XXVII.--HOW A CRUEL INKUM CHIEF WAS POISONED BY HIS SLAVES, AND HOW HIS
SON HANGED HIMSELF ON ACCOUNT OF THE EXPENSES OF HIS BROTHER’S FUNERAL.
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. If any of them failed to do so, he tied them up to a tree
and they were given fifty lashes on the back with a heavy whip made of
twisted skin. They were also made to pay the value of the number of
balls of camwood which they had failed to make. This meant that all the
women slaves had to work very hard indeed, and they could get no help
from their husbands in any way, as at first cock-crow all the men were
sent off to the farm to work, and were not allowed to return until the
evening. Very frequently the men slaves were severely flogged by order
of the chief, if he were not satisfied with the amount of work done
on the farm, or if they annoyed him in any way. In consequence of his
cruel treatment of them, all his slaves hated Chief Erim, and although
they were much in fear of their master they often planned to kill him.
Now Chief Erim had only two wives; one was an Okuni woman, by whom he
had a son called Odoggha Eyu, and the other was a native of Inkum,
whose son’s name was Oga Erim. The chief was very fond of both his
sons, and never allowed them to do any work on the farm. He gave them
plenty of food and good cloths, and they grew into strong young men.
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.
When the two sons had grown up, the slaves made a plan to kill Chief
Erim, whom they hated so much. The head slave waited until the day came
for the women to bring their camwood to be counted, and then told his
wife to keep back three balls of camwood, so that if the chief flogged
her, he would be able to give a good reason to the other slaves why
they should kill their master. When all the women slaves had brought
their camwood, the chief told the head slave to count the cakes as
usual. He did so, and told Chief Erim that his wife had only brought
nine cakes of camwood instead of twelve, as she had been very busy in
the house and had had a lot of other work to do. The head slave also
said that ever since he had been married his wife had always brought
the right number of cakes, and as this was the first time she had
failed to do so he begged the chief not to punish her. But Chief Erim
was angry, and said that the head slave’s wife ought to know better and
should set a good example to the other slaves. He then had her tied up
to a tree, and she was given fifty lashes, the blood running down her
back on to the ground, the woman becoming unconscious from the pain.
She was then released and water having been thrown over her she was
carried to her house, where she was placed on the sleeping-mat.
The next day the woman was made to pay for the three missing cakes of
camwood, and the chief told the other women slaves that the punishment
the woman had received should be a warning to them and make them work
harder.
The head slave washed the wounds on his wife’s back, and put some
mashed-up leaves on the sore places to stop the bleeding and heal the
cuts. When he saw what a terrible flogging his wife had received, his
heart was full of rage against Chief Erim, so that very night he went
to every slave, and they all agreed to kill their master. The head
slave then went to a clever poisoner who lived not far away, and bought
two powerful ju-jus; one would give the person against whom the ju-ju
was made the “dry cough” (consumption), and the other would give him
paralysis. He then hid the ju-jus, as they had decided to wait some
time after the woman had been flogged before they gave the poison to
the chief, so that no suspicion should be attached to them of having
poisoned their master. All the slaves went about their work as usual
until the time arrived for the new yams to be dug, at which season it
was customary for the people to give presents to their chiefs. The head
slave then went into the bush and made a calabash of strong tombo. He
then called Chief Erim’s name, and having put the two ju-jus into the
tombo, told the ju-ju to kill Chief Erim and not to harm anyone else.
Having bought twenty-five yams and one cock, he took them, together
with the calabash of tombo, and gave them to Chief Erim as his present.
The chief thanked him for his dash, and told his small boy to pour out
the tombo. The first glass was given to the head slave, who had brought
the tombo, and he threw it on the ground, asking Ossorwor (God) to
bless Chief Erim with plenty of wealth and long life. The “pourer-out”
drank the second glass, and Chief Erim drank the next, the tombo was
then passed round until it was finished, but the head slave poured the
last glass, which had the remains of the poison in it, on the ground in
front of the ju-ju, which was in the middle of the compound; this he
did when the Chief Erim’s back was turned so that he could not see.
About a month afterwards the ju-ju began to work, and Chief Erim felt
sick; he coughed all day, and one side became useless so that he could
not walk. He wanted to go to the ju-ju man to ask him what was the
cause of his sickness, but being unable to move about he sent for his
head slave and told him to go to the ju-ju man and tell him to come to
his house so that he could consult him.
When the head slave came, he said to Chief Erim, “I have been your
slave ever since I was a small boy. Surely you can trust me. Let me
go and consult the ju-ju man on your behalf, and he will tell me what
you should do in order to get well again. You have only to give me
your loin-cloth, and then when he has seen it he will know what is the
matter with you after he has cast lots.”
Chief Erim agreed to this, and told his head slave to take two boxes of
rods and some fowls as a present to the ju-ju man. The head slave kept
the fowls and rods for himself, and did not go near the ju-ju man, but
the next day he went to his master and said that he had consulted the
ju-ju man, who had said that the chief’s life was in danger, and that
he had been poisoned by his Okuni wife, who wanted her son to inherit
her husband’s property. If Chief Erim wanted to get better, he should
at once send the wife and her son to Okuni, as they were both witches,
and that in three months’ time he would be quite well again. The ju-ju
man also said that if it had not been for the small ju-ju in the middle
of Chief Erim’s compound, who had been fighting the witches for him,
he would have been dead long before. The chief should therefore make a
sacrifice of a white cock and a goat to the ju-ju for his help.
Chief Erim then told his wife to go back to Okuni and take her son with
her. He also told the head slave to sacrifice the white cock and the
goat to the ju-ju. This was done, but instead of getting better, chief
Erim died in less than a month, and his son Oga Erim inherited his
father’s property.
When the chiefs of Inkum heard of the disease which Chief Erim had died
from, they made an order that the body should be buried in a deep grave
in the bush, that the funeral should not be kept as usual, and that no
one was to mourn for the dead chief, as the sickness he had died from
was a very dangerous one, and if anyone cried for him they would get
the disease. The chief’s body was therefore buried without any of the
customary funeral rites, which saved Oga Erim a large amount of money.
It did not take the slaves long to realize that they were very little
better off for the death of their late master, as Oga Erim carried
on much in the same way as his father had. 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.
One day when he was vexed with a slave, he tied him up to a tree and
led the driver ants to him, so that he died in great agony. After a
time things became so bad that the slaves decided that they must kill
Oga Erim, but they did not like to do so at once, as they thought that
the Inkum people might suspect them, in which case they would be
tortured in many different ways, so they resolved to wait two years
before they revenged themselves upon their cruel master.
As the time went on Oga Erim became harder on his people, and some of
the slaves were flogged and tortured almost every day; he seemed to
take great delight in their sufferings, and spent much time in devising
new forms of torture.
When Chief Erim had been dead two years, the head slave called all
the other slaves together, and said that the time had arrived when
Oga Erim must die, as he did not think that they would be suspected
if they were careful. The slaves then discussed the best way to kill
Oga Erim. One of them said, “Let us make him blind in both eyes,” but
the others would not agree, and said he should be killed at once, as
if he were only blind he would know what was going on and would still
be able to punish them. At last it was decided to poison Oga Erim, so
the slaves brought a very strong poison made from the horns of a ram
and some of the hair from the mane cut into small pieces. They then
called Oga Erim’s name and told the ju-ju to kill him and not to harm
anyone else. The poison was then placed in Oga Erim’s food and a few
hours after he had eaten it he began to vomit and spit blood; so when
the sun was going down he called for the head slave and asked him to
get him some medicine to cure him. The slave advised his master to
leave the compound and go to his farm-house until he got well, as he
thought that someone must have put a ju-ju in the ground where he was
lying, which caused him to be sick. As Oga Erim was unable to walk,
the head slave ordered four slaves to carry their master to his farm.
In the middle of the night Oga Erim died in great pain, and one of the
slaves at once ran off and told the head slave what had happened. He
told all the slaves to be quiet and not to tell anyone until he gave
them permission, as the head slave knew that directly Odoggha Eyu
heard of his brother’s death he would at once come to Inkum to keep
the funeral and take all the goods which were formerly his father’s.
The head slave then went to the body of Oga Erim and got the keys of
the houses where all the rods and other valuables were kept. When he
got back to the town, he opened the store where all the rods were, and
having called all the slaves together, he divided the rods amongst
them all, and then locked the door again. He then went to the house
where Oga Erim kept his walking-sticks, brass pans, pots and other
expensive articles, and having opened the door, divided these things
up and locked the door. After this the head slave divided up the cows,
goats, sheep, pigs and fowls between them all, but he left five cows in
the compound so that the funeral might be properly kept. He then told
some of the slaves to carry their master’s body to the town, but before
this was done he warned all the slaves to be very careful not to keep
any of their dead master’s property in their own houses, as they might
be accused of stealing, so he advised them all to send their things
to their different friends’ houses where they could be kept for them
without anyone knowing. A messenger was then sent to Odoggha Eyu to
tell him that his brother was dead. The chiefs were also informed, and
many people came to mourn, the women throwing themselves on the ground
weeping.
When Odoggha Eyu heard that his brother Oga was dead, he called his
company together to go with him to Inkum, and remembering how wealthy
his father had been, he hired many slaves to carry the property back to
Okuni. He also borrowed a large number of rods to provide a big feast
at the funeral and to give his friends and the slaves he brought with
him plenty to eat and drink.
When Odoggha Eyu arrived at Inkum, he asked the head slave to hand the
keys of his brother’s house to him, so that he could satisfy himself
that everything was in order. But the head slave told him that it was
the custom for him to bury the dead body first, and that after the
feast the keys would be handed over; he also added that everything in
the house was as his brother Oga had left it, and that all the doors
were locked. Odaggha Eyu then bought five slaves, promising to pay
for them after the funeral; these slaves he killed and placed in the
grave with his brother. The five cows which remained in the compound
were also killed, and their heads were put in the grave. The bodies
of the cows were given to the people to eat. Many men and women came
to the funeral, as it was known that Oga Erim was rich, and Odoggha
Eyu provided food and drink for them all, and the feasting, dancing
and singing was continued for five days and nights. The grave was then
filled in and beaten down, and the outside was polished. The head slave
then handed the keys to Odoggha Eyu, who went first of all to the house
where his father always kept his rods; when he opened the door and went
inside there were no rods to be seen. Odoggha Eyu stood there silent
for some time, wondering what had become of all his father’s wealth and
how he could manage to pay all the debts he had incurred on account of
the funeral expenses. At last he asked the head slave what had become
of all the rods which his father formerly possessed, and whether his
brother had spent them all. The slave replied that he had received
nothing himself, but suggested that the spirit of his late father had
taken all the rods away.
After this Odoggha Eyu sent to the house where the brass pans, jugs,
plates and other valuables used to be kept, and opened the door, only
to find that it was as empty as the other house. Then he threw the keys
down on the ground in despair and went away. He told his company what
had happened, and advised them to go home at once, as he was unable to
provide any more food and drink for them. Then the owners of the five
slaves who had been killed went to him and demanded payment, and the
other people to whom he owed money worried him all day, until at last
he resolved to kill himself rather than go home in shame and debt.
Odoggha Eyu then asked where his father was buried, and when he was
shown the place he went back to the house and sat down, waiting until
it became dark. That night he got a rope and hanged himself on the
branch of a tree overhanging his father’s grave. His debtors, who were
looking everywhere for him, could not find him, and thought he must
have run away, but two days later his dead body was discovered hanging
to the tree.
Ever since that time it has been a custom, whenever a person is absent
when a sick relative dies and wishes to bury him, he first of all finds
out how much property there is before he buys things for the funeral,
so as to be quite certain that there will be enough to pay for all the
expenses of the burial. If a man was poor, very few people would attend
the funeral, but if he were rich many people would come. Hence the
saying, “A small ju-ju has a small sacrifice, and a big ju-ju has a big
sacrifice.”