to the river where he had heard the voice; at first the chief refused to go, but after much persuasion he consented. When they got to the place Oyonga pulled at the tie-tie, and the voice at once called out, “Who is pulling there? Have you told my father to bring the white goat, ram, cock, and chicken to sacrifice to the ju-ju?”