kitchen, pretending he wanted to get a light from the fire for his
pipe. The cook being absent and no one about, he put the poison in
the soup, and then returned to the living-room. He then asked for some
tombo, which was brought, and when he had finished it, he said he did
not want any supper, and went to sleep. His brother, Eyo I., had
supper by himself and consumed all the soup. In a week's time he began
to feel very ill, and as the days passed he became worse, so he sent
for his Ju Ju man.
When Essido saw him coming, he quietly left the house; but the Ju Ju
man, by casting lots, very soon discovered that it was Essido who had
given poison to his brother. When he told Eyo I. this, he would not
believe it, and sent him away. However, when Essido returned, his
elder brother told him what the Ju Ju man had said, but that he did
not believe him for one moment, and had sent him away. Essido was much
relieved when he heard this, but as he was anxious that no suspicion
of the crime should be attached to him, he went to the Household Ju
Ju,[12] and having first sworn that he had never administered poison
to his brother, he drank out of the pot.
[Footnote 12: Every compound has a small Ju Ju in the centre, which
generally consists of a few curiously shaped stones and a small tree
on which the 'Nsiat bird frequently builds. There is sometimes a
species of cactus at the foot, an earthenware pot is supported on
sticks against the tree, and tied on with tie-tie, or native rope. In
this pot there is always a very foul-smelling liquid, with frequently
some rotten eggs floating in it. Small sacrifices are made to these Ju
Ju's of chickens, &c., and this Ju Ju is frequently appealed to. The
liquid is sometimes taken as a specific against sickness or poison. In
the dry season the author has often observed large spiders with their
webs all over these Ju Ju's, but they are never touched. There is also
frequently a roughly carved image of wood, and sometimes an old
matchet and some broken earthenware on the ground, with a brass rod or
manilla. It is generally a very dirty spot.]
Three months after he had taken the poison Eyo I. died, much to the
grief of every one who knew him, as he was much respected, not only on
account of his great wealth, but because he was also an upright and
honest man, who never did harm to any one.
Essido kept his brother's funeral according to the usual custom, and
there was much playing and dancing, which was kept up for a long time.
Then Essido paid off his old creditors in order to make himself
popular, and kept open house, entertaining most lavishly, and spending
his money in many foolish ways. All the bad women about collected at
his house, and his old evil companions went on as they had done
before.
Things got so bad that none of the respectable people would have
anything to do with him, and at last the chiefs of the country, seeing
the way Essido was squandering his late brother's estate, assembled
together, and eventually came to the conclusion that he was a witch
man, and had poisoned his brother in order to acquire his position.
The chiefs, who were all friends of the late Eyo, and who were very
sorry at the death, as they knew that if he had lived he would have
become a great and powerful chief, made up their minds to give Essido
the Ekpawor Ju Ju, which is a very strong medicine, and gets into
men's heads, so that when they have drunk it they are compelled to
speak the truth, and if they have done wrong they die very shortly.
Essido was then told to dress himself and attend the meeting at the
palaver house, and when he arrived the chiefs charged him with having
killed his brother by witchcraft. Essido denied having done so, but
the chiefs told him that if he were innocent he must prove it by
drinking the bowl of Ekpawor medicine which was placed before him. As
he could not refuse to drink, he drank the bowl off in great fear and
trembling, and very soon the Ju Ju having got hold of him, he
confessed that he had poisoned his brother, but that his friends had
advised him to do so. About two hours after drinking the Ekpawor,
Essido died in great pain.
The friends were then brought to the meeting and tied up to posts, and
questioned as to the part they had taken in the death of Eyo. As they
were too frightened to answer, the chiefs told them that they knew
from Essido that they had induced him to poison his brother. They were
then taken to the place where Eyo was buried, the grave having been
dug open, and their heads were cut off and fell into the grave, and
their bodies were thrown in after them as a sacrifice for the wrong
they had done. The grave was then filled up again.
Ever since that time, whenever any one is suspected of being a witch,
he is tried by the Ekpawor Ju Ju.
XXXVII
_Concerning the Hawk and the Owl_
In the olden days when Effiong was king of Calabar, it was customary
at that time for rulers to give big feasts, to which all the subjects
and all the birds of the air and animals of the forest, also the fish
and other things that lived in the water, were invited. All the
people, birds, animals, and fish, were under the king, and had to obey
him. His favourite messenger was the hawk, as he could travel so
quickly.
The hawk served the king faithfully for several years, and when he
wanted to retire, he asked what the king proposed to do for him, as
very soon he would be too old to work any more. So the king told the
hawk to bring any living creature, bird or animal, to him, and he
would allow the hawk for the future to live on that particular species
without any trouble. The hawk then flew over a lot of country, and
went from forest to forest, until at last he found a young owl which
had tumbled out of its nest. This the hawk brought to the king, who
told him that for the future he might eat owls. The hawk then carried
the owlet away, and told his friends what the king had said.
One of the wisest of them said, "Tell me when you seized the young
owlet, what did the parents say?" And the hawk replied that the father
and mother owls kept quite quiet, and never said anything. The hawk's
friend then advised him to return the owlet to his parents, as he
could never tell what the owls would do to him in the night-time, and
as they had made no noise, they were no doubt plotting in their minds
some deep and cruel revenge.
The next day the hawk carried the owlet back to his parents and left
him near the nest. He then flew about, trying to find some other bird
which would do as his food; but as all the birds had heard that the
hawk had seized the owlet, they hid themselves, and would not come out
when the hawk was near. He therefore could not catch any birds.
As he was flying home he saw a lot of fowls near a house, basking in
the sun and scratching in the dust. There were also several small
chickens running about and chasing insects, or picking up anything
they could find to eat, with the old hen following them and clucking
and calling to them from time to time. When the hawk saw the chickens,
he made up his mind that he would take one, so he swooped down and
caught the smallest in his strong claws. Immediately he had seized the
chicken the cocks began to make a great noise, and the hen ran after
him and tried to make him drop her child, calling loudly, with her
feathers fluffed out and making dashes at him. But he carried it off,
and all the fowls and chickens at once ran screaming into the houses,
some taking shelter under bushes and others trying to hide themselves
in the long grass. He then carried the chicken to the king, telling
him that he had returned the owlet to his parents, as he did not want
him for food; so the king told the hawk that for the future he could
always feed on chickens.
The hawk then took the chicken home, and his friend who dropped in to
see him, asked him what the parents of the chicken had done when they
saw their child taken away; so the hawk said--
"They all made a lot of noise, and the old hen chased me, but although
there was a great disturbance amongst the fowls, nothing happened."
His friend then said as the fowls had made much palaver, he was quite
safe to kill and eat the chickens, as the people who made plenty of
noise in the daytime would go to sleep at night and not disturb him,
or do him any injury; the only people to be afraid of were those who
when they were injured, kept quite silent; you might be certain then
that they were plotting mischief, and would do harm in the
night-time.
XXXVIII
_The Story of the Drummer and the Alligators_
There was once a woman named Affiong Any who lived at 'Nsidung, a
small town to the south of Calabar. She was married to a chief of
Hensham Town called Etim Ekeng. They had lived together for several
years, but had no children. The chief was very anxious to have a child
during his lifetime, and made sacrifices to his Ju Ju, but they had no
effect. So he went to a witch man, who told him that the reason he had
no children was that he was too rich. The chief then asked the witch
man how he should spend his money in order to get a child, and he was
told to make friends with everybody, and give big feasts, so that he
should get rid of some of his money and become poorer.
The chief then went home and told his wife. The next day his wife
called all her company together and gave them a big dinner, which cost
a lot of money; much food was consumed, and large quantities of tombo
were drunk. Then the chief entertained his company, which cost a lot
more money. He also wasted a lot of money in the Egbo house. When half
of his property was wasted, his wife told him that she had conceived.
The chief, being very glad, called a big play for the next day.
In those days all the rich chiefs of the country belonged to the
Alligator Company, and used to meet in the water. The reason they
belonged to the company was, first of all, to protect their canoes
when they went trading, and secondly, to destroy the canoes and
property of the people who did not belong to their company, and to
take their money and kill their slaves.
Chief Etim Ekeng was a kind man, and would not join this society,
although he was repeatedly urged to do so. After a time a son was born
to the chief, and he called him Edet Etim. The chief then called the
Egbo society together, and all the doors of the houses in the town
were shut, the markets were stopped, and the women were not allowed to
go outside their houses while the Egbo was playing. This was kept up
for several days, and cost the chief a lot of money. Then he made up
his mind that he would divide his property, and give his son half when
he became old enough. Unfortunately after three months the chief died,
leaving his sorrowing wife to look after their little child.
The wife then went into mourning for seven years for her husband, and
after that time she became entitled to all his property, as the late
chief had no brothers. She looked after the little boy very carefully
until he grew up, when he became a very fine, healthy young man, and
was much admired by all the pretty girls of the town; but his mother
warned him strongly not to go with them, because they would make him
become a bad man. Whenever the girls had a play they used to invite
Edet Etim, and at last he went to the play, and they made him beat
the drum for them to dance to. After much practice he became the best
drummer in the town, and whenever the girls had a play they always
called him to drum for them. Plenty of the young girls left their
husbands, and went to Edet and asked him to marry them. This made all
the young men of the town very jealous, and when they met together at
night they considered what would be the best way to kill him. At last
they decided that when Edet went to bathe they would induce the
alligators to take him. So one night, when he was washing, one
alligator seized him by the foot, and others came and seized him round
the waist. He fought very hard, but at last they dragged him into the
deep water, and took him to their home.
When his mother heard this, she determined to do her best to recover
her son, so she kept quite quiet until the morning.
When the young men saw that Edet's mother remained quiet, and did not
cry, they thought of the story of the hawk and the owl, and determined
to keep Edet alive for a few months.
At cockcrow the mother raised a cry, and went to the grave of her dead
husband in order to consult his spirit as to what she had better do to
recover her lost son. After a time she went down to the beach with
small young green branches in her hands, with which she beat the
water, and called upon all the Ju Jus of the Calabar River to help her
to recover her son. She then went home and got a load of rods, and
took them to a Ju Ju man in the farm. His name was Ininen Okon; he was
so called because he was very artful, and had plenty of strong Ju
Jus.
When the young boys heard that Edet's mother had gone to Ininen Okon,
they all trembled with fear, and wanted to return Edet, but they could
not do so, as it was against the rules of their society. The Ju Ju man
having discovered that Edet was still alive, and was being detained in
the alligators' house, told the mother to be patient. After three days
Ininen himself joined another alligators' society, and went to inspect
the young alligators' house. He found a young man whom he knew, left
on guard when all the alligators had gone to feed at the ebb of the
tide, and came back and told the mother to wait, as he would make a Ju
Ju which would cause them all to depart in seven days, and leave no
one in the house. He made his Ju Ju, and the young alligators said
that, as no one had come for Edet, they would all go at the ebb tide
to feed, and leave no one in charge of the house. When they returned
they found Edet still there, and everything as they had left it, as
Ininen had not gone that day.
Three days afterwards they all went away again, and this time went a
long way off, and did not return quickly. When Ininen saw that the
tide was going down he changed himself into an alligator, and swam to
the young alligators' home, where he found Edet chained to a post. He
then found an axe and cut the post, releasing the boy. But Edet,
having been in the water so long, was deaf and dumb. He then found
several loin cloths which had been left behind by the young
alligators, so he gathered them together and took them away to show to
the king, and Ininen left the place, taking Edet with him.
He then called the mother to see her son, but when she came the boy
could only look at her, and could not speak. The mother embraced her
boy, but he took no notice, as he did not seem capable of
understanding anything, but sat down quietly. Then the Ju Ju man told
Edet's mother that he would cure her son in a few days, so he made
several Ju Jus, and gave her son medicine, and after a time the boy
recovered his speech and became sensible again.
Then Edet's mother put on a mourning cloth, and pretended that her son
was dead, and did not tell the people he had come back to her. When
the young alligators returned, they found that Edet was gone, and that
some one had taken their loin cloths. They were therefore much afraid,
and made inquiries if Edet had been seen, but they could hear nothing
about him, as he was hidden in a farm, and the mother continued to
wear her mourning cloth in order to deceive them.
Nothing happened for six months, and they had quite forgotten all
about the matter. Affiong, the mother, then went to the chiefs of the
town, and asked them to hold a large meeting of all the people, both
young and old, at the palaver house, so that her late husband's
property might be divided up in accordance with the native custom, as
her son had been killed by the alligators.
The next day the chiefs called all the people together, but the mother
in the early morning took her son to a small room at the back of the
palaver house, and left him there with the seven loin cloths which the
Ju Ju man had taken from the alligators' home. When the chiefs and
all the people were seated, Affiong stood up and addressed them,
saying--
"Chiefs and young men of my town, eight years ago my husband was a
fine young man. He married me, and we lived together for many years
without having any children. At last I had a son, but my husband died
a few months afterwards. I brought my boy up carefully, but as he was
a good drummer and dancer the young men were jealous, and had him
caught by the alligators. Is there any one present who can tell me
what my son would have become if he had lived?" She then asked them
what they thought of the alligator society, which had killed so many
young men.
The chiefs, who had lost a lot of slaves, told her that if she could
produce evidence against any members of the society they would destroy
it at once. She then called upon Ininen to appear with her son Edet.
He came out from the room leading Edet by the hand, and placed the
bundle of loin cloths before the chiefs.
The young men were very much surprised when they saw Edet, and wanted
to leave the palaver house; but when they stood up to go the chiefs
told them to sit down at once, or they would receive three hundred
lashes. They then sat down, and the Ju Ju man explained how he had
gone to the alligators' home, and had brought Edet back to his mother.
He also said that he had found the seven loin cloths in the house, but
he did not wish to say anything about them, as the owners of some of
the cloths were sons of the chiefs.
The chiefs, who were anxious to stop the bad society, told him,
however, to speak at once and tell them everything. Then he undid the
bundle and took the cloths out one by one, at the same time calling
upon the owners to come and take them. When they came to take their
cloths, they were told to remain where they were; and they were then
told to name their company. The seven young men then gave the names of
all the members of their society, thirty-two in all. These men were
all placed in a line, and the chiefs then passed sentence, which was
that they should all be killed the next morning on the beach. So they
were then all tied together to posts, and seven men were placed as a
guard over them. They made fires and beat drums all the night.
Early in the morning, at about 4 A.M., the big wooden drum was placed
on the roof of the palaver house, and beaten to celebrate the death of
the evildoers, which was the custom in those days.
The boys were then unfastened from the posts, and had their hands tied
behind their backs, and were marched down to the beach. When they
arrived there, the head chief stood up and addressed the people. "This
is a small town of which I am chief, and I am determined to stop this
bad custom, as so many men have been killed." He then told a man who
had a sharp matchet to cut off one man's head. He then told another
man who had a sharp knife to skin another young man alive. A third man
who had a heavy stick was ordered to beat another to death, and so the
chief went on and killed all the thirty-two young men in the most
horrible ways he could think of. Some of them were tied to posts in
the river, and left there until the tide came up and drowned them.
Others were flogged to death.
After they had all been killed, for many years no one was killed by
alligators, but some little time afterwards on the road between the
beach and the town the land fell in, making a very large and deep
hole, which was said to be the home of the alligators, and the people
have ever since tried to fill it up, but have never yet been able to
do so.
XXXIX
_The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird_
A long time ago, in the days of King Adam of Calabar, the king wanted
to know if there was any animal or bird which was capable of enduring
hunger for a long period. When he found one the king said he would
make him a chief of his tribe.
The 'Nsasak bird is very small, having a shining breast of green and
red; he also has blue and yellow feathers and red round the neck, and
his chief food consists of ripe palm nuts. The Odudu bird, on the
other hand, is much larger, about the size of a magpie, with plenty of
feathers, but a very thin body; he has a long tail, and his colouring
is black and brown with a cream-coloured breast. He lives chiefly on
grasshoppers, and is also very fond of crickets, which make a noise at
night.
Both the 'Nsasak bird and the Odudu were great friends, and used to
live together. They both made up their minds that they would go before
the king and try to be made chiefs, but the Odudu bird was quite
confident that he would win, as he was so much bigger than the 'Nsasak
bird. He therefore offered to starve for seven days.
The king then told them both to build houses which he would inspect,
and then he would have them fastened up, and the one who could remain
the longest without eating would be made the chief.
They both then built their houses, but the 'Nsasak bird, who was very
cunning, thought that he could not possibly live for seven days
without eating anything. He therefore made a tiny hole in the wall
(being very small himself), which he covered up so that the king would
not notice it on his inspection. The king then came and looked
carefully over both houses, but failed to detect the little hole in
the 'Nsasak bird's house, as it had been hidden so carefully. He
therefore declared that both houses were safe, and then ordered the
two birds to go inside their respective houses, and the doors were
carefully fastened on the outside.
Every morning at dawn the 'Nsasak bird used to escape through the
small opening he had left high up in the wall, and fly away a long
distance and enjoy himself all day, taking care, however, that none of
the people on the farms should see him. Then when the sun went down he
would fly back to his little house and creep through the hole in the
wall, closing it carefully after him. When he was safely inside he
would call out to his friend the Odudu and ask him if he felt hungry,
and told him that he must bear it well if he wanted to win, as he, the
'Nsasak bird, was very fit, and could go on for a long time.
For several days this went on, the voice of the Odudu bird growing
weaker and weaker every night, until at last he could no longer reply.
Then the little bird knew that his friend must be dead. He was very
sorry, but could not report the matter, as he was supposed to be
confined inside his house.
When the seven days had expired the king came and had both the doors
of the houses opened. The 'Nsasak bird at once flew out, and, perching
on a branch of a tree which grew near, sang most merrily; but the
Odudu bird was found to be quite dead, and there was very little left
of him, as the ants had eaten most of his body, leaving only the
feathers and bones on the floor.
The king therefore at once appointed the 'Nsasak bird to be the head
chief of all the small birds, and in the Ibibio country even to the
present time the small boys who have bows and arrows are presented
with a prize, which sometimes takes the shape of a female goat, if
they manage to shoot a 'Nsasak bird, as the 'Nsasak bird is the king
of the small birds, and most difficult to shoot on account of his
wiliness and his small size.
XL
_The Election of the King Bird (the black-and-white Fishing Eagle)_
Old Town, Calabar, once had a king called Essiya, who, like most of
the Calabar kings in the olden days, was rich and powerful; but
although he was so wealthy, he did not possess many slaves. He
therefore used to call upon the animals and birds to help his people
with their work. In order to get the work done quickly and well, he
determined to appoint head chiefs of all the different species. The
elephant he appointed king of the beasts of the forest, and the
hippopotamus king of the water animals, until at last it came to the
turn of the birds to have their king elected.
Essiya thought for some time which would be the best way to make a
good choice, but could not make up his mind, as there were so many
different birds who all considered they had claims. There was the hawk
with his swift flight, and of hawks there were several species. There
were the herons to be considered, and the big spur-winged geese, the
hornbill or toucan tribe, and the game birds, such as guinea-fowl, the
partridge, and the bustards. Then again, of course, there were all the
big crane tribe, who walked about the sandbanks in the dry season,
but who disappeared when the river rose, and the big black-and-white
fishing eagles. When the king thought of the plover tribe, the
sea-birds, including the pelicans, the doves, and the numerous shy
birds who live in the forest, all of whom sent in claims, he got so
confused, that he decided to have a trial by ordeal of combat, and
sent word round the whole country for all the birds to meet the next
day and fight it out between themselves, and that the winner should be
known as the king bird ever afterwards.