XXXIII.--HOW ESSAMA STOLE HER FATHER’S GOAT IN THE FATTING-HOUSE, AND
HER BROTHER WAS PUNISHED FOR IT.
In the olden days at Okuni, when the women were circumcised, they were
kept in the fatting-house for a long time and given plenty of food to
eat. There was a wealthy chief at that time living in Okuni, called
Okim. He had a daughter named Essama and a son called Ode. The chief
was very fond of both his children, and when Essama grew up he bought
a male goat and had it cut to make it grow bigger, so that when his
daughter was circumcised and kept in the fatting-house he would be able
to give her the goat to eat. Both the goat and Essama grew up together,
until the time arrived for the girl to be circumcised and kept in the
fatting-house. Then Chief Okim told his son Ode that he was to be his
sister’s attendant while she was kept in the house, and that he was to
look after the goat.
Essama stayed in the fatting-house for several months, until one day
several of the girls of her company came to visit her. As she had
nothing to give them to eat, she at last thought of her father’s goat,
which was being kept for her, but she dared not kill it while her
brother Ode was in the house. She therefore sent him down to the river
with a basket, and told him to fill it with water and bring it back to
her. Ode did as his sister told him and took the basket down to the
river, but he found that the water ran out of the basket almost as
quickly as it went in; he therefore remained at the water-side some
time. This gave Essama a chance to kill and cook the goat, which she
ate with her company. Essama reserved a leg, some of the soup, and a
yam, which she placed in a pot and hung over the fire to keep warm for
Ode when he returned from the river.
It was late when Ode came back to the house, and he told his sister
that he was sorry he could not fill the basket with water. He then
asked her where the goat was. Essama replied that she had not seen the
goat walking about anywhere since he had gone down to the river, and
advised him to search everywhere for him. Ode did so, but failed to
find the goat. When he came back and told his sister, she pointed to
the pot and said, “There is your food,” so Ode took the pot down, but
as he did so some of the soup fell over him out of the pot, as it was
quite full. He then sat down and began to eat. While he was eating,
his father returned from the farm, and, missing the goat, asked Ode
what had become of it. When he heard that the goat could not be found,
the chief made a great palaver with Ode, who began to cry. His father
then said he was convinced that someone must have stolen the goat, and
that all his people, including his son and daughter, would have to go
through the ordeal of crossing over the river on a rope, to find out
who had stolen the goat. So the next day all the people assembled, and
the spider was called upon to settle the palaver, as he was the chief
man who settled these trials.
The spider went across the river, spinning his web as he went, and then
returned to the side where the people were standing. The spider then
told each man and woman to say before they started to cross the river,
“If I stole Chief Okim’s goat, let the rope break with me when I get to
the middle; but if I am not a thief, let me cross over in safety.”
One after the other the people crossed over the river on the spider’s
web quite safely, until at last there were only left Essama and her
brother. Ode went before his sister, and when he reached the middle of
the river the web broke, and he fell into the water, disappearing at
once.
The chief then began to lament, saying his goat had been stolen, and
now his son was drowned. He then told the people to go into the river
and try to recover Ode’s body. The young men at once dived in and
searched everywhere, but could not find any trace of Ode.
As his son had been drowned, the chief would not allow his daughter to
cross the river, and returned home with his people very sorrowfully.
Chief Okim then ordered his people to tie up a bundle in a cloth to
represent his son, and all people were ordered to mourn. A deep grave
was then dug, and ten men were killed to accompany the Chief’s son to
the spirit-land. The bodies of the ten men were then put in the grave,
and the bundle representing the dead Ode was placed on top. The grave
was then filled in, whilst drums were being beaten and farewells to
the chief’s son were being shouted by the people. Several goats were
killed, and a big feast was held, and the chief commanded all people to
mourn for one year.
When the year of mourning was over, Chief Okim decided to build a new
house, so he sent his boys to the river-side to get tie-tie. While
they were engaged in drawing the tie-tie from the trees, one man named
Oyonga heard a voice calling out, “Who is drawing the tie-tie there?”
He stopped pulling and looked round everywhere, but as he could not see
anybody, he went on pulling again at the tie-tie. The voice then called
out again, saying, “Tell my father to bring a white goat, a white ram,
a white cock, and a white chicken to the river-side and sacrifice them
to the river ju-ju, and tell him that if he does this I shall be set
free.” Oyonga then asked the voice who it was speaking, and the voice
replied, “I am Ode, Chief Okim’s son who was lost, as when I took the
pot down some of the soup made from my father’s goat, which my sister
had stolen, fell over me, so that when I tried to cross the river on
the spider’s web it broke by the ordeal and I was lost in the water.”
Oyonga then ran back to the town and told the chief what he had heard.
When Chief Okim heard what Oyonga had to say, he was vexed, as he did
not believe him, so he ordered him to be tied up to a tree and given
fifty lashes. Oyonga pleaded with the chief in vain, and he was flogged.
When Oyonga had sufficiently recovered from the flogging he had
received, he begged the chief to go with him to the river where he
had heard the voice; at first the chief refused to go, but after much
persuasion he consented. When they got to the place Oyonga pulled at
the tie-tie, and the voice at once called out, “Who is pulling there?
Have you told my father to bring the white goat, ram, cock, and chicken
to sacrifice to the ju-ju?”
When the chief heard his son’s voice he went back to the town and got
all the animals and birds as quickly as possible, and having brought
them down to the water-side, sacrificed them to the river ju-ju. When
the sacrifice was completed, the chief told all his young men to go
into the river with a net; in case his son should not be able to get
out of the water, they could then fish him out.
Very shortly the river ju-ju threw Ode up, and he tried to swim, but
one of the men in a canoe pulled him out of the water and brought him
to the bank. The people then beat drums and escorted the chief and his
son back to the town, singing as they went.
As soon as they arrived, the whole of the townspeople came out with
presents of various articles and gave them to Ode. Chief Okim then gave
a great feast, and killed many cows and goats, and there was a big play
and dancing in the town. When the play was over Chief Okim asked his
son what he had found out while he was with the river ju-ju, and Ode
replied that the river ju-ju made him understand that it was his sister
Essama who stole the goat, but, as the ordeal found the scent of the
goat on him, he disappeared in the water. Then Chief Okim called out
Essama’s mother and told her what her daughter had done, nearly causing
him to lose his son altogether. The chief and his wife had a quarrel,
which ended in his fining her 1,200 rods, which was the price of a
slave, and said that the whole of her family would have to help to pay.
The rods were brought to the chief, and half the amount was given to
Ode. The people then decided that it was because Essama was kept so
long in the fatting-house which caused her to kill the goat, and they
agreed that for the future girls should only stay in the fatting-house
for a few days, as they would then not be tempted to steal and bring
shame upon their families.