17. Agbigbo the Great

Many, many years ago when the world was very different from the way it is today human beings and animals had a lot in common. They lived side by side, intermingling freely. Animals spoke like humans, behaved generally the same way – some animals possessing remarkable physical and mental capabilities.

At that time in Igbala, a town in a far, far away land there was a big bird called Agbigbo. This bird was no ordinary bird. Not only did it have remarkable physical and mental capabilities, it also had special powers, and the way it used these powers to influence the lives of the inhabitants of the land led to its being called Agbigbo The Great and referred to as a person.

It was the Oba (ruler in the human kingdom) of Igbala who gave him that title. Nobody knew how this mysterious bird came into being, but there were speculations. Nobody had any control over him either. People simply did not know what to make of him. All kinds of reports about the bird were brought before the Oba.

In those days the Oba played a big role in the day-to-day lives of his people. He was always the first port of call. People looked up to him to solve matters for them, including petty quarrels, disputes of any kind – no matter how small and inconsequential. He was known to be ready to find solutions to problems that baffled his people – to mysteries of any kind.

When the Oba of Igbala first came to power and heard about Agbigbo, he called his advisers, and instructed them to look into the matter of this mysterious bird – to find out what others before him knew about the bird.

“Agbigbo is given the title of ‘Alade Ori Igi’ (King of Trees), Kabiyesi”(Your Majesty) one of the Oba’s advisers informed him.

“He is believed to be the king of the birds who live in trees. Apparently, he is in charge of where each and every one of the birds live, in charge of their welfare – looking out for them, protecting them from being shot at. It’s not surprising then that people are afraid of shooting at the birds or even felling trees, in case they offend Agbigbo”.

“What’s more, Kabiyesi” continued another adviser “Agbigbo flies from tree to tree, for example in swampy farms and forests to observe the inhabitants of the land carrying on with their day-to-day lives. He has the power to be invisible to them, but he became visible whenever he chose to be; he has the power to know what’s going on in the minds of the inhabitants who happen to come into contact with him.

“When he chooses to reveal himself, which isn’t often, he would intervene in the lives of the people he comes across. He would render a favour to individuals or come down harshly on them as he deems fit. He hates any kind of unfairness and is known to have helped people in difficult situations, especially where there’s conflict – where people are being unfairly treated”.

“Agbigbo is also referred to as ‘ A’ (Fearsome being and one of its kind), Kabiyesi” a third adviser said. Whilst the other birds flock together, Agbibo ‘walks alone’. He is unique. Other birds defer to him…’.

“I don’t think we can know more than this about the bird, Kabiyesi! He’ll always remain a mystery” the first adviser observed.

“We’ll just call him Agbigbo The Great then!” Kabiyesi answered, laughing, and that was how Agbigbo acquired another title, Agbigbo The Great, in addition to his two other titles: ‘Alade Ori Igi’ and ‘Ọtọsi Arin l’Ọtọ’.

It was not surprising that Agbigbo was often talked about, especially among people with problems, wishing that he would help them solve some problems.

Thus, it happened that one day two people were talking about a mutual friend, Karimu, whose household had been arousing a great deal of concern and interest in the people of Igbala – friends and neighbours alike, because he was a very popular and well-liked man.
“Karimu needs help badly at the home-front. I wish Agbigbo would act somehow”.

“Yes…I don’t know how Karimu’s found himself in the mess he’s in, and how he’s going to sort things out. Two wives and two children – babies for that matter. No work and having to cope with his first wife’s appalling behaviour towards him and the second wife. He’s a very unhappy man”.

Saraje, Karimu’s first wife had become very unpopular in the neighbourhood.

“Marrying his first wife was a mistake – a real disaster. Why such a nice man should be saddled with that woman beats my imagination”.
“But she was not like that from the beginning. She must have been pretending all along”.

Karimu had been a trader when he met and married Saraje. They had met by chance when they had both travelled with other traders to a nearby town to sell their goods. When Karimu asked Saraje to marry him, she had said to him:

“I’m married already. I’m married to my work. If I were to marry you, you’d have to take on another wife!”

Karimu thought she was joking.

“You’re just a good business woman – a serious, hardnosed business woman” he remarked; he did not take her seriously.

But Saraje’s behaviour after marriage showed that she really meant what she had said, and that her trading came above everything else. It was not until later that her real reason for this stand became apparent and was to have an impact on the lives of all of them. Saraje had continued with her trading, which often took her away from home, doing nothing else, although she had the option of not working long hours.

“I’m making enough for the two of us. You don’t need to work day and night, and neglect everything else” Karimu had told her again and again.

Saraje was very well aware of this. Was Karimu not lavishing a great deal of money on her, catering to her every need? Had she not been taking advantage of his generous nature?”

One day Karimu said to Saraje:

“Surely, you’ll have to stop trading, and stay at home sooner or later, to take care of our children, when we have them, or have you not thought of that? Who’d take care of the home – the children – if we’re both away?” Karimu’s work took him away from home as well.

“Another wife. You’ll have to take on a second wife!”

Karimu could not believe his ears.

“A second wife!”

“Is that so strange? Isn’t this what some of you men do? I told you I was married to my work, remember?”

Karimu did not answer; he just shook his head. But from then on, he started thinking:

“She really wouldn’t give up her trading for anything. What kind of a woman have I married?”

Karimu was an easy-going person and did not let Saraje’s attitude bother him. He had just put it down to over-zealousness for her work. It had not detracted from how he felt about her either.

However, he started to think that it might not be a bad idea for him to take on a second wife after all. His peers were doing it, so why not him? Saraje seemed to condone it anyway.

Then Karimu met Fara, and they were instantly attracted to each other; they liked and cared for each other a great deal. She was gentle, kind, thoughtful and respectful. She was also hard-working. It was not surprising that they fell deeply in love, and Karimu decided to marry her.

Everything had gone well for Karimu and his household after he had taken on another wife, until misfortune struck. Karimu’s business collapsed, and he had to pay back a huge amount of money to his creditors – practically everything he owned, including all his savings. He had taken a step with his trading that he was to regret for ever; he had joined forces with some other traders in a venture involving a great deal of money that went seriously wrong.

Karimu was now looking for work – for how to get back on his feet. This happened just as his two wives gave birth three months apart from each other. That was when hell broke loose. Saraje came out in her true colours, and life became very difficult for Karimu.

It was not surprising that Karimu’s household became a source of concern and was much talked about. Karimu did not have any family, apart from his two wives and two children, but friends and neighbours rallied round him, offering whatever help they could give him. Unfortunately, the financial support he received was not adequate to meet his family obligations. Thinking that he had Saraje to fall back on, he laid bear his heart to her. He would always remember clearly the shocked expression on her face – the disgust and disbelief – when he said to her:

“I’ve lost almost all the money I owned. I can only give you a very little amount of money for housekeeping, but I’m sure you won’t have any problem adding your own money to it. Thank God we have you!”

Saraje was over-ally in charge of housekeeping as the ‘iyaale’ (as the first wife was called). She was the one Karimu handed the housekeeping money to when he had been working, and the one who put the food on the table. She did the cooking herself. In fact, nobody was allowed to touch the food and drinks in the kitchen without her permission.

“Adding my own money to what you give me! Thank God for me! You must be joking. What kind of a man are you? You should be ashamed of yourself. Look at other men – how they provide for their families” she lashed out at her husband.

Karimu was so taken aback by what she had just said and could not utter a word. So, Saraje continued:

“You think I’ll spend anything on you and that woman you brought here…? Let me tell you, I’ve been tolerating her all this time, but I don’t need to anymore. You’re no longer in control here, so I can do whatever I like in her connection! I can exercise my rights as the ‘iyaale’ to begin with!”

Saraje made sure that she did not spend her own money on the family, so Karimu and Fara had to get by on the little amount of money Karimu put down for food.

“I’m still in charge of the foodstuff. Everyone here will eat and drink only what I put on the table” she said again and again, and what she put on the table was hardly enough – not even for her child, Furasa, who now needed more than the breast milk that she had been giving her. Saraje made sure that she herself was well-fed though. Her main interest in life was to keep her money for herself, even though she had more than enough. As far as her child was concerned, she justified her action, saying to herself:

“Furasa is Karimu’s child as well. Why should I spend my money on feeding her or on anything else if he can’t?”

Saraje had turned very nasty, quarrelsome and rude, and Karimu did not know how to handle the situation, so he put up with it for that time being. He was very worried and unhappy. He realized that he had made a mistake in marrying Saraje but could not send her packing because he knew that she would take the child with her – not because she cared about her, but to spite him.

“It’s obvious that Saraje cares only for herself, and she’ll neglect Furasa if we were to part ways. She can’t even spend her money on her child. She thinks only of herself, of the material things she can accumulate for herself…”

Karimu’s dilemma was not lost on his friends and neighbours, who were genuinely concerned about him.

“But what on earth is he going to do? He can’t continue to be without a job and put up with Saraje’s insults.”

“I feel sorry for Furasa, that poor child of hers. The way she behaves towards her- neglecting her – is appalling, unnatural. If not for Fara… She can’t even spend any money on her. I tell you she doesn’t care one jot about that child, and it’s the most worrying of all if you ask me”.

“Not only is Saraje giving Karimu hell and neglecting her child, she’s also tormenting Fara.”

“She must have been harbouring resentment and hatred for her ‘iyawo’ all along. Otherwise why is she now throwing her weight around as the ‘iyaale’?

At that time when a man married two wives, the second wife (‘iyawo’) was put at the command of the first wife (‘iyaale’) by the husband, catering to the ‘iyaale’’s whims and caprices. Naturally some unscrupulous ‘iyaales’ exploited this situation fully. The ‘iyawo’ was not only left to do all or most of the work in the house, as if she were a hired help, and other unsavoury treatments metered towards her, but could also be sent packing if she ‘displeased her ‘iyaale’ too much’. Not every husband subscribed to this practice, and those who did probably saw it as a peace offering for bringing another woman into the marital home.

Saraje would not have been able to exercise her ‘rights’ as the ‘iyaale’ over Fara. After all, was she not the one who advised Karimu to take on a second wife? But under the circumstances – Karimu no longer being the breadwinner – she felt quite comfortable doing so.
“Until he starts earning again, he has no authority over anything or anyone anymore” she told herself.

Saraje’s behaviour towards Fara was appalling. She made life unbearable for her, hoping that she would leave with her child. She had, indeed, been very jealous of Fara all along, and very angry that Karimu had married her, but she had hidden this fact from everyone. She had not thought that Karimu would actually marry another woman, even if she seemed to have encouraged it. It was all a façade. She was jealous of Karimu’s love for Fara which was apparent, and which she knew had increased with the birth of their child.

Saraje left Fara to do most of the chores such as going to the nearby river to fetch water several times a day, going to the market, cleaning the inside and outside of the house, washing clothes at the river. Whenever Sar aje was at home, she was quarrelsome and nasty to Fara. There were complaints, constant arguments – most of the time over petty things. Saraje was bad-tempered and mean to Fara.

Fara was not troublesome by nature. She had been brought up to be respectful and tolerant – respectful to everyone, especially older people. So, she did everything she could to please her ‘iyaale’ – everything the latter asked her to do, avoiding unnecessary quarrels.
What really upset Karimu most about the situation around him was his not discovering Saraje’s true character until then.

Unfortunately, he had not seen Saraje for what she really was – not seen through her ‘I’m a good business woman’ façade, because she hid her character very well. Karimu had thought that she was just a hard-nosed business woman, but in reality, she was miserly, selfish, greedy and mean, and Karimu now saw her clearly for what she was and hated these aspects of her character.

Saraje hated spending money – not even on her own child. She cared only for money and material things, grabbing all the things he had lavished on her. She did not care at all for her child, Furasa, from the way she had been behaving towards her – neglecting the child, not feeding per properly, often ignoring her when she needed her attention. If not for Fara who had been taking care of Furasa most of the time – looking out for her – where would Furasa be now?

It was becoming increasingly obvious that Saraje’s main aim in life was to amass a lot of money, and not spend it – and if she were to spend it, it would be on herself. She had put aside a huge amount of money (not having spent anything before and after marriage) – allowing Karimu to lavish money on her – taking advantage of his generous nature. She had obviously married Karimu because she wanted a provider – so that she could put her money aside.

Fara’s behaviour towards Karimu was the opposite of Saraje’s. Fara was very supportive of Karimu, understanding perfectly his changed financial circumstances. She was ready to stand by her man and help him in any way she could. Unfortunately, she had no money of her own, and her work prospects were not great.

Nevertheless, she started to think of what she could do to improve their situation.

“Whatever I come up with I must be able to take my baby along with me. There’s no way I’ll leave her behind with Saraje”. Saraje had been leaving her child, Furasa, behind to go trading, whenever she wanted to, and Fara had had to take care of her.

Fara had not minded at all. Saraje had not been taking proper care of Furasa, anyway, and Fara had been the one on the look-out for the child.

Now there was a swampy farm (oko-ira) near where Karimu and his two wives lived. Hardly anyone went to oko-ira because whatever one did there was hard going. Fara decided to leave the house everyday with her child, Bolu, who was now three months old, to go to this farm – to pick palm kernels (ekurọ) out of which palm oil was made. She would carry the palm kernels to palm oil makers in her area. The money she got in exchange was very small (a pittance), and hardly worth the hard work involved, but then Fara was a very hard-working woman. She would come back home exhausted everyday.

One day Fara went to oko-ira to pick palm-kernels. As soon as she got there that morning, she left her Bolu well-wrapped in soft banana leaves, under a very tall palm tree with wide-spreading branches and started to pick the palm kernels that were scattered all on the ground. The child was scantily dressed, and Fara thought that he would be more comfortable wrapped this way on the ground. There was no one around, so she thought that the baby was safe; she left him there, and took her time searching for the palm-kernels.

Usually she would leave the baby at her back when picking the palm-kernels, but today she wanted to pick more than usual because there was a large order from a palm-oil maker. Her child was growing bigger and bigger, and needed more food.

Unknown to Fara Agbigbo had been observing her everyday from the top of a very tall palm-tree under which Fara left her baby. Agbigbo knew that she was devoted to her child. He also knew that she was poor. That day the bird was wondering as he observed Fara wrapping her child in banana leaves.

“Would she prefer worldly goods to her child? I’m going to test her – her patience and endurance.” So, he flew down and carried the baby away – high up on the tree – as she bent down to pick some palm-kernels.

When Fara returned to the spot where she left her child – under the palm-tree – she was shocked to find her baby gone.

“Where’s…? Where is my baby? Who’s taken Bolu…? Oh! My God! What am I going to do? This can’t be happening…” she was talking to herself as if demented. She started to wail and scream, tearing her hair out. She was overwrought. She wept bitterly, as she searched frantically for her missing baby.

Agbigbo, who had been watching Fara all the time, dropped a stone very close to the woman from the tree top, so that she would look up and see her child in his arms.

“Ha!” she said and could not help but weep even more when she saw her child. “AgbigboThe Great has taken him. What’s going to become of him and of me?”

Fara had heard of Agbigbo, and like others, she did not know what to make of him.

“Supposing he’s taken Bolu away from me because I left him to search around for palm-kernels…”

Fara started to sing in a soothing voice, to appease Agbigbo. In those days it was not uncommon to use songs instead of speech to express strong emotions that one suddenly felt in a given situation: love, hate, fear, anxiety, etc. Some people even believed that singing could bring about a change of circumstances. Fara’s song went as follows:

Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio (Please return my child to me Agbigbo) Eye-Igbo
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye – Igbo
Alade ori igi (‘King of Trees’) Eye – Igbo
Ọtọsi Arin l’ Ọ́tọ (Fearsome being that walks alone) Eye – Igbo Eye – Igbo
Roro ọgẹdẹ lo fi npọmọn (Child is wrapped in soft banana leaves)
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye – Igbo
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye-Igbo

In her song, Fara appealed to Agbigbo to return her child to her and sang his praises as the ‘Alade ori igi’ (King of Trees), and ‘Ọtọsi Arin (‘Fearsome being that walks alone – one of its kind’). She also referred to the soft banana leaves that her child was wrapped in.

Agbigbo listened to Fara. After a while he dropped a big parcel (eru), instead of flying down with the baby. Fara was surprised and could not help wondering what was inside the parcel. She was astonished to find plenty of valuable things such as gold, silver, diamonds, precious stones (wura, fadaka), including jewellery (earrings, necklaces, bracelets etc) – too many to describe. She looked up at the bird who was watching her intently.

“Oh no! I’ve not referred to the soft banana leaves my baby is wrapped in to let you know that I’m poor, but because I want you to know that my child is precious to me. Please give me back my baby” she pleaded, and started singing again, shaking with fear and anxiety:

Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye-Igbo
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye – Igbo
Alade ori igi (‘King of Trees’) Eye – Igbo
Ọtọsi Arin l’ Ọ́tọ (Fearsome being that walks alone) Eye – Igbo Eye – Igbo
Roro ọgẹdẹ lo fi npọmọn (Child is wrapped in soft banana leaves)
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye – Igbo
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye-Igbo

Agbigbo dropped another parcel – much bigger than the first one – and Fara was again surprised. As she was wondering what the bird was up to again, she opened it. She was shocked to find lots and lots of money inside it, and countless of lovely and valuable goods that would last a lifetime, such as clothes, shoes, handbags, household materials.

“Oh! Please Agbigbo! I don’t want money or valuable goods. I want my baby back. Please, please, please, I beg you” she pleaded. She wailed and wailed, falling to the ground in utter despair. She started to sing again:

Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye – Igbo
Alade ori igi (‘King of Trees’) Eye – Igbo
Ọtọsi Arin l’ Ọ́tọ (Fearsome being that walks alone) Eye – Igbo Eye – Igbo
Roro ọgẹdẹ lo fi npọmọn (Child is wrapped in soft banana leaves)
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye – Igbo
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye-Igbo

After a while Agbigbo descended with the baby and returned the child to his mother.

“You’re a good woman, and you truly love your child. Continue to behave to others as you have been doing. You don’t need to worry about money any more, or about coming here everyday to toil because of your child. Take the parcels of gold and money, and all the other things inside them. You can now clothe your child adequately…”

Immediately Agbigbo finished speaking a few men suddenly appeared before Fara to carry home for her, all the things that came out of the parcels Agbigbo had dropped.

This was how this woman became rich overnight, thanks to Agbigbo. She could not believe her luck. She thanked the bird, and rushed home. As soon as she got home, and went to her room, the men who had carried the goods for her disappeared into thin air, and Fara marvelled at Agbigbo’s special powers.

Instead of thinking of herself and her richness, Fara’s first thought was for others – her child, her husband and even her ‘iyaale’.
“I’m happy I got Bolu back. I don’t need to go back to oko-ira, so the same thing won’t happen to her again! I can look after him properly now – give him good food. In fact, we can all eat properly…and have money for other things…!”

Fara could not wait to recount all that had happened to Karimu and Saraje, but when she got home Karimu was out of the house. Instead of waiting for him to return, Fara sought out Saraje.

“You won’t believe what happened to me at oko-ira today, Saraje”.
“I’m not interested. I don’t even know where oko-ira is, let alone want to know why you go there!”

“But you will when you see all I’ve brought back – lots and lots of money, gold, silver, valuable stones, clothes, and countless of other things…”.

“Are you out of your mind?” Saraje asked, looking at Fara as if the latter had suddenly grown two heads.

“No, I’m not. Just come to my room, and I’ll show the things to you”.
Saraje was completely bewildered by what Fara had said and did not know that she had gone with Fara to her room until she found herself there. At the sight of all the things that Fara had brought home, Saraje almost fainted.

“What…? What on earth…? How…? How come…?” As much as she tried, she could not get a single sentence out.

Fara sat her down and recounted the whole incident to her.

“God is so kind! We don’t need to worry about money any more. The three of us are rich. We can share everything here equally among us. We can provide adequately for our children, for all our needs…”

Saraje, who had been listening to the whole story with disbelief, her jealousy and hatred of Fara mounting as the story unfolded, blurted out:

“I can do the same thing, you did, thank you. I don’t need your gold and money, and the other things you’ve brought back. I’m sure I’ll bring back even more than you!”

“That is if Agbigbo happens to be there and reveals himself to you” Fara pointed out.

“He’ll be there!” Saraje said with confidence.

The implications of what Saraje had just said hit Fara suddenly.
“You mean you want to take Furasa to oko-ira and let Agbigbo carry her away?” she asked, aghast.

“Yes. Why not? Isn’t that what you yourself did?”

“But I didn’t know that Agbigbo was going to carry Bolu away, and when he did – when I saw Bolu in his arms right on top of that tree – I can’t begin to describe to you how I felt. My heart almost broke in two. I thought I was going to go mad or die or both…It was horrible…I would never like to go through it again!”

“All is well that ends well. Look at what you’ve gained from it!”

“All these things would be nothing to me now if I hadn’t got Bolu back. Don’t do it, Saraje!”

“Don’t do it! Why not? Are you afraid that I’ll be richer than you because I’ve already made my own money, which can’t be said about you”.

“Money means nothing to me. Bolu, on the other hand…”.

“I don’t need to listen to you. All I have to do is to find out where oko-ira is, and take Furasa there in the morning, and by this time tomorrow I’ll be richer than you! You can share your newly acquired wealth with Karimu if you like, but I certainly won’t share what Agbigbo will give me tomorrow with him”.

“How are you sure Agbigbo will give you anything? Do you know what he’s really about – how he operates? ”

“I don’t have to. If Agbigbo could make you rich, I don’t see why he can’t do the same to me”.

“But I’ve been told that he can…”.

“I don’t want to hear any more” Saraje cut Fara short.

“If you don’t want to hear any more from me, at least let Karimu know what you’re thinking of doing. After all, Furasa is his child as well”.

“Karimu has no authority over anything I do here, so I can take Furasa to oko-ira” Saraje answered, refusing to see reason.

The following day, Saraje went to oko-ira with her child, and did exactly what Fara did the day before – leaving the child under one of the tall palm-trees, wrapped in soft banana leaves, to pick palm-kernels scattered all over the ground. There was nobody around.

Saraje looked up and did not see Agbigbo on the tree under which she left Furasa. She looked around in agitation, and then saw him flying from another palm-tree to the top of the tree under which Furasa was. She breathed a sigh of relief, and went on to pick palm-kernels, all along praying that Agbigbo would carry the child away.

When she looked up again Agbigbo was still there and had been observing her. Very soon the bird intercepted the woman’s thoughts. He did not take the child, hoping that the woman would go quietly away, and not come back. Instead he heard Saraje saying to herself after she had collected some palm-kernels:

“Why doesn’t Agbigbo carry Furasa away? Has Fara lied to me?Maybe something else happened yesterday”.

Agbigbo was shocked.

“What kind of a mother is this, wishing for her child to be taken away from her. If she truly loved this child, she wouldn’t want anything to touch him or her – let alone…Look at how frantic the other woman was yesterday, almost losing her mind when I took her baby”.

Nevertheless, Agbigbo still did nothing.  Saraje continued to pick more palm-kernels, and then returned to the spot where her baby was. Nothing happened.

“Why doesn’t Agbigbo carry Furasa away? I too want money and gold and all the other valuable things Fara got. Maybe Fara lied to me, and Agbigbo did not give her those things she brought back home yesterday? But then who did?

“Maybe it’s a lie, and Agbigbo is just an ordinary bird”.

Before long she became frantic; she was ranting and raving. She looked up at Agbigbo, saying incoherently to herself:

“Please Agbigbo, carry my child away! Show me that you’re great”. She did not know or had forgotten that the bird could hear her and even read her thoughts.

Agbigbo was aghast. Yesterday Fara was agitated, frantic, almost out of her mind with fear, and worries because her child had been taken away from her. Here was this wicked, greedy and uncaring creature showing the same emotions because she wanted her child to be taken away from her!

“This woman deserves to be taught a lesson!” Agbigbo thought.

“Risking her child’s life…Not caring what becomes of him or her…”
Yet, Agbigbo did nothing.

“Agbigbo The Great, indeed! Huh!” Saraje said, looking up at him, mocking him. At that particular moment, Agbigbo was thinking:

“Okay! You want me to show you how great I am?”

Saraje turned her back once more to pick more palm-kernels, hoping that she would get the result she desired, and Agbigbo did indeed, fly down and carry the child away.

When she returned and saw what had happened, she was happy, and she started to sing the song she had heard from Fara more than once during the latter’s narration of the incident.

Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye-IgboAgbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye – Igbo
Alade ori igi (‘King of Trees’) Eye – Igbo
Ọtọsi Arin l’ Ọ́tọ (Fearsome being that walks alone) Eye – Igbo Eye – Igbo
Roro ọgẹdẹ lo fi npọmọn (Child is wrapped in soft banana leaves)
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye – Igbo
Agbigbo ba mi gb’ọmọ mi ko mio Eye-Igbo

Immediately Agbigbo sent down two parcels – one much bigger than the other. Saraje rushed eagerly to open them. She was so shocked when she found what was inside the parcels that she almost collapsed.

Instead of the gold, money, clothes and other valuable things that she was expecting to find, she discovered palm-kernels – plenty of them. In the other parcel were thistles and thorns, weeds, and other nasty things such leaves of eaten eko (food made from cornmeal) and eba (food made from dried grated cassava (manioc) flour (garri), meat bones, fish bones all of them mouldy and smelly.

Saraje looked up at the bird, and saw that he was laughing at her, with Furasa in his arms, but she did not want to believe that all was lost. She thought that if she sang one more time that Agbigbo would change his mind and do the ‘right thing’ this time – ‘the right thing’ being dropping two parcels with gold, money, clothes, and other valuable goods. Her thought was not for her child, and Agbigbo knew this.

So, Agbigbo flew away with the child in his arms, as Saraje sang once more. That was when the realization of what she had done dawned on her.

What would she say at home?  How could she face Karimu and Fara, or anyone else ever again? She was deeply embarrassed, ashamed and afraid. She knew that she would be the talk of the town. She was very unpopular already because of the appalling way she had been behaving towards her husband and her ‘iyawo’ and neglecting her child. For the first time it occurred to her that she had nothing, no one. She knew that she would be shunned.

“All I have is my money, and nothing else. Karimu and Fara even have more money than I have now. They also have each other, and Bolu. I’ve no one – not even Furasa anymore. What have I done? No one will have anything to do with me, especially now. What am I going to do?”.

Saraje lingered on at oko-ira – not surprisingly – by herself. Oko-ira was an abandoned forest. Hardly anyone went there; it was so swampy. When it was getting dark, and there was no sign of Agbigbo, Saraje set off for home, head bent, weighed down by her emotions: embarrassment, shame, remorse, and fear – she who had been so full of herself, so much in control of everything!

When she got home, she wanted to go to her room without being unobserved, but she came across Fara.

“Ah, you’re back? Karimu and I have been wondering what’s happened to you and Furasa. It’s almost evening, you know…” Fara started to say, then cut off.

“But where’s Furasa?” she asked and the look on the Saraje’s face said it all.

“You mean…? You don’t mean…? No! No…It can’t be! I told Karimu where you went with Furasa…Oh, here is Karimu…thank goodness…” Fara was saying, incoherently. She was very frightened and started trembling.

Karimu appeared on the scene, made towards Saraje and grabbed her.

“Is it true what what I’ve heard from Fara – about your taking Furasa to oko-ira, to be carried away by Agbigbo? Where is she? You can’t mean…? Are you saying that…?” Karimu tried to get a sentence out, but could not; he was stammering, as his head reeled. A terrible fear seized him as well.

“You’d better produce Furasa, otherwise…” he managed to say
Saraje still said nothing. Karimu tried to control his rage, so that he could speak normally.

“Fara did tell me what was going on, but I didn’t believe her. I didn’t believe you could do such a thing. I know that you don’t care about Furasa – that you’ve been neglecting her, and if not for Fara, I wonder where Furasa would be now. But to actually want Furasa to be carried away by that mysterious bird in a swampy forest beats my imagination”.

Saraje still could not say anything. She could not even look at Karimu and Fara in the face.

“Fara told me that she advised you not to take Furasa with you to oko-ira, and you didn’t listen – even when she pointed out to you that Furasa is my child as well. You said I wasn’t in control anymore. How dare you?

“I’ve had my doubts all along about whether you care for Furasa, and I know for sure now that if you truly love her, you wouldn’t want anything to happen to her… How could you sacrifice a child for material things, for goodness sake? You’re a very greedy, selfish, mean woman who cares only for herself. The only reason I’ve not asked you to leave all this time is that I didn’t want you to take Furasa with you, knowing how little you care for her. Now I wonder if I shouldn’t have risked that than losing Furasa to a bird. Come to think of it, maybe you wouldn’t have wanted to take her with you in the first place, and would have left her with me. Who knows? I didn’t think of that before. That poor child! You can’t get away with this. You’d better produce her or…”

By now Karimu had worked himself up and was in a rage. As he moved towards Saraje, the latter got out of the way quickly, and escaped to her room, locking the door, thinking:

“I’d better pack my things and leave the house tonight, when Karimu and Fara are asleep”.

Saraje was afraid that Karimu might kill her. Even if he didn’t kill her, everybody in town would get to know about what had happened, and start to talk about her, condemning her. They would call her all kinds of names, move quickly out of her way when they saw her in public – if she was lucky not to be beaten or stoned.

The following morning, Karimu and Fara found that Saraje had packed her things and left. She had gone never to return again. Saraje could not face her life in Igbala anymore. Just like she had thought, when everybody heard what had happened, they started to talk about her, condemning her.

“What a wicked woman”.

“She’s despicable. Imagine doing a thing like that, all because of greed”.

“She should be stoned”.

“It’s bad enough the way she’s been behaving towards Karimu and Fara and neglecting her child. To now sacrifice her to Agbigbo for material things – to now lose her child in this way and manner. It’s shocking, disgraceful!”

A few days later Agbigbo tracked down Karimu, and returned Furasa to him, to the surprise and joy of Karimu and Fara. They had been deeply unhappy about what had happened to Furasa.

Unknown to Karimu, Agbigbo had been trailing him, and knew that he usually passed by an area where there were palm and coconut trees, in a secluded area of the forest, so he placed himself on one the trees. As Karimu passed by Agbigbo dropped a stone close to him from the tree top, so that he would look up and see his child in his arms.

Karimu looked up and knew immediately that it was Agbigbo on the tree top. Agbigbo then descended with the child, and returned her to her father, and before Karimu could thank him, flew away.

From then on Furasa was taken good care of by Karimu and Fara, who, together with Bolu, Fara’s child, continued to live more happily than they had been, without Saraje.

Friends and neighbours were very happy for Karimu – happy to see an end to this nightmare that he had been through, thanks to Agbigbo. They praised the bird for his intervention, saying all over the town:

“This bird is truly great. You’re not called Agbigbo The Great for nothing!”

Nobody knew where Saraje went that night or what became of her thereafter. She never showed her face in Igbala ever again!