My Origin

I am from the 'Igbo' tribe in Nigeria. I can remember during my childhood days how serene and tranquil the whole neighborhood was. Mama Nnukwu will always tell moonlight stories to my siblings and I. Children in the neighborhood and some of my young cousins gather also to listen to Mama's stories. "Bring some roasted corn and pear for my children" mama will always order each time children gathered for moonlight stories and my mother will come rushing out with a tray filled with corns and pears.

Mama cleared her throat and began her story, " During the days of our ancestors when the people commune with the spirit. The nine villages that made up our town Ihe-ani lived peacefully, until the strangers from Arochi town settled amongst us. They were know to be diabolic and mean and so the chief of our village Ubah prohibited every Ubah indigene from getting married to Arochi people, this caused a great problem between Ubah people and Akwa people whom were co-habiting with Arochi people. Akwa people declared war on Ubah because other villages began to isolate them.

The war between the two villages was fierce. it was a physical and spiritual war. The Akwa people summoned a great Chief priest from Arochi whom gave them charms to hang around their boundaries with other villages so that which ever way the Ubah warriors enters their land, they will be strick dead. At the initial stage many Ubah warrior died and this made the Ubah people solicit help from "mmiri Azi" priestess. The Priestess summoned the Great python of River Azi know as the "eke Azi". The python swallowed any Akwa warrior who enters Ubah village and vomits the person in the center of River Azi as a sacrifice to the River goddess". It started drizzling and mama had to stop so that the children can head to their various homes before the rain becomes fierce.

I laid down on my mattress, gawking at the ceiling, I kept wondering if mystical creatures actually existed. I do not think mama will ever lie about such tragedy. Mama had once told me that the nine villages were brothers whose ancestor was Eri. Eri is the origin and father of igbo tribe. It was said that he was a son of a jewish chief- a chief who died and was buried on the land that the igbo people inhabit today. Eri travelled all the way do to the unknown land with his entourage to pay last respect to his late father. He then settled on the land and began to reproduce. The children of Eri are now the Igbo tribe. There are so many other stories surrounding Eri which are metaphysical. Some historians said that Eri fell from heaven. I closed my eyes and said a little prayer before I slept off.