Once there was a reknown chief named after his grandfather Obwori who survived gulliotines of the omnicide era. Years ago, the ancestors of morden humans' race were pushed to the brink of extinction alongside other creatures in the cretaceous period during the fiasco economy. The young Obwori lived in one of the most powerful chiefdoms in Agoro called Bipong. He grew up as a survivor of the time during the cataclysm that characterised mishaps of all ages. It's believed that he inherited the same worse condition of violent social, political and economic upheval that was so ludicrous and humiliating. But genetically, he was labelled quite apart with his rumbling deep voice, a sound that captivates the audience in a distinctive manner as they always valued him with the voice of a man amongst men and when he roared, everyone stunned in fear.
In the chiefdom, he grew up as a simple man. A Prince who hardly violates the culture and norms of his clan and of the chiefdom. With all the above characters, the kinsmen sought for his marriage ceremony. The day was announced, and arrived sooner than later. Men and women, youths and the children took sights to witness the unfolding occasion and the subsequent magnitude of the colourful event that would marred the Chief's Palace. The couple dressed in a puppy love attaire that lurches on the ground went untouched as the crowd surged through the barricades that sealed pavilion to feed their eyes and in the future to have a word to tell in any case, arguments and comparisons arises. Indeed, the celebration rated marvellous. It catches an initial glimpse of their first observation.
In that essence, traditional instruments were categorically arranged and played in sequential, and in the end, heed praises by the celebrants. Flutes, booharps, "lukeme," drums, calabashes... were all played and everybody danced all sorts of dances. In fact, there were no rebuffs of either the passionate companion and the fondness between the couple as seen in their mood and jerky body movements as they sing;
"I am very fond of me
A walking miracle
Hi,
Love my life
Loving, loving, liking."
It took some years in adoration of the relationships after the couple got blessed (married). The royal couple married some five years ago. In fact, they had everything on earth, but were not happy. This was so because they had no child. The couple tried their best but always failed to get a Prince or Princess to share their wealth. They consulted all the traditional healers in the chiefdom but none of them had solutions to their problem. Some of the medicines men and women advised the chief to get another wife, but he heartedly refused to take on their advices because of the love he bestowed upon her. The Prince loved his wife the consort, princess Ababa so much that he doesn't want to make her sad and grief and, in the end, lose her on mere ground of infertility.
Days came, and days goes without a change. And in the end, the chief grew miserable. Confused and wondered who would inherit his vast and organised chiefdom. He promised himself that, even if he happened to get a girl, he would let her succeed him, something that had never happened and unheard of in the history of the chiefdom.
It didn't take long. The couple soon predicted their fate. Acam-too-na who lives in the nearby chiefdom would neatly in an open minded presents himself as a benefactor. He had travelled and transversed all the continents of the world measuring in continental free trade of ivory, cowrie shells, and bark cloths. And being a famous man heard about the problem of the royal couple and eventually offered himself to help by all means.
Acam-too-na, a billionaire swiftly promised to cater for all the expenses for any attempt either great or minor moves geared towards solving the looming crisis that posses a great threats to overshadowed the hierarchies of succession in the chiefdom.
The next morning everything was done, Acam-too-na acted in a reciprocal, and thereafter, the chief got an old medicines woman, Lapul, a visitor to one of his neighbouring subjects. The chief, however, immediately never put hold in the matter. He got an appointment with the traditional medicines woman. The woman was well known for her special powers in curable local medicines, which she generously used to do what the local people believed to be true and of good deeds. She collected her various herbs before setting off to the chief's Palace.
The day of their appointments came true, when Lapul carried with her all types of herbs which she think would do something good to the couple. She moved alone. Unfortunately, she got the Palace's gate closed. She knocked at the gate's neatly designed reeds,
"Tok-tok-tok."
And said,
"Atwero donyo iiye."
Translates, May I come in.
Luckily enough, the royal guards that stood by the gate didn't rebuffed her in. Once she introduced herself, they understood her, for they had already been briefed and heard much about her coming at the Palace. They hoped she would have a permanent solution for the royal couple. Then, one of them quickly ran and opened the gate and lets her into the Palace.
Lapul went straight to the consort, princess Ababa. She examined her using incantation and thereafter, she mixes her herbs and carefully administered reasonable dose of the herbal medicines on her through her mouth. While leaving the chief's Palace, she cautioned the Princess to keep the instructions and to continue with the dose for the next six months.
The princess faithfully abide by the instructions and eight months later, she got pregnant.
News of her pregnancy spread throughout the chiefdom like a wild fire of the dry season. It was a talk and laughter of the day on everyone's lips as they chants with enjoyments. The excited chief Obwori gave each of the clans in his territory a bull to celebrate with joy the good news.
When it was time for her to give birth, twenty of the most skilled local birth attendants in the chiefdom were invited due to the fear that she would get difficulties and complications during delivery. And through their combined efforts, the Princess successfully delivered a beautiful bouncing heavy weight baby girl. She was the most beautiful and joyful baby his subjects had ever seen and had before. She had dove eyes, a dread hair that coiled round her head, a long neck like that of a giraffe and a graceful walk like that of a crested crane. She grew up very fast like a pumpkin planted in a nutritious rubbish pit where garbage are dumped and rotten.
Over come by joy, chief Obwori named the young princess, Abwora, which to him it's mean a "loud call." But there was something peculiar about Princess Abwora. She preferred living in solitude of deep mood and wouldn't talk. Not even her father's offer of a half his chiefdom would make her utter a single word. She was now eighteen years of age and well ripe for marriage.
The richest men in and out of the chiefdom including Acam-too-na searched for Abwora's hand for marriage, but her father could softly send them away. But not until one day, the chief himself decreed that, he would only let her daughter go to the man who would let her talk. Scientists, engineers, lawyers professors, pastors, bourgeoisies all became jesters. Fortune tellers and craftsmen all tried their luck but Abwora still remained silent. One man even promised the princess the world, but she just softly shook her head silently in scornment of a firm No!
One day, princess Abwora decided to go and till her garden. She was a hard working princess who had a large field with variety of crops. This time, she wanted to grow sweet potatoes. The princess loved sweet potatoes so much that her mother could roast for her everyday when she was young. Carrying a hoe and bundle of potatoes vines accompanied by two maids, the princess set off for her garden. Unknown to the princess' entourages, was Acam-too-na the hare, was following them. He had fallen in love with the princess the first day he set his eyes on her. He had to make her talk, Acam-too-na vowed. His first attempt at wooing her had failed,but this didn't deter him anymore.
On reaching the garden, princess Abwora started making large potatoe mounds, where she would plant the vines and Acam-too-na courageously came out of his hiding and tried to talk to her but she remained quiet.
Suddenly, Acam-too-na came up with quite a brilliant idea that he think would abide by all her demands and that, he would do whatever the princess want him to do for her.
Perhaps, it would get him somewhere if he's to do it that way. He immediately ran home, collected a hoe and deliberately started making potatoe mounds next to the princess. But instead of making huge heaps like those of the princess, his were small. He did this intentionally to arouse the princess' heart and to make her laugh and talk. This was in vain. Ultimately, the princess just looked on silently.
Again in another attempt, Acam-too-na got the vines and deliberately began to plant them the wrong way, upside-down, the princess Abwora always fear making mistakes, the thing she hate most in her entire life and she always avoid. This time princess Abwora couldn't withstand it anymore what was done by Acam-too-na and she shouted;
"pe, pe kit meno latona"
Translates,
No, not like that my lover.
Acam-too-na and the maids couldn't believe their ears. What a miracle!
Princess Abwora had uttered her first words in her entire life. Acam-too-na became so much happy and tenacious in look. He had won the interest of the chief. He kept on singing a well articulated vernacular love song formulated sometimes back by his grandmother, Julyeri. He sang it for half an hour before he could sit down.
"Abwora lengx 3
Mil-li-pik
Abwora leng alleluia
Abwora leng
Mil-li-pik."
Translates to mean,
Abwora is beautiful x 3
Shines like lightning
Abwora is beautiful alleluia
Abwora is beautiful
Shines like lightning.
Thereafter, Acam-too-na carried princess Abwora upto the Palace, where the chief pronounced the two as husband and wife. Besides, the chief didn't forget the helps Acam-too-na offered to them during the mistry and the misfortune that hits them sometimes back.
Later, the same misfortune striked the couple. Princess Abwora inherited the very same genetic makeup of her parents. They stayed for many years and had no child. The woman who would've helped them too had died some years back. Even the generosity of their family's lineages vanished instantly when earthquakes stormed the chiefdom.
Acam-too-na couldn't believe this. He kept himself off words, aloof from public, and promised not to let it go without trials. He set himself a long trek, accompanied by his biological parents and some two elderly kinsmen plus a woman searching for homes of traditional healers.
But before that, one of the chief's entourage offered himself to tell them the most distinct and educative allegory of the medieval chiefdom. This is to let Acam-too-na learn something more important on how to protect himself from earthly things, not to take off his life too.
