About The Man Who Never Died

Chapter Three

A man who had servants was highly-placed. He was seen by others as somebody who had greatly achieved success and found fulfilment, and was treated with the same measure of respect as the hunter who had killed a lion, gorilla, or an elephant. Successfully hunting and killing a lion was something that did not happen too frequently, so when it did happen, the hunter's fame immediately spread across Elugwu-Ezike and Nsukka; firstly, because the heart of the animal could only be eaten by the Onyishi, the oldest man of his clan; and, because a celebration would be thrown in his honour in which people would be invited: families, friends, in-laws, and dancing troupes. At the event, the Onyishi and the elders-in-council would perform rituals for the Lion to be purified being the King of the animals. This differed with different clans though.

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Nganga Nwonu, one of the sons of Ozzi, the direct son of Elugwu Ezike, was a great hunter and farmer who was revered in Elugwu Ezike and across borders. He had killed different animals, captured some alive and domesticated them, and on different occasions, taken some of the animals to the elders, for questions concerning the animals.

The height of his hunting escapades was the day he was decorated with animal feathers, as a little boy; it transferred him to the obi, the palace of title holders, as the saying was that when a child washed his hands clean, he dined with the elders. Ozii, his father, had just returned from the farm later than expected, as he went to the farm across the mountain, different from the one on the mountain top, where Nganga had gone to. He was seated on a log of ugiri tree, which provided chair in his obi, while reminiscing over his earlier discussion with his son concerning the ill-fated damage done to their farmland last farming season.

“Agu Nnia," he called out to his son, Nganga, likening him to a lion - his father's strength.

“Papa.”

''My last yam planting was the worst in my entire farming life, could it be as a result of the recent influx of grass cutter and ulili that have grown out of control?'' He queried, while pointing at an antelope running towards the valley. His father had not finished his statement before Nganga threw his spear, well aimed at the antelope, not missing the target, as was always his manner. It dropped dead immediately.

His father opened his mouth in awe, but didn't express his happiness towards his son openly. One shouldn't extol or recount their children's achievements in their presence. He only said, ''your mother will prepare us a nice egballa soup today.'' The soup that was prepared with ground mucuna seeds mixed with oil and okpeye seasoning, not the mucuna having densely hairy pods, which hairs caused itching of the body when there was a body contact. This particular egballa had white seeds inside and the greenish pods became dark after it had dried.

Nganga didn't say anything, he only looked at his father with pride. Yes! he did it.

“You should be considering marriage...”

“Papa?”

“Your hunting prowess can get you any kind of woman.”

“Papa, it would be an honour for you and mama to get me a wife,” he said it and looked at the antelope he just killed, lost in deep thought. He had thought about the marriage thing severally, but was waiting for his parents to make a move. Who was he to take a decision as critical as marriage without much preparation and approval coming from his family?

The next day they came back to the farm, they discovered animal footsteps on the farmland; not sure of the type of animal it was, Nganga thought it wise to lay a snare for the unknown animal.

“These footsteps look like that of a wild dog, nna m," Nganga reasoned.

“Could it be so? Or maybe hyena. They might be chasing after ulili and other animals that came to eat farm produce.”

“I think I have an idea.”

“Your trap?”

“Yes, but no”

“It's too old to kill wild animals, and besides, they will run away with it.”

“Not when I have constructed another one, and then, I will tie it to a tree to prevent it from moving.” Nganga submitted with courage, the type that came with the certainty of knowing what to do.

Several days had passed, after Nganga Nwonu had set his trap, and neither he nor his father went back to check on their farmland. The farmland was situated along the path to a spring where people seldom passed to fetch water. On that fateful day, passers-by were on their way to the spring at the back of the mountain when they noticed a movement under a small tree, close to a farm.

“It's too dangerous to go close," one of them said.

“I would suggest we don't follow this path, a wild animal, possibly hyena, must have fallen into a trap set by a hunter," the older person amongst them suggested, “Let's go back and call an elder to come with us...”

They came back afterwards, with two older men who had a spear and other weapons with them, and they were greeted by people who were running back from the mountain. They were on their way to the spring when they saw a roaring lion running away from the shaking tree up the sloppy area of the mountain.

“We saw a lion up there...” one of the runners narrated his ordeal to Okeatu, the head of the elders, who came back with the first group of people going to the spring.

“We need to make a great noise so as to scare the lion away”, Okeatu commanded.

“Oya! Let's get it started!!” Ajogwu seconded his friend's command while he got his spear ready. On getting close to the mountain side, the lion was coming down again, but the noise made by the fifteen people got it afraid and it ran away.

“A toad does not run in the day time for nothing," Ajogwu said.

“Meaning?”

“Okeatu, we should get close to that tree and know what is shaking it and scattering everything in there...”

“I see; could that be what that lion is after?” Okeatu asked thoughtfully.

“Yes, maybe it is coming to kill it.”

“It's better that you put 'maybe' Ajogwu.”

“Why do you say so?”

Okeatu looked at him in consternation and replied, “Because you and I know that an agu does not look twice at its prey before devouring it; that's lion for you. Use your common sense to think.”

When they got close to the tree, what their eyes saw was a great surprise, greatness had been made of a man. A trap set by a hunter had captured a lion alive!

“Okeatu ee!” Ajogwu shouted.

“Nnia o, somebody in Elugwu Ezike has killed a lion. Great news! Our elders must hear this.” Okeatu said and ran away towards the village. Others followed him too. They went and informed the Onyishi, who on receipt of the information, sent for the town crier to disseminate the great news. People gathered at the village square and after much deliberation, they left for the forest mountain where they got to find out the owner of the farmland where the lion in question was caught; it was Ozzi's farmland.

That same day, Nganga had gone to the farm beside ufu, the mountain valley where their forefather, Ezike Oba, had settled after his migration from a distant kingdom beyond the great river. He came back late in the evening and before reaching their hut, he began to meet people who were talking in low voices. First, it was at Mazzi Ugwoke's hut, where he had gone to deliver his father's message to him, and people in there mentioned his name, ''this is the Nganga,'' they said. He remained silent, not quite sure of what the mention of his name was all about. Had he committed any sacrilege? That, he was sure would not be; he had never broken the tradition of the land nor committed taboo.

“Oh oh yaooo, Nganga nwoke ike - great man!” Mazzi Ugwoke praised him, he always did, but that day, it was on a different mode and level. Mazzi Ugwoke praised in a fashion different from how he had usually done, even his smile was different, it showed how truly pleased his heart was for him, he was really proud of him.

At the village square, Nganga received series of greetings from people passing by, even from the elders, although they weren't particular as to what the greetings were all about. On getting close to their hut too, he was greeted by a great number of people who bowed down to him in greetings.

“We have been waiting for you all day long," one of the men said to him.

“What?” He exclaimed, eyes bulged. “Can someone please tell me what is going on in my father's house, did any one die in my family?” Nganga asked desperately.

“Nganga, you need to go to your father's hut first...” Okeatu pleaded with him.

“Okeatu, you are my elder and a second father to me, and I respect you for that, you earned my respect the day you went to war against our invaders, I was a young boy then though... Please, can you tell me what has happened to my father or my mother?”

“Nothing! I am telling you the truth. Nothing has happened to them.” He was assured by his uncle, Otuenyi Itodo. ''As a matter of fact, it was my brother, your father, who requested us not to disclose anything to you until you have reached home. Please, the elders are waiting for you.” Apart from being a warrior, Itodo had killed an elephant with his trap and that earned him the title of Otuenyi.

“Tell me what the problem is or I'm not going home," Nganga said and reiterated his stand amidst tears. When he looked around and caught people looking, he remained calm. He refused to cry, his father always told him that it was unnatural for a man to cry. According to him, it showed weakness; that he wasn't sure, but he concurred, especially when it was coming from the people he revered.

When all the effort at trying to convince him to go inside proved abortive, the people reasoned together and decided to open up to him. They didn't want the public to see a drop of tears from the eyes of a man who had killed a lion, as a king’s throne would become what the kingdom made it to be. They bowed and chorused ''Ogbuagu" to his amazement.

“Who killed a lion?” Nganga queried.

“You have killed a lion, Nganga. Your trap at the spring caught one,” they chorused.

Before Nganga could walk up to his father's hut, a locally woven crown had been put on his head and people were gathering to adorn him with animal feathers, animal plumes of different types and colours; contour feather, down feather, flight feather of different animals. The people of Elugwu Ezike used the plumes of the birds they hunted to decorate themselves. Feathers had always been part of their self-adornment, connoting vitality, status, wealth, power and sacredness. In front of his obi, his father sprawled from the clay molded sit, adorned with goat skin, and supported by the elders and their women who sang melodious songs and beat drums and wooden gongs, he danced to the admiration of the people. He sent for his animal skin bag, “Ezeugwu!” He called out to his servant who ran to him immediately.

“Get me my animal skin bag.” He was still dancing.

Ezeugwu returned with the bag, and without him hearing anything from anybody, he knew what was expected of him — he was to open the bag.

“Nnam, here is the bag, it is open,” he opened it to Ozzi who told him to bring out plumes of feathers inside the bag. When they were brought out, he selected three plumes, one was eagle's flight feather, the other was the feather of a peacock and the feather of a stork bird. He pinned them to the crown on his son's head, two in the front, and the other at the back; he beckoned on Ezeugwu to open the bag again, this time he picked out two sharp spines of porcupines, returned the shorter one and held the long spine with two hands while Nganga knowingly positioned his head, ''my son,'' he called him.

“Nna anyi," Nganga looked up and returned his face down respectfully.

“It is true the saying that a child is our child, but I will be held responsible if I fail in raising you to be a complete man.” He held his breath for a while before he continued. “You have killed a lion and lion is the king of other animals in the forest, I never killed one, that is because Osebruwa Chukwu Okike Abiama who is looking down from the sky is all knowing and my Chi is different from yours. You have earned yourself a huge respect in the land of Ezike Oba, and I, your father, have decided to decorate you with ebi before any other person, and afterwards, we all shall go to the palace of the oldest amongst us.”

“Ka m tuo gi ebi!” He pinned the porcupine spine by the right side of the crown amidst cheers. Immediately after the adornment, the beating of the drums and gongs which had hitherto stopped, resumed immediately.

After Ozzi's adornment, other men and respectable women started adorning him with bird feathers and porcupine spines. Some even beautified his face with coloured powdered substances. The visit to Onyishi's palace was for a ritual of purification, as was the general belief. It was a solemn event too at which the spirit of the lion would be caged forever, and its eyes shut down eternally. This ritual was done to prevent the lion from killing Nganga in his lifetime, it was always done each time a lion was killed.

After the performance of the rituals, the Onyeishi asked Nganga to stand. “My son," he started speaking to him, smiling, enunciating his words slowly and carefully. “You have earned yourself a title that I myself do not have, and beginning from today, you're now known and to be addressed with your title, Ogbuagu, for you have shown courage and manliness. You're a strong man.” He then tapped him three times at the back, simultaneously calling out his name loudly, and others followed in the same manner. It was an exciting sight to behold. The oldest daughter in Elugwu-Ezike, also poured her libation and this was followed by the iwa egara- singing of praise, done by the women; both daughters of the land married and unmarried, as well as the wives married into Elugwu-Ezike, who had in one way or the other done or achieved great things or contributed to the welfare of the land. The notable of them all was when Ojieshu Nwada stood up to pour her encomiums. She was a woman respected across the land for her courage; she had bought a fat cow for her father's funeral rites despite the fact that she was not married and she earned herself the title of Ojieshu.

Iyianyinya Nwaidoko, Itodo's wife, from Akpoto, in Igala, was not left out as she had presented the gift of a horse tail to Nganga. She, too, had a title of Iyianyinya for bringing a horse to present to her husband, Itodo, during his mother's funeral ceremony. Greatness was an honour cherished and recognised in any generation, and it was their turn and time.

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