family. Then you took my palm nut and gave it to your child. I shall
tell the whole matter to the king, and see what he has to say when he
hears that one of his wives has stolen my food," for this, as every
one knows, is a very serious crime according to native custom.
Ikwor Edem then said to the tortoise--
"I saw your palm nut lying on the ground, and thinking it had fallen
from the tree, I gave it to my little girl to eat, but I did not steal
it. My husband the king is a rich man, and if you have any complaint
to make against me or my child, I will take you before him."
So when she had finished washing her daughter at the spring she took
the tortoise to her husband, and told him what had taken place. The
king then asked the tortoise what he would accept as compensation for
the loss of his palm nut, and offered him money, cloth, kernels or
palm-oil, all of which things the tortoise refused one after the
other.
The king then said to the tortoise, "What will you take? You may have
anything you like."
And the tortoise immediately pointed to the king's drum, and said that
it was the only thing he wanted.
In order to get rid of the tortoise the king said, "Very well, take
the drum," but he never told the tortoise about the bad things that
would happen to him if he stept over a fallen tree, or walked over a
stick on the road.
The tortoise was very glad at this, and carried the drum home in
triumph to his wife, and said, "I am now a rich man, and shall do no
more work. Whenever I want food, all I have to do is to beat this
drum, and food will immediately be brought to me, and plenty to
drink."
His wife and children were very pleased when they heard this, and
asked the tortoise to get food at once, as they were all hungry. This
the tortoise was only too pleased to do, as he wished to show off his
newly acquired wealth, and was also rather hungry himself, so he beat
the drum in the same way as he had seen the king do when he wanted
something to eat, and immediately plenty of food appeared, so they all
sat down and made a great feast. The tortoise did this for three days,
and everything went well; all his children got fat, and had as much as
they could possibly eat. He was therefore very proud of his drum, and
in order to display his riches he sent invitations to the king and all
the people and animals to come to a feast. When the people received
their invitations they laughed, as they knew the tortoise was very
poor, so very few attended the feast; but the king, knowing about the
drum, came, and when the tortoise beat the drum, the food was brought
as usual in great profusion, and all the people sat down and enjoyed
their meal very much. They were much astonished that the poor tortoise
should be able to entertain so many people, and told all their friends
what fine dishes had been placed before them, and that they had never
had a better dinner. The people who had not gone were very sorry when
they heard this, as a good feast, at somebody else's expense, is not
provided every day. After the feast all the people looked upon the
tortoise as one of the richest men in the kingdom, and he was very
much respected in consequence. No one, except the king, could
understand how the poor tortoise could suddenly entertain so
lavishly, but they all made up their minds that if the tortoise ever
gave another feast, they would not refuse again.
When the tortoise had been in possession of the drum for a few weeks
he became lazy and did no work, but went about the country boasting of
his riches, and took to drinking too much. One day after he had been
drinking a lot of palm wine at a distant farm, he started home
carrying his drum; but having had too much to drink, he did not notice
a stick in the path. He walked over the stick, and of course the Ju Ju
was broken at once. But he did not know this, as nothing happened at
the time, and eventually he arrived at his house very tired, and still
not very well from having drunk too much. He threw the drum into a
corner and went to sleep. When he woke up in the morning the tortoise
began to feel hungry, and as his wife and children were calling out
for food, he beat the drum; but instead of food being brought, the
house was filled with Egbo men, who beat the tortoise, his wife and
children, badly. At this the tortoise was very angry, and said to
himself--
"I asked every one to a feast, but only a few came, and they had
plenty to eat and drink. Now, when I want food for myself and my
family, the Egbos come and beat me. Well, I will let the other people
share the same fate, as I do not see why I and my family should be
beaten when I have given a feast to all people."
He therefore at once sent out invitations to all the men and animals
to come to a big dinner the next day at three o'clock in the
afternoon.
When the time arrived many people came, as they did not wish to lose
the chance of a free meal a second time. Even the sick men, the lame,
and the blind got their friends to lead them to the feast. When they
had all arrived, with the exception of the king and his wives, who
sent excuses, the tortoise beat his drum as usual, and then quickly
hid himself under a bench, where he could not be seen. His wife and
children he had sent away before the feast, as he knew what would
surely happen. Directly he had beaten the drum three hundred Egbo men
appeared with whips, and started flogging all the guests, who could
not escape, as the doors had been fastened. The beating went on for
two hours, and the people were so badly punished, that many of them
had to be carried home on the backs of their friends. The leopard was
the only one who escaped, as directly he saw the Egbo men arrive he
knew that things were likely to be unpleasant, so he gave a big spring
and jumped right out of the compound.
When the tortoise was satisfied with the beating the people had
received he crept to the door and opened it. The people then ran away,
and when the tortoise gave a certain tap on the drum all the Egbo men
vanished. The people who had been beaten were so angry, and made so
much palaver with the tortoise, that he made up his mind to return the
drum to the king the next day. So in the morning the tortoise went to
the king and brought the drum with him. He told the king that he was
not satisfied with the drum, and wished to exchange it for something
else; he did not mind so much what the king gave him so long as he got
full value for the drum, and he was quite willing to accept a certain
number of slaves, or a few farms, or their equivalent in cloth or
rods.
The king, however, refused to do this; but as he was rather sorry for
the tortoise, he said he would present him with a magic foo-foo tree,
which would provide the tortoise and his family with food, provided he
kept a certain condition. This the tortoise gladly consented to do.
Now this foo-foo tree only bore fruit once a year, but every day it
dropped foo-foo and soup on the ground. And the condition was, that
the owner should gather sufficient food for the day, once, and not
return again for more. The tortoise, when he had thanked the king for
his generosity, went home to his wife and told her to bring her
calabashes to the tree. She did so, and they gathered plenty of
foo-foo and soup quite sufficient for the whole family for that day,
and went back to their house very happy.
That night they all feasted and enjoyed themselves. But one of the
sons, who was very greedy, thought to himself--
"I wonder where my father gets all this good food from? I must ask
him."
So in the morning he said to his father--
"Tell me where do you get all this foo-foo and soup from?"
But his father refused to tell him, as his wife, who was a cunning
woman, said--
"If we let our children know the secret of the foo-foo tree, some day
when they are hungry, after we have got our daily supply, one of them
may go to the tree and gather more, which will break the Ju Ju."
But the envious son, being determined to get plenty of food for
himself, decided to track his father to the place where he obtained
the food. This was rather difficult to do, as the tortoise always went
out alone, and took the greatest care to prevent any one following
him. The boy, however, soon thought of a plan, and got a calabash with
a long neck and a hole in the end. He filled the calabash with wood
ashes, which he obtained from the fire, and then got a bag which his
father always carried on his back when he went out to get food. In the
bottom of the bag the boy then made a small hole, and inserted the
calabash with the neck downwards, so that when his father walked to
the foo-foo tree he would leave a small trail of wood ashes behind
him. Then when his father, having slung his bag over his back as
usual, set out to get the daily supply of food, his greedy son
followed the trail of the wood ashes, taking great care to hide
himself and not to let his father perceive that he was being followed.
At last the tortoise arrived at the tree, and placed his calabashes on
the ground and collected the food for the day, the boy watching him
from a distance. When his father had finished and went home the boy
also returned, and having had a good meal, said nothing to his
parents, but went to bed. The next morning he got some of his
brothers, and after his father had finished getting the daily supply,
they went to the tree and collected much foo-foo and soup, and so
broke the Ju Ju.
At daylight the tortoise went to the tree as usual, but he could not
find it, as during the night the whole bush had grown up, and the
foo-foo tree was hidden from sight. There was nothing to be seen but
a dense mass of prickly tie-tie palm. Then the tortoise at once knew
that some one had broken the Ju Ju, and had gathered foo-foo from the
tree twice in the same day; so he returned very sadly to his house,
and told his wife. He then called all his family together and told
them what had happened, and asked them who had done this evil thing.
They all denied having had anything to do with the tree, so the
tortoise in despair brought all his family to the place where the
foo-foo tree had been, but which was now all prickly tie-tie palm, and
said--
"My dear wife and children, I have done all that I can for you, but
you have broken my Ju Ju; you must therefore for the future live on
the tie-tie palm."
So they made their home underneath the prickly tree, and from that day
you will always find tortoises living under the prickly tie-tie palm,
as they have nowhere else to go to for food.
V
_Ituen and the King's Wife_
Ituen was a young man of Calabar. He was the only child of his
parents, and they were extremely fond of him, as he was of fine
proportions and very good to look upon. They were poor people, and
when Ituen grew up and became a man, he had very little money indeed,
in fact he had so little food, that every day it was his custom to go
to the market carrying an empty bag, into which he used to put
anything eatable he could find after the market was over.
At this time Offiong was king. He was an old man, but he had plenty of
wives. One of these women, named Attem, was quite young and very
good-looking. She did not like her old husband, but wished for a young
and handsome husband. She therefore told her servant to go round the
town and the market to try and find such a man and to bring him at
night by the side door to her house, and she herself would let him in,
and would take care that her husband did not discover him.
That day the servant went all round the town, but failed to find any
young man good-looking enough. She was just returning to report her
ill-success when, on passing through the market-place, she saw Ituen
picking up the remains of corn and other things which had been left on
the ground. She was immediately struck with his fine appearance and
strength, and saw that he was just the man to make a proper lover for
her mistress, so she went up to him, and said that the queen had sent
for him, as she was so taken with his good looks. At first Ituen was
frightened and refused to go, as he knew that if the King discovered
him he would be killed. However, after much persuasion he consented,
and agreed to go to the queen's side door when it was dark.
When night came he went with great fear and trembling, and knocked
very softly at the queen's door. The door was opened at once by the
queen herself, who was dressed in all her best clothes, and had many
necklaces, beads, and anklets on. Directly she saw Ituen she fell in
love with him at once, and praised his good looks and his shapely
limbs. She then told her servant to bring water and clothes, and after
he had had a good wash and put on a clean cloth, he rejoined the
queen. She hid him in her house all the night.
In the morning when he wished to go she would not let him, but,
although it was very dangerous, she hid him in the house, and secretly
conveyed food and clothes to him. Ituen stayed there for two weeks,
and then he said that it was time for him to go and see his mother,
but the queen persuaded him to stay another week, much against his
will.
When the time came for him to depart, the queen got together fifty
carriers with presents for Ituen's mother who, she knew, was a poor
woman. Ten slaves carried three hundred rods; the other forty carried
yams, pepper, salt, tobacco, and cloth. When all the presents arrived
Ituen's mother was very pleased and embraced her son, and noticed with
pleasure that he was looking well, and was dressed in much finer
clothes than usual; but when she heard that he had attracted the
queen's attention she was frightened, as she knew the penalty imposed
on any one who attracted the attention of one of the king's wives.
Ituen stayed for a month in his parents' house and worked on the farm;
but the queen could not be without her lover any longer, so she sent
for him to go to her at once. Ituen went again, and, as before,
arrived at night, when the queen was delighted to see him again.
In the middle of the night some of the king's servants, who had been
told the story by the slaves who had carried the presents to Ituen's
mother, came into the queen's room and surprised her there with Ituen.
They hastened to the king, and told him what they had seen. Ituen was
then made a prisoner, and the king sent out to all his people to
attend at the palaver house to hear the case tried. He also ordered
eight Egbos to attend armed with machetes. When the case was tried
Ituen was found guilty, and the king told the eight Egbo men to take
him into the bush and deal with him according to native custom. The
Egbos then took Ituen into the bush and tied him up to a tree; then
with a sharp knife they cut off his lower jaw, and carried it to the
king.
When the queen heard the fate of her lover she was very sad, and cried
for three days. This made the king angry, so he told the Egbos to
deal with his wife and her servant according to their law. They took
the queen and the servant into the bush, where Ituen was still tied up
to the tree dying and in great pain. Then, as the queen had nothing to
say in her defence, they tied her and the girl up to different trees,
and cut the queen's lower jaw off in the same way as they had her
lover's. The Egbos then put out both the eyes of the servant, and left
all three to die of starvation. The king then made an Egbo law that
for the future no one belonging to Ituen's family was to go into the
market on market day, and that no one was to pick up the rubbish in
the market. The king made an exception to the law in favour of the
vulture and the dog, who were not considered very fine people, and
would not be likely to run off with one of the king's wives, and that
is why you still find vultures and dogs doing scavenger in the
market-places even at the present time.
VI
_Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King_
Mbotu was a very famous king of Old Town, Calabar. He was frequently
at war, and was always successful, as he was a most skilful leader.
All the prisoners he took were made slaves. He therefore became very
rich, but, on the other hand, he had many enemies. The people of Itu
in particular were very angry with him and wanted to kill him, but
they were not strong enough to beat Mbotu in a pitched battle, so they
had to resort to craft. The Itu people had an old woman who was a
witch and could turn herself into whatever she pleased, and when she
offered to kill Mbotu, the people were very glad, and promised her
plenty of money and cloth if she succeeded in ridding them of their
worst enemy. The witch then turned herself into a young and pretty
girl, and having armed herself with a very sharp knife, which she
concealed in her bosom, she went to Old Town, Calabar, to seek the
king.
It happened that when she arrived there was a big play being held in
the town, and all the people from the surrounding country had come in
to dance and feast. Oyaikan, the witch, went to the play, and walked
about so that every one could see her. Directly she appeared the
people all marvelled at her beauty, and said that she was as
beautiful as the setting sun when all the sky was red. Word was
quickly brought to king Mbotu, who, it was well known, was fond of
pretty girls, and he sent for her at once, all the people agreeing
that she was quite worthy of being the king's wife. When she appeared
before him he fancied her so much, that he told her he would marry her
that very day. Oyaikan was very pleased at this, as she had never
expected to get her opportunity so quickly. She therefore prepared a
dainty meal for the king, into which she placed a strong medicine to
make the king sleep, and then went down to the river to wash.
When she had finished it was getting dark, so she went to the king's
compound, carrying her dish on her head, and was at once shown in to
the king, who embraced her affectionately. She then offered him the
food, which she said, quite truly, she had prepared with her own
hands. The king ate the whole dish, and immediately began to feel very
sleepy, as the medicine was strong and took effect quickly.
They retired to the king's chamber, and the king went to sleep at
once. About midnight, when all the town was quiet, Oyaikan drew her
knife from her bosom and cut the king's head off. She put the head in
a bag and went out very softly, shutting and barring the door behind
her. Then she walked through the town without any one observing her,
and went straight to Itu, where she placed king Mbotu's head before
her own king.
When the people heard that the witch had been successful and that
their enemy was dead, there was great rejoicing, and the king of Itu
at once made up his mind to attack Old Town, Calabar. He therefore
got his fighting men together and took them in canoes by the creeks to
Old Town, taking care that no one carried word to Calabar that he was
coming.
The morning following the murder of Mbotu his people were rather
surprised that he did not appear at his usual time, so his head wife
knocked at his door. Not receiving any answer she called the household
together, and they broke open the door. When they entered the room
they found the king lying dead on his bed covered in blood, but his
head was missing. At this a great shout went up, and the whole town
mourned. Although they missed the pretty stranger, they never
connected her in their minds with the death of their king, and were
quite unsuspicious of any danger, and were unprepared for fighting. In
the middle of the mourning, while they were all dancing, crying, and
drinking palm wine, the king of Itu with all his soldiers attacked Old
Town, taking them quite by surprise, and as their leader was dead, the
Calabar people were very soon defeated, and many killed and taken
prisoners.
MORAL.--Never marry a stranger, no matter how pretty she may be.
VII
_Why the Bat flies by Night_
A bush rat called Oyot was a great friend of Emiong, the bat; they
always fed together, but the bat was jealous of the bush rat. When the
bat cooked the food it was always very good, and the bush rat said,
"How is it that when you make the soup it is so tasty?"
The bat replied, "I always boil myself in the water, and my flesh is
so sweet, that the soup is good."
He then told the bush rat that he would show him how it was done; so
he got a pot of warm water, which he told the bush rat was boiling
water, and jumped into it, and very shortly afterwards came out again.
When the soup was brought it was as strong and good as usual, as the
bat had prepared it beforehand.
The bush rat then went home and told his wife that he was going to
make good soup like the bat's. He therefore told her to boil some
water, which she did. Then, when his wife was not looking, he jumped
into the pot, and was very soon dead.
When his wife looked into the pot and saw the dead body of her husband
boiling she was very angry, and reported the matter to the king, who
gave orders that the bat should be made a prisoner. Every one turned
out to catch the bat, but as he expected trouble he flew away into the
bush and hid himself. All day long the people tried to catch him, so
he had to change his habits, and only came out to feed when it was
dark, and that is why you never see a bat in the daytime.
VIII
_The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull_
Effiong Edem was a native of Cobham Town. He had a very fine daughter,
whose name was Afiong. All the young men in the country wanted to
marry her on account of her beauty; but she refused all offers of
marriage in spite of repeated entreaties from her parents, as she was
very vain, and said she would only marry the best-looking man in the
country, who would have to be young and strong, and capable of loving
her properly. Most of the men her parents wanted her to marry,
although they were rich, were old men and ugly, so the girl continued
to disobey her parents, at which they were very much grieved. The
skull who lived in the spirit land heard of the beauty of this Calabar
virgin, and thought he would like to possess her; so he went about
amongst his friends and borrowed different parts of the body from
them, all of the best. From one he got a good head, another lent him a
body, a third gave him strong arms, and a fourth lent him a fine pair
of legs. At last he was complete, and was a very perfect specimen of
manhood.
He then left the spirit land and went to Cobham market, where he saw
Afiong, and admired her very much.
About this time Afiong heard that a very fine man had been seen in the
market, who was better-looking than any of the natives. She therefore
went to the market at once, and directly she saw the Skull in his
borrowed beauty, she fell in love with him, and invited him to her
house. The Skull was delighted, and went home with her, and on his
arrival was introduced by the girl to her parents, and immediately
asked their consent to marry their daughter. At first they refused, as
they did not wish her to marry a stranger, but at last they agreed.
He lived with Afiong for two days in her parents' house, and then said
he wished to take his wife back to his country, which was far off. To
this the girl readily agreed, as he was such a fine man, but her
parents tried to persuade her not to go. However, being very
headstrong, she made up her mind to go, and they started off together.
After they had been gone a few days the father consulted his Ju Ju
man, who by casting lots very soon discovered that his daughter's
husband belonged to the spirit land, and that she would surely be
killed. They therefore all mourned her as dead.
After walking for several days, Afiong and the Skull crossed the
border between the spirit land and the human country. Directly they
set foot in the spirit land, first of all one man came to the Skull
and demanded his legs, then another his head, and the next his body,
and so on, until in a few minutes the skull was left by itself in all
its natural ugliness. At this the girl was very frightened, and wanted
to return home, but the skull would not allow this, and ordered her to
go with him. When they arrived at the skull's house they found his
mother, who was a very old woman quite incapable of doing any work,
who could only creep about. Afiong tried her best to help her, and
cooked her food, and brought water and firewood for the old woman. The
old creature was very grateful for these attentions, and soon became
quite fond of Afiong.