The Matter Already Discussed - An Igbo Play

"The Matter Already Discussed," shows the love between two young people, Ibe and Ugomma. Their love began when they were still in high school and continued, despite the disapproval of Ibe's father, until the two of them said their vows and became husband and wife. It will be something for young boys and girls to consider and to decide if that type of behavior is good for them to follow.

Mr. Basil Joe Nwakuba wrote this play.

Cast of Characters

  

Ibe -- Young high school boy
Obike -- His father
Ogbediya -- His mother
Mmaji -- His sister
Nwanyinkwo -- Obike's mother
Okwuchi -- Obike's sister
Onwukwe -- Ibe's friend
Ike -- Okwuchi's son
Nneka -- Okwuchi's young daughter
Nwamkpa -- Obike's firstborn son
Ugomma -- Young high school girl
Nweke -- Her father
Diwumma -- Her mother
Chinwe -- Their child
Mbakwe -- Nweke's brother Izukamma, Nwaizu -- Nweke's relatives 

Scene 1

(On the school road, Ibe comes out of school to go home, looks behind him and sees Ugomma, another student, coming. He begins to go very slowly until Ugomma catches up to him.) 

Ugomma: Ibe, since you have arrived here, have classes been dismissed before you left? 

Ibe: They have been dismissed.

Ugomma: Aha, you are holding a charm. Are you perhaps waiting for someone?

Ibe: Yes! I am holding a charm. It is that one you prepared for me. (He moves a bit closer to meet Ugo, who goes past him.)

Ugomma: Hmm. I think there is someone you are waiting for. 

Ibe: Whom do you think I am waiting for? Is there anyone coming now besides you? 

Ugomma: Is there a message?

Ibe: Yes ... 

Ugomma: Quickly, give it then. (She keeps on moving.) 

Ibe: Wait for me. Can someone bite you from a distance? (Ugo pauses.)

Ibe: (in a low voice.) Ugo, why are you doing this? What ... ? What about the ... 

Ugomma: (In a loud voice.) Please, Ibe, tell me quickly, so I can go home, time is passing. I don't want anyone to ask me meaningless questions when I get home now. 

Ibe: It concerns the matter I talked to you about the other day. I do not know what you thought. 

Ugomma: What matter is that? 

Ibe: Have you forgotten? You women. I really don't know why you act so crazy sometimes. 

Ugomma: (She goes close to Ibe.) Honestly, I have forgotten what it is. Please remind me, don't be angry. 

Ibe: (He smiles.) What I told you that day when it was trying to rain, you and I and Onwukwe came out into the Nwozuzu compound before he went home. I know that you remember what it is now.

Ugomma: (Angrily, with a loud voice.) Please, if there is nothing you want to tell me, you should forget it so I can go home. You are going to make them question me about where I went since school was dismissed. (She steps away to leave.) 

Ibe: (He acts as though he wants to approach Ugo.) Quickly, come now. It is that I told you that day that your behavior pleased me and it will please me if we become ... 

Ugomma: (She interrupts the remaining words out of his mouth.) O o o o. So that is why you have been beating around the bush ever since. What is bad or shameful in in it? 

Ibe: No o o. Ugo my sister, you know that I do not know how to find the right words to ask you so that you do not get angry, because I saw how you frowned the first day that I started to speak to you about the matter.

Ugomma: No o o. There was no anger in it but I just wanted to tell you this:  There are things one can discuss in public, and there are also things one sits down and talks about humbly.

Ibe: That is true. But what then shall we do now? Will you come to our house, so you can find out what I ... 

Ugomma: (She interrupts him forcefully.) No no no! How can I come looking for you by coming to your house? Whom then should I say that I am looking for? 

Ibe: All right. Then I shall come soon. Which day do you want me to come? So that trouble ... 

Ugomma: Any day you like. I am not going anywhere. 

Ibe: Good, I will tell you in school which day I will come. Goodbye. 

Ugomma: All right, goodbye.

Scene 2

(The evening of the next day. After the market people have gone Ibe goes to see Ugo at her house. Ugo is in the compound reading. Ibe enters very quietly. He touches his hand to her throat.)

Ugomma: Mother of mine! (She jumps up, startled.) O o o Ibe! I knew that no one else would behave like this. You really scared me.

Ibe: Hey! Ugo! You were really scared while I was behind you, you were really absorbed in this book you were reading. So how is your family?

Ugomma: They are well. My mother and the others have gone to market.

Ibe: And your brothers and sisters? 

Ugomma: They have gone to the forest to gather firewood. They have all gone out.

Ibe: Ugo, what is this that you are reading? Is there some homework we were given? 

Ugomma: Ibe, first take a chair and sit down. You have come with your big question and I don't want anyone to bring a guest for me. [Refers to superstitious belief that if a guest remains standing it will cause another guest to appear.] There is a chair. (She brings a chair for Ibe.)

Ibe: (Sits down.) Now I have sat down. You know what follows when a chair is brought to a person. 

Ugomma: What follows when a chair is brought to a person?

Ibe: Kola nut, of course! Or are you not an Igbo?

Ugomma: I have no kola nut. Unless you want to read a little.

Ibe: Ugo, time is passing. Let me be able to reach home before it gets dark.

Ugomma: Well, what do you want me to do? Haven't I told you that I have no kola? 

Ibe: What kola, forget about kola. Is kola food?

Ugomma: What should I do then? 

Ibe: Ugo, look, you are no longer a child. Our elders say that when a matter has already been discussed, it is agreed to with only a nod of the head.

Ugomma: Ibe, have you come again with these proverbs that you use to scare us in class? I say that anyone who has something to say to me should tell it to me outright. I do not understand proverbs.

Ibe: All right. A long story is not good for the evening mass. Then what about the thing we discussed the day before yesterday? What did you think about it? 

Ugomma: Ibe, you know that it is getting dark, so I will not waste time to tell you what my thoughts are because the time is approaching when the market people will start to return. You have seen for yourself that beginning from our first year in high school up until this last one that we are in now, I have been very interested in you just as you have been in me. Therefore, I don't have much to say except to tell you to tell your mother and father as I will also tell my people and find out what they will say. Because they are still educating us. Whatever one [of us] finds out, let him inform the other. 

Ibe: Ugo, you have done well. I like everything you said. You speak like one who has taken breast milk to the full. But what I want to tell you before I go is this: Try, take this kind of wisdom that you have, call your mother aside and tell her about our conversation. Through her, your father will find out. And then for my part, I will try with all my powers to go through my mother to inform my father. It is true that we are still students who are still being educated. But our own students are different; we will finish our studies this year, and if God helps us, we will come out and we will find work immediately. Have you heard what I said? I will start going home. (He rises to leave.) Stay well. Good night.

Ugomma: Fine. Good night. Good journey.

Ibe: Oh! Goodness! When will we see each other again to find out where the palm kernel-beater has put his pestle? [find out what progress has been made and what to do next] 

Ugomma: M-m-m, let it be next week. 

Ibe: No-o. Next week is too far away. I want us to start this evening. Start talking about it and in about two days I will come and we will know what we are facing. 

Ugomma: All right. Come then the day after tomorrow. Let me see if an opportunity will come to me this evening to tell my mother.

Ibe: All right. Goodbye. 

Ugomma: Goodbye. 

The lights go out. 

on to Act Two 

 

Akuuwa - An Igbo Play, Act One

"Akuuwa" tells about what is happening these days concerning various religions that are springing up like mushrooms, along with "good" things their leaders like Akuuwa are doing. If you keep on tricking a foolish person, he becomes wise. Also, the house rat tells the bush rat that the mound of pumpkin seeds is in the basket. "Follow what I say but don't follow what I do" is a bad thing. It is bad enough when it concerns an ordinary person but it is worse where it concerns a church leader.

Indeed, worldly wealth is useless. Searching for it requires that there be dignity according to the work one should do and says that at best it should become a work of love. But the amassing of worldly wealth by hook or by crook is a bad thing. It is the worst if the life of the person seeking this worldly wealth has no peace. Something like this brings ruination of the reputation and a bad life whose end is destruction.

In the play "Akuuwa," a man whose name is Akuuwa has not found peace in all the places he worked, whether in teaching or in company work, because of  great desire, greed and the pleasures of the world. Even when he took himself to be the leader of the Holy Spirit Church, he could not forget his past life. It is said that what makes the muskrat smell is inside its body, for if it were outside its body the rain would have beaten it out. Read this play, discover the type of life Akuuwa lived and where it led him.

It was written by Mrs. Constance Nlemadim, Mr. Harold Ewelukwa and Anunobi Okezie.

Cast of Characters
 Akuuwa -- Leader of the Church of the Holy Spirit
Sera -- Akuuwa's wife
Ibe -- their servant
Ekwekwe, Arinze, Ukoha, Nnodi -- Elders of the Church of the Holy Spirit, conspirators against Akuuwa
Nwugo -- Ekwekwe's wife
Ukandu -- A seer
Apostle -- One who prepares the house of prayer
Magistrate -- Chief of the court
Court Clerk -- Clerk of the court
Policeman -- One who sees that there is no disturbance
Corporal Okafo -- One who arrests fighters
Church Members -- Others who come to pray
First person, Second person, Third person, Fourth person, Irechi, Amadi -- Townspeople

ACT ONE

(In the house of a prophet. It is morning. Akuuwa wakes up, chewing on his chewing-stick. His wife, Sera, enters; they start to talk about the church service they will attend that morning.)

Akuuwa: (Sighs deeply.) Today's prayer...

Sera: Today's prayer, what happened?

Akuuwa: Sera, my wife, I feel so weak today. If it were not for the need to work in order to eat, I would have felt like resting today.

Sera: Master, do you rest because we have become rich, or what? Don't you also know that the ear does not rest if the jaw is still chewing something? Has this laziness come back again? It was also laziness that made them let you go from your Company job!

Akuuwa: All the time you talk about laziness, laziness. Talk about things you know something about. I told you that it was Ahumibe's accusation against me, saying that I took bribes, that made them fire me. I don't want to hear this type of talk from your mouth again. (He is silent for a little while.) Ibe! Ibe!!

Ibe: (Runs in.) I'm here.

Akuuwa: Some people said that they were going to come before the church service starts, so we can pray for them. Go and see if they have come. (Ibe goes out.)

Sera: Who are those people you are expecting so specially? Go and have your bath so you will be ready to go.

Akuuwa: Woman, leave me alone. Why hurry to lick your finger, are you going to fold your hands on the shelf?

Sera: If I have to tell you again to have your bath, you will know that it was not Okonkwo [her own father] who gave birth to me. [That is, I own myself -- I am a woman of my word.]

Akuuwa: Have you prepared water for my bath? (He gets up and goes to bathe as Ibe enters.) Ibe, have they come?

Ibe: Sir! Adamma and her young sister are there. It has been a long time since they arrived.

Akuuwa: Really! Go quickly and get me my prayer garment. (Ibe enters the house and fetches the prayer garment.)

Sera: Who is Adamma, expecting you so early this morning? Is this why you are not going to bathe this morning? (Akuuwa ignores her. Ibe enters and starts to hand him his garment. Sera forcibly snatches the garment from him. Ibe quietly slips out.) Haven't you heard my question? Is it that you don't know who Adamma is? Adamma! Adamma! Adamma whose razor is sharp for shaving men's heads. [Refers to Adamma's reputation for bad behavior toward men.] Heei! Please, what is your business with Adamma?

Akuuwa: Sera, my good woman (gently), is it really you talking like this? Have you forgotten what is written in the Bible?

Sera: What is written in the Bible? Does the Bible tell you that Adamma came and you should not have your morning bath?

Akuuwa: Have you forgotten what is written in the Bible where Christ said that he came because of sinners and not because of the righteous? He also said that a healthy person does not need a doctor. She wants me to say prayers for her.

Sera: That bird that cries and a human being dies, don't cry again. [Don't give me that same old story.]When death wants to take the dog it doesn't let him smell feces; did the things that bad young women did to you in your work as teacher not teach you anything? Rub your eyes. Think for yourself. The world is a fearful place.

Akuuwa: (In a soft voice.) Sera! Don't allow enemies to hear what you are saying. Hide me like the pumpkin hides its fruit. Haven't you had any faith that since we have entered into the Lord, my life has changed? That's enough. Let me go and bathe and let's not quarrel. (He rises and goes to bathe.)

Sera: (Sits down, looking around, thinking about what she is going to do.) Oh dear! What kind of husband have I married? When a person has something happen once and then it happens again, will he not learn some sense from it? If you shoot once and hit a tree, shoot a second time and hit a tree, was it the tree that carved the arrow? In the two years he worked as a teacher, the only thing he did was to chase after women like the cattle egret follows the cow around. He kept on living this type of life, got Aghaulo's wife pregnant, and then he was sacked. Which story shall I tell and leave out the rest? Is it the night journeys he used to go on when he worked for the Company? Or is it his constant drunkenness when he drank himself silly? When we started this prayer house I thanked God that everything was well. But now--hewuu! And now I discover that the thing that makes a muskrat smell is inside his body; if it had been outside his body, the rain would have washed it away. All right, let me be watching him and Adamma. (She rises and goes out in anger.)

The lights go out.

 

Akuuwa - An Igbo Play, Act Two

(In the house of prayer. Adamma is reading the Bible. An apostle is arranging the house of prayer, lighting candles and setting out the cross and holy water. He also lights incense and its smoke fills the whole place; the supplicants start to come in one by one; as each enters, he removes his shoes at the door. Everyone wears a long white garment. As each person enters, he kneels down and prays before he takes a seat.)

Apostle: Hallelu u u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Apostle: Hallelu u u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Apostle: Ho o o!

Congregation: Hosanna.

Apostle: Ho o o!

Congregation: Hosanna.

Apostle: Praise the Lord!

Congregation: Amen.

Apostle: Praise the Lord!

Congregation: Amen.

Apostle: (Starts a hymn. The gong and drum sound. Some people are clapping.)

    It will please me
    To be a friend of Jesus
    To be a friend of Jesus
    To be His friend, Oh yes.
    It will please me
    To be a friend of Jesus . . .

(When they finish singing this, they sing another one; while they are singing the last one, Akuuwa, the prophet, enters.)

Akuuwa: Hallelu u u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Akuuwa: Hallelu u u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Akuuwa: Let us pray to God. In the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Akuuwa: In the name of Je-e-sus!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Akuuwa: In the name of Je-e-sus!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Akuuwa: God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; God of Daniel, David and Dorcas; God of Moses, Miriam and Aaron. God of the children of Israel, a fearsome mountain to climb, a great rock who
saves, who is completely omniscient, He answers when He is called. What do You lack? Owner of heaven and earth. All the ancients begged You, and you satisfied them. When our time comes, will you fail to satisfy us?

Congregation: Jesus no-o!

Akuuwa: Please come and fulfill us in everything we ask for.

Congregation: A-a-men.

Akuuwa: Give us long life, give us wealth, it is You who placed us in this
world, and told us to care for everything in it. Master, give us storied houses, cars, money, a wealth of people; permit our leaders to have cars like the leaders of the Catholic church, the C.M.S., Methodist and other churches; so that cars will be everywhere in the compound when Your children come to pray to You as in other churches; so we will not then be called the "church of the hungry." A person who has nothing, let him have a bicycle; let the prophet drive a car, the apostles, motorcycles; allow all the prominent people who live in Ekeoji to come, kneel down to You in this church so that we may get money to build a great church for You, larger than any building in Ekeoji. In the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Akuuwa: Take from us all kinds of temptations, and give us strength to
overcome our enemies, in the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Akuuwa: Is there anyone who has seen any visions?

Ukandu: In the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Ukandu: Before God and man, what I am going to say is what I saw. During the prayer, I saw a person with his face covered; I didn't know who it was. He came and tore apart this white garment, took one half of it and ran off.

Apostle: God! Snatch away the devil's power!

Congregation: A-a-amen.

Apostle: Devil, fall into the ocean!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Apostle: God! Snatch away the devil's power!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Sera: In the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-men.

Sera: Before God and man, this thing I am going to say is what I saw. I saw Adamma wandering around people's farms, picking any fruit she wanted, regardless of the owners of the farms; she went from one person's farm to another. Adamma, whoever's farm you are on now, I see a great big pit in front of you. Stand! Adamma stand! Do not set your foot down again, because if you do, you will fall into a terrible big pit. In the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-amen.

Sera: Adamma will fast for seven days. She will bring seven candles, to be used in praying for her until the end of those seven days.

Akuuwa: Hallelu u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Akuuwa: Hallelu u u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Akuuwa: Hallelu u u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Akuuwa: Before God and man, what I am going to say is what I saw. I saw the country of Nigeria being molded, sand was mixed in, mixed in, clay and dirt molded it. It was very heavy but also small. One huge person then came out, lifted it and threw it to the ground; it broke like chalk. I counted nineteen pieces, and then it went out of my sight. In the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-amen.

Akuuwa: Another thing I saw resembled the face of Brother Jude. I saw him lying on his ragged mat, spread on the ground; he was frowning. A man came out and lifted him up, carried him to a huge, well-built and decorated chair and put him down on it. Now it is our responsibility that Brother Jude should pray fervently so that this vision should become a good one. In the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-amen.

Akuuwa: Hallelu-u-u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Akuuwa: All those who have been seen in visions come out so we can pray for them. It is also something for which to praise God that my wife, Sera, began to see visions today. (All these people go before the altar and kneel down.) Hallelu-u-u!

Congregation: Halleluja-ah.

Akuuwa: God of Abraham and Isaac, God of Jacob and David. The head of the stream that washes the heart, one who answers when he is called, the omniscient one who knows all, one who cares for the poor, please, oh come and hear our voices. Our master, we have heard the revelations you have made known to us through Ukandu. We beg You to take Your grace and keep the devil from entering the congregation of Your children. Take Your power and strike out the power of the devil.

Congregation: A-a-men.

Akuuwa: Use Your power to strike out the power of the devil.

Congregation: A-a-amen.

Akuuwa: Use your power to strike out the power of the devil.

Congregation: A-a-men.

Akuuwa: Our master, meeting the needs of the holy spirit is important, as it is to You, but meeting the needs of the flesh is man's responsibility. If an itch irritates a wild animal he will go to a tree trunk, but if it irritates a man, his fellow man will scratch it for him. Adamma is a woman of created by the work of your hand, so do not allow her to fall into the pit that my wife dug ... er ... saw before her. Show her the way she must follow to hide from her enemies, in the name of Jesus.

Congregation: A-a-amen.

Akuuwa: Our master, my wife Sera just started today to see visions; it is something to praise You for that you opened her eyes concerning the person of Adamma; then she saw a vision. Praise be to You!

Congregation: A-a-amen.

Akuuwa: Our master, may Your will be done concerning this great country of Nigeria. In the name of Jesus!

Congregation: A-a-amen.

Akuuwa: Hallelu-u-u!

Congregation: Hallelujah.

Akuuwa: Ho-o-o!

Congregation: Hosanna. (The supplicants go back to their benches.)

Akuuwa: The Lord be with you all.

Congregation: May He be also with your spirit.

The lights go out.

 

Akuuwa - An Igbo Play, Act Three

(In the house of Ekwekwe. Ekwekwe is at home, reading the Bible. Nnodi enters, he raises his head and says to him, "Welcome, Nnodi," and buries his face in the book he is reading. His eyeglasses fall onto the bridge of his nose like those of a committee of elders.)

Nnodi: Ekwekwe, when I came to your house, you acted as though you did not see me, is there any peace? Has that Bible you are reading made you into
someone who stays in one place while his mind is in another?

Ekwekwe: (Sighs, turns to face Nnodi) Don't take offense, my brother. It is said that when you come to the house of someone who is working at a craft, he seems to look gloomy. Was there any quarrel between you and me before now? Something happened to the cocoyam's waist to make it cry "nwiii." The toad does not run in the daytime for nothing.

Nnodi: (In surprise) What happened? I know very well that this is not how you were at first when I came in and looked at your face and found out that something was not the way it used to be. Is there no peace in your household? Has the illness that Sera has been suffering started up again?

Ekwekwe: Nnodi, my friend, there is no trouble in my household; rather, you know that when the legs wobble back and forth, the eye that watches it goes back and forth with it.

Nnodi: Ekwekwe, I have not fully comprehended these proverbs you are giving today. Whoever carved the ikoro drum should widen its teeth, because ...

(Nwugo enters, carrying kolanut)

Nwugo: (Kneels and gives the kolanut to her husband.) Brother Nnodi, welcome. How are your family? I trust that our Sister and her children are in good health?

Nnodi: There is no trouble. The only sickness we have is hunger.

Nwugo: Hunger is a small matter when one is healthy. One whose life is complete and has high expectations, our master will help and bring what is needed to nourish the life he gave us. He says we should stop thinking about tomorrow, because tomorrow will take care of itself.

Nnodi: That is true, my Sister. How about your children? I trust that they are very well?

Nwugo: They are all fine.

Nnodi: Praise be to Jesus.

Nwugo: Amen. (He then goes out.)

Ekwekwe: Isn't it true that when kola comes it brings on talking. Nnodi, kola
has come. (He then shows him the kola. While this is taking place, Ukoha and Arinze knock on the door.)

Ekwekwe: Whoever is knocking on the door, come on in! (They come in.) O o o, Ukoha! Welcome! Arinze, was this a planned thing? Sit down. You have seen the kola we have in our hands. This shows that you wish us well. (He carries the kola to Ukoha.)

Ukoha: He is right. My brother, look now. (He carries the kola to Arinze.)

Arinze: The kola is good. The chief's kola has returned to the chief. (He carries it to Ekwekwe.)

Ekwekwe: God, we thank you that you have preserved our lives until today. We beg for good things and health. If someone says that we should die without enjoying life to the full, let him go to sleep before the chickens. [May he die early.] He who works, let him eat. We hold the staffs of innocence and justice o! Please, come and bless this kola for us in the name of Jesus our master.

The Others: Amen o!

Nnodi: I have looked around and seen that it is we, we who are here, our people say that if people stay together to eat vulture, they solve their problems [literally, "the basket is brought down"]. It is not that our conversation before (he looks at Arinze and Ukoha) you came was anything secret where you are concerned.

Ekwekwe: (Coughs, looks around like someone looking for something.) My brothers, welcome. What Nnodi said is right. Not long ago I was thinking how I was going to call you all together because when we see each other, things do not go wrong. Now I see that it is the will of God causing all of us to meet together at this time. They say that if you meet behind a strong man in secret, you will have to do it a second time. (He is silent for a moment, looking calm.) Nnodi, you were asking about the look on my face when you entered. It seems to me that none of you is giving thought to how this church of ours is getting along and how Akuuwa is behaving against us. It seems as if he is still involved in the wrongdoing which was the type of life this man must have been living for a long time before he began to do this church work. We all thought that he had changed. But his behavior at times shows that no matter how the rain beats down on the guinea fowl, it still has its spots. You know very well that a person in this type of position now should be a holy person, one who keeps himself clean both in spirit and in flesh. Anyone who has the eyes of an animal-hunter will see what is happening in our house of prayer, and will know that there is something hidden going on between Akuuwa and Adamma.

Ukoha: There is truth in what Ekwekwe said. I did not know that there was anyone else seeing what I was seeing.

Arinze: About Adamma that is a small matter. (He then says h...m...m.)
The palm wine tapper does not reveal everything he sees from the top of the palm tree.

Ekwekwe: The gifts that are given to our prayer house, we know nothing about them. The collections we contribute among ourselves and those that come from other areas, do you know how they are going along? (They look around at each other and shake their heads.) I ask you to tell me how they are going along. Did you know that a storied house is being built in his village, Ndiako, now? (They all jump in surprise.)

Nnodi: Ekwekwe, is what you are saying really true, or are you joking?

Ukoha: I had gone out one day, and he and some man were talking in low voices. I heard them handling bags of cement, sand, blocks, planks, zinc, iron pokers. It has been three months now. It puzzles me greatly as to what he was using these things to do.

Ekwekwe: If it puzzles you, you should look down at the ground and find out what is going on in our church; you all have your heads in the clouds. You did not know that at that time he was preparing for that house. Go and see the house he started three months ago, that it is completely finished. Is he printing money? Or is he a thief?

Arinze: You ask if he is printing money, it is also that he who holds the yam, holds the knife, and the one for whom he slices it open does the eating. He is the pastor and the collector of the money as well as the keeper of the money. What did you think would happen? Did anyone inquire about him? You all know that Brother Jude, the man we prayed for more than a month ago in the house of prayer, to obtain a good job and send us one bag of money? (Ukoha and Nnodi then shouted separately in surprise.)

Ekwekwe: I don't know if there is anyone else who heard anything like this. The matter of this money goes along with what I had in mind and wanted to tell you. It has been more than four months since I heard about it. I kept thinking that he would tell us about it, but until today I haven't heard the slightest thing. Sleep that lasts for a week turns into death. What do you all think?

Nnodi: It is not that we do not know what we can say, or what we can do. There are many things that we can do, but I am afraid of this man. The person who does not know who is his superior is dead.

Ekwekwe: What are you afraid of? Is he not your fellow man?

Nnodi: You also asked what caused the sudden death of Dimkpa and the violent death of Ahumibe. You have forgotten that it was Ahumibe who was the one who revealed that he accepted a bribe, which caused him to be dismissed from his job. Dimkpa, in his own area, went and started a fight with him in his house because he was trying to take his wife away from him. If you have completely forgotten these things, what about the thing that happened yesterday only--that Akumefula came to him to collect a debt and they then argued, insulted each other, and he lost his life because of it. A man in his own house had his testicles squeezed. Can it be that you do not know that it was praying that he used to pray these people to death?

Ukoha: This prayer you spoke of, was it different? Was it the same prayer that all of us pray?

Nnodi: Have you all asked what he is doing with the that thing that looks like the face of a spirit that is behind his house? Don't you know that that is the place where he brings out the soul of the one he wants to kill and takes out that person's life in the twinkling of an eye. (The others are startled and shout out in sadness.)

Ukoha: Ha ... w u u! Is that what he is doing there? Is that what caused the red candle and blood to pour out there all the time? No wonder he commits atrocities without fear of anyone great or small.

Arinze: Now I understand the meaning of the words that Ibe, his servant, spoke concerning the type of mysterious prayer that only his master prayed, in the dead of night, behind the house.

Ekwekwe: I am happy that you are understanding the type of person Akuuwa is. You do not have to tell a deaf person that the market has started up, nor do you tell a mature adult to come out of the sun. It is not necessary to gossip about something that is common knowledge. It is up to us now to say what our position will be with regard to this man in the House of Prayer. If the corpse does not make any noise, it is carried across his father's compound. If a person is silent, his chi is silent. What do you all think? Shall we keep on waiting and watching to see what will happen?

Arinze: My thought in this matter is to consider how we can smash that shrine of his. That is all I have to say.

Ukoha: I support what Arinze has said because it will cause his power to fail. If you take from a man what he uses to be good, his goodness is spoiled.

Nnodi: In my mind, I think that it would be better if we ourselves would break away from his House of Prayer and start one of our own. Let him carry his trouble with him to his church. One to whom something has happened before should be wise, and come out iinto the world before the abomination.

Ekwekwe: These pieces of advice you all have given are very good, but I am thinking that if we leave that shrine of his alone and expose him [take him by force] before the House of Prayer, he will go there and pray us to death as Nnodi said. But if we go and smash the shrine and still remain as members of his House of Prayer, there will be no peace between him and us. Therefore, I am thinking that we should definitely take both of these counsels. We will smash the shrine and also break away from his House of Prayer. Do you all agree with this? Or shall we let everything go and accept disgusting insults when we accompany our friends to the market?

Arinze: God forbid!

Ukoha: It would be like a person washing his hands to break a palmnut for a chicken. Have we forgotten what the Bible says? "One who loses his life shall receive it, but one who thinks of only his own life will lose it at the end."

Nnodi: I have seen that the hearts of all people are the same. Since one person standing alone is bitten to death by flies, I agree with what you all have said; let it be like when you are mixing juju and it starts to take effect immediately. Time should not be wasted, what is to be done should be started. He has burned us together in the fire.

Ekwekwe: I am very pleased at the way our voices are united. When a seed bears fruit and ripens on the same day, it is not a good seed. You should go home and leave the rest to me. Be listening for my message. You have done well. Let it rest now. (They rise to leave.)

Nnodi: You have done well. We will go home.

Ukoha: Thank your wife. Goodbye.

Arinze: (Shakes Ekwekwe's hand.) The discussion is over. It will be confirmed by a nod. Let's go.

The lights go out.

Akuuwa - An Igbo Play, Act Four

(In Akuuwa's house. Akuuwa and his wife are not at home, but Ibe, their servant is there. Ekwekwe, Arinze, Nnodi and Ukoha, well prepared, have hidden their knives in their bags. They stand in the path near Akuuwa's house. Akuuwa's shrine is behind his house.)

Ekwekwe: Wait for me here while I check out the land. (He leaves them and goes to the front of Akuuwa's house. Ibe is sweeping the house. He knocks on the door.)

Ibe: Who is knocking? Enter!

Ekwekwe: Ibe, are your master and his wife at home?

Ibe: They are not at home. They both went out together.

Ekwekwe: Do you know where they went? Have they been gone long?

Ibe: I don't know. They did not tell me where they were going, but it has not been long since they left.

Ekwekwe: Good. We are coming now. (He then leaves and goes to the members of his group.) The coast is clear. They are not at home. Quickly, everything, speedily, speedily. (They all then stream into Akuuwa's house.)

Ekwekwe: Ibe! Come. There is some work the Holy Spirit has given us to do in this house at this time. Whether the owners are at home or not. We will carry out the task he has given us. (They then go behind the house and surround the shrine. Ekwekwe throws holy water around the base of the shrine as he speaks.) In the name of Jesus!

The Others: Amen.

Ekwekwe: Jaa! Jaa! Jehova Jaa! Come and take away the power of the devil in the name of Jesus!

The Others: Amen.

Ekwekwe: Take away the power of the devil< destroy all the bad spirits, in the name of Jesus!

The Others: Amen.

(They all start to chop down the shrine with all their strength, everyone among them speaking in tongues.)

Ekwekwe: Arinze, take that olive oil and pour it all around here. Nnodi and Ukoha, light the candles and put them all around here.

Ekwekwe: (After they finish these things.) We have smashed the power of the devil. Praise be to God in the name of Jesus!

The Others: A-amen.

(They then turn around and leave. Ibe is wiping his eyes. As they are leaving
they encounter Akuuwa on the road.)

Akuuwa: My brothers in Christ. The way you have stuck a knife at your waist, going along like people going to war. Is all well in the town?

Ekwekwe: Oh prophet, our master, you have returned. We have come from your house. The Holy spirit led us to go and do a job in your house, so we went and answered the call. The job went very well, there was no trouble.

Akuuwa: You say that you did a job in my house? Indeed, God uses his people to work in various ways. Praise be to God in the name of Jesus!

All: Amen.

Arinze: All right, let's go.

Akuuwa: Why should you go? Since God is the reason you met me on the road, we will go back. I know that my wife is not at home, and know also that Ibe will not be able to offer you kola. Please, let us go back then. Your deeds satisfy me more than food. Praise be to the creator of the world.



Ekwekwe: (He and the members of his group exchange meaningful glances.) Do not trouble yourself about the kola. We have already started out on the path. Let it be for another time. The day of the hunter is when the bushrat is hunted behind the house.

Akuuwa: Indeed, I will not feel right if you all do not join me and turn back, because a worker deserves the reward for his work.

All: We have told you to let us leave. The one who led us to the work will reward us for the work. We know that the reward for our work, as the Holy Bible says, is in heaven.

(They then turn back and leave. Akuuwa stands and watches them for a while, then turns and goes home himself. Akuuwa enters his house, sees Ibe looking like someone who has been taken advantage of, drying his tears.)

Akuuwa: Ibe! Come here. You look like an abused child. (Ibe stands up.) Were there people who came to work here? What work did they do?

Ibe: It was Ekwekwe and ... and ... and Ukoha and ...

Akuuwa: All right. Where did they do the work?

Ibe: It ... It was behind the house. In that place you-you-you stay ...

Akuuwa: Where? Come and show me that place quickly. (Ibe then goes and shows him.)

Akuuwa: (Presses his hand to his head, shouts in a loud voice.) Oh my God! Oh God! Oh heaven and earth! A disaster has really taken place here! Is this why Ekwekwe and his group came to work in my house? (He turns and stares at Ibe. Ibe starts to cry.) Ibe! Ibe!! Were you at home when these people defiled this spot?

Ibe: They came in and told me ... told me that it was the Holy Spirit who sent them ...

Sera: (Bursts in in surprise.) What has happened? (She sees what happened.) Oh dear! Oh my God! Who did this?

Akuuwa: Haa! Haa! Too bad! Ekwekwe and his group have done an evil thing to me today. They have done what should not be done to me. They have made me suffer. O-oh! They have really crushed my testicles. The goat has eaten a palm leaf on my head [an expression indicating something unthinkable]. If you take away from a man the thing that makes him good, his goodness is spoiled. It is between them and me now. If a man's head is not on the ground, it hangs on the wall. (He beats his breast, pointing his finger and talking.) You vipers, you hypocrites, it is you and I today. (He angrily chases after them; his wife follows him; Ibe also turns after them. Akuuwa hurriedly calls Ekwekwe and his group, chasing after them.)

Akuuwa: Ekwekwe! Ekwekwe! Nnodi!

Nnodi: (Turns around.) It is Akuuwa. Look! What are we going to do?

Ekwekwe: We shall not run. It is man to man. Let's wait for him to come. (They then stop and wait for Akuuwa. (He reaches them.)

Akuuwa: (Breathing fast.) Ekwekwe! Ekwekwe!! I have seen that work the Holy Spirit led you to go and do in my house! Now, what I want is for you all to finish the remaining work on my body. You know that you are men, drop your knives on the ground so that we can fight with bare hands.

Ekwekwe: (In a soft voice.) Akuuwa, haven't we told you that the Holy Spirit led us to go and do this work? We do not want war, nor do we want a struggle. We all believe in God and know that his first law is, "You shall have no other gods before me."

Sera: Read yourselves to death in the law, defilers!

Akuuwa: If you all know that you are not hypocrites, men with wet testicles [sign of weakness], why did you not come when my wife and I were at home? If you knew that it was the Holy Spirit who led you to the work in my house, why did you not tell me the truth when you and I met on the road? Hypocrites! Vipers! Those who bite the hand that feeds them. Those who are "sheep who finish eating and then break the pot." But if one breaks the pot he uses for eating, he must eat on the ground. I am telling you all to throw away the knives you have stuck in your waists, so that man to man we can go on foot to look for what fell into the water.

Sera: He w u u! Oh my God! The hypocrites have defecated in the house of prayer! God forbid! The devil will send down fire on all of you.

Ukoha: Leave them alone; come now and let's leave, maybe our preacher and his wife have gone insane.

Akuuwa: Ukoha, what did you say? Who did you say has gone insane? (In the twinkling of an eye, he lifts Ukoha and throws him to the ground, pinning
him down by the neck. Ibe begins to cry loudly. Sera stands near her husband.)

Sera: Hold him tight! Show him the spirits! Kill him! (She sees the others trying to take hold of her husband.) What are you all trying to do? Stop it, let it be man to man.

(Ekwekwe, Nnodi and Arinze persevere in pulling Akuuwa off Ukoha. Ukoha
sprawls on the ground breathing like a lizard that has fallen from above. Sera
punches him and strikes him while shouting.)

Sera: Ekwekwe and his group have committed an atrocity here, oh! Oh my God! You all will kill us today. Look at us and finish us. Criminals, what did we do to you, eh? Ekwekwe and his group have committed an atrocity here! (People start to run in.)

First Person: What is causing this noise here? Is it a prophet who is being carried here? H a w u u!

Second Person: Hei! Hei! Hei! Our big prophet. What happened to him? Is he dead? Chei! Death! You have committed an abomination.

Ibe: He is not dead. It is they (points his finger) who were trying to beat him to death. He did nothing to them.

Third Person: Aren't they members of the Holy Spirit church? What did he do? Isn't he their leader?

(A policeman enters from the left. People see him and close their mouths.)

Policeman: (Grabs Ukoha when he tries to run.)

Corporal Okafo: What is happening here? (Everyone begins to scatter.) Everyone stay where you are! Don't even make a move. If anyone runs, it will be worse for him. (Those who are bold then run out; the others stand trembling in fear.) Am I not questioning all of you? Come close! What brought on all this trouble and commotion?

Fourth Person: I just now came. I saw the people of the Holy Spirit church holding on to their leader, his wife was shouting, I thought that he had died. There is one of them (points to Ukoha). He can tell you what happened.

Corporal Okafo: All right ... all of you ... follow me! Everyone come so he can explain how he saw it. Ukoha! Go ahead and show us where the members of your group are. Only the truth will save you.

(They all then go in great fear. Some of them clasp their hands to their heads, others to their hearts. Still others spread out their arms.)

The lights go out.

Akuuwa - An Igbo Play, Act Five

(In Irechi's house. Irechi and Amadi are seated, discussing the fight among
the members of the Church of the Holy Spirit.)

Irechi: (laughing, keeps on laughing, falls backward in his chair.) Ha! Ha! Ha! You are too much, Amadi. Ha! You say that all of the church people are greedy? Does it mean that there is not one good person among them?

Amadi: What do you think? When their leader who says that he is a prophet, is a goat himself and is also a drunkard, that is enough ...

Irechi: You say that he says that he is a prophet, does that mean you don't believe that he is a prophet?

Amadi: Is it that you can't prophesy in that manner? When you want to openly extort people's property, you start falling down like someone who is drunk and begin to say what you see and what you don't see and say that God directed you; does God use uproar, confusion and someone who causes commotion to speak to His people?

Irechi: What you are saying is true. Our church teacher read to us from the Holy Bible that God speaks in a gentle voice and in quiet places. I see many surprising things in the lives of the people of the Holy Spirit Church. Their behavior is distasteful to me.

Amadi: Have you seen other church people quarreling in public? Let alone their leader fighting in public? This fight they have carried on has exposed them in public. Now people will start wagging their tongues.

Irechi: People usually talk about things that happened when they were not there, let alone something like this that every goat and chicken saw with their own eyes; if someone speaks now, he will really be throwing salt and pepper on it. It is like the goat who died and said that his stomach should be cut open.

Amadi: People can say whatever pleases them, but I am saying what I saw. In the evening of last Eke day, while I was in my house, I heard Akuuwa and Ukachi's wife conversing outside of my house. Akuuwa told her to leave her husband and also to stop attending the Catholic Church where she was going, and start coming to his house of prayer. You know that Ukachi's wife is not pregnant and some women were calling her a barren woman. This type of situation was breaking this woman's heart. Akuuwa told her that he could pray special prayers for her and she would become pregnant, bear children, and keep them.

Irechi: This is the way they bring people in. Everyone who is in that church has entered it because of trouble and great confusion. The rat does not deliberately get caught in the trap. Does one go to Ibina Ukpabi [an oracle with power for evil] with his eyes wide open? I do not blame people.

Amadi: It would have been good if their troubles were being relieved at that place. But sometimes it was very bad. Many of them got into debt because of having to buy all the things they were told to buy for their prayers. There was one woman who went to borrow money from Ikeogu, money she would use to buy a sheep to be used in a sacrifice on her behalf. It was in the Otamiri River that they performed the sacrifice. Tell me if church people perform sacrifices in water?


Irechi: I heard that he consumes the money of his church people as though he were the only one who owned it. They say that he is building a storied house in his village now. You know that for 20 years Father James, my brother, has been in church work, and he did not build even a chicken house at his father's place, let alone a storied house. Look at Akuuwa! It is only two years ago that he started this prayer church, and see how he is respected in his father's house; he has joined those who are wealthy in their village.

Amadi: I think that that is what caused the fight in Ejekam's compound. It was ... (Akuuwa knocks at the door.)

Irechi: Who is knocking at the door? Come in o o!

(Akuuwa enters. Irechi and Amadi glance at each other meaningfully. Akuuwa's arrival has surprised them.)

Akuuwa: My brothers, so you are here! [form of greeting]

Irechi: Apostle ... you have come ... Welcome ... have a seat ... shall we also live?

Akuuwa: You will live long, my brothers. Irechi, I know that my coming to your house today will surprise you. It is said that the toad does not run out in the daylight for nothing. When an old woman runs up a hill, if she is not chasing something, something is chasing her. I have been to your house, Amadi, but I did not find you at home. Now I see both of you here, so it seems that God has agreed that my journey should be successful. Do not be annoyed that I came to you so suddenly; it is said that if a human being has an itch, his fellow human scratches it for him, but if a wild animal has an itch, he goes to a tree trunk. Perhaps you know why I was looking for you.

Irechi: M m m m - - ! You are still beating around the bush. Get to the point, so we may know what you are talking about.

Akuuwa: It's about what happened yesterday. I came to get your help. Since the matter has gotten into in the hands of the police, I think that it will not fail to reach the court.

Amadi: What type of help do you want us to give you?

Akuuwa: It ... it is that you should come and witness for me in court.

Amadi: What type of witness do you want us to give you?

Akuuwa: What is important to me is that you both agree that you saw Ekwekwe and his group beating me up. I know that a worker deserves payment for his labor. That will not be a problem. Only that they beat me with a stick, threw me to the ground, and stepped on me, that is all.

Irechi: Is that all you want us to do, or is there something else?

Akuuwa: If you only speak along those lines, it will be sufficient for me. Then you can say what else is involved, because as I said earlier, a worker deserves payment for his labor.

Irechi: Hey! Prophet! Is it really you talking this way! Wow! The world has been completely ruined. Do you mean that you will give us a bribe so that we will then witness falsely for you? Ugh! God forbid. My friend! Bribery goes against the teaching of our church. The Father told us that it is a mortal sin. If you want us to come and say what we saw, we can come, but it is not a matter of giving us "Eat, and keep your mouth closed."

Akuuwa: (Looking ashamed.) I am not calling it a bribe. I want you to help me, and afterward I thank you in my own way. It is the right hand washing the left, and the left washing the right.

Irechi: All right, you must go ... so we can think about the matter.


Akuuwa: All right, thank you. I hope you will think carefully. Let me go now. Stay well. Goodbye. (He leaves and goes home.)

(They fall down laughing.)

 

Amadi: Irechi, now you have seen what we were talking about. One who looks the way he has been mocked makes you laugh and you can't stop. (They start to laugh again.)

Irechi: Look at that--the head of a house of prayer! He thought that the wealth of the world would buy him truth, that money buys everything: Oh yes! He doesn't know that a good name and living an honest life are better than the wealth of the world. I will not use this tongue of mine to lie on account of money.

Amadi: Our thoughts are identical, Irechi. One who uses his head to strike a wasp gets stung. We will leave the snake to go away with the thing it swallowed. Please, I must start leaving now. (He rises.)

Irechi: All right, you have done well. Goodbye then.

The lights go out.

Akuuwa - An Igbo Play, Act Six

(In the court. Court clerk, policemen, those who came to court and some others are already seated, leaving only the Magistrate. The Magistrate then knocks at the door while still in chambers.)

Magistrate: Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

Policeman: Court!

(Everyone rises ... The magistrate enters and sits down. The others then sit down.)

Court Clerk: My Lord, on February 13, 1976, Corporal Okafo arrested these people, Ekwekwe, Nnodi, Arinze and Ukoha, Akuuwa, his wife and Ibe, their servant, where they were fighting. Including these women, who were witnesses. They were arrested on the Ama Ejekam road.

Magistrate: These people who have been named, are they in this court now?

Court Clerk: They are all here, My Lord. (He starts to call their names, one by one. Those called answer "Present" or "I am here.")

Magistrate: Akuuwa! Tell the court how you all came to be fighting.

Court Clerk: Akuuwa!

Akuuwa: Sir!

Court Clerk: Come here. Enter this area (he points) so you can plead your case. Are you a Christian or are you a heathen?

Akuuwa: I am the head and the apostle and am also the prophet of the people of the Holy Spirit prayer house.

Court Clerk: Does this mean that you are a Christian?

Akuuwa: Yes!

Court Clerk: (He gives him the Holy Bible and he takes it. He tells him to repeat after him.) "I swear by this Holy Bible that I will tell the truth, and nothing but the truth. That I will not exaggerate, other than the truth only, as God is my witness.

Magistrate: All right. Tell us how it all happened.

Akuuwa: On the afternoon of February 13, Ekwekwe, Arinze, Ukoha and Nnodi came to my house and committed an abomination. No one was at home except for my servant Ibe. I met them on the road as they were leaving and we greeted each other. They told me that they had come from my house, that they had gone to do the work that the Holy Spirit had told them to do at my house. They did not tell me the type of work they did, nor did I ask them. I thanked them very much and thought that it was good work that they had gone to do at my house. I urged them to go back to my house with me just to have some kola nut, but they did not want to; they bluntly refused, because when the chicken has just urinated, the land pursues it. When I reached home I saw the awful mess they had excreted.

Magistrate: What is the thing you say they excreted? Awful mess?

Akuuwa: It is not what was excreted, rather it was the abomination they committed in my house that I was referring to.

Magistrate: Say what you want to say quickly. I do not want long stories. I did not come here for other matters.

Akuuwa: They went and cut down, destroyed, the shrine where I go to pray which is behind my house, burned it down. When I entered and saw what they had done I went after them, chased them to the Ejekam Road. When I asked them what happened, rather than answer my question they started to beat me, and kept on beating me, and finally carried me away; it was while they were carrying me that this policeman (he points to him) came and pulled me away from them.

Magistrate: Does anyone have a question to ask him?

Ekwekwe: Yes! I have a question for him.

Court Clerk: Quickly, ask your question.

Ekwekwe: Akuuwa! You said that we cut down the shrine where you prayed, and burned it; what was used to build that shrine? 


Akuuwa: Ekwekwe! You ask me what was used to build the shrine; do you not know what you all came to my house to destroy?

Policeman: Shut your mouth! Answer the question that you were asked! Do not ask a question on top of a question.

(Akuuwa is silent and does not answer the question.)

Court Clerk: If you do not want to answer the question that you were asked, let another one be asked. (He turns and looks at Ekwekwe.) Do you all have another question? (Nnodi raises his hand and he tells him to go ahead and ask.)

Nnodi: Is it just now that you remembered that we struck you? Do you then have a witness? What did you tell this policeman on the day he arrested you?

Akuuwa: The policeman is here, let him say if he did not see when you all carried me.

Magistrate: Corporal Okafo! Do you have a question, since they have mentioned your name?

Cpl. Okafo: My Lord, I have a question I would like to ask Akuuwa.

Court Clerk: Quickly, ask it.

Cpl. Okafo: Akuuwa! Listen carefully to see if you recognize who spoke these words, on the day I arrested you all: "Let me question them about the land they desecrated at my house; this one called Ukoha, one who cannot even take a palm nut from a chicken, then say that he is the crazy one, not I. I then came closer to him in order to hear what he said and he fell away like a cloth. When I started to ask him what he said, Ekwekwe and the others came and held me and carried me off."

Magistrate: Akuuwa! Do you know who said what this policeman read out?

Akuuwa: It was I, My Lord.

Magistrate: Was there a time that you told this policeman that they struck you? (Akuuwa remains silent.)

Court Clerk: Is there nothing you want to say in reply then? All right, any further questions?

Arinze: Tell this court the type of prayers you pray in that place, as well as the people with whom you pray them.

Akuuwa: I am the only one who prays there. I go there when things are difficult for me, in order to receive the special power I use in my work.

Court Clerk: Final questions!

Ukoha: You did not tell how you lifted me and threw me to the ground and grabbed me by the throat, and how we told you that we did not want any fighting and wrestling. Besides this, that house that you said that we burned-- what and what burned inside of it? How about those who put out that fire? (Akuuwa remains silent.)

Court Clerk: Do you have nothing to say in reply? (Akuuwa remains completely silent.) Ekwekwe! Let us hear from you. (He then administers the oath to Ekwekwe.) "I swear by the Holy Bible that I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth. That I will not exaggerate but tell only the truth. As God is my witness."

Magistrate: Quickly, start telling your side of the story.

Ekwekwe: Akuuwa is our leader in the prayer house Church of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who receives the money and other gifts. He is also the one who keeps the money and also the one who decides what the money will be used for. We do not have any say; our job is to pay the dues, come and pray, arrange the building, and leave. For example, there is someone we all prayed for, whose name is Brother Jude. When this man went back to Lagos, things were going well for him, he sent us a bag of money to support the work we were doing. Whether that money is in the sky or on the earth, we do not know. He did not speak of it in anyone's hearing. But you cannot hide a pregnancy with the hand. We found out that he was building a storied house in their village now, and we also know that there is no other way he makes money (unless he has a machine that prints money), which showed us that it was our money and his that he was using as he pleased. He taught us that it was not good to trust in the wealth of this world. He told us that the Holy Bible says that we should not pile up the wealth that the world gives us, where moth and rust will consume and thieves break through and steal. And just as his name is AKUUWA (worldly wealth) [a person's name goes with him], we discovered that he trusted completely in the wealth of the world. He had a shrine behind his house which contradicted his teaching and our faith, which is, "You shall not have any other god except Jehovah Jaa." The holy spirit then led us to go and knock down that shrine, because "Darkness and light do not work together." It was in this shrine, as we discovered, that he would invoke the soul of a person he wanted to kill, one he thought was against him; he then killed that person; he died just like that!. Ahumibe, Akumefuna and Odinkemma were some of those he killed there ...

Magistrate: Sir! Stop all these long tales and tell us, without wasting time, how you all came to fight.

Ekwekwe: We did not fight him. We told him that we did not want to fight, nor did we want to wrestle, because we were doing the work of the Holy Spirit who led us. We told him this when we met him on the road. While we were on the return path he followed behind us, boasting, and scolding us with fighting words. When he saw that we did not want to fight he lifted Ukoha and threw him to the ground and grasped him by the throat to kill him. We went to pull him up from where he continued to hold Ukoha down, and it was while we were pulling him off that a policeman came and arrested us.

Magistrate: (Looks at Nnodi, Ukoha and Arinze and questions them): Are you all in agreement with Ekwekwe's testimony?

All of them: Yes! He has testified for all of us.

Ukoha: But he has not completely told how hard he beat me. Indeed, my eyes saw the spirits, and I would have reached the land of the spirits when he grabbed me by the throat, but my god did not allow it.

Magistrate: Akuuwa! You have heard Ekwekwe's testimony; is this how it happened? Do you have questions you want to ask them?

Akuuwa: I have questions, My Lord.

Court Clerk: Quickly, ask your questions quickly.

Akuuwa: Where was the Holy Spirit when he instructed you? Did he come to your houses one by one? Or was it in my house of prayer? Where!

Ekwekwe: It was in the house of prayer!The day that you went into the desert to pray, I saw it in a vision.

Akuuwa: Why did you not let me know something like this when I returned?

Ekwekwe: The Holy Spirit did not instruct us to tell you.

Akuuwa: Ukoha, what did you say that made me lift you and throw you to the ground? Am I a mad person?

Magistrate: So you admit that you started the fight? All right. Do you have any other significant questions? (Akuuwa remains silent. The magistrate looks at the policeman.) Are there questions you want to ask them?

Cpl. Okafo: I have no questions, but I will say what I saw. I went and saw that shrine. It was not fire that burned it; only white candles had been lit and were spread around the place haphazardly. Another thing was that on that day, I saw Ukoha lying on the ground, his eyes bulging like a rat that had been crushed on the ground. Akuuwa himself admitted what I read here that he said.

Court Clerk: Is there someone who has something else to say? Or other questions? (Silence everywhere.)

Magistrate: All right. I will look at all of your testimonies, gather them together, and then make a judgment in this case. What brought you to this court was a fight. Since all of you go to the same church and also believe that the Holy Spirit ... is able to send anyone among you a message. It is not up to me to judge whether that message Ekwekwe said that the Holy spirit sent them is the truth or a lie. If Akuuwa discovers, and is able to explain it well, that it was not the Holy Spirit who sent them to do a job at his shrine, at that time let him go and sue them in court. But Akuuwa himself agreed, from the testimony that is before me now, that he was the first to start the fight. I have also found that he is a liar, which is not appropriate in his position in his church, by speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He said that his house was set on fire and also said that he was beaten, which was not true. It is true that Ekwekwe and his group did something to provoke you to anger by going to your house when you were not at home and doing a job that did not please you; if you had captured them in your house and started to fight with them, that would have been different. But in this case, they had reached the Ejekam Road, a highway, before you chased them and started a fight. You have committed an offense--a big offense. A dog does not lick the feces off his own head by himself. Therefore you are guilty, Akuuwa. You will pay a fine of 40 naira. Or you will go to jail for two months. As I said before, if the job they did on your house makes you angry, return to court and sue them. Another thing is that you need to realize that truth is life. The wealth of the world ought not to lead a prophet like you astray, because when a great tree falls, birds fill the forest. From today on, the meetings of the congregation of the Church of the Holy Spirit will stop, until such time as the affairs of that church are thoroughly examined.

Policeman: Court! (All rise, the Magistrate gets up and goes out.)

The lights go out.
EPILOGUE

    Life is good if one takes care of it.
    The body is also good if one looks after it.
    But in seeking these things,
    Do not let them mislead you.
    Because greed is a sin.
    Life is stronger than what one uses to nurture it,
    The body is stronger than the garment it wears,
    And patience exceeds goodness in the world.
    Worldly wealth is useless,
    It fades away
    But a good name is long-lasting.
    A good name is better than worldly wealth.
    It goes deeper than everything else.
    Greed causes oppression,
    Oppression brings on bitter hearts,
    Bitter hearts lead to sin,
    Sin brings bad deaths.
    Peaceful wealth does not cause trouble,
    Peaceful wealth does not cause jealousy
    Peaceful wealth produces a genuine life.
    Acquire wealth in the right way,
    Love your fellow man.
    Remove sin.
    Remove jealousy.
    Remove lies.
    So that you can live in peace with others.
    Wealth without peace,
    Is not true wealth.

The lights go out.

                                                      The End

Read it in Igbo here

Oguamalam - Act Eight

(The drum sounds in the village. A commotion breaks out noisily, then calms down. The curtain then opens and reveals a place inside at the back where people have gathered near the bush. Nwokoro enters, carrying the god Amadioha on his shoulder. Njoku, Ogbuehi and Iwejua carry their chairs one by one, and holding their ofo staffs in their hands. They then arrange the god to face the people, where there will be some space between it and the people. They take their seats behind the god. There is a little noise, but when Njoku gets up, it subsides. The Ekpe dancers start to beat their drums. Njoku, Nwokoro and Ogbuehi are enjoying their dancing. This continues for about three minutes before Njoku waves to them and they stop.) 

NJOKU: Ihenweorie, Ama-ato, kwenu! 

THE CROWD: Yaaa! 

NJOKU: Kwezuenu! 

THE CROWD: Yaaa!

NJOKU: (He clears his throat.) Greetings! May you not die early. This is the appointed day. When a matter has been [previously] decided, it takes only a nod of the head to agree to it. The reason we gather this Eke morning is that Ikekwem and his household may swear an oath for Oguamalam concerning the "Main farmland" bush that they are contesting for. The village has decided that the one who should swear this oath is Oguamalam and his household. But Oguamalam has agreed that if Ikekwem would swear an oath for him, he [Ikekwem] should take the land. Ikekwem, are you here? 

IKEKWEM: Yes! I am here. 

NJOKU: You and your household move to the front of Amadioha here. (They go and stand before the god.) Oguamalam, are you here? 

OGUAMALAM: I am here. 

NJOKU: Come out here. (Oguamalam and his son Chibunna come out.) The people of Amaala, Umuezue have gathered. Before Ikekwem starts to swear, it is important that he be asked again if he is determined to swear this oath. We will not force him to swear it. 

THE CROWD: Yes! (In agreement.) 

NJOKU: Ihenweorie, Ama-ato, kwenu! 

THE CROWD: Yaaa! 

NJOKU: Ikekwem, the Amaala people have told me to ask you if you are still determined to take this oath, or are you taking it because you are being forced? 

IKEKWEM: I take it with all my heart. No one is forcing me to take it. If a person pleads innocence, the oath will not kill the swearer. (A bit of commotion then ensues. The Ekpe people start their dance. Njoku dances a bit, then waves his hand. The dance stops promptly.) 

NJOKU: People of Amaala, our dance has reached its peak. Ikekwem and his two wives will swear an oath to Oguamalam. Before he swears it, he will plead innocence, saying that the "Main farmland" that has caused the quarrel is the land of the children of Okpuruka and Okemkpi: that Okemkpi and Okpuruka divided their land, then decided before Amaala that they would redivide these lands when their children grew up, that the "Main farmland" is not among those that Okemkpi the father of Oguamalam, and Okpuruka his [Ikekwem's] father, shared before the ofo-holders of Ihenweorie, when they divided their lands. He will also say that if there is cheating in his heart in contesting for this land, let Agbara kill him. 

THE CROWD: Right on! 

NJOKU: Ikekwem, you and your wives come on. The time has come. (As soon as they kneel down, a mad person runs in front of them and pulls on Ikekwe's shirt.) 

MAD PERSON (Wapayi): Beast, are you going to swear this oath and die? You took a good look at your brother and you are cheating him, because he is an only child. Administer this oath, let him swear it, swear himself to death, because someone else's property will kill him. You want to kill him because he has no people. Women, rise up! Ikekwem has misled you. 

NJOKU: Chase Wapayi away. Would you be silent and allow him to spoil what we have already agreed on? (Ogbuehi and Iwejua then go and seize Wapayi and push him out. Wapayi begins to struggle.) 

MAD PERSON (Wapayi): All right deaf people, swear this oath today and let death confront you. Take your hands off me! (He tries to bite them. They push him out. Noise breaks out, then subsides.) 

NJOKU: Ihenweorie, kwenu! (Tries to quiet the noise.) 

THE CROWD: Yaaa! 

NJOKU: Kwezuenu! 

THE CROWD: Yaaaa! 

NJOKU: See how the moon stays in the sky, as though a human being had put it there. Hey, there is a snake in the grass. I'd better ask Ikekwem again if he is still determined to swear this oath? Ikekwem, did you hear what the mad man said? I would like you to reconsider the mad man's words. Mad men are spirits, spirits are mad men. Do you really want to swear this oath? 

SOME VOICES: Leave him to swear it, let death face him! 

A PERSON: He is stubborn. No one will cry for him if he dies. The chicken that refuses to listen hears things in the soup pot. 

IKEKWEM: My heart is strong. I did not say it weakly. I will swear this oath today, not tomorrow. No one should cry for me if I die. The head that disturbs the wasp is the one it will sting. 

NJOKU: All right. There is nothing else preventing the dog's death. Now, invoke your innocence, swear it. (Obiageli breaks out in tears. It is quiet everywhere. Not the slightest sound is heard, except Obiageli's sobbing and the voice of Ikekwem pleading innocence.) 

IKEKWEM: Amadioha, oh listen to my plea of innocence! Lord in heaven, hear my voice. When our grandfather Chima died his two sons, Okemkpi and Okpuruka, divided their father's lands and his other belongings between the two of them. But at no time did they include the "Main farmland" in these lands. The two of them in the presence of the ofo-holders of Ihenweorie decided that these lands would be redivided when their children had grown up and had children of their own. But no one ever redivided these lands. If the "Main farmland" land was included in those divided at first and was given to Okemkpi and I am saying that I am taking it from Oguamalam out of jealousy, because he is an only child; if Okemkpi and Okpuruka did not decide that they would redivide these lands, as I said before, in the presence of the ofo-holders, may Agbara kill me and the people of my household. May it not let us live out this year. (The crowd then breaks out into a great commotion. Immediately, there is a great flash of lightning, bam, bam, bam. There are three claps of thunder. Everyone falls to the ground, Soon, it is quiet everywhere. Obiageli's voice is heard crying out.) 

OBIAGELI: Oh! Oh! Oh, I am dead! Oh, my leg! E-ei! E-ei! 

OGBUEHI: What happened? Go home! Go home! Ikekwem has--has died! Chei! (Some of the others run in, while several others dash out and return to their homes. Njoku then takes his ofo in his left hand and looks at Ikekwem and his wife Nwaibari where they are stretched out stiff like logs. Obiageli continues to cry out.) 

NJOKU: Chei! I knew it was going to happen. Ogbuehi, bring Agbara and let's go. The grasshopper that the plantain-eater killed was stubborn. If one cheats a poor person, let his hand get stuck in spirit-land. Njoku will not touch someone who has been killed by the spirits. Nwokoro, bring Agbara and let's go. One who consumes deathly things should die. (Njoku then sees that his Agbara is lying face down on the ground and goes to pick it up.) Who pushed down my Agbara? Chei! Chei! Who pushed down my Agbara, that Agbara should strike and kill him? (He touches it and sees tht it is completely broken. He shouts.) Oh, my Agbara! My Agbara is in pieces! Satan, is that how you brought me bad luck today? Chei! God forbid an abomination! Darkness has fallen in the afternoon! Nwokoro, pick up the pieces of the Agbara and let's go. 

OGBUEHI: Oh, let me not be guilty! 

NWOKORO: I plead innocence, and hold the ofo. Oh, let not spirits or humans hold me guilty. (They then go out.) 

NJOKU: Ikekwem look at the land, let the land also look at you. He who chases the chicken is bound to fall. All the chicken can do is just waddle away. Nwokoro, what is keeping you? I am leaving. (He starts to go.) He who starts to do something should make sure he is innocent. I am innocent. (Nwokoro then carries the Agbara, and Ogbuehi carries their chairs.) 

THE END.

Oguamalam - Act Seven

(Early morning of Eke day. Ikekwem sits on his bamboo chair, smoking. Ukadike comes in.) 

UKADIKE: Father, good morning. 

IKEKWEM: Good morning, my son. 

UKADIKE: I thought I should remind you that I will go back to our school today. If I do not return in time, the headmaster of our school will send me back. 

IKEKWEM: What you want to say, is it that you will not be there today, the big day when I swear the oath of the land for you all? All right. It is for your sake that I am fighting for this land. But while I am dancing a different thing, what I tie on the waist is something different. Just go on. 

UKADIKE: What about the money I will need to go back with? 

IKEKWEM: Beast, come and get the money where you put it. I have no money. On the day I finish fighting for the land for you, I will collect money for you to go to Europe. Read yourself to death in school. Get out of my presence, idiot, quickly, before I beat the hell out of you. (He picks up a switch that is near the door. Ukadike dodges back. He then breaks the switch over the chair.) 

UKADIKE: Father, do you really want to hit me with this switch? E-ei! I have something else I want to tell you before you kill me. I had a dream last night. Listen so I can tell it to you. I was in the dream, you and I, Amadi, my mother, and Obiageli then went to clear the "Main farmland" bush. As soon as we started to clear it, a python with a flaming mouth jumped out of the bush. It then stretched its tongue to spit the fire on you. I saw it and shouted an alarm. Before I shouted, it already had used all of its length to wrap around you and my mother and Obiageli. The fire from its tongue was burning you. Obiageli was crying. Amadi and I then ran away. As soon as we ran into our house here, I woke up. My heart was pounding fast. Fear prevented me from sleeping again. Not long after . . . . 

IKEKWEM: No! No! That's enough. I don't want any more of your long story. 

UKADIKE: I only want to beg you not to swear this oath. It is clear to me that God does not want you to swear this oath. What good will this land do you if you die because of it? 

IKEKWEM: Leave my presence immediately. Who told you to come and ruin my prospects this morning? Dream yourself to death in dreams!! Have you ever seen God? Great educated person! Leave my presence immediately. (He fetches a knife. Ukadike then runs away.) 

(In front of the "Main farmland" bush. The Ayaka-owu masquerade is dancing. His leader is following him. Dancers with gongs and flutes follow him. They hold two chickens. He dances around briefly, then runs into the bush. When he comes out again, he holds some medicine that is fastened up and giving off smoke. He strikes it on the ground. His leader then strikes one chicken on his chest and all over his body, calling him various great praise names. He starts to dance again, then runs into the bush again. On his return, he carries another small pot giving off smoke. He dances with it for a little while, then a drum sounds loudly. He breaks it on the ground. His leader then takes the other chicken and strikes it on his chest and body, as he did the first time. He then starts a dance, in addition to the one he did before. They all then go out dncing. During these dances, a commotion is heard coming from the village. His leader keeps on calling him various praise names.) 

LEADER: Catch, catch on fire! The fire is burning the desert! It holds a strong man to the ground, as a woman is held! [This refers to the helplessness of women.] Dry-meat-that-fills-the-mouth! Strength-that-does-not-experience-death! [These are praise-names for the masquerade.] Dance of spirits and humans! Che! che! chee i! Strong as a leopard! Iya! Valley of the bad bush! Do not fear! Keep on going! Forcefully, forcefully! Powerful-as-a-ram! Go! Go! Ayaka-owu! Ayaka! Ayaka-owu! Get out of the way. Ayaka is coming. (They then go out.) 

(In Ikekwem's house. He is sitting on his bamboo chair. Food is placed in front of him. He gropes around in his bag and brings out meat. He takes a knife and cuts it into small pieces and throws it into his soup, then takes his finger and stirs it around in the soup. As soon as he fishes out the first lump and swallows it, a coucal [large bird of the cuckoo family] cries out three times.) 

OBU: Du-du-du-du-du-du tuwi-tuhuu! Du-du-du-du-du-du tuwi-tuhuu! (Ikekwem is silent. He holds a lump of food in his hand and listens. The coucal then cries a third time.) Du-du-du-du-du-du tuwi-tuhuu! Du-du-du-du-du-du tuwi-tuhuu! 

IKEKWEM: God forbid bad things! What caused this coucal to cry out to me at my left this morning? What is the meaning of this? (He gets up and starts to listen by the door to find out where the bird's cry is coming from. But it does not cry again at all.) This bird cry is a bad thing. I have not heard that a coucal crying in the morning like this would turn out well. Especially this one that cries out to me at my left. This oath I want to swear this morning is causing me some doubts. This dream that Ukadike told me about this morning does not allow my heart to take a breath. Now see the cry of this coucal. (He gets up and walks around in his house, saying these things. He still holds the lump of food in his hand.) What I am thinking now is whether I should give up this oath or should I swear it and face death? A strong man does not do a shameful thing. I have reached a place where going back would be something very shameful. It is obvious to me that Ikekwem will become a laughing-stock before goats and chickens in this land. If I withdraw and fail to swear this oath, will I be able to go outside again? God forbid! I will swear it. Isn't this how Ikekwem is? I will swear this oath, whether for good or bad. Rather than a strong man take insults, let him die an untimely death. I will swear it. What will happen tomorrow, let it happen today. (He calls Nwaibari and Obiageli.) Nwaibari! Nwaibari! Obiageli! 

NWAIBARI: Our husband! (Nwaibari enters.) Our husband, are you calling me? 

IKEKWEM: Do I have water in my mouth when I call you? 

NWAIBARI: Please, forgive. I guess I didn't hear correctly. 

IKEKWEM: What about Obiageli? 

OBIAGELI: (Enters.) Our husband, I am here. 

IKEKWEM: Do I understand that you are completely prepared to swear this oath? 

BOTH: Yes! 

IKEKWEM: It is time for us to go. Everyone of you must go, including your children. We all will join in swearing this oath today. 

OBIAGELI: Our husband, Ukadike insists that he will not join in swearing it. He has convinced Amadi, so he will not join us. 

IKEKWEM: Leave me and leave Ukadike. I will show him that the tallest tree sees the road better. When we finish running, we count the miles. Quickly, let's start immediately. 

NWAIBARI: Obiageli, quickly, let's go. (They go out. Ikekwem throws out the lump of food he holds, then washes his hands.) 

IKEKWEM: This food, wait until I return from this trip. If you don't have the patience to wait, go sour when I have returned. It is important that I follow them immediately. (He goes out.)

Act Eight 

Oguamalam - Act Six

(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