 Chapter 34 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by 079 Tim. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa, by Elphinstone Dayrell, the slave girl who tried to kill a mistress. A man called Akpan, who was a native of Oku, a town in the Ibibio country, admired a girl called Emme, very much, who lived at Ibibio, and wished to marry her, as she was the finest girl in her company. It was the custom in those days for the parents to demand such a large amount for their daughters as dowry, that if after they were married they failed to get on with their husbands, as they could not redeem themselves, they were sold as slaves. Akpan paid a very large sum as dowry for Emme, and she was put in a fatting house until the proper time arrived for her to marry. Akpan told the parents that when their daughter was ready they must send her over to him. This they promised to do. Emme's father was a rich man, and after seven years had elapsed, and it became time for her to go to her husband. He saw a very fine girl, who had also just come out of the fatting house, and whom the parents wished to sell as a slave. Emme's father therefore bought her, and gave her to his daughter as a handmaiden. The next day, Emme's little sister, being very anxious to go with her, obtained the consent of her mother, and they started off together, the slave girl carrying a large bundle containing clothes and presents from Emme's father. Akpan's house was on a long day's march from where they lived. When they arrived just outside the town, they came to a spring where the people used to get their drinking water from, but no one was allowed to bathe there. Emme however knew nothing about this. They took off their clothes to wash clothes to the spring, and where there was a deep hole which led to the water juju's house. The slave girl knew of this juju, and thought if she could get a mistress to bathe, she would be taken by the juju, and she would then be able to take her place and marry Akpan. So they went down to bathe, and when they were close to the water, the slave girl pushed her mistress in, and she at once disappeared. The little girl then began to cry, but the slave girl said, If you cry any more, I will kill you at once, and throw your body into the hole after your sister. And she told the child that she must never mention what happened to anyone, and particularly not to Akpan, as she was going to represent her sister and marry him, and that if she ever told anyone what she had said, she would be killed at once. She then made the little sister carry her low to Akpan's house. When they arrived, Akpan was very much disappointed at the slave girl's appearance, as she was not nearly as pretty and as fine as he had expected her to be, but as he had not seen Emma for seven years, he had no suspicion that the girl was not really Emma, for whom he had paid such a large dowry. He then called all his company together to play and feast, and when they arrived, they were much astonished, and said, Is this the fine woman for whom you paid so much dowry, and whom you told us so much about? And Akpan could not answer them. The slave girl was then for some time very cruel to Emma's little sister, and wanted her to die so that her position would be more secure with her husband. She beat the little girl every day, and always made her carry the largest water pot to the spring. She also made the child place a finger in the fire to use as firewood. When the time came for food, the slave girl went to the fire and got a burning piece of wood and burnt the child all over the body with it. When Akpan asked her why she treated the child so badly, she replied that she was a slave that her father had bought for her. When the little girl took the heavy water pot to the river to feel that there was no one to lift it up for her, so that she could not get it onto her head, she therefore had to remain a long time at the spring, and at last began calling for her sister Emma to come and help her. When Emma heard a little sister crying for her, she begged the water juju to allow her to go and help her, so he told her she might go, but that she must return to him again immediately. When the little girl saw her sister, she did not want to leave her and asked to be allowed to go into the whole with her. She then told Emma how very badly she had been treated by the slave girl, and her elder sister told her to have patience and wait, that a day of vengeance would arrive sooner or later. The little girl went back to Akpan's house with a glad heart as she had seen her sister, but when she got to the house, the slave girl said, Why have you been so long getting the water? And then took another stick from the fire and burnt the little girl again very badly and starved her for the rest of the day. This went on for some time until one day when the child went to the river for water, after all the people had gone, she cried out for her sister as usual, and she did not come for a long time as there was a hunter from Akpan's town, hidden near watching the hole, and the water juju told Emma that she must not go, but as the little girl went on crying bitterly, Emma at last persuaded the juju to let her go, promising to return quickly. When she emerged from the water, she looked very beautiful with the rays of the setting sun shining on a glistening body. She helped a little sister with a water pot and then disappeared into the hole again. The hunter was amazed at what he had seen and when he returned, he told Akpan what a beautiful woman had come out of the water and had helped the little girl with a water pot. He also told Akpan that he was convinced that the girl he had seen at the spring was his proper wife, Emma, and that the water juju must have taken her. Akpan then made up his mind to go and watch and see what happened, so in the early morning, the hunter came for him and they both went down to the river and hid in the forest near the water hole. When Akpan saw Emma come out of the water, he recognized her at once and went home and considered how he should get her out of the power of the water juju. He was advised by some of his friends to go to an old woman who frequently made sacrifices to the water juju and consult her as to what was the best thing to do. When he went to her, she told him to bring her one white slave, one white goat, one piece of white cloth, one white chicken, and a basket of eggs. Then when the great juju day arrived, she would take them to the water juju and make a sacrifice of them on his behalf. The day after the sacrifice was made, the water juju would return the girl to her and she would bring her to Akpan. Akpan then bought the slave and took all the other things to the old woman and when the day of the sacrifice arrived, he went with his friend the hunter and witnessed the old woman make the sacrifice. The slave was bound up and led to the hole. Then the old woman called to the water juju and cut the slave's throat with a sharp knife and pushed him into the hole. She then did the same to the goat and the chicken and also threw the eggs and the cloth in on top of them. After this had been done, they all returned to their homes. The next morning at dawn, the old woman went to the hole and found Emma standing at the side of the spring so she told her that she was her friend and was going to take her to her husband. She then took Emma back into her own home and hid her in her room and sent word to Akpan to come to her house and to take great care that the slave woman knew nothing about the matter. So Akpan left the house secretly by the back door and arrived at the old woman's house without meeting anybody. When Emma saw Akpan, she asked for her little sister so he sent his friend, the hunter, for her to the spring and he met her carrying her water pot to get the morning supply of water for the house and brought her to the old woman's house with him. When Emma had embraced her sister, she told her to return to the house and do something to annoy the slave woman and then she was to run as fast as she could back to the old woman's house where no doubt the slave girl would follow her and would meet them all inside the house and see Emma who she believed she had killed. The little girl did as she was told and directly she got into the house she called out to the slave woman Do you know that you are a wicked woman? You have treated me very badly. I know you are only my sister's slave and you will be properly punished. She then ran as hard as she could to the old woman's house directly the slave woman heard what the little girl said she was quite mad with rage and seized a burning stick from the fire and ran after the child but the little one got to the house first and ran inside the slave woman following close upon her heels with a burning stick in her hand. Then Emma came out and confronted the slave woman She at once recognized her mistress whom she thought she had killed so she stood quite still Then they all went back to Akpan's house and when they arrived there Akpan asked the slave woman what she meant by pretending that she was Emma and why she had tried to kill her but seeing she was found out the slave woman had nothing to say Many people were then called to a play to celebrate the recovery of Akpan's wife and when they had all come he told them what the slave woman had done After this, Emma treated the slave girl in the same way as she had treated a little sister She made her put her fingers in the fire and burned her with sticks She also made her beat Fufu with her head in a hollowed out tree and after a time she was tied up to a tree and starved to death Ever since that time when a man marries a girl he is always present when she comes out of the fatting house and takes her home himself so that such evil things has happened to Emma and her sister may not occur again End of chapter 34 Chapter 35 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by 079 Tim Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Dayrell The King and the Ensead Bird Juan Andraque was King of Aidu Being young and rich he was very fond of the fine girls and had plenty of slaves The Ensead Bird was then living at Aidu and had a very pretty daughter Juan Andraque wished to marry When he spoke to the father about the matter he replied that of course he had no objection personally as it would be a great honour for his daughter to marry the King but unfortunately when any of his family had children they always gave birth to twins which as the King knew was not allowed in the country The native custom being to kill both the children and throw them into the bush the mother being driven away and allowed to starve The King however being greatly struck with Aidu the bird's daughter insisted on marrying her so the Ensead Bird had to agree a large amount of dowry was paid by the King and a big play and feast were held One strong slave was Totakeri Aidu Ensead during the whole play and she sat on her shoulders with her legs around his neck This was done to show what a rich and powerful man the King was After the marriage in due course Aidu gave birth to twins as her mother had done before her The King immediately became very fond of the two babies but according to the native custom which was too strong for anyone to resist he had to give them up to be killed When the Ensead Bird heard this he went to the King and reminded him that he had warned the King before he married what would happen if he married Aidu and rather than the twins should be killed he and the whole of his family would leave the earth and dwell in the air taking the twins with them As the King was so fond of Aidu and the two children and did not want them to be killed he gladly consented and the Ensead Bird took the whole of his family as well as Aidu and the two children away and left the earth to live and make their home in the trees but as they had formerly lived in the town with all the people they did not like to go into the forest so they made their nests in the trees which grew in the town and that is why you always see the Ensead Birds living and making their nests only in places where human beings are the black birds are the cocks and the golden coloured ones are the hens it was the beautiful colour of Aidu which first attracted the attention of Andrake and caused him to marry her End of Chapter 35 Chapter 36 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Folk Stories of Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Deril Chapter 36 Concerning the fate of Aidu and his evil companions Chief Obori lived in a town called Adiagar which is on the right bank of the Calabar River He was a wealthy chief and belonged to the Egbo Society He had many large canoes and plenty of slaves to paddle them These canoes he used to fill up with new yams each canoe being under one head slave and containing eight paddles The canoes were capable of holding three punches of palm oil and cost 800 rods each When they were full about ten of them used to start off together and paddle to Riodore They went through creeks all the way which run through mangrove swamps with palm oil trees here and there Sometimes in the tornado season it was very dangerous crossing the creeks as the canoes were so heavily laden having only a few inches above the water that quite a small wave would fill the canoe and cause it to sink to the bottom Although most of the boys could swim it often happened that some of them were lost as there are many large alligators in these waters After four days hard paddling they would arrive at Riodore where they had very little difficulty in exchanging their new yams for bags of dried shrimps and sticks with smoked fish on them Footnote A stick of fish consisted of two sticks with a big fish in the middle of each and a small fish at each end There being eight fish on each stick making sixteen in all These sticks were then tied together and smoked over wood fires until they were quite dried One stick of fish would sell at Calabar in the dry season time from three S6D to five S as stick and a stick would be got for five large yams which cost Chief Albury only one S So a large profit was made on each canoe load The canoe is carrying about a thousand yams each A bag of shrimps would be bartered for twenty-five large yams and the shrimps would be sold for fifteen S being a profit of ten S on each bag At the present time, however the same size bag of shrimps in the wet season would sell at Calabar for three pound ten S and in the dry season for between one pound ten S and two pound input note Chief Albury had two sons named E.O.I. and Esido Their mother having died when they were babies the children were brought up by their father As they grew up they developed entirely different characters The eldest was very hardworking and led a solitary life but the younger son was fond of gaiety and was very lazy In fact, he spent most of his time in the neighboring towns playing and dancing When the two boys arrived at their respective ages of eighteen and twenty their father died and they were left to look after themselves According to native custom the elder son E.O.I. was entitled to the whole of his father's estate but being very fond of his younger brother he gave him a large number of rods and some land with a house Immediately, Esido became possessed of the money he became wilder than ever gave big feasts to his companions and always had his house full of women upon whom he spent large sums Although the amount his brother had given him on his father's death was very large In the course of a few years Esido had spent it all He then sold his house in effects and spent the proceeds on feasting While he had been living his gay and unprofitable life E.O.I. had been working harder than ever at his father's old trade and had made many trips to Rio del Rey himself Almost every week he had canoes laden with yams going down the river and returning after about twelve days with shrimps and fish which E.O.I. himself disposed of in the neighboring markets and he very rapidly became a rich man At intervals he remonstrated with Esido on his extravagance but his warnings had no effect If anything, his brother became worse At last the time arrived when all his money was spent so Esido went to his brother and asked him to lend him two thousand rods but E.O.I. refused and told Esido he would not help him in any way to continue his present life of debauchery but that if he liked to work on the farm and trade he would give him a fair share of the profits This Esido indignantly refused and went back to the town and consulted some of the very few friends he had left as to what was the best thing to do The men he spoke to were thoroughly bad men and had been living upon Esido for a long time They suggested to him that he should go around the town and borrow money from the people he had entertained and they would run away to Akpabrio's town which was about four days' march from Calibur This Esido did and managed to borrow a lot of money although many people refused to lend him anything Then at night he set off with his evil companions who carried his money as they had not been able to borrow any of themselves being so well known When they arrived at Akpabrio's town they found many beautiful women and graceful dancers They then started the same life again until after a few weeks most of the money had gone They then met and consulted together how to get more money and advised Esido to return to his rich brother pretending that he was going to work and give up his old life He should then get poisoned from a man they knew of and place it in his brother's food so that he would die then Esido would become possessed of all his brother's wealth and they would be able to live in the same way as they had formerly Esido, who had sunk very low, agreed to this plan and they left at Pabrio's town the next morning After marching for two days they arrived at a small hut in the bush where a man who was an expert poisoner lived called Akpabrio He was the head juju man of the country and when they had bribed him with 800 rods he swore them to secrecy and Esido, a small parcel containing a deadly poison which he said would kill his brother in three months All he had to do was place the poison in his brother's food When Esido returned to his brother's house he pretended to be very sorry for his former mode of living and said that for the future he was going to work Yo, I was very glad when he heard this and at once asked his brother in and gave him new clothes and plenty to eat In the evening, when supper was being prepared Esido went into the 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 tambo, which was brought and when he had finished it he said he did not want any supper and went to sleep His brother, Yo, 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 jujuman When Esido saw him coming he quietly left the house but the jujuman, by casting lots very soon discovered that it was Esido who had given the poison to his brother When he told Yo, I, this he would not believe it and sent him away However, when Esido returned the elder brother told him what the jujuman had said but that he did not believe him for one moment and had sent him away Esido 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 juju and having first sworn that he had never administered the poison to his brother he drank out of the pot Footnote Every compound has a small juju in the center which generally consists of a few curiously shaped stones and a small tree on which the shot 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 tai-tai or native rope In this pot, there is always a very foul smelling liquid with frequently some rotten eggs floating in it All sacrifices are made to these jujus of chickens, etc and this juju 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 jujus but they are never touched There is also frequently a roughly carved image of wood and sometimes an old machete with an earthenware on the ground with a brass rod or manila It is generally a very dirty spot and footnote Three months after he had taken the poison Yoai died much to the grief of everyone who knew him as he was much respected not only on the account of his great wealth but because he was also an upright and honest man who never did harm to anyone Isidu 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 Isidu 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 Isidu 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 Yo 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 Isidu and the power Juju which was 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 Isidu was then told to dress himself and attend the meeting at the pile of their house and when he arrived chiefs charged him with having killed his brother by witchcraft Isidu denied having done so but the chiefs told him that if he were innocent he was drinking the bowl of Ekpauer 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 Juju having got a 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 Ekpauer Isidu died in great pain the friends were then brought to the meeting and tied up to posts as to the part they had taken in the death of Yoh as they were too frightened to answer the chiefs told him that they knew from Isidu that they had induced him to poison his brother they were then taken to the place where Yoh was buried the grave having then 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 anyone is suspected of being a witch he is tried by the Ekpauer Juju End of Chapter 36 Chapter 37 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Mary Frances Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Deirel Chapter 37 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 anymore 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 owl it away and told his friends what the king had said One of the wisest of them said Tell me when you see the young owl it 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 owl it 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 owl it back to his parents and left him near the nest He 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 owl it 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 then 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 outlet 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 paliver 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 End of Chapter 37 Chapter 38 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the Republic Domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by 0719 Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa by Elphinstone Darrell The Story of the Drama and the Alligators There was once a woman named Afyong Annie in Sidon, a small town to the south of Calabar She was married to a chief of Hensham Town called Etim Eken 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 juju 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 a company together for 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 the 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 belonged to their company and to take their money and kill their slaves Chief Etim a Ken was a kind man and would not join the society although he was repeatedly urged to do so After a time a son was born to the chief and he called him Edet a Tim The chief then called the Egbo society together and all the doors of the houses 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 a 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 edit a tim 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 a debt 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 Eddard 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 around 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 quiet until the morning When the young men saw that Eddard's mother remained quiet and did not cry they thought of the story of the hawk and the owl and determined to keep Eddard alive for a few months At Cochro 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 jujus of the Calabar River to recover her son She then went home and got a load of rods and took them to a juju man in the farm His name was Innan Okon He was so caught because he was very artful and had plenty of strong jujus When the young boys heard that Eddard's mother had gone to Innan Okon they all trembled with fear and wanted to return Eddard but they could not do so as it was against the rules of their society The juju man having discovered that Eddard was still alive and was being detained in the Alligators' House told the mother to be patient After three days Innan himself joined another Alligators' Society and went to inspect the young Alligators' House He found a young man whom he knew left on God 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 juju which would cause them all to depart in seven days and leave no one in the House He made his juju and the young Alligators said that as no one had come for a debt they would all go at the ebb tide to feed and leave no one in charge of the House When they returned and everything as they had left it as Innan 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 Innan saw that the tide was going down he changed himself into an alligator and swam to the young Alligators' House where he found a debt chained to a post He then found an axe and cut the post, releasing the boy but a debt having been in the water so long was deaf and dumb He found several loincloths which had been left behind by the young Alligators so he gathered them together and took them away to show to the king and Innan left the place taking a debt 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 juju man told a debt's mother that he would cure her son in a few days so he made several jujus and gave her son medicine and after a time the boy recovered his speech and became sensible again Then a debt's mother put on a morning 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 a debt was gone and that someone had taken their loincloths They were therefore much afraid and made inquiries if a debt had been seen but they could hear nothing about him as he was hidden in a farm and the mother continued to wear her morning cloth in order to deceive them Nothing happened for six months and they had quite forgotten all about the matter Afion, 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 Pellefer house so that a late husband's property might be divided up in accordance with a 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 Pellefer house and left him there with the seven loincloths which the juju man had taken from the Alligators' home When the chiefs and all the people were seated, Afion stood up and addressed them, saying Chiefs and young men of my town Eight years ago, my husband was a fine young man 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 anyone present who can tell me what my son would have become if he had lived She then asked them what they thought of the Alligators' 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 member of the society they would destroy it at once She then called upon a nennen to appear with a son edit He came out from the room leading a debt by the hand and placed a bundle of loincloths before the chiefs The young men were very much surprised when they saw a debt and wanted to leave the palover house but when they stood up to go the chiefs told them to sit down at once or they would receive 300 lashes They then sat down and the juju man explained how he had gone to the Alligators' home and had brought a debt back to his mother He also said that he had found the 7 loincloths in the house but he did not wish to say anything about them The chiefs 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 He then 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 7 young men then gave the names of all the members of their society 32 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 7 men were placed as a guard over them They made fires and beat drums all the night Early in the morning about 4am the big wooden drum was placed on the roof of the palover house and beaten to celebrate the death of the evil doers which was the custom in those days The boys were then unfarced 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 machete 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 32 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 flocked 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 old town the land fell in a very large and deep hole which was set 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 End of chapter number 38 Chapter 39 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Nan Dodge Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa by Elphinstone Day Rel The Nasasak 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 Nasasak 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 coloring is black and brown with a cream-colored breast He lives chiefly on grasshoppers and is also very fond of crickets which make a noise at night Both the Nasasak 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 Nasasak 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 then the Nasasak Bird who was very cunning thought that he could not possibly live for seven days without eating anything but a 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 a little hole in the Nasasak 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 outside their respective houses and the doors were carefully fastened on the outside Every morning at dawn the Nasasak 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 Nasasak 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 Nasasak 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 Nasasak 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 Nasasak Bird as the Nasasak Bird is the king of the small birds and most difficult to shoot on account of his wildness and his small size End of Chapter 39 Chapter 40 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Nandaj Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa by Elphinstone Deirel The Election of the King Bird The Black and White Fishing Eagle Old Town Calabar once had a king called Asiya 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. 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 then again of course there were all the big crane tribe who walked about the sand banks 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 the following morning many thousands of birds came and there was much screeching and flapping of wings the hawk tribe soon drove all the small birds away and harassed the big waders so much that they very shortly disappeared followed by the geese who made much noise and winged away in a straight line as if they were playing follow my leader the big forest birds who liked to lead a secluded life very soon got tired of all the noise and bustle and after a few croaks and other weird noises went home the game birds had no chance and hid in the bush so that very soon the only birds left were the hawks and the big black and white fishing eagle who was perched on a tree calmly watching everything the scavenger hawks were too gorged and lazy to take much interest in the proceedings and were quietly ignored by the fighting tribe who were very busy circling and swooping on one another with much whistling going on higher and higher they went until they disappeared out of sight then a few would return to earth some of them badly torn and with many feathers missing at last the fishing eagle said when you have quite finished with this foolishness please tell me and if any of you fancy yourselves at all come to me and I will settle your chances of being elected head chief once and for all but when they saw his terrible beak and cruel claws knowing his great strength and ferocity they stopped fighting between themselves and acknowledged the fishing eagle to be their master Asiya then declared that Etuin which was the name of the fishing eagle was the head chief of all the birds and should thence forward be known as the king bird from that time to the present day whenever the young men of the country go to fight they always wear three of the long black and white feathers of the king bird in their hair one on each side and one in the middle as they are believed to impart much courage and skill to the wearer and if a young man is not possessed of any of these feathers when he goes out to fight he is looked upon as a very small boy indeed footnotes Thirteen as the king bird is always very difficult to shoot with a bow and arrow owing to his sharp and keen sight the young man when they want his feathers set traps for him baited with rats which catch him by the foot in a noose when he seizes them except when they are nesting the king birds roost on very high trees sometimes as many as twenty or thirty on neighboring trees they fly many miles from where they get their food and arrive at their roosting place just before the sun sets leaving the next morning at dawn for their favorite haunts they are very regular in their habits and you can see them every night at the same time coming from the same direction and flying over the same trees generally fairly high up in the air there is a strong belief amongst many natives on the cross river that the king bird has the power of influencing the luck or the reverse of a canoe for example when a trader having bought a new canoe is going to market and a king bird crosses the river from right to left then if he is unlucky at the market that day whenever the king bird again crosses that particular canoe from right to left he will be unlucky and the bad luck will stick to the canoe if on the other hand the bird for the first time crosses from left to right and he is fortunate in his dealings that day at the market then he will always be lucky in that canoe the day he sees a king bird flying across the river from the left to the right hand side End of footnote End of Chapter 40 Recording by Nan Dodge End of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa by Elphinstone Day Rel