 |
| Photo Source: www.flickr.com |
Guest Post From Ak Kingsley
My small hut was my sanctuary; it was built right in middle our compound with three other smaller huts surrounding it. My father originally occupied it until his demise.
This morning, I failed to wake up early and it was unusual of me. A while ago, Mma (my mother) had knocked, but I was too weak to get up from my raffia bed, which glued my body to it as though we covenanted never to part.
Uncomfortable with the light rays which illuminated through a hole in my thatched roof [I had barely noticed my roof was leaking] directly on my face, I quickly got up. The sweet memory of the 'ukim tree' rendezvous forced a smile on my face, and breaths of freshness overwhelmed me.
I got up from the bed and reached for a bottle of ufofop (locally produced gin), placed underneath my raffia bed and approached the door, opening it to behold the brightness of a new day. It was already late into the morning; neighbours were out for the day's pursuit, while my day was just starting.
A terrible shock gripped me at what I saw at the main entrance of our compound - a cat with a broken leg. It struck me hard with grief owing to the symbolic place cats have in my life.
It is our traditional belief that everything in the world including inanimate objects, have a visible soul symbol somewhere farther from the object or creature.
< For product placement/advertisement or if you would like to feature on this blog, contact me - yakadams7@gmail.com>
Human beings according to the belief, have their souls domiciled in animals, trees, stones etc.; some animals believed to embody human souls are held sacred and not to be harmed.
In any event where harm or destruction comes upon an animal or inanimate object embodying the soul of a human, something bad would happen to the living body of the human and vice-versa.
More so, every human is believed to exhibit the character[s] of his soul form, be it animal or inanimate object.
Not only was I told that my soul was that of a cat, I clearly exhibited the attributes of a cat. With courage, I walked up and picked the wounded cat and hid it somewhere safe at least to prevent further harm coming to it.
Then, I approached our family shrine to proceed with my daily ritual. Every family in our community had a shrine built for abasi ufok (the family god), where daily rituals are made and prayers offered to the family god and ancestors.
Our shrine was situated at the foot of a palm wine tree adjacent to the main hut of the compound. There hung five human skulls across two blunt swords. Suspended underneath the third (middle) skull were strands of eyei (palm fronds) tied to form a protective nsibidi (insignia) of nyamkpe ekpe (the grade of ekpe cult to which my great grand father belonged). A carved mask laid below, with the ground sprayed with feathers of vulture. This was the most sacred spot in our compound.
With the ufofop in my left hand, I took a bite of the kola nut in my right and threw the remaining piece on the ground as it rolled towards the mask.
"Ukafia ukpong amasi iso ekpe, I greet you. (I poured a bit of the gin and went ahead with incantations) Akpan abia adia ike, asukpong ntarok mbang afia, take your own (I poured it again).
"Abasi enyong (god of the sky), abasi isong (earth god), atakpo ndem uruan inyang (atakpo our deity), akwa idio (farm god), I greet you. Thank you for your benevolence thus far and thank you for I know you continue to bestow goodness on us..."
As I was about to continue the incantations, the sound of the sacred elephant tusk blown from akai ekpe (ekpe forest), interrupted me. The gin fell off my hand as the chants of war songs approached me.
About The Author
Ak Kingsley is a young Nigerian broadcaster and writer, passionate about social and political literature. He also has special interest in black history. With a mic and a pen, he is inexhaustible.