Adakụ and the Spirit of Gifts
By Emmanuel Imemba
Grandpa owed them a story. The children who convened every night in his compound to play under the bright moon. And so he did not think up another excuse to give when they came running to him as soon as he came out to enjoy the night breeze. Looking into their bright eyes, he smiled and told them to form a crescent in front of his stool. The children quickly sat on the floor and folded their legs. “Ifochakpii,” Grandpa began in the customary way of beginning a tale. “Wọọ!!” the children replied, their voices layered with excitement.
“Ifochakpii!”
“Wọọ!!!”
“Nkita nyara akpa”
“Nsi agwụ n’ohia!!!!”
“Long ago, when the heavens were the squirrel’s land, when the eyes of men could see the spirits, a girl named Adakụ lived with her cruel stepmother, Urioma, and half-sister, Ugomma. Urioma, filled with deep hatred for the tall and elegant Adakụ, sought every way to get rid of her but could not avoid facing the law of the village.
“So one day, Urioma decided to send Adakụ to Ngene stream to fetch water. It was 12 noon. No one came out by this time because it was the hour for the patrol of the dead. And so she wanted to leave Adakụ’s fate to the spirits, hoping they would kill her. Adakụ screamed. Begged Urioma to spare her. That the spirits would strike her dead. But Urioma had passed the stage of empathy. She insisted. Threw curses at Adakụ while her own daughter, Ugomma, watched and laughed.
“Adakụ rose reluctantly. Took the clay pot and left for the stream. The afternoon was quiet. The kind of quiet that struck the heavenly meeting when God asked who would die on behalf of men. The shuffling of lizards on dry leaves could be heard loud enough that it echoed. Birds tweeted in nearby bushes, and black hawks squawked in the sky. The breeze was mild so that all the trees swayed so uniformly as if in praise of a certain god. Adakụ felt her head swell. As she neared the stream, her fears became so palpable that hairs stood on her arms like readied soldiers. And it was this fear, these chilly goosebumps, that made her lose grip on the pot so that the pot fell and broke into many pieces.
“As if rattled by the noise, the stream went up in flames and covered the surroundings with fog. Thick fog. And when it cleared, a spirit with a skin so white that one could swear to have seen a goddess, appeared. Adakụ felt her legs give way beneath her, and she fell on the floor. Crying. Singing:
“A bụ m nwata n’ụlọ nne m” Grandpa sang.
“Inyinye!” the children replied.
“A bụ m nwata n’ụlọ nne m”
“Inyinye!”
“M wee buru ite biawa ichu mmiri”
“Inyinye!”
“Ite m daa n’ala wa wa wa”
“Inyinye”
“M wee tie iyo koko”
“Inyinye!!”
“The spirit listened to her song and was moved by it. And so she replaced her pot and added more gifts of cowries, wrappers, and jewelry. Adakụ was grateful. She thanked her, fetched the water, and went home.
“Urioma, on seeing her return, was surprised. But more surprised was she when she saw the gifts. She quickly collected them from her and asked her where she got them from. Adakụ narrated her story to her. Down with greed and jealousy, Urioma called her daughter Ugomma and told her to go to the stream and get her own gifts. Ugomma did not agree but gave in after much persuasion. When she reached, she deliberately broke her pot, and the spirit appeared. She sang the song, but the spirit could sense that it was not genuine because Ugomma’s voice was coated in so much arrogance.
“This arrogance and ingenuity angered the spirit, and she slapped Ugomma three times that she went deaf. At home, Ugomma and her mother shed so many tears. The elders of the land heard of it and banished them from the village, and Adakụ lived happily till the end of her days.
“Ifochakpii!” Grandpa ended.
Origin
This story is an Igbo folktale. It has been told in different versions; however, the storyline remains the same. It is rich with some of the myths from the Igbo culture, like the Ngene stream, said to be the stream of spirits; the hour for the patrol of the dead, and so on. Its moral lesson about a genuine heart and the consequences of greed makes it one of the favorites among the numerous folktales of Igbo ethnicity.