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ERO
Note: Three clans (Umueke, Umuogele and Umunkolo) in the land of Ete, east of Nigeria, compete for glory and fame in this fictional narrative poem which tells of a traditional sport, arts and cultural fiesta named Ero coming once in five years in their land.
ERO.
by Uzoma Nwaekpe Esq.
The apogee of that year came trippingly.
Cerebrations focused on celebrations. It was a year of Ero.
Come, let us unmask Ero, and tell of our feast, with all its
glory, cavalcades and carnivals. As it fills our minds, so may it fill
the minds of all people.
Ero comes to my land, after every fifth year.
Spirit mingling, life renewing, events gather greater ardor
Once tied to this feast.
Ero is games and contests, stories and songs, love and family.
It has come to become us, has made us what we have become.
Like the ever growing cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
Ero brew no envy, no ill will. It doubly healed,
sealed and foisted unimaginable fraternal bonds.
My land is Ete, and so great was Ero in us, that it moved,
far away from the physical, to the deep roots of the transcendent.
Ero was life.
We thought it.
We breathed it.
We lived it.
Always,
Has it been with us,
Its cause out living the farthest stretch of memories.
Lithe and leonine, its plenary effects stretched from
the unborn of my land, to us, here and now,
and to them, who did the dance before us. After every five years,
men and women of my land host the great sport festival,
Young men and women, from the different villages fought for glory.
That was our Ero.
During Ero,
There are dancing,
Wrestling and shooting contests.
The people also fight for the best flutists,
Singers, climbers, hunters, and runners.
Of all the events though, the dance of the maidens stood apart,
Most trendy and expected
In the days of Ero.
The moonlight gatherings
Come with greater fervor, the best stories are told.
The children, seen in their play,
Join all the land, to express our joy. More glee and gusto,
comes within their midst.
The dearest part of Ero,
A carnival, which lasts for one market week, is ero itself.
This strengthens the ties of their relationships,
Making kinsmen more than kinsmen.
Ero comes on the last day of the Ero festival,
A day on which the women of all kindred
Prepare their special ero soups,
So thick and richly inlaid,
With meat, fish and mushrooms.
The ero soup is eaten
Only once in Ete,
Each kindred of each clan
Has a chosen spot in their market square
Where it holds its feast.
They would pour their large soup
Into a very wide trough,
Wide enough to take fifty hands.
All the men of the kindred
Would then eat together,
From the same bowl, from the same trough.
A love feast in my land.
Though it comes first,
The memories of the dancing event
Wore on, even after the whole ceremony.
Again,
The girls from Umueke carried the day,
As they had done in the last fifteen years.
Their Ogbom dance
Has remained a steady champion.
Three generations of judges
From the senior age grades,
And three generations
Of competing age grades,
Ogbom still comes out, the best dance in my land.
Ugbara of Umuogele clan was a dazzling show.
It cost them so much.
Having stolen away
To a distant land
To learn a new dance,
The people from Umuogele,
Thought too soon
That the glory of Ogbom was over.
At the end,
Ugbara only came close to stealing the crown.
Ayori nkwa of Umunkolo,
The third dance of the contest,
Was not created to be a champion's dance.
At least,
So the people thought.
They were happy their judges thought so too.
‘Ayori nkwa is such a good dance,
But it would have done better
As a funearal dance.’
Osuigwe's companion
Eyed him in deep annoyance,
And spoke at once:
‘We are still thinking
Of how to make you swear,
That you were not partial in your judgment.’
And Osuigwe to his friend,
Confident, beaming with smiles:
‘Orogbu, no group of judges
Have ever been found
To have done injustice
It will not begin with mine.
You people,
Who worked so hard
With ayori nkwa,
Can bring the deadliest deity,
We are ready to swear by it.
But it was not even you
Who we thought would have complained.
You know Ugbara almost beat Ogbom.
But everybody at the end knew that it did not.’
Then Orogbu, after some silence:
‘Actually Ugbara could not, Osuigwe.
I only got wound up when you spoke so casually
About a great dance which Umunkolo suffered so much for.’
‘Do not worry Orogbu,
One day,
Ogbom will be beaten.
For now,
We have to crown them champions.
That I am Umueke
Does not mean I will abandon the truth.’
‘Ogbom ukwu nda abia………….Great Ogbom approaches
Egwu nta lachaa…………….May all little dances fade out
Ogbom ndom…………..Ogbom, the maiden’s dance
Egwu nne m gbara la mbu………….Danced by my mother
Egwu nyere nne m di………..The dance, which gave my mother her husband
Egwu nyere nna m nwanyi……….Which gave my father a wife
Mmapu ukwu gi mbu ngozi………Your every step is a blessing
Ogbom ogbom ayakaya……….Ogbom, ogbom, great dance
Ogbom isi nkwa……..Ogbom, the head dance
Ogbom a biala……….Ogbom has arrived
Ogbom a biala……….Ogbom has arrived
Nde okomadu Ete……….. Elders of Ete
Ogbom ekele unu…………..Ogbom greets you
Ndi ichie anyi…………Our good elders
Nara nu ekele……Accept our greeting.
Umueke, umuogele, umunkolo……….Umueke, Umuogele, Umunkolo
Etedi chi nwe anyi………….Etedi, great god that owns us
Ogbom a biala.’…………Ogbom has come.’
Osuigwe's ringing voice was ever more captivating
As it rang out suddenly in that moving curtain raiser piece
Of the ancient Ogbom dance.
Sang without the traditional all together, it loses some of its glory,
But Osuigwe, himself, a good singer, was able to make it still enthralling.
His companion stood, watching with admiration.
It was without any doubt, a champion's dance.
‘Ogbom may never be beaten,’
Orogbu had to make a confession.
‘At least, not its songs,
Even though better steps be found.’
‘It is very good
That you agree with us Orogbu.
Judges of Ero stand under a strong vow.
No one plays with such a vow,
It is death for you and your family if you do.
You remember,
That is what finished Eziuwa's family.
Every child in my land knows the story.’
They continued their discussion
At Orogbu's house,
Drinking fresh palm wine and hot dry meat.
Then it was time for the evening play,
As the sun was finally going down.
Like a reluctant debtor, sad and downcast, unable to claim his credit.
Then the three villages in Ete
Gathered each in her ama
For the moonlight plays.
Such times, was endless fun and joy for the people.
They gathered in groups, especially the children,
Listening to the stories from their elders.
These teach them about life and particulars of survival.
In our folklore,
Virtues of life are espoused, praised and imparted.
Vices, condemned, and cast away, shown to be loathsome.
Only good is to be done.
While stories are told,
Others take turns in other plays.
They skip ropes,
Chase Oro , Play the Nsa, Aku, Uga and several others.
It usually is, what the fore fathers meant it to be,
A superb carnival, improving in variegated ways,
our ever-necessary fraternal bonds.
Under these moonlit nights,
With its special touch during Ero,
A lot was taught, a lot was learnt.
No one ever missed them,
Except the old and infirm,
With perhaps
The very young children,
Whose mothers have to keep at home.
Ogalabu, noted on the whole
For his famous stories. gained even more fame
After he answered the riddles of the king of the spirits.
With his stories, he has given strength to the weak,
And risen up the downcast.
During Ero,
His best stories are told.
Often,
People gather from other villages
To the Umunkolo square, to listen to Ogalabu.
At the end of the dancing contest,
With its attending complaints,
And low threats
Of making the judges swear before a deity,
Ogalabu told a great story to his listeners.
Many wise people
Who heard it, knew he was only sending caution
To certain folks, who were menacing the judges.
All pleas by the elders,
That the land has its guardian spirits,
And that Ero ought not to be marred
By jealousy and strife,
Could not stop these aggrieved men
From their continuous threats.
Such forgot the saying of the elders,
That a spirit would turn around,
To kill the man who called it up,
If it could not kill him for whom it was called.
It was to these people
That Ogalabu directed his story.
"Ife cha kpii"
"Woo!"
"Nkita n nyara akpa"
"Shi a agwula l'ohia"
"Uwa ndi ogbede"
"Ike aku mgbogho "
‘There was once in a certain land,
Very far away from our land, Ete,
An important and great king.
He was very rich,
And had all that wealth could get him.
He had so many wives,
And could not even number
His sons and daughters.
All kinds of animals
Swim about like vast rivers
In his very large compound.
His subjects were ever obedient
To his words and commands.
With all this,
The king was never a kind ruler,
And would not give out his property to the needy.
A time came
When there was so much shortage in his kingdom,
Almost to the point of a famine.
Then all the people
Had to work very hard
To find food to eat.
There was in a far corner of the land,
Two friends who lived together,
And were most hit by the scarcity.
A cripple and a blind man,
They had no farms,
But only depended
On what the people gave them for food.
It was bad for the people,
It was even worse for them.
One day,
They decided to go in search of food.
They searched and searched,
But to no avail.
They went, even to their king's home,
But got no help from there.
One thing must be noted about that land.
It is as it is in Ete here.
No one steals.
It is a great evil attracting the wrath of the gods.
After their futile search,
On their way back from the village homes,
The cripple, who was being carried by the blind man,
Saw the king's farm.
It was the only good farm in the land,
For he is able to make the slaves work
All day for him.
It was full of all sorts of food.
And they decided
To come back to that farm
At the dead of night.
When it was time,
They moved again,
The blind bearing the cripple.
Soon,
They were at the king's farm,
And they began gathering
All the food they could pick.
The cripple would tap
On the back of his blind friend
And when he stoops,
The cripple would pick up the foodstuffs,
And throw into their basket.
This they continued
For a long time,
Until they had maize,
Pepper, yams, vegetables,
And all sorts of food,
To save them from the hunger.
As quietly as they came,
They went away,
Without being seen,
Back to their home
Far from the king's farm.
Early the next morning,
The king's servants came to the farm
To pick up some food,
But was shocked
By the discovery of the theft.
They abandoned their tools at the farm,
And ran back to inform the king
Of the abominable act.
The king,
Who cared so little about his starving subjects,
Commanded them all to gather at his palace.
Men, women, children,
Old and young, everybody gathered.
The king's soldiers were ready
To destroy the man
Who attempted to steal from the king.
Also gathered with them,
Were the cripple and his blind friend.
The king's foreman
Warned the thief to own up
Before it was too late.
After several warnings,
Even by the king himself,
No one agreed
That he knew what happened to the farm.
Then the priest was ordered
To bring Agbara ubi,
A strong deity into their midst.
As it was moved into the centre,
The majesty and glory of the idol
Sent shivers into all the people.
It was placed before them,
And every one was asked to pass before it,
Swearing at the same time that he knew nothing of the theft.
When it was his turn,
The cripple,
Who was carried to the front of the idol
By the king's guards,
Spoke to Agbara ubi:
‘Since I was born,
If my two legs have marched
On the grounds of the king's farm,
May Agbara ubi kill me.’
He was borne across peacefully.
In truth, he had no legs from birth.
They could never have touched on the king's farm.
Then the blind came for his vow.
Like his friend he vowed:
‘Since I was born,
If my eyes have ever looked
Upon the king's farm,
Let Agbara ubi kill me.’
He walked past the deity peacefully,
And no harm came to him. So did all the other people,
They all passed in peace, no harm was done.
The king was shocked.
Agbara ubi had caught no one,
And no foreigner
Could have come to steal in his land.
Not with all the guards
And chosen men watching the paths.
As the people moved away happily,
Seeing themselves saved
From looming death,
The king remembered
That Agbara ubi had to eat,
And he also tried
To get away from the scene.
It was too late.
It was Agbara ubi's time.
The idol was soon after the king,
Caught up with him, and captured him.’
Then Ogalabu
Went into the lore, singing with his soft voice.
The rhyme, with which the king’s subjects
Walked across Agbara ubi:
‘Agbara ubi eee
o di kwa ji onye odo m kpara aka…………..If I ever touched another’s yam
O di kwa ede onye odo m kpara aka……… If I ever touched another’s coco yam
K' Agbara ubi gbuo m……………….Let Agbara ubi kill me.
Agbara ubi
Agbara ubi eee
O di kwa ji onye odo m kpara aka
O di kwa ede onye odo m kpara aka
K'Agbara ubi gbuo m
Agbara ubi
O di kwa ji onye odo m kpara aka
O di kwa ede onye odo m kpara aka
K'Agbara ubi gbuo m.’
And Agbara ubi killed the king,
And took his corpse away.
‘Agbara ubi eee
O di kwa ji onye odo m kpara aka
O di kwa ede onye odo m kpara aka
K' Agbara ubi gbuo m.
Agbara ubi eee
O di kwa ji onye odo m kpara aka
Odi kwa ede onye odo m kpara aka
K'agbara ubi gbuo m.’
The wrestling contest that year,
Was the toughest in recent times.
It further raised wrestling,
The most important
Of the Ero contests.
Three champions emerged
After all preliminary wrestling
In the three parts of Ete.
Akadike,
A champion like his fathers,
Emerged from Umueke.
Uba came from Umuogele,
And Obiako's brave son,
Ezenwa was the best from Umunkolo.
The three were set
To wrestle for the Ete crown.
Such a contest
Was both a show of strength
And destiny.
Sometimes,
A man may be so strong,
But not in any way destined
To wear such a crown,
His fellow would beat him.
In the past,
Competitors had tried
To use some magic, but a vow has been taken,
To stop all use of charms and magic.
It is now a fight of a man and his chi.
If your strength, your style and the strength of your chi
Has prepared you for such a destiny,
Then the crown will be yours.
It was in that year, when Ogwara
Beat every other champion in a disgraceful manner,
That the use of charms became evident.
He had emerged from Umuogele,
And his mother, a herbalist
Wanted the honour for his son
At any cost.
In ordinary life, he was not known
to be very strong. But once the wrestling
Of that year's Ero began,
He took up a strange strength.
In the end, it was found out.
He had used certain powers,
Got from his mother's practices,
To weaken all his opponents.
The source of his power
And strength,
Was subsequently exposed
And for the first time in Ete,
Ero's wrestling had to be repeated.
He was stopped from taking part,
And the others
Competed for the crown that year.
Since then,
The law has become even more serious,
No one is to use any kind of charm during Ero.
They threw seeds for the three champions,
And Akadike was set apart.
Uba and Ezenwa were to wrestle first.
For a whole day,
They wrestled.
No one could throw the other.
Their strengths and styles
Were equally matched.
The judges
Called off the contest
Until the next day,
And everybody went to rest.
The whole Ete saw
That those two were champions indeed.
Akadike,
Waiting for the better of the two,
Concluded there was no better wrestler.
The two were equal.
However,
After a long battle the next day,
Ezenwa fell.
All round Uba’s home village,
The jubilation
Over Ezenwa's defeat sounded far into the night.
Umuogele was set on fire.
One would have thought
That the final wrestling has been done.
Umuogele rejoiced as champions already.
Akadike consoled his friend
Who remained so close to tears.
Ezenwa on his own,
Would have preferred
To fall in the hands of Akadike.
For him,
That would have been better
Than the fate he has just met with.
‘You could beat him any day,’
Obiako told his son.
‘He threw you only because you were exhausted.’
Ezenwa had no other choice.
There were other crowns yet to be won.
It is true that to them,
The wrestling victory
Was the mother of all victories,
But Uba may not get over Akadike,
An opponent strong as the Iroko.
The singing contest of the women
Came between
The last preliminary wrestling
And the final wrestling.
Led by Nwasini,
Chukwukereuba's third daughter,
The group from Umuogele
Carried the day,
And in all essence, the year and the period.
They had done it five years ago,
With the same victorious song.
It was what they inherited
From the last group from Umuogele
Who took the crown five years ago.
Their song
Was the story of the tortoise, Mbe
And his wife, engrossed in a deep quarrel.
The tortoise's wife, Anim,
Recovering from one of his husband's tricks
Against her this time, was bent on taking a revenge.
After a long period of deep thought,
Her mind hit on a plan.Of all foods,
Her husband loved bean seeds
Or akidi most. But so funny was it
That he did not know its name.
He could not say the name of his best food.
Anim went to the market
And bought akidi
Prepared it in a most delicious manner,
And the tortoise came rushing.
He was rebuffed, and told that he would only
Get part of the delicacy, if he could say its name.
There, his trouble began.
‘ki ki ki ki kidi di.
Ki ki ki ki kidi di.’
He could simply not say it. He begged and begged,
But his wife refused. Determined to get his best meal,
The tortoise left for the market.
Once there, He moved quickly to the stall
Where bean seeds were sold,
And without as much as a greeting
Stamped his foot on the bean seeds.
‘Mbe ,’
Shouted the woman to the tortoise.
‘Why do you step on my akidi?’
Mbe, removed his leg.
He never replied,
But began a rhyme with akidi.
That was the name he wanted.
Akidi, kiridi kiridi
Akidi, kiridi kiridi
Akidi, kiridi kiridi
On his way, a thorn struck him,
And he screamed, forgetting the name
Which he sang with, as he missed his rhyme.
He ran back to the market,
Saw a child,
And pointed at the beans, asking for its name.
The child,
Who did not know why he asked
Told him it was akidi.
He began his song again.
Akidi, kiridi kiridi
Akidi, kiridi kiridi
Akidi, kiridi kiridi.
He got home,
And was able to say the name of the food,
Anim gave him akidi and he ate.
Thus affirming once more,
That life ought to be lived with patience,
Wisdom and strategy.
They sang this story
With great vim,
And their voices rang
Like a well moulded ogele,
Fresh from the fireside.
It was a good pleasure for all Ete,
Listening to that winning song again.
Even better than it was sang
Five years ago:
‘Ge nti ka I nuru akuko…………….Listen to our story
ka I wee kwere ka m si kwe……….And agree with us
Na mbe maara ka e si eso uwa………….That the tortoise knows how to survive on earth.
Mbe la nwunye ya nno l'esemokwu………The tortoise quarreled with Anim his wife
Anim achoo uzo o g'isi megide ya………Anim was out to get back to him
Ya a gaa ahia……………………..She went to the market
Zuta akidi……………..And bought some beans
Akidi mbu iri nd'atokacha Mbe la whe oriri liile……..It was her husband’s favourite
Kama mbe a maghi aha ya……….But he could not say its name
Ihere nye Mbe…………Shame on the tortoise
Ezigbo ihere nye Mbe……….Big shame on the tortoise
Mbe a rio ya, Anim a juwaa isi………The tortoise asked for some, but was not given
Ta Mbe kpoo aha iri o choro iri…………Unless he says the name of the food
Ihere nye Mbe…………Shame on the tortoise
Ezigbo ihere nye Mbe……..Big shame on the tortoise
Mbe a gawa ahia…………The tortoise left for the market
Gadu ahia……… On reaching
Gaa l'odo akidi………….He rushed to the beans stalls
Ya azogide ukwu l'akidi………..And placed his foot on the beans
Nwanyi new akidi asi ya………….And the woman asked him
Mbe ngiri nmere iji azo akidi m ukwu?………Tortoise, why step on my beans
Mbe e kwufughi okwu……………He never replied
Ya esere ukwu ya……….. But only took his leg
Ya egwere aha akidi guru nkwa d'ala si……And raised a song, with the name
Akidi, kiridi kiridi
Akidi, kiridi kiridi
Mgbe o d'ala l'uzo kiridi…………But while he walked home
Ogwu a kpoo ya l'ukwu………..A thorn struck him
Ya e tie nna muo…………..He screamed in pains
Ya echefuo aha akidi kiridi………..And so forgot the name.
Ya ewuta ya woo…………..So painful.
Mbe a lahu azu l'ahia…………..And he returned to the market
Hu otu nwa, tuora ya akidi aka…………..Saw a little child, and pointed at the beans
Nwata a amaghi aghugho Mbe…………The child did not know the trickery of the tortoise
Ya asi ya l'obu akidi…….He told him the name
Mbe a guru lawa………The tortoise sang on
Akidi kiridi kiridi
Akidi kiridi kiridi
Ya a ladu………..And he got home
Gwa Anim l'obu akidi………….Told Anim the name of the beans
Anim enye ya akidi, ya erie……..Then did Anim give him some of the food
Unu a hula……….Let all men see
La ndidi l'eji eso uwa……….That only patience can see us through
La nwa uche l'eji eso uwa…….That we need great thought for survival
Onye soo uwa l'ike…………He who fails to take things easy
Ya e gbuo onwe ya e e e.’…………May die before his time.
Umunkolo was so close to them
With another story of the tortoise.
The people in Ete,
And their kin, far and near
Where the people of Igbo lived,
Tied most of their lore around the tortoise.
The weak, small, but crafty and sagacious creature,
Was seen so often in triumph.
His numerous successes
Came by his strong wits, and not by strength.
He is seen in keen contests
Against very difficult
And seemingly unsolvable situations,
But with careful thought
And nimble maneuvering,
He rises above his situations.
Often, he is confronted
By tough, gigantic enemies and tasks.
Even then,
He shows that what he lost in strength, he gained in wits.
Many times however
The tortoise gets punished
for using his wits to do evil,
As his wife did in the great Umuogele song.
He,
Among countless punishments
Had once been thrown
Into a deep toilet, and covered up in there
For eight days, with the stink of the waste.
In all these,
We see thoughts,
That life and all it takes
Resides more in the tact with which it is lived
That might does not have to be right,
And that life, is nothing but wisdom.
The people learn, right from the cradle,
How invaluable a companion, the use of wisdom is
In life's journey. And also that when either strength
Or wits is misused, grievous punishments follow quickly.
From Umunkolo came a story
Of the tortoise's attempt to prove to the elephant
And the hippopotamus, two large beasts,
Usually ranked among the strongest animals in the forest,
That he, though little, was yet stronger than they were.
The story also explained the mystery of the existence
Of both the land and water tortoise.
Being so little a creature, the tortoise was ever careful
To be friends with the bigger animals.
He would however not let them know,
That he comes to them, out of utter helplessness.
Quite on the contrary,
He would make such huge beasts to think
That he possesses a most important advantage.
An edge, which they would certainly need.
Seeing the two large beasts
Walking and chatting
Along the riverbed, he called out to them.
‘Hey you two,
So big,
Would you agree
That I am even stronger than either of you?’
The giants laughed
At the tiny creature,
With such presumptuous air.
They threatened
To trample him under their feet,
If he comes a little closer to them.
‘But I am sure
Of what I have said,
And I can prove it to you.’
The tortoise insisted.
Upon which the two friends
Asked him to show his proof.
And quickly,
He brought a long rope,
Gave the elephant one end of it,
And tied the other end
Around his hand.
‘You will not be able
To pull me out of the water,’
He said,
And swam hastily into the river.
Going down to the water bed,
He untied the rope on his hand
And tied it around a large rock
On the riverbed.
Swimming away a little distance,
He watched the elephant pull.
And from the ground,
The huge beast pulled and pulled
With all his strength.
But the tortoise
Could not be taken out of the water.
After a long pull,
The rope snapped,
And the tortoise
Quickly untied it from the rock,
Tied it around his hand again,
And swam triumphantly
To the surface.
‘Do you now believe
That I am stronger than you are’?
The elated tortoise
Asked the elephant.
And with shame and astonishment,
The huge beast submitted
To the superior strength
Of the tiny creature.
The hippopotamus was fuming
And swearing when the tortoise
Produced another rope. He grabbed one end
And being a water dweller,
Plunged into the water, threatening to pull the tortoise
Into the river, and to his death.
The crafty tortoise
Ran into the tall grasses
With the other end of the rope.
He found a strong tree stump
Which he circled a number of times with the rope.
All the strength of the huge beast in the water
Could not move him.
Finally the hippopotamus
Also gave up,
And the tortoise ran round the stump
From the opposite direction
And appeared with the end of the rope,
Firmly in his hand.
This other big beast also gave up,
He was also weaker
Than the cunning tortoise.
The all-conquering tortoise
Now asked them:
‘Do you want me as an enemy
Or as a friend?’
They both agreed that it would be better
To have him as a friend. They both demanded
He comes to live with them ever after.
Since there was no way
He could live with one in the water,
And the other on land,
He decided to live in the water
With the hippopotamus,
And sent his son
To live with the elephant on the land.
The maidens from Umueke
Did not seem to be so prepared,
Though they also felt
Their song was a champion's piece.
It was the story of a young lad
Who had gone to set traps with his friend.
It happened that the lad,
Had no knife
With which to cut
The stakes for his trap.
He pleaded with his friend
Who had a knife,
But his friend
Would not let him use his knife.
He had to cut the stakes with his teeth.
When they came back
To check the traps,
That set with the knife was empty,
But the one set without a knife
Had caught ururu,a delicious rodent
He gave the animal to his grandfather,
Who cooked and ate it all.
He cried and cried. To console him,
His grandfather cooked a delicious soup for him
In place of the meat.
Leaving the old man,
Carrying his soup,
He met a group of market women,
Weary from their long trek,
And offered them the soup:
Ogbara ahia ogbara ahia…………… Women of the market
O tua unu nhie ahia………..As you come from the market
Aguu nd'agu unu………..Tired and hungry
N nye kwa nu unu ofe na……..What if I give you my soup
Unu a gaghi ira……..Will you not eat?
They heartily took the soup.
Once eaten,
The boy raised an alarm:
Ogbara ahia ogbara ahia……….Market women, market women
Unu a raala ofe m……….Have you eaten my soup?
Ofo m nna nna m siira m………….My soup cooked by my grandfather
Nna nna n taara ururu m…………That ate my ururu
Ururu m onya m nmatara……..Caught by my trap
Onya mji eze tajie………..Set with my teeth
Onya m tee erege………Dance well my trap
I tewala reghe reghe………….Dance well well
Tee ereghe………Dance well
I tewala reghe reghe………Dance well well
The group felt pity for him
After listening to his song.
‘Had they known,’
They thought, they would not have touched the soup.
They gave him some fish
And he continued on his way.
Not long after that,
He met a man
Clearing the pathway.
Tired and very hungry,
Without any help.
The lad called on him:
Osu uzo osu uzo………………Path clearer
O tua I d'azu uzo………..As you clear the path
Ike ngwuchara gi………..Tired and hungry
N nye kwa nu gi azu m na………What if I offer you this fish
I gaghi ita…………..Will you not eat?
He agreed,
And took the fish from him.
Once eaten,
The lad raised his lament:
Osu uzo, osu uzo………..Path clearer, path clearer
I taala azu m………..Have you eaten my fish?
Azu m ogbara ahia n nyere m………….Given to me by the market women
O gbara ahia n rara ofe m……….Who ate my soup
Ofe m nna nna m siira m………Cooked by my grandfather
Nna nna n tara ururu m………That ate my ururu
Ururu m onya m nmatara……….Caught by my trap
Onya mji eze tajie………………Set with my teeth
Onya m tee ereghe…………Dance well my trap
I tewala reghe reghe………Dance well well
Tee ereghe………………...Dance well
I tewala reghe reghe……………...Dance well well
The path cutter,
Sorry over the plaint of the lad,
And regretting
That he ever took the fish,
Made a hooked pole
Or ngu for him.
Armed with this ngu,
He continued his solitary movement
Until he came upon a man,
This time harvesting ube ,
With his bare hands.
He sang:
Ogho ube ogho ube,…………Pear harvester, pear harvester
O tua iji aka efu d'agho ube a………….As you harvest with your bare hands
M nye kwa nu gi ngu m na……….What if I give you this pole
I gaghi igwe………….Will you not accept.
The man,
Weary from his long struggle,
Without a much needed pole,
Accepted the good offer.
During the long usage of the pole,
Its hook came off,
And it was not easy
To put it back
To good use again.
A renewed plaint came.
Ogho ube ogho ube…………..Pear harvester, pear harvester
I ghokwaala ngu m…………..Have you broken my pole
Ngu m osu uzo n kwaara m………..Cut for me by the path cutter
Osu uzo n tara azu m……………That ate my fish
Azu m ogbara ahia n nyere m…………Given to me by the market women
Ogbara ahia n rara ofe m………….Who ate my soup
Ofe nna nna m siira m……………….Cooked by my grand father
Nna nna n tara ururu m…………………That ate my ururu
Ururu m onya m nmatara…………….Caught by my trap
Onya m ji eze tajie…………..Set with my teeth
Onya m tee ereghe………….Dance well my trap
I tewala reghe reghe………….Dance well well
Tee ereghe…………..Dance well my trap
I tewala reghe reghe……………..Dance well well
The pear harvester
Gave him some of his pears,
And he went on.
Going past many settlements,
He met a man,
Eating roast corn, or ukoru
Without the delicious pears,
Its usual complement.
He sang to him at once:
Ota ukoru, ota ukoru……………..Corn eater, corn eater
Out a I d'ata ukoru gi…………….As you eat your corn
L'ejighi ube……………Without any pears
M nye kwa nu gi ube m…………What if I give you these pears
Obi o gaghi idi gi nma………….Will it not please you
The man took the pears,
And enjoyed a better feast of his delicacy
Till all the pears were finished,
And the lad went off :
Ota ukoru ota ukoru……………….Corn eater, corn eater
I rachaala ube m………….Have you eaten all my pears
Ube m ogho ube n nyere m…………….Given to me by the pear harvester
Ogho ube n ghokwara ngu m………….Who broke my pole
Ngu m osu uzo nkwaara m………….Given to me by the path cutter
Osu uzo ntaara azu m………….Who ate my fish
Azu m ogbara ahia n nyere m………………..Given to me by the market women
Ogbara ahia n rara ofe m………………..Who ate my soup
Ofe nna nna m siira m…………………..Cooked by my grand father
Nna nna ntara ururu m………………….Who ate my ururu
Ururu m onya m nmatara………………Caught by my trap
Onya m ji eze tajie……………………Set with my teeth
Onya m tee ereghe………………….Dance well my trap
I tewala reghe reghe……………Dance well well
Tee ereghe……………………Dance well my trap
I tewala reghe reghe………………..Dance well well
The man,
Not ready for the lad's cries
To attract the attention of neighbors
And passersby,
Gave him some of his corn,
And he continued on his journey.
Soon,
Across him lay
A group of hungry looking sheep
In a desert plain with neither food nor water.
A shepherd was driving them on
In search of food and water.
He approached the shepherd:
Okpa aturu okpa aturu………………Good Shepherd, good Shepard
O tua ipu aturu gi d'acho……………..As you drive your sheep
Ebe I ga I nye we iri……………..In search of food
M nye kwa nu we ukoru m na…………….What if I give them this corn
That was great news
To the shepherd
As the boy threw down the corn,
And the sheep fell upon it
With all zest.
They ate both fruits and lobe,
And then the ranting:
Okpa aturu okpa aturu…………….Good shepherd, good shepherd
I hula la aturu go a taala ukoru m……….See, your sheep has eaten my corn
Ukoru ota ukoro n nyere m……………Given to me by the corn eater
Ota ukoru n rachara ube m……………..Who ate my pears
Ube m ogho ube n nyere m…………………….Given to me by the pear harvester
Ogho ube n ghokwara ngu m……………..Who broke my pole
Ngu m osu uzo nkwaara m………………..Given to me by the path cutter
Osu uzo n tara azu m……………..The path cutter who ate my fish
Azu m ogbara ahia n nyere m…………….Given to me by the market women
Ogbara ahia nrara ofe m……………….Who ate my soup
Ofe m nna nna n siira m……………..Cooked by my grand father
Nna nna n tara ururu m…………………That ate my ururu
Ururu m onya m nmatara……………….Caught by my trap
Onya m ji eze tajie…………….Set with my teeth
Onya m tee ereghe………………Dance well my trap
I tewala reghe reghe…………..Dance well well
Tee ereghe…………Dance well
I tewala reghereghe…………Dance well well
The bewildered shepherd
Gave him one of the sheep,
Begging him to get away
And not add to his trouble.
That spirit pushing him,
Pushed him on,
Until he arrived
At another part of that land,
At the house of a man
Who kept rams.
It was not difficult
For the man he had met
To accept the offer
Of letting his rams
Make young ones with the lad's sheep.
Okpa evula okpa evula……………Ram keeper, ram keeper
O tua id'akpa evula…………….As you keep your rams
O dighi aturu nga I mutara gi umu………….Without any sheep
N nye kwa nu gi aturu m na…………..What if I give you my sheep
The sheep was among the rams,
But was trampled
And killed
By the bigger and stronger rams at night.
When the day came,
And the discovery was made,
The cries of the boy
Suggested nothing but a compromise.
Okpa evula okpa evula …………………..Ram keeper, ram keeper
I hula la evula gi e gbuola aturu m……………See, your ram has killed my sheep
Aturu m okpa aturu m puira m…………Given to me by the shepherd
Aturu ya n tara ukoru m………………Whose sheep ate my corn
Ukoru ota ukoru n nyere m…………….Given to me by the corn eater
Ota ukoru n rara ube m………………..Who ate my pears
Ube ogho ube n nyere m……………….Given me by the pear harvester
Ogho ube n ghokwara ngu m………….Who broke my pole
Ngu m osu uzo n kwaara m…………Given to me by the path cutter
Osu uzo n taara azu m……………..Who ate my fish
Azu m ogbara ahia n nyere m………….Given to me by the market women
Ogbara ahia n rara ofe m…………….Who ate my soup
Ofe nna nna n siira m………….Cooked by my grand father
Nna nna n tara ururu m………………That ate my ururu
Ururu m onya m matara……………….Caught by my trap
Onya mji eze tajie……………….Set with my teeth
Onya m tee erege………….Dance well my trap
I tewala reghe reghe……………….Dance well well
Tee ereghe…………….Dance well
I tewala reghe reghe…………….Dance well well
The ram keeper gave him a ram,
And he dragged the ram happily home.’
That was the song from Umueke,
Which was considered
The worst of the three songs.
However,
The victory in the dance
Wiped away from them completely,
Any sad moment, their loss in the song may have caused.
The time for the final wrestling
Came the next day.
And so many people gathered
To see who would wear the greatest crown.
If Akadike wins,
He would be repeating
What his grandfather did
In his own time.
Many people thought it would be that way.
Apart from all Ete who came,
Their neighbors also,
As many as could come were there.
The square was so filled
That some people fainted
Out of loss of breath
Even before the wrestlers arrived.
A lot of those who could climb,
Were on the trees
Scattered around the ancient square.
If the drummers and the elders
Had not taken their seats
A long time
Before the crowd got so thick,
They would never
Have got to the front circle.
Seeing how people
Were endlessly pouring into the square,
The wrestling had to start
Earlier than it was scheduled
Before the spectators
Would end up leaving no space
For the wrestling.
Two warm up contests
Were held by a younger age grade,
Before the two champions
Charged into the centre,
Dancing vigorously
To the tune
Of an earth shaking wrestling beat.
They danced until the umpires stopped them,
Made them shake hands and hug each other,
The contest was declared open
By the leader of the umpires
Striking a large branch on the ground.
Two interpretations
Were given to what happened
In the first
And decisive movement of the contest.
The one was that Uba had taken too much of the strong drink,
To charge him up against his formidable enemy
Which rather made him feather light.
The other was that Akadike's strength is overwhelming.
Whichever was right, the latter, most people concluded
Played a central role in this most surprising victory.
It was the fastest victory seen in such a great contest.
Not even in any of his earlier contests
Did Akadike come out so clean and so fast.
He had swam past Uba’s side
Like a fish, and was directly at his back,
Waiting to do havoc from his waist,
When Uba turned sharply to face him.
But as he made this sharp turn,
Akadike's swiftness came to bear
Greatly upon the situation, as he grabbed the turning legs
And swept him off his feet.
So unlike a champion,
Uba did not know
What was happening
Until he was violently cast
On the ground
Before the stunned elders.
The shortest contest of all times in Ero.
The rest of the day was dancing, singing,
And unrestrained jubilation, for Akadike and Umueke.
Ezenwa found it
Most difficult to fathom
How Akadike could finish Uba so easily.
The victor's reputation,
Already so high in Ete,
Soared higher
Like an ever rising kite
Flying deep into the heavens.
Everybody wanted to see him,
Everybody wanted to touch him.
For all they cared,
Akadike had won the Ero,
He was the greatest of his peer.
The end of the wrestling,
Usually marked the beginning
Of the end of Ero contests.
The rest of the events
Never really attracted as much attention.
It was not so with this year's Ero.
The heat was on
Till the last,
And even beyond the last.
Akadike crowned his records that year,
By returning home first
In the race to Abala,
A village beside Amaise.
It was also another show of his great strength
And enduring courage.
Many of the Ete people had no doubt
That Ero remembered Umueke
So favorably that year.
The other contests
Were finished in the next two days.
The last,the flute contest
Was always reserved for the last day.
Ezenwa had no difficulty
In taking the crown
For the shooting contest.
He had beaten every other competitor very well.
He was the only one
Who succeeded in hitting his target
While wearing a blindfold.
He did it three consecutive times,
While the others,
Either shot too wide
Or only a little bit close.
Uba of Umuogele
Got a little compensation
For his disastrous,
Disgraceful defeat
By winning the climbing contest.
It was another fight of speed and chariness.
The winner was one who climbed
Six long strong ropes with hooks,
And came down first.
This climbing was not done with ropes,
But by means of the hooks
Cut on the poles by deft craftsmen.
Okonta,
Who had hardly been
In any of the contests
Took the flute crown.
The fact that he also came from Umueke
Shocked a lot of the people.
This contest was timed
By turning a long rope
Around a tree trunk
Cut at a point, close to the ground.
Whenever the rope
Was tied completely and unwound,
The flutist was stopped for another flutist.
Okonta had blown a number of songs
Which beat the tunes
Of the other champions
After the crown.
When he was declared the winner,
Even his final co competitors
Agreed no less with the judges.
He had drawn immensely
From the lore of Osusu,
His mother's people
In his encompassing victory tunes.
All Ete children
Learnt his songs
And these remained household tunes,
Even long after that Ero.
Then came the love feast
On the last day of Ero,
Which closed it all.
It was with joy
That the women of Ete
Gathered all the mushrooms
In their great river.
In other years, it used to be
A soup full of mushrooms
But this year,
It came as endless mushrooms
Meat and fish.
The people then gathered
Everyone according to his clan.
Umueke came together
Umuogele came together
Umunkolo came together.
And the soup cooked
By women of each kindred
Was kept in the kindred pot,
Watched safely, by the heads of the kindred.
The men of each kindred
Chose a spot
And all heads of families came close
To stand in for their children.
All the others
Watched in deep reverence
As kindred folks ate together
And spread love in Ete.
So did Ero come that year,
And the people saw it came very well
They were happy
To watch it go,
Waiting for its return
After five years.
