I.--HOW AN INKUM WOMAN ABANDONED ONE OF HER TWINS IN THE FOREST, AND
HOW IT WAS SAVED BY THE HAWK.
Awu was a native woman of Inkum, a town on the right bank of the Cross
River, consisting of five compounds separate one from another by about
half a mile of bush. Awu was a fine girl, but preferred to enjoy
herself as she liked rather than to get married, which would mean too
hard work. She used to walk from one town to another, and attend all
the dances and plays, as she was a good singer and dancer. She always
wore a cloth of the latest pattern, and a silk handkerchief round her
head, with plenty of hairs from the elephant’s tail round her neck,
and strings of beads round her waist. She also wore a piece of black
braid tied round each ankle, and some rings on her fingers. These are
the signs of a girl who is popular with young men. Awu had men friends
in every town she visited, but she never stayed long with any of them,
being what is called a “walking woman.”
At last she conceived, and when she was about eight months gone with
child she happened one day to go into the forest to gather firewood
to cook her morning food. While she was thus engaged a branch fell
from a tree and hit her on the belly, this immediately brought on her
confinement, and she gave birth to twins in the forest. The first born
was a girl, to whom she gave the name of Aro, and the second was a boy,
whom she named Agbor. When Awu found that she had given birth to twins
she was very much ashamed of herself, and was afraid to take both the
babies back to the town as they would be killed by the people, and she
would be turned out of the town and left to starve in the bush. She
therefore decided to take the first-born child Aro back with her, but
Agbor she left on the ground underneath a tree.
Very soon after Awu had departed, the driver ants discovered Agbor
and quickly covered him, commencing to eat him. The bites of the
driver ants made the child cry. All this time a hawk had been circling
around, high up in the air, searching for food, and when he saw Awu
had deserted her baby he swooped down and carried the infant off with
him to the top of a high tree. The hawk, seeing what a fine child
Agbor was, thought he would try to save his life, and immediately set
about removing the ants from Agbor’s body. He lit a fire and boiled
some water, with which he washed the child, and the ants very quickly
disappeared.
The hawk looked after Agbor until he grew up. One day Awu sent her
daughter Aro to get her some fire, and Aro, after wandering about,
eventually found herself at the hawk’s house, where she saw Agbor
sitting down.
Aro was so taken with Agbor’s good looks that she continued to stare at
him without speaking, until at last Agbor said, “Why do you look at me
like that?” but Aro did not reply, and picked up some fire, continuing
to stare at Agbor. Then he repeated his question, and added, “Do I
resemble either your father or your mother? If so, let the fire you are
holding go out,” and the fire went out at once. Aro then took up some
more fire, and Agbor put the same question to her again, and the fire
Aro was holding went out a second time. This was done three times, each
time with the same result. Then Aro ran home to her mother and reported
what she had seen, and said what a fine boy Agbor was.
When Awu, the mother, heard about the fire, she knew at once that Agbor
must be her son whom she had deserted and left to die in the forest.
She therefore made up her mind that she would go and see him. The
following morning, therefore, she rose at first cock crow and went to
the hawk’s house, where she found Agbor and took a great fancy to him.
Awu wanted to get Agbor away from the hawk and keep him for herself,
but did not quite see how it could be done.
At last she thought of the porcupine, who was well known throughout the
country as a clever and resourceful person, and went to him and told
her story.
Now, the porcupine was a lot caster, and when he had cast lots he
decided that the best thing that Awu could do was to go to a house and
lie down, pretending to be dead. The porcupine told her that, if she
did this, directly the hawk heard that she was dead he would send Agbor
to his dead mother’s side to mourn for her. Then Awu would be able to
seize him. The mother having paid the porcupine for his advice went
away, and did what she had been told to do. When the hawk heard that
Awu was dead he told Agbor that the next day he should go and cry at
his mother’s side, so, when the morning came, the hawk dressed Agbor up
and he started off to cry.
When he arrived at the house Agbor wanted to sit at the head of his
mother, but the people who had assembled would not allow this, and
told him to sit at Awu’s feet, which Agbor did. Directly he sat down,
his mother jumped up and seized him, and said she would not let him go
again.
Very soon afterwards, the hawk arrived on the scene to take Agbor away,
but his mother would not part with him. Then the hawk became angry, and
addressed the people, as follows:--
“Here is a ‘walking woman’ who, several years ago, gave birth to twins
in the forest, and, being naturally ashamed of herself, deserted her
baby boy, and left him on the ground to be eaten by the driver ants. I
saved the boy’s life and have brought him up and fed him. I now demand
that he shall be returned to me at once.”
When the people heard, this, they said to the hawk: “If you will let
Awu have her son back we will give you a slave in his place,” but the
hawk refused this offer indignantly.
Then they offered him cows, sheep, goats, and pigs, all of which the
hawk refused with scorn.
The people then suggested giving some cocks and hens to the hawk, to
which he replied that, although he would not accept them for Agbor,
they were getting nearer to what he possibly might accept.
At last the people offered him a large basket of eggs, whereupon the
hawk immediately closed the bargain, handed over Agbor to his mother,
and flew away with the basket of eggs in his claws.
The next morning early the hawk started off with his basket of eggs,
and left one egg in every house all round the country, until all the
eggs in the basket were exhausted. He then returned home in the evening
with the empty basket.
After a few months had elapsed, the hawk said to himself: “The time has
now come for me to take my revenge upon the people for taking my boy
Agbor from me.”
So he flew from town to town, taking chickens from every compound.
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.
This story was related by a native of Inkum called Abassi.--[E.D.,
25.5.10.]