The Story of Ogiso and Abhi
Once upon a time, in a forest near a village, lived a widow and her seven daughters. They lived in isolation due to the special nature of some of the girls. In the village nearby, there ruled a king whom everyone called Ogiso.
One day, as Ogiso and his men walked through the community, they saw smoke rising from the forest. Curious, he sent a guard to investigate. The guard climbed to the top of an Iroko tree and was stunned to see a group of beautiful maidens cooking and doing chores, but none of their faces were familiar. He rushed back to inform Ogiso.
The next day, Ogiso disguised himself and climbed the same Iroko tree. He watched the girls play. One of them caught his eye. She was always standing behind her sisters.
Ogiso and his entourage visited the hut in the forest. There, he met the mother of the girls.
“I wish to marry your most beautiful daughter,” Ogiso declared.
“All my daughters are beautiful,” the woman replied. “Which one do you mean?”
“I do not know her name. But I will know her when I see her. Please call them out.”
The woman began to sing, calling out her daughters one by one:
“Uki no’bhiole gba munie munie twole…”
Each daughter emerged in turn: Uki (moon), Oven (sun), Ikale (garden egg), Ekhokho (native garden egg), Ebhu (morning dew), but Ogiso kept shaking his head.
Finally, the woman sang, and Abhi (palm oil) stepped out. Ogiso lit up with joy. “That’s her!” he exclaimed.
But the mother’s face darkened. “You may marry any of my daughters but not Abhi,” she said. “I do not trust that you can protect her. And if anything were to happen to her, I would never forgive you.”
Ogiso and his men pleaded. Finally, he made a vow: “I swear, if any harm comes to Abhi, I will abdicate the throne.”
Shocked by his promise, the woman finally agreed, but with one condition. “Ebhu, her sister, must go with her. And under no circumstance should Abhi step into the sun or go near fire without Ebhu beside her.”
Ogiso agreed. The two were married, and many moons passed in happiness. Abhi became Ogiso’s favorite wife. He loved and pampered her.
Then came the planting season. In the village, it was tradition for men to help one another plant crops. When it was Ogiso’s turn, the palace women prepared food for the workers.
Out of jealousy, Ogiso’s other wives conspired against Abhi. They locked up Ebhu and forced Abhi to carry the food to Ogiso’s farm, knowing the sun was blazing.
Abhi begged and cried. “The sun is too hot… please.” But they ignored her.
She cried as she went; she began to melt gradually. By the time she reached the edge of the forest, she had turned into a pool of palm oil.
Meanwhile, Ogiso’s sacred bird, who had seen everything, flew to him in the fields and explained what had happened.
Ogiso dropped everything and ran toward the palace. On the road, he saw the pool of oil and recognized it immediately.
He collapsed in tears.
Just then, Abhi’s mother appeared from the forest, her face full of sorrow.
“This is why I warned you,” she whispered, weeping. She knelt, scooped a lump of the oil into a calabash, and walked away slowly, tears streaming down her face.
She took the lump of oil to a medicine man, who instructed her to place it inside a large cooking pot, cover it tightly, and keep it in a cold, dark room for seven days without opening it.
On the seventh day, as the pot was opened, Abhi emerged, whole, radiant, and alive again. Her family rejoiced, and Ogiso was restored to the throne.
In anger and sorrow, Ogiso ordered that his two jealous wives be beheaded, and their heads buried beneath the doorpost of the palace. From that day, he decreed that everyone must dust their feet on the threshold before entering a home, so they do not carry jealousy or evil within.
And that is why, till this day, we dust our feet at the door before stepping inside.