(Before the Amadioha
shrine; things are arranged there to show that it is a shrine to the
great god, Amadioha, while two other small gods stand at either side of
him. Njoku Ogwugwu, Chief of the Ofo-holders, is sweeping the shrine,
while Ogbuehi and Iwejua beat a drum. They stop. Njoku then begins to
perform a sacrifice at the shrine. )
NJOKU:
That's enough o! (He waves his hand for them to stop beating the drum.
He takes out four small kola nuts, gives Ogbuehi one, gives Iwejua one,
and keeps two.) Chei! Chee! Chee! Amadioha, good morning! Okahia Ogwugwu
and Uramurukwa [the lesser gods], greetings. It is Njoku Ogwugwu, Chief
of the Ofo-holders, greeting you. Amadioha, look at the kola nut. (He
throws out one to him.)
OGBUEHI: Uramurukwa! Great river with a beginning but no end, look at the kola nut. (He throws out one kola nut to him.)
IWEJUA:
Okahia Ogwugwu, bush that consumes snakes, who bought ochasi [leafy
green vegetable] that prevented the monkey from climbing, look at the
kola nut today! (He throws out to him the one he holds in his hand.)
NJOKU: Ogbuehi and Iwejua, heads of Ofo-holders, kola has come. (They then strike their staffs on the ground.)
BOTH: Yaa!
NJOKU:
Amadioha! One-who-kills-and-licks-blood! One who judges the case that
is too much for spirits and humans! One who chases away flies for the
cow that has no tail! Look at blood and lick it up! (He cuts off a
chicken's head, then scatters its blood on a nearby palm branch.) Okahia
Ogwugwu, powerful one whose back does not touch the ground, look at
blood and lick it up. (He scatters blood on it. He sneezes three times.)
Ahchoo! My-life! Ahchoo! Ahchoo! My-life-o. Strength of the town! I do
not answer the call of the spirits! God forbid! (He spits.) Staff of
innocence, do not hold me guilty! It's the name God gave me. Rather than
die, I prefer to be lost. Even if I lack everything, I will not lack
someone to look for me. One who holds the drum also holds the staff of
innocence.
ALL: E haa! You are innocent.
NJOKU:
As to the dispute over the holding of the ofo, guilt will be decided by
the spirits. If the one whose long life I make sacrifices for then
wishes me dead, when I give him a vicious dog, may he see it as a
lapdog!
ALL: E-haa! Innocence of the spirits. (They strike their staffs on the ground.)
NJOKU:
He who comes to kill me kills himself as well. The one I showed the way
to life, if he chooses that of death, when he reincarnates, may he go
to sleep before the chickens [refers to dying early].
ALL: E-haa! Innocence of the spirits! (They strike their staffs on the ground.)
NJOKU:
God created heaven and earth, then created human beings to all live in
peace and joy. the one who says that only he should live and his fellow
men should not live, may he lack family in the world and in the spirit
land.
ALL: E haa! Innocence of the spirits! (They strike their staffs on the ground.)
NJOKU:
Let the hawk perch, let the eagle perch, the one that tells the other
not to perch, not only will its wing break but its leg will break too:
may it also fly out from its place so another one may perch there. He
who consumes deathly things will wait for death. He who commits an
abomination against the earth, may he be found guilty by the spirits.
ALL: E-haa! E-haa! Amen! (They strike their staffs on the ground three times.) Lord, you have heard.
NJOKU: Ogbuehi, bring me that wine that is in the small [clay] pot. Don' t bring the one in the white man's pot [glass bottle].
OGBUEHI: Who mixed that?
NJOKU:
It was Nwadibia. I bought it in the name of Osuji Anajem. He wanted to
use it to sue Nwigbe because of his yams that she uprooted and left out
on the ground.
IWEJUA:
Njoku, my friend! Have you noticed that something bad has entered this
town? Why would a full-grown woman uproot yams planted on a farm,
without fear of spirits or humans? God forbid bad things!
NJOKU:
Let's leave this topic now. I have used mature eyes to look for
something in the bag and have seen that Uhia-Njoku [farm deity] has
reached the time when it makes rain fall during dry season.
IWEJUA:
Ogbuehi, pour the wine for us quickly. It is getting late. (Ogbuehi
then pours for each one in the cup he brings out, but he does not fill
their cups up to the brim. Njoku then throws out some wine on the
ground.)
NJOKU:
God who lives in heaven, whose loincloth drags on the earth, whose
heavy footsteps trample the earth, whose wide eyes see all the movements
of spirits and humans, hear my voice-o! Amadioha hear my voice. Okahia
Ogwugwu and Uramurukwa, I come with the staff of innocence. We came this
morning for the welfare of the land. Let what belongs to the poor
person come to him, and what belongs to the wealthy person come to him.
We came so that there might be peace to great and small in this town. If
anyone ill-treats his fellow man, may you not allow him to use his two
eyes to see anything good in life.
ALL: (Everyone then throws out wine before their gods.) Haa!
NJOKU:
If anyone sees the wealth of a widow and snatches it away from her
because she has no one to speak for her, please, let him be reborn feet
first. In any world to which he returns, let his wife also become a
widow.
ALL: Haa! (They throw out wine.)
NJOKU:
We came for a peaceful talk, and if anyone says that he does not like
peace, let him come from the earth and drink his own wine.
ALL: Haa! (They throw out wine.)
NJOKU:
Amadioha drink wine! (He throws wine before Amadioha.) Okahia-Ogwugwu
drink wine! (Iwejua then throws wine before his own deity.) Uramurukwa
drink wine too! (Ogbuehi then throws wine before his own deity.) May
today's matter go smoothly.
ALL: Haa! Amen!
OGBUEHI:
Bring out your cups so I can pour them for you one each. There will not
be enough for two each. (They present their cups one by one.)
NJOKU:
Beat the big drum, so people will come. The time has arrived. Iwejua,
prepare the place where the Ekpe musicians will sit and play their
music. Please, do it quickly! (People then gather before the Amadioha
shrine. The Ekpe drummers then arrange their instruments. Ekpe music
then starts. The Chief Ofo title-holder, Njoku, dances around, holding
kola in one hand and a fan in the other. While he dances, he runs back
and forth until he reaches the front of the Ekpe dancers, then thrusts
his kola into the earth. The music stops abruptly.)
NJOKU: Che, che, chei, Akabo kwenu! [greetings].
CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU: Che, che, chei, Ogwuama kwenu!
CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU: Che, che, chei, villagers kwenu!
CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU: Igbo kwenu!
CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU: Kwenu!
CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU: Kwezuenu! [more emphatic]
CROWD: Yaaa! (Njoku then clears his throat.)
NJOKU:
Chiefs and villagers, may you not die early. The main matter at hand
this morning concerns a quarrel between the households of Ikekwem
Okpuruka and Oguamalam Okemkpi. Before we say anything else, it would be
good for the chicken that is being wished a good life to come out
before the native doctor [chicken" here refers to a human being].
NWOKORO: Ikekwem Okpuruka!
IKEKWEM: (He answers.) I am here.
NWOKORO:
You and your people come and take seats here. (He points them to seast
on his left, facing the people of the town.) Oguamalam Okemkpi!
OGUAMALAM: He is here.
NWOKORO:
You and your son come and take seats here. (He points them to seats on
his right, then he too sits down. Njoku then rises.)
NJOKU: Chiefs and villagers, kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU: See here the two people who brought us here this morning. Ikekwem and Oguamalam, greetings!
BOTH: Greetings!
NJOKU:
The citizenry have told me to issue a call to you two this morning, so
you can tell them what is causing a quarrel between the dog and the
feces. [Village dogs were always hungry, even to the point of eating
feces.] So, you will explain to all the townspeople what made you bring
us a bad thing in this town. The chiefs and the people will sit here and
decide this matter so that peace will be restored between you.
Ihenweorie-ikpa greetings!
THE CROWD: Yaa! That's what we said. (Iwejua then rises.)
IWEJUA: Ihenweorie kwenu! [a form of salutation].
THE CROWD: Yaa!
IWEJUA:
One does not see a child's teeth empty-handed. [Refers to the custom of
giving a gift if one is the first to notice that a baby's teeth have
started to emerge.] Bring your wine of judgment, and kola nut for the
people here. (They bring them out.)
NJOKU: We have seen your wine. Ihenweorie-ikpa kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU: The next thing we will look into is Osuji Anajem's suit against Nwigbe. Is Osuji here?
OSUJI: Yes! I am here.
NWOKORO: Come out here. (He comes out.)
NJOKU: We have seen your wine. What is your matter about?
OSUJI:
I use this wine to sue Nwigbe, Oparaeke's wife. Last Eke day, Nwigbe
entered my farm that is near their house and uprooted fifteen splits of
yams I had just newly planted. Up to now, I haven't seen those yam
splits. What she used them for, the son of Anajem does not know. What I
want is for Nwigbe to pay me 27 ikpoghe [monetary unit, such as cowrie
shell] for these yams she dug up.
NJOKU: All right. Countrymen, have you heard Osuji's side?
THE CROWD: Yes!
NJOKU: We will look into this matter after we finish judging the first one. Ihenweorie kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU:
What brought us here this morning is to have a peace talk. There is
nothing sweeter than brothers living in unity, because in unity there is
strength. Therefore, we don't want anyone to cause disturbances in this
matter this morning. Villagers, greetings!
THE CROWD: Greetings!
NJOKU: Oguamalam, explain to us the gist of your quarrel. (He sits down.)
OGUAMALAM: Ihenweorie-ikpa kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
OGUAMALAM: Kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
OGUAMALAM:
The chameleon says that the reason he treads gently on the earth is so
that he won't break it, because the earth was not very hard when he was
born. I, Oguamalam, am an only child. My mother bore only me. Therefore,
there is no one at all I would want to quarrel with. And the ukpabi
says that rather than putting his head into the fire [looking for
trouble], let the wind blow him away. Rather than the yam be undercooked
in the pot, it would be good for Oguamalam if the firewood in the
forest were completely used up. Nothing else divides me and Ikekwem and
his people, except that I am defending my father's land, which is the
"Main farmland" bush. Is there anyone in Akabo who doesn't know that my
father, Okemkpi, and his brother, Okpuruka, shared their paternal land?
When Okemkpi and Okpuruka buried their father, Chima, they shared all
the funeral expenses equally. My father then marked off his share.
Okpuruka then also took his share. At no time did a quarrel break out
between them. When they began again the sharing of their father's wealth
they also shared it equally, with no quarrel at all between them. When
these lands were distributed, it was my father Okemkpi who received this
"Main farmland" bush. All the Akabo people are my witnesses in this
matter. How can Ikekwem and his brothers take their full share in the
land of their father Okpuruka, and then come and make a claim on
Okemkpi's land? Does this look right to you all?
THE CROWD: No! It is an abomination! Chei! (Much noise breaks out.)
OGUAMALAM: Ihenweorie-ikpa kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa! (The noise dies down.)
OGUAMALAM:
God forbid! If one bears a child and calls it Nkemdirim [let my own
stay with me], is he saying that his compatriots should let their own
run away from them? Let me not reject my own. My brothers, it is because
of my father's land, the "Main farmland," that Ikekwem and his
household are trying to kill me. I will not avoid people and go and live
in the bush for the sake of remaining alive. Rather, let what will
happen tomorrow happen today, so I can see it with my own eyes. My name
is Oguamalam ["let the staff of innocence not be against me"]. What I
know is that I will not do something for which the staff of innocence
will indict me. May you all not die early. (Commotion breaks out. He
sits down.)
NJOKU: Ihenweorie kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU: Kwezuenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU:
One should not use only one person's story on which to pass judgment.
We ought to listen to Ikekwem's side. (He sits down.) (Ikekwem then
rises.)
IKEKWEM:
Countrymen, may you not die early. I will cut my speech short. I
haven't the strength for a lot of talk. When my father Okpuruka and his
brother, Okemkpi, shared their father's land, they decided that they
would redivide these lands when their children had reached adulthood.
Our father Okpuruka had three sons. I am his oldest son. My two other
brothers have grown to manhood. They all have wives, as you well know.
Oguamalam himself is the only child Okemkpi had. He also has grown to
manhood. A long time ago I suggested to him that we should redivide
these lands as our fathers had decided. But Oguamalam refused to listen
to the idea that these lands should be redivided. (Oguamalam then
interrupts forcefully.)
OGUAMALAM:
Shut your mouth! Greed will kill you.
What-the-eye-sees-the-heart-will-not-let-go! Where did Okemkpi and
Okpuruka decide this? Is this something your advisers and your leaders
told you to say? Look --
NJOKU:
(Cuts him off.) Sit down, Oguamalam! Who told you to speak without
permission? If you say another word, we will fine you. (A person then
rises from among them.)
ANOGWI: Ihenweorie kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
ANOGWI: Kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
ANOGWI:
We came to make peace. We ought to listen fully to the cases of these
two people. The people will be questioning them. Oguamalam, we don't
want to hear from you again until we ask you a question. Ikekwem, get to
the point. People and chiefs, kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
IKEKWEM:
What I was saying before Oguamalam interrupted me was that he did not
want us to redivide these lands as our fathers had decided. So, I just
took over one piece of land so we could start to make use of everything
we could by any means. The land I took, "Main farmland," is not among
the ones our fathers shared. That is what caused us to fight. May you
all not die early. Who would say that if it were he, he would not do the
same? May you all not die early. (He sits down. There is commotion for a
brief time.)
NJOKU: Countrymen, you have heard their cases. Is there anyone who has any questions for them?
IWEJUA:
Yes! the first question I want to ask Ikekwem is this. Who is your
witness, that Okemkpi and Okpuruka decided that they must redivide the
land for their children?
IKEKWEM: The ofo-holders who came to the sharing ceremonies of that land are here.
OGBUEHI:
I was there when these lands were divided. I joined in going to set
their boundaries. But at no time did the two people, your fathers, say
in the presence of the ofo-holders that they were going to redivide the
land for their children. Nwokoro, eh? (He looks at Nwokoro.)
NWOKORO: You are exactly right. That is how it happened.
IKEKWEM:
(He jumps up forcefully.) Elder who knows but does not speak! You all
are supporting Oguamalam so that he alone should hold everything we own
together. No! This will not happen in my presence. I am leaving! (Noise
then breaks out. He starts up, as though to leave. Njoku then rises.)
NJOKU: Chei, chei, chei! Countrymen kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU:
Ikekwem! Don't take a step from here! You gathered firewood infested
with ants, why are you running away from the lizard? Don't take a step
from here. This matter will end today. Ihenweorie kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa! (Ikekwem sits down.)
NJOKU: We have heard your first question. Does anyone have another question?
OGBUEHI:
Yes! My brother Ikekwem, please, don't feel hurt when the truth is
spoken to you. The truth is very bitter to the ears of the person it
goes against. I will not, just because of the cat's cries when it is
hungry, take my chicken outside for it to eat. Another question I think I
should ask you is this: can you kneel before Amadioha and swear that
this land that you and Oguamalam are quarreling about is your father's
land? And that your father Okpuruka and Okemkpi decided in the presence
of the ofo-holders to divide their land and that they would redivide the
land for their children when they grew up? And it is not with the idea
of cheating that you want to take your brother Oguamalam's land away
from him? Will you plead innocence in this way when you swear this
oath?
IKEKWEM: Yes! I will swear it! I and my household. Ikekwem, if I swear it, I will not die. (Noisy commotion then breaks out.)
NJOKU: People and chiefs, kwenu!
THE CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU:
You have heard that this matter has ended today. Ikekwem has agreed
that he and his household will swear and oath and take that land.
Therefore, the matter as ended. The day oaths are taken in this village
is Eke day. Ikekwem and his household will swear on next Eke day, which
is four days from today. Nwokoro, a task has come to you. You will send
out the Ayaka-owu masquerade, to go and gather all the bad medicine in
that bush early Eke morning. Ihenweorie, kwenu! [Supposedly the medicine
will keep Ikekwem out of the land if he is guilty.]
THE CROWD: Yaa!
NJOKU:
It is very late. We will set another date for the case of Osuji and
Nwigbe: let it be on the next Afo-Amadioha. Ihenweorie, kwenu!
THE
CROWD: Yaa! (Drumming then starts. Njoku and the priests begin to dance
to it. Ubu-Ekpe [probably a masquerade] then comes out and starts to
dance.Act Seven
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