Elphinstone Dayrell

“ This is the reason why hawks always take chickens wherever they find them, and in those days the people never thought of making any trouble with the hawk, as he had a right to the chickens, but nowadays when a hawk swoops down and seizes a chicken, the people shout out and try to kill him, as they have forgotten the story of how the twin child Agbor was redeemed by a basket of eggs. ”

“ That night the hawk told the eagle that it was the cock and hens who told the bush cow to wave his arm over his horns, otherwise he never would have been found. So the eagle sent for them and said, “It was you who told the bush cow where the hawk was hiding and in consequence I have had to pay a large amount to the antelope as a punishment; for the future I shall allow the hawk to always kill your children whenever he can catch them.” ”

“ She also took some to Chief Kaku, and said, “If you love me, you will eat my fish; but if you refuse, then I shall know that you do not care for me, and I shall not marry you, but will return at once to my father at Okuni.” But the chief said, “No one ever eats that fish, as it has a smooth skin and is part of the water ju-ju. If anyone eats that fish, he will surely die.” Then ’Ndere said, “Yes, my parents also will not eat this fish, but there is always one man who starts back first from the farm, and then the other people follow. I have eaten the fish and found it good, and have not died. ”

“ But Nkanyan called out in a loud voice for everyone to come out and seize the witches, and very soon they were all caught and securely fastened up. The people then took the witches to the palaver house, and Chief ’Ndabu sent word to the other chiefs that they would be tried at once.
The big wooden drum was then beaten to call the people together. The people of the town were much surprised that the night had been so short, but when they heard that the night calabash had been broken and the witches captured, they were very glad, and went to have a look at them. ”

“ In the days when the elephant was king over all the beasts of the forest, it was the custom for all the animals to go once a year and make the elephant’s farm for him. They cleared all the bush and planted his yams and plantains. On these occasions the elephant always entertained the animals, and when the work was finished the elephant gave them food. Now, although the python never did any work on the farm, he always attended the feasts and, being very greedy, eat more than his share of the food. ”

“ 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 some of the young men, who were very anxious to possess the pretty daughter of the bush buck as a wife, asked the father to reduce the amount of dowry to such an amount as they would be able to pay. As the bush buck was very fond and proud of his daughter and did not want to part with her, he refused to reduce the dowry, but told the young men and animals that he would give them all another chance of winning his daughter, and that was, if any one could beat him in a race he would hand his daughter over to the winner as his wife without any dowry at all. ”

“ The people of Ikom therefore warned their children never to go by themselves to the farms unless they knew the road very well indeed, as if they took the wrong path and went to the town where the wooden drum lived, they would be swallowed up and would disappear for ever.
In those days a man called Okongo Osim lived at Ikom. He had a very beautiful wife whose name was Inkang Ezen. They only had one child, Ibanang Okpong by name, and both the father and mother were very fond of her. ”

“ So the cock said, “What you are looking for is sitting on your head; if you wave one of your arms over your head you will find what you want.” The bush cow would not believe the cow at first, and all the birds continued to laugh at him. At last, however, the bush cow did as the cock suggested, to find out if what he had said was true, and at once the hawk flew up and was seen by the bush cow who at once galloped off and told the antelope that he had found the hawk and had very nearly caught him with his hoof. ”

“ The hunting law was that, during the hunting time, the men might eat the meat of the animals they killed, but they were not allowed to eat any fish, and the women might eat fish only, and not eat any meat from animals killed hunting.
While the hunting was going on, a man called Agbor Adam went to his wife, Iza Kakem, and asked her to give him some fish to eat, as he was tired of nothing but meat. The woman refused to do so, saying that the hunting law was so strong that, if they broke it, they would certainly be killed. ”

“ Every night for a month and a half the boy attended the feast of the witches, and either a man or a woman was always killed and eaten; but Amoru always took his piece of flesh home and placed it with the other meat. All this time Chief ’Ndabu had been making sacrifices to his ju-ju to protect him against witchcraft, and he used to call all his sons together to sit round the ju-ju while the sacrifices were being made, but Amoru sat outside as he was afraid to go near his father’s ju-ju on account of the witch in him. ”

“ In fact, the more one learns about ju-ju the more hopeless it seems. It must seem incredible to people at home that a man can die because a ju-ju has been made against him—for example, two sticks crossed on the path with, say, a rotten egg and a fowl stuck on a stick, the man’s name having been “called.” And yet one knows of numerous instances where men have died, and young, healthy men, too, against whom such a ju-ju has been made. ”

“ Akoba lived with Chief Leku for a little time, but very soon got tired of him. So she made up her mind that she would kill him and resume her former life. She said to herself, “It is very dull living with Leku all the time. If I kill him, I can have any man I fancy and make plenty of money, as all the young men want me, and are willing to pay, whereas now I have to do all the housework, and work hard on the farm, and Leku does not ‘dash’ me anything.”
Now, Chief Leku was a hunter, and made his living by killing animals (bush cows, buck, and kobs) and selling their meat. ”

“ When the goat saw what the elephant had done, he was vexed, so he went and told the elephant that he had cut down the tree and burnt it in order to grow the mushrooms for his food, and as the elephant had spoilt them all, he demanded fish or meat to make soup, as compensation. The elephant said he did not care much for either fish or meat, and had none to give, so he gave the goat some beans instead. The goat was satisfied at receiving this present from the elephant, and took the beans home to his house and left them in a calabash on the floor. ”

“ They were very fond of Indoma, as he was a just man.
A few years after they had built their compound, the two adjoining countries, Inde and Akparabong, made war against the Inkum, but Chief Indoma, who was skilled in warfare, led his people so well and wisely that both countries were driven back, and they have occupied the land ever since.
Indoma had two sons by his wife Isibe, whose names were Agatin and Ogum. When they were grown up, Chief Indoma died. All the country people were very sorry, and a big play was held, and the mourning was kept up for a long time. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When he had been all round, he went into the open space in the middle of the compound, and the women came up to him with presents; some would present him with a fathom of cloth, but the poorer people would offer a few rods, yams, or some salt. The body of the man was then divided up amongst the chiefs, the head chief getting the right arm, shoulder and breast for his share, and the head fighter was given the man’s heart to eat. ”

“ At Inkum in the olden days there dwelt a chief called Erim. He was very wealthy, having many slaves, both male and female, and a large farm. He was known throughout the country as a cruel man and a hard master. Most of Chief Erim’s wealth was made by selling camwood and the large yams grown on his farm. The chief made a rule that each woman slave should bring him at the end of every seven days twelve balls or cakes of camwood. ”

“ In the olden days, Ewa Abagi lived at Inkum. She was very rich and was considered to be a most beautiful woman. She made most of her money by trading in palm kernels and camwood, but, as she was so popular wherever she went with the young men of the country, she also made a lot of money out of them, as, if they did not pay her well in advance, she would have nothing to do with them.
She received many offers of marriage, but refused them all, until one day a chief of Insofan named Awor sent a message to her that he wished to make her his wife, as he had heard what a fine woman she was. ”

“ When all the people were working, including the women and children on the farm, Eba always stood with his father in the shade of a tree throughout the heat of the day, and when it was time to go home in the evening, and all the others were carrying heavy loads, some of firewood, and others of food, Eba only carried his father’s bag, containing his snuff and horn. After the bush had been cut and burnt, and the ground prepared for the farm the Chief waited until some heavy rains had fallen, and then proceeded to distribute the yams for planting. ”

“ Now Tawn had a wife called Osegi, who was a very good-natured woman, which was lucky for the grasshopper as things turned out.
When Tawn had embraced his future son-in-law, he ordered a cow to be killed to welcome him. And when the people brought the food, they said, “Here is the stranger’s portion.” Immediately the spider said to his friend, “Did you hear that, Dabi? Your name was not mentioned, so you have no right to this food, which is all for me, ‘the stranger.’” But the grasshopper kept quiet and never said a word to anyone, although he was very hungry. ”

“ There is a firm belief amongst all the natives in the Ikom district that the slaves who are killed and buried with their master will meet him again in the Spirit Land, where the conditions of life will be the same as they were on earth. The master will recognise his slaves and they will work for him. They also believe that, when a chief arrives in the Spirit Land, accompanied by these slaves, carrying the gin cloth, rods, etc., which were placed in the grave, the people of the Spirit Land-will say, “This is a chief coming. ”

“ Oghabi and Okpa both lived at Inkum. They had always been great friends since they were boys, and when they grew up they made farms in the same place and used to feed together. As they became richer they bought slaves and canoes and lived in separate houses, each man having one wife. At last Oghabi became tired of the farming work and told his friend that he was going to be a hunter. He said that by his hunting he hoped to grow richer, as he intended to go from town to town and sell the meat of the animals he killed while Okpa could be looking after the farm. ”

“ The next day one of the chief’s slaves died, and when the people were going to bury the body, the goat, observing that they wrapped it up in plaintain leaves, at once said, “In my country, when anyone dies, they are wrapped up in sleeping-mats.” ”

“ In the evening Chief Osewo sent for the leopard and told him that he was going to send his son Agberamfe to him for ten days, and that during that time he must contrive to kill him by stealth and send the boy’s skin to him so that he might be quite sure that his son was dead at last. This time Agbor had no plan, but she told Agberamfe to be very careful all the time he remained in the leopard’s house. The boy started off the next day, and when he arrived at the house he was much surprised to find that the leopard was as rich as his father. ”

“ Ogbaja got up early in the morning, and took his bow and arrows with him to hunt; then as he went along he left a trail of ashes behind him, which Nara followed, and at last came to the mango tree, where she found Ogbaja picking up the fruit.
Her son said “Why do you come here? If you had waited at home, I would have brought you some fruit.” But his mother told him that she wanted to get the fruit herself, and commenced gathering the mangoes and eating some of the ripe ones.
Ogbaja said, “I cannot take you home, as I must go out hunting to get food. ”

“ I have, however, adhered to the old expression of “dowry” as it is in general use, and is so well known on the “Coast.” When a man is asked how much “dowry” he paid for his wife, he will frequently produce his “bush book,” consisting of bundles of small sticks tied round with “tie-tie,” one bundle for each year. He will then take one stick from a bundle, and holding it up will say: “That is two calabashes of tombo I gave to the father.” ”

“ There was one thing, however, that vexed Chief Erim, and that was that Odoggha Eyu was his eldest son, and he knew that when he died Odoggha Eyu would return to Okuni, which was his mother’s birthplace. The chief therefore made up his mind that his youngest son, Oga Erim, should inherit his property, and for several years taught him how to rule the people with a strong hand and to punish them severely if they did not work, as that was the way he had become rich. ”

“ Directly Aictor, who was sitting near the chief on a palm-tree, saw Agbor, he began to call his name, and said he had broken the hunting law.
As no one could understand the bird, the chief sent to Uman compound for a woman named Iman, who was a native of Abijon, and could, therefore, speak Ingor.
When she arrived, she told the chief and the people what the bird was saying, which was “Agbor Adam! Agbor Adam! Chief Alobi passed a law that women should not eat animals killed by the men in hunting, and that the men should not eat the fish caught by the women. ”

“ Osewo of Inkum was a rich chief and had many slaves. He also had five wives, four of whom had two children each, but the fifth wife whose name was Agbor had no children. As a child did not come quickly to Agbor the chief used to beat her and use her very badly as he thought she might never have a child and then he would have paid all the dowry and marriage expenses for nothing. Agbor bore all the ill-treatment she received without complaining, and although her husband gave her no money (rods) or food, she remained faithful to him. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The rabbit said that he thought he could bring the Chief and all his people back to life again, but they must be very careful not to let the frog look at them as if he did they would surely die. They then set off together for the farm, but they went by a different path so as to come in at the back of the frog. The rabbit then began burrowing, and the cock went into the bush and cut some strong tie-tie one end of which he made fast to a tree. ”