15. Ijapa (Tortoise) and Kerebuje

Many, many years ago there was a young woman called Kerebuje who lived with her parents in Makeke, the same town as a tortoise, Ijapa, in a faraway land. At that time the world was very different. Humans and animals had much in common, lived side by side, spoke the same language and generally behaved the same way. Some animals, like the Ijapa (tortoise) possessed remarkable physical and mental capabilities.

Kerebuje was a very beautiful woman; her beauty was legendary. As she approached the age when women were expected to get married, many men, from her town and beyond, from different walks of life, titled and untitled, young and old, attractive and unattractive, sought her hand in marriage. Kerebuje turned them all down, much to everyone’s astonishment.

Ijapa was also interested in marrying Kerebuje, popularly known as Buje, although he had not yet approached her, thinking that he did not stand a chance.

“What would a beautiful woman like Kerebuje want with me – a creature with a cracked shell?” he often asked himself. “But what she doesn’t understand is that I may not be a human being and beautiful like her, but I’ve wisdom. There’s nothing I can’t achieve if I set my mind to it. I must find a way of getting Buje to be my wife”.

As human beings and animals lived side by side and intermingled freely, marrying each other, although not common, was not unheard of. Had Ijapa not tried to marry their Ọba (ruler)’s three princesses whose real names he had to come up with? He had used tricks to discover the princesses’ names but had been caught out at the last minute. Ijapa survived on his cunning, his pranks as well as trickery, often boasting that he could solve any problem.

As Kerebuje continued to turn down all offers of marriage she soon became an object of gossip. It was unheard of for a woman not to marry after a certain age.“Why is it so difficult for someone to succeed in marrying this woman?”

“She thinks nobody is good enough for her, that’s why. She’s too proud”.

“Admitted that she’s beautiful, but all the same she’s a woman after all, and she has to marry a man one day!”

“Well, let’s wait and see whom she’ll marry”.

But it was not pride that was the reason for Kerebuje’s refusal to marry any of her admirers. Kerebuje hated the way people went on and on about how beautiful she was. It put her terribly on her guard. They were forever talking about her lovely, glowing skin and glossy hair, her beautiful, dazzling eyes, her well-proportioned body – how from head to toe she had the beauty that was the envy of all the other women in her town, and that made men swoon over her. What was more some of these men, inspired by her beauty, had been composing songs about her. Kerebuje found the whole thing sickening.

She was not the only woman who experienced this kind of situation in those days, however. For example, Agbado (Corn), a princess in another town, Pelewu, and Amola in Kasawa, who lived with her parents, went through the same ordeal.

“I’m fed up with all these men asking for my hand in marriage”, Kerebuje was complaining. “I’ve not even met most of them before. They flock here as soon as they hear about me and ask for my hand in marriage; they don’t even want to get to know me first – to court me. Imagine that! That’s bad enough, but what about the men who think that all they have to do is to register their interest with my parents, especially the ones my parents know already.

“They believe they have an edge over the ones who approach me direct, because a daughter is expected to marry a man of her parents’ choice. They’re so wrong. I’ll choose whom I want in my own time, and for my own reasons!”

It was indeed true that, at that time, parents, especially fathers, chose husbands for their daughters, but there were a few women who rejected this custom, and who chose whomever they wanted.
“I want to marry for love. I want the man I marry to love me for myself and not because he thinks I’m beautiful. But how would I know?” Kerebuje often thought to herself.

Kerebuje’s parents were very displeased with Kerebuje’s attitude on this issue, despite Kerebuje’s effort to get them to understand. They went on and on at her, and there were frequent arguments.

“What’s wrong with all these men? What’re you waiting for? Do you want to be a laughing stock? Do you want to put us to shame? Is none of the men good enough for you?”

“It’s not that. These men are interested in me because they think I’m beautiful, and you both know it. It makes me sick the way they go on and on. It’s too much for me. I can’t take it any longer. I want to be left alone. I don’t want any of them to come here anymore. Let them go somewhere else with their flatteries! I’ll choose whom I want myself and when I’m ready”.

“You’re lucky you’re beautiful and should be grateful to God!”

“If these men continue to come here, I’ll leave!”

“Leave then!”

Kerebuje got tired of her parents’ constant nagging, and moved out of the house, to live on her own – not in the style she was accustomed to at her well-off parents’ home. She had to fend for herself a great deal more, including fetching water for cooking and other purposes, from a nearby river – a chore that she had never had to do before.
Her parents turned against her for defying their wishes, and so did other relatives, and even friends. She had never had that many friends anyway – men or women – the women being jealous of her, and the men against her because of her refusal to marry one of them. She was ostracised. However, Kerebuje went about her daily life unperturbed.

In the meantime, Ijapa was convinced as ever that if he set his mind to it, he would find a way of making Kerebuje his wife; he was not one to be easily swayed once he had made up his mind about something.

“All of you wait and see. I’m the one Buje is going to marry!” he was often heard boasting to all and sundry – anywhere Kerebuje’s name was mentioned. Very soon it became the talk of the town, with the men arguing among themselves:

“How can he say that? Why does he think that Buje would prefer him – an animal – to any of us?”

“He’s got to be joking. That creature with a cracked shell?”

“Imagine that! Ijapa is nowhere near Buje!”

They all laughed at Ijapa behind his back. After some time Ijapa decided to put his plan into action. He started to spy on Kerebuje as she went about her daily activities – following her around to know her daily routine. He found out that she went to a river to fetch water everyday at a certain time and passed by a farm on her way to and from this river. At the edge of the farm was a small unfarmed portion of land that belonged to a well-to-do farmer – very close to the route Kerebuje took everyday. Ijapa approached the farmer:

“I need work. I’m good at farming. Can you lease that small portion of land to me?” he asked pointing in the direction of the land, hoping that the farmer would agree.

“I’ll be able to see Buje everyday as she passes. Like that I can strike up a plan to win her round”, Ijapa was thinking.

The farmer was not sure whether to grant Ijapa’s wish because of Ijapa’s reputation. Ijapa was not only cunning and mischievous he was also very lazy – not known to do any honest work unless he could not help it. He generally relied on the kindness of others (eg friends and neighbours) or on tricking them to obtain food. Was that not the main reason why his estranged wife, Yannibo finally left him to go and live with her parents?

It was sheer luck that when Ijapa met and married Yannibo at Teregun, where he was living at the time, he was making a living from a farm he had bought after coming unexpectedly into some money. Unfortunately, as time went by, he had reverted to his old, lazy ways, not bothering to work and provide for his family, but relying on trickery and the generosity of others to feed himself and his family.

The farmer was very kind-hearted.

“All right Ijapa”, he answered after a while.

“I’ll keep an eye on him all the same. He’s always up to something. Maybe he wants to steal from me…”, the farmer thought.

After leasing the land to Ijapa the farmer started to observe what Ijapa was up to from afar.

“He’s not stealing from me!”, he concluded finally. Instead he noticed a young woman passing by – around the same time everyday – and Ijapa watching her as she passed, whistling or singing softly to himself, throwing his cutlass up and down as if he was working with all his might.

The farmer was curious. He knew that the young woman was called Kerebuje; he had heard about her but had never approached her. He had never been interested in or paid attention to what was being said about her around town because it amazed him how other people could think the way they did.

Kerebuje went to the river when she knew that there was hardly anyone around. After some time Ijapa struck up a conversation with her. It was no more than the customary greetings to begin with. Then one day he said to her:

“How are you today? What’s a beautiful girl like you always doing on your own?”

Immediately Kerebuje heard this, she quickly said:

“I’ve got to go now. Bye!” and moved away quickly.

“So, this is what people mean. She’s a difficult nut to crack”, Ijapa said to himself.

Ijapa thought and thought about Kerebuje – how to win her over.

Now in broad daylight when it was blazingly hot and the scorching heat became too much for the snakes in the bush, these snakes would be seen scurrying around, crossing from one farm to the other, looking for shelter. On one such day Ijapa almost stepped on a snake on the way to his portion of land where he farmed, and the idea struck him…

Kerebuje knew about these snakes scurrying around but had never really been afraid of them. As long as one treaded carefully and looked on the ground the snakes were no bother to anyone, because they were more bothered by the sun than anything else. Besides she knew the area very well, and she normally took a route she had mapped out for herself. This route was very close to the farmer’s farm – to Ijapa’s portion of land. It was most unlikely for one to come across snakes around here, the farmer being prudent to sprinkle some substance to ward them off regularly. Kerebuje had learnt of this, although she had never met the farmer before.

A few days later, in broad daylight, when it was blazingly hot, Ijapa went to the other side of the bush where the snakes were scurrying around looking for shelter and clubbed one of them on the head.

There was nobody around the farms and the footpaths to the river were deserted, quiet, except for the chirping of birds, the sound of crickets, and the occasional hooting of an owl. He lifted the snake which was in the throes of death, its tail moving up and down.

Ijapa was unaware that the farmer was watching him at a distance from where he was tending his farm. The farmer saw him clubbing the snake on the head, and lifting it up, and wondered what he wanted to do with it.

“Perhaps he needs something to eat – something different. Good appetite Ijapa!” the farmer chuckled and went back to his work thinking no more of it.

Ijapa carried the snake to where he farmed. He looked back and saw Kerebuje at a distance coming from the river; all the footpaths were deserted and quiet.

Kerebuje felt the heat of the blazing sunshine on her back, and suddenly thought of the snakes that were bound to be scurrying around in the bush at this time of the day. She knew that it was most unlikely that she would come across them on the route she took every day but decided to exercise the greatest caution all the same – walking slowly and looking on the ground, with her bucket of water on her head. Only the other day she had heard of someone almost stepping on the head of a snake, and of a snake almost touching another person’s foot as these reptiles scurried around. The story had bothered her somewhat, and now it all came back.

“Perhaps it’s not such a good idea to come here alone at this time of the day after all, especially when it’s boiling hot”, she found herself thinking and prayed silently in her mind to get home safely.

As Kerebuje was thinking this, Ijapa quickly took the snake which was still struggling for its life, writhing in pain, and lay it on the ground, on Kerebuje’s path – close to his portion of land. To anyone who saw it the snake looked as if it was still fully alive.

Ijapa went back quickly to his land, whistling and singing softly as he usually did, and swinging his cutlass around as if he was hard at work. Kerebuje did not notice him as she was too busy at that time, looking on the ground and treading softly; her thoughts about snakes were making her uncomfortable and nervous. As she got closer to Ijapa’s farmland and her nervousness increased, she saw the snake that Ijapa had put there, leaping up and down. It was because she was so very nervous that she stumbled and stepped on the snake. Her bucket of water fell over, and she was drenched from head to toe.

Without gathering her thoughts together to make sense of what had happened, she screamed and called out to the one person she knew for sure would be nearby.

“Snake! Snake! Ijapa help me! Help me kill the snake!”

Ijapa rushed out with his cutlass held high up, shouting:

“Buje! Buje, is that you…? Where is the snake…? Where is it…? Don’t panic… I’m here… I’ll kill it for you…”

Kerebuje drew back and could not speak. She was shaking all over, seized by intense fear. She could only point at the snake as she reeled from shock and almost fell to the ground. Ijapa rushed to where the snake was to cut off its head, whilst Kerebuje kept her eyes well averted from the scene. The snake leapt up forcefully, stretched out its whole length, and recoiled. Ijapa brought his cutlass down on it twice, and as he was about to strike one more time, it was his own shin he struck; it was deliberate of course – a wicked trick.

Ijapa sank to the ground and screamed with all his might; he wailed, holding his injured skin.

“Yee! Yee! I’m in pain. I’m dying! I’m dying! See what you’ve caused, Buje”.

The cutlass wound was not that deep, but blood gushed out – owing perhaps to the blazing sun. Kerebuje was thrown into confusion by Ijapa’s utterance, totally unexpected. She hopped agitatedly and started saying over and over again:

“Oh my God! Oh my God! What have I done? I’m sorry Ijapa. I wish I hadn’t called out to you for help. Someone, please help us. Oh my God!”

The snake was forgotten as Kerebuje traded one fear for another – fear of being bitten by the snake for fear that Ijapa was gravely wounded and might die, and that it would have been all because of her. “Hasn’t Ijapa said as much? Look at the way he’s throwing himself on the ground, wailing”, she thought; she did not know what to do next, and kept on repeating:

“Oh my God! Oh my God! I’m so sorry…so very sorry…!”

The farmer who owned Ijapa’s portion of land came running as all this was going on. He had heard Kerebuje screaming “Snake! Snake…!” as well, but Ijapa had got there first as it turned out.
“What’s wrong, Ijapa?” he enquired. “Have you been bitten by the snake?” he added spotting the now completely dead snake on the ground. Ijapa did not answer immediately. He was rolling on the ground, wailing “Yee! Yee!”

That was when the farmer noticed the cutlass wound on Ijapa’s shin, and the blood gushing out. Ijapa started to speak, struggling to do so as he went along.“It’s Buje. Here I was just doing my work… quietly minding my own business, when she screamed out to me to help her kill this snake…To make sure that the snake was completely dead I dealt it one more blow and cut my shin accidentally. Now I feel faint and very thirsty. I’m in so much pain…and may die…and it’s because of her…”

“I’m so sorry! I’m so very sorry!” Kerebuje continued to say.

The farmer took in the whole scenario immediately – Ijapa rolling on the ground, wailing and moaning, Kerebuje overridden with remorse – and in that instance his opinion of Kerebuje was formed. His heart went out to her.

“How many people would react the way this young woman is reacting to something that is just an accident – blaming herself profusely? Look at how overwrought she is about the whole thing! As for Ijapa, I’m not sure I trust him in all this. He may just be exaggerating his pain for effect – to gain sympathy. Come to think of it…”.

The farmer pushed aside his thoughts for the moment and introduced himself to Kerebuje.

“I’m Sẹgilolu, Ijapa’s landlord, the owner of this farm. Here, let me help you”, he volunteered, turning to Ijapa, stretching out his hand. I can take you inside the farmhouse, and tend to your wound, and the blood will stop”.

“I can’t move at all. The pain is too much. What have you done Buje?” Ijapa replied and started wailing again, rolling on the ground, to draw the attention of other people.

“You can’t blame this young lady. It was an accident”, Segilolu put in quickly, to distil the situation. “Can’t you see how distressed she is?”
“Let me carry you in”, Sẹgilolu offered, bending down to do so.

“No!” Ijapa resisted so vehemently, taking Sẹgilolu and Kerebuje by surprise.

“Is Ijapa afraid that his pain would increase by someone merely touching him, or is it something else?” Sẹgilolu wondered.

“I’ll go and get a doctor then. You can’t continue to bleed”, Sẹgilolu offered.

“No!” Ijapa repeated with so much emphasis, taking Sẹgilolu and Kerebuje by surprise once more.

Kerebuje started crying, jumping up and down, overwrought.
“Please let him help you, Ijapa” she pleaded. “If you keep on losing blood you may die, and I’ll blame myself. If I hadn’t called out to you for help…”.

“Don’t say that”, Sẹgilolu cautioned Kerebuje. Although he understood what she was going through – the feeling of remorse, he did not want Ijapa to take advantage of it. Sẹgilolu was beginning to feel uncomfortable about the whole thing.

“There’s something going on here, and I can’t lay my hands on it. I don’t want to leave this young lady here on her own, to go and get a doctor. I feel somehow that she needs me…Anyway there are other people here now…”.

By then a few more people had gathered around them, and Ijapa increased his wailing. Among the onlookers were some of the men Kerebuje had turned down.

“What’s wrong with Ijapa? What’s the matter, Ijapa? How come you’re here – rolling on the ground and wailing like this?” they were asking.

“I’m in a very bad way…and may die – all because I was trying to help Buje kill a snake…”, Ijapa struggled to say, and went on to recount the whole incident, all the time rolling on the ground as before, and pretending to faint on and off.

The people, especially the men Kerebuje had turned down, were happy to see the state Kerebuje was in, and just looked on, rejoicing at this woman’s plight; she was overwrought, crying, begging and pleading with Ijapa to accept help. She was confused as to what to do next. It was Sẹgilolu who took charge of the situation once more.

“I’m Sẹgilolu, the owner of this farm” he informed the crowd, pointing in the direction of his farm. “I’ve tried to help Ijapa – to carry him inside the farmhouse, and tend to his wound, but he refused my help and just kept on wailing, rolling on the ground. He doesn’t want me to get a doctor either, but I think we should…”.

“No!” Ijapa shouted, much to the surprise of everybody, but the delight of those among them who would have liked to see matters getting worse for Kerebuje.

“Please, let someone help you, Ijapa. I can’t let you die” she pleaded yet again. Her heart was pounding wildly with anxiety; she was beside herself with concern.

Ijapa said nothing. He just continued to roll on the ground, pretending to faint on and off.

“Perhaps it’s better to just leave him and go and get a doctor whether he likes it or not” Sẹgilolu finally said. “I’d better go…”.

“I don’t need a doctor!” Ijapa interrupted, and everyone around was completely taken aback again.

“He doesn’t want the farmer to carry him inside and tend to his wound. He doesn’t want him to get a doctor either, and yet he can’t continue to stay here… Something is definitely going on here. Ijapa is definitely up to something, but what?” some of them, including Sẹgilolu, were wondering and those against Kerebuje were secretly pleased by the developments. Kerebuje tried to pull Ijapa up in desperation when she heard this, all the time crying, begging him and pleading with him to accept help. Ijapa said nothing.

“What do you need then? What do you want me to do? I can’t just leave you here. Supposing you die?” Kerebuje asked, too distraught to realize what she was saying. “Just tell me”, she added, then turned to the crowd.

“Please ask him what he wants. I can’t bear to see him like this. I can’t bear it anymore”.

When Ijapa realized that things were going exactly the way he wanted – that Kerebuje held herself responsible for his ‘plight’, and that he was causing her a great deal of distress, he started to sing – to add more seriousness to the situation as it was bound to:

Buje, Buje p’Ahun o Buje, Buje has killed Ahun (Ahun = one of Ijapa’s nicknames)
Kerebuje
Buje, Buje p’Ahun o
Kerebuje
Iṣe mi mo nṣe Here was I going about my work
Kerebuje
Oko mi mo nro Doing my farming
Kerebuje

Ona mi mo nye Minding my own business
Kerebuje

Buje ni n’g wa ya p’ejo Buje asked me to kill a snake for
her
Kerebuje
O p’ejo p’ojugun In killing the snake I struck my shin
Kerebuje
Jọwọ bẹrẹ gb’Ahun pọn Please lift Ahun up and carry
him at your back
Kerebuje
O gb’Ahun pọn, gb’Ahun jo Carry Ahun at your back and rock Ahun in your arms
Kerebuje

Ko gbe mi s’ibadi o Please carry me at your hips Kerebuje

Gbe mi s’ibadi re ‘le o Carry me home at your
hips
Kerebuje
Ibadi l’aiye wa Life’s enjoyment is at the
hips
Kerebuje
Ibadi l’aiye wa
Kerebuje

In the song Ijapa reported what had happened, telling the people around them what Kerebuje should do to alleviate the situation. He said that Kerebuje should carry him on her back, rock him at her hips, and that life’s enjoyment was at the hips!

Everybody, including Kerebuje, was completely taken aback by the song, and there was silence all around. The people who were against Kerebuje rejoiced secretly about the developments, anticipating that Kerebuje was going to be humiliated. They were hoping that she would do exactly what Ijapa wanted – to see her humiliated.
“Pride goes before a fall” they were thinking maliciously.

“I can’t do that. Anything else” Kerebuje thought. She certainly did not cherish the idea of carrying out Ijapa’s wishes and was appalled by his crudeness.

However, as he was weeping as he sang, rolling on the ground, causing the blood, which seemed to have stopped, to gush out again, Kerebuje started to cry once more – to beg him, and plead with him and the others about this ridiculous request. She was sweating profusely, her clothes drenched with blood from Ijapa’s shin, her heart pounding wildly as before. She did not fully understand what was going on. She only knew that she could not bear to see Ijapa in this state.

The farmer suddenly realized what had been making him uncomfortable about the whole situation; it was Ijapa’s behaviour. He had been behaving in a very suspicious manner indeed.

“I should have known that he was up to something. His not wanting me or anybody else to touch him, help him in anyway, and yet asking Kerebuje to carry him on her back in his song. He’s pretending to be in great pain, but that’s not all”. Suddenly the thoughts that Sẹgilolu had put pushed aside earlier descended upon him in full force. The penny dropped.

“Of course! This is a ploy. This creature is a scoundrel. Ijapa watching Kerebuje as she passes by everyday, Ijapa killing the snake, and now the song – the part about Kerebuje carrying him home at her back, rocking him at her hips…”

“He’s definitely up to no good vis-à-vis Buje and must not be allowed to get away with it!”

Suddenly another thought struck Sẹgilolu.

“Come to think of it, didn’t I hear some gossips flying around recently about Ijapa boasting that he was the one Buje would marry?” Sẹgilolu had not been taking interest in these gossips. But now…”.

Sẹgilolu was about to intervene on behalf of Kerebuje when he heard some of the people around advising Ijapa to get home quickly, and tend to his wound and to himself, and Ijapa answering immediately that he could not walk at all, and that there was nobody at home to take care of him. Sẹgilolu hesitated, waiting to see what Ijapa would do next, when he heard what some other people were saying, one after the other, to Kerebuje, and was completely taken aback.

“What’re you waiting for? Are you just going to just stand there, and look at him – Ijapa who killed the snake for you. You’d better not let him die! You’d better take him home quickly and not let him die!”
“Don’t let me die here. Please take me home and don’t let me die here!” Ijapa had the audacity to say.

“Bend down and carry him on your back. He’s going to die!”

“Can’t you see? Didn’t you hear the words of his song?”

“Aren’t you the one who got him into trouble? Here he was quietly doing his farming, not bothering anyone when you called out for him to help you kill the snake…”.

“It’s your fault. It’s whilst killing the snake for you that he cut his shin. Carry him on your back – at your hips – and rock him to comfort him. Pet him. That’s what he needs”.

“Take him home and give him tender, loving care! This is what he wants. Carrying him at your back and rocking him at your hips will make his life worthwhile!”

They were all chuckling and laughing crudely.

Sẹgilolu was deeply shocked by what these people were saying and their behaviour; he knew that they were deliberately adding more to Kerebuje’s problems.

It was indeed true that they wanted to humiliate her in front of everyone – those men Kerebuje had rejected, and the women who were jealous of her beauty and the attention she got from men. Sẹgilolu realized that Kerebuje was too distraught to understand fully what was happening.

“She shouldn’t continue to blame herself, but she does not realize this at present. She doesn’t realize that she’s playing into Ijapa’s hands because this is exactly how he wants her to feel. Most people would have left the scene by now. Sẹgilolu’s admiration for Kerebuje soared, and he knew that he had to do something. He could not allow Ijapa to continue to manipulate her in this way.

Sẹgilolu moved closer to Buje who was about to do what these people were suggesting, obviously out of desperation. She was beside herself with anxiety, still totally confused and dazed. He pushed the people aside.

“Don’t listen to any of them, Buje. They’re talking nonsense. They’re just trying to make matters worse. Remember what I told you earlier on. You’re not to blame for what’s happened to Ijapa”, he said.
“What the hell! Why don’t you mind your own business?” someone butted in, and others joined in one after the other.

“Who’s this man? What’s he to Buje? What does he know about her?”

“Perhaps he thinks that in coming to Buje’s rescue, he can warm his way to her heart. What a thought!”

“You’re wasting your time, Mister” another man added, laughing.

“Ask any of us…”.

“If you’re sticking up for Buje so that you can get her to look at you, forget it.”

“You’re not thinking straight, all of you, and should be ashamed of yourselves. If you put your feelings aside for one second, you’ll realize that I’m right. Why are you being unfair to this woman just because she’s turned you all down? How many of you would behave the way Buje is behaving in the same situation? She could have walked away by now, and there’s nothing Ijapa and anyone else could have done about it. It isn’t her fault, and you know it. She’s a brave and decent human being – caring. Instead of helping her you just want to humiliate her – to laugh at her.

Nobody said anything – perhaps taken aback that Sẹgilolu could address them in this way – so Sẹgilolu continued.

“Besides, let me tell you something else. How do you know that Ijapa has not tricked Buje? I’m not convinced that he had not planned this whole situation. I think he’s pretending to be in great pain. I saw him club a snake on the head earlier on. Supposing the snake was not completely dead, and he deliberately put it on Buje’s path to frighten her. He knows that she passes by everyday – I’ve seen him observing her.”

The people looked at each other, speechless, and Sẹgilolu continued:

“You see, the whole of my farm, including the portion of land I’ve leased to Ijapa, and the surroundings are regularly sprinkled with a substance that wards off snakes, so it’s most unlikely that the snake was from here”.

There was still no response from the crowd, so Sẹgilolu went on:

“I can even go as far as saying that perhaps Ijapa purposely leased the land from me to carry out his plan, which I believe – judging from his song – is to trick Buje into doing what he’s suggested in his song, or even more! What’s so baffling to me is that you’re all willing to take him seriously – to entertain his request, to repeat the words of his song, and even add more – just to put pressure on Buje, who’s obviously too distraught by this whole episode to know what she’s doing. She’s turned you down and you’d rather see her stuck with Ijapa – even married to Ijapa against her wish, no doubt.

“I offered to carry Ijapa inside my farmhouse to tend to his wound, or get him a doctor, but he refused. But now he wants Buje to carry him on her back… Why? The whole thing is absurd!”

Sẹgilolu looked hard at Kerebuje, and Kerebuje saw deep concern and admiration in his gaze – and something else she could not define. She was suddenly overwhelmed by her own emotions towards him – gratitude, admiration, and something else. She felt drawn towards this man; there was something about him that appealed to her instantly.

“This is a very kind and understanding man. He’s so different from the others…”, she was thinking. She wanted to speak, to thank him, but some of the people around, who have now regained their power of speech, pushed him out of the way.

“You obviously fancy this woman, and this is why you’re suspicious of Ijapa’s motives vis-à-vis Buje”, one of them said, and some of the others nodded in agreement.

Sẹgilolu said nothing. He just stared at the people in disbelief and disgust. Suddenly they started to argue among themselves – the minority in support of Buje – and this soon led to an uproar. Ijapa, who had for the moment stopped his ‘drama’ – his earlier wailing – seemed to be enjoying the situation, by the expression on his face.

In the meantime, some people had gone to tell the Ọba (ruler) what was going on, to avoid fighting breaking out.

In those days, Ọbas played an important role in the day-to-day lives of their subjects, being called upon to settle disputes – no matter how small or inconsequential, especially those that were likely to lead to fighting in public. An Ọba was expected to solve mysteries of any kind that baffled his subjects. Matters concerning both humans and animals were also brought before an Ọba.

In the twinkle of an eye, two messengers had arrived from the Ọba’s palace.

“Stand aside everybody!” one of them commanded.

“The Ọba has requested to see Buje and Ijapa at once, and nobody else. How the two of them get there is up to them. He knows about Ijapa’s request that Kerebuje should carry him at her back and says that no one is allowed to interfere”.

“I can’t walk unless Buje carries me on her back”, Ijapa said.

“Nonsense!” said the farmer, Sẹgilolu. “Why should a woman carry you? I can carry you. You’re too heavy for Buje”.

“You must not interfere…”, one of the messengers admonished Sẹgilolu sternly. “Don’t forget what the Ọba has ordered. He knows that Ijapa wants Kerebuje to carry him at her back.”

“I doubt that the Ọba would expect Buje to carry Ijapa back to the palace. How do we know that you’re telling the truth? Perhaps the two of you want to humiliate Buje as well.”, Sẹgilolu thought but said nothing.

Kerebuje started to cry again. She felt ashamed to have to carry Ijapa to the palace, but in the midst of her tears she was touched by Sẹgilolu’s offer to carry him instead. Once again that new feeling enveloped her. Hearing her cry again and again did something to him. He felt so concerned about her; she looked so defenceless and dejected.

“Why, I feel as if I can do anything for this woman, and I hardly know her!”

There seemed to be no solution to the problem, no other way to turn to. Kerebuje bent down, struggled to lift up Ijapa, dragging him, so that she could carry him on her back, with practically everyone around laughing at her.

“What a disgrace!” one of them muttered “Serves her right! Pride goes before a fall”.
Ijapa was heavy and Kerebuje doubled up under the weight. She started to cry again, and something snapped inside Sẹgilolu.

“This is ridiculous! Can’t you all see what you’re putting this woman through? I’m going to carry Ijapa myself whether you like it or not. I’ll face the Ọba’s anger, don’t worry”, he said turning to the messengers.

“Besides, I’m ready to tell him what I said earlier – to expose Ijapa as a trickster”, he added, turning back to the others. “Perhaps the Ọba will listen. No point in talking to this lot. They’re so prejudiced!”, Sẹgilolu thought.

To Sẹgilolu’s surprise the messengers said nothing which confirmed his earlier suspicion that they were lying about the Ọba’s message; they were trying it on. Kerebuje was impressed by Sẹgilolu’s insistence.

“This man is really sticking his neck out for me. He must be truly a decent and kind man. I feel good just knowing he’s there, and if he could come to the palace with us…”, she found herself thinking, in the midst of her distress.

“I can’t bear to let Buje go to the palace alone – to face all there’s to face. In fact, I wish I could be around her all the time – to look out for her, to care for her… to…”

Sẹgilolu pushed his thoughts aside, confused. He had never felt like this about anyone before…

“I’m going to carry you to the palace, Ijapa, and there’s nothing you can do about it, unless you want to stay here”, he said, pulling Ijapa up from the ground with force. The bleeding from the wound seemed to have stopped. Sẹgilolu carried Ijapa at his back and went with the messengers and Kerebuje to the palace. The crowd dispersed, bustling with the whole incident.

When the messengers and the trio arrived at the palace, they went immediately before the Ọba, who recognized Ijapa as soon as he set eyes on him.

“Was it not you who used tricks to gain my daughters’ hands in marriage that other time?” he asked.

“Yes, Kabiyesi” Ijapa answered, feeling uncomfortable, and looking shifty.

The Ọba said nothing. He just nodded, and then turned to Sẹgilolu, who introduced himself to the Ọba quickly. The Ọba knew who Kerebuje was, of course, having been told about the what happened between Ijapa and her.

“Kabiyes! I know that you gave orders to your messengers that Ijapa and Buje should be left alone to decide how to bring themselves here – even if it meant Kerebuje carrying Ijapa at her back, and I’m sorry to disobey you. She tried to lift Ijapa up a couple of times and buckled under the weight. I couldn’t continue to see her struggle in this way, and this is why I’ve carried Ijapa here myself”, he went on.
The Ọba was taken completely aback.

“What’re you talking about? I certainly did not give such orders. She’s a woman, for goodness sake. How could I possibly expect her to carry Ijapa?”

Displeased, the Ọba turned to the messengers with an enquiry look. The messengers looked away quickly. They had lied because they too were among the men Kerebuje had turned down, and they wanted to make matters worse for Kerebuje.

“You’ve got some explaining to do later” the Ọba said, dismissing them. “Now, for the matter in hand. What happened between Ijapa and this lady?”

“Kabiyesi!” Sẹgilolu said quickly, before anyone could answer. “I’ve got some valuable information that’ll throw a great deal of light on the matter”.

“I’d better hear what the two parties have to say first. That’s always the best thing”, the Ọba replied, nodding wisely. He had always prided himself in dealing competently with disputes of this sort, which were constantly brought to his palace. He turned to Ijapa.

“Tell me what happened Ijapa?”

Ijapa started to sing – to add more seriousness to the situation:

Buje, Buje p’Ahun o Buje, Buje has killed Ahun (Ahun = one of Ijapa’s nicknames)
Kerebuje
Buje, Buje p’Ahun o
Kerebuje
Iṣe mi mo nṣe Here was I going about my work
Kerebuje
Oko mi mo nro Doing my farming
Kerebuje

Ona mi mo nye Minding my own business
Kerebuje

Buje ni n’g wa ya p’ejo Buje asked me to kill a snake for
her
Kerebuje
O p’ejo p’ojugun In killing the snake I struck my shin
Kerebuje
Jọwọ bẹrẹ gb’Ahun pọn Please lift Ahun up and carry him at your back
Kerebuje
O gb’Ahun pọn, gb’Ahun jo Carry Ahun at your back and rock Ahun in your arms
Kerebuje

Ko gbe mi s’ibadi o Please carry me at your hips Kerebuje

Gbe mi s’ibadi re ‘le o Carry me home at your hips
Kerebuje
Ibadi l’aiye wa Life’s enjoyment is at the hips
Kerebuje
Ibadi l’aiye wa
Kerebuje
As Ijapa sang it was obvious that the Ọba was enjoying the song without really listening to the words, from the expression on his face.

“Kabiyesi! Here I was quietly tending my farm, minding my own business, when Buje screamed with all her might, calling out for me to help her kill a snake”.

He then went on to recount the whole incident, putting on his usual ‘drama’, crying as if he was in great pain, that evoked the same emotions that Kerebuje felt earlier on – deep concern, remorse, guilt, fear.

“Is this true, Buje? Is this how it happened?” the Ọba asked.

“Yes, Kabiyesi! I’m sorry. I feel responsible. If I had not called out to Ijapa to help me, screaming, this would not have happened.”

“It was an accident…”, the Ọba began.

”Buje keeps on blaming herself, Kabiyesi, even though it was an accident”, Sẹgilolu put in quickly.

“Whether it was an accident or not, Ijapa got wounded – perhaps fatally – because he was helping Buje. A third party can’t understand fully exactly how the two of them are feeling about the matter. They alone know the emotions they’re going through – the need to feel comfortable within them.

“The most important thing – as far as we’re concerned – is for Ijapa to recover from his wounds, and as quickly as possible so that Buje wouldn’t need to blame herself anymore”, he stopped to ponder over this.

“The wound can be seen to straight away by a doctor”, he went on, nodding.

“I don’t need a doctor, Kabiyesi! I’m not bleeding any more. I’m no longer in great pain either. What I’d like is for Buje to come home with me to tend to the wound and fend for me for a while – until I’m up and about. I don’t have anyone I can trust to do so properly”.
Kerebuje burst into tears.

“Please not that!” Kerebuje pleaded with the Ọba and his courtiers, remembering Ijapa’s song. “Anything else but that! I can’t go and stay with Ijapa. How would that look? What would people say?”
“He’s not asking you to stay with him, and it’s only for a short while. He just wants you to clean and dress his wound, make fire and cook for him, and fend for him, and other things to help his recovery”, the Ọba put in. From all indications, he did not think that Ijapa had anything else in mind, not having taken in the wording of Ijapa’s song.

“Kabiyesi, there is no one to take care of me during the night. If the wound flares up who’ll go and get a doctor?”

“You see what I mean, Kabiyesi! He wants me to stay with him!”

The Ọba felt uncomfortable by Ijapa’s request and Kerebuje’s reaction to it.

“Is this really necessary?” he asked of no one in particular. “You said yourself that you didn’t need a doctor…”.

“Just in case the wound flares up”, Ijapa put in quickly.

The Ọba was at a loss as to what to say. He looked at his courtiers, who stepped in quickly, saying one after the other:

“It’s the least she can do surely, Kabiyesi – staying with Ijapa – to nurse him back to health”.

“Is it too much to ask?”.

“It isn’t such a bad idea”.

“It’ll show that she cares about what happened”, said yet another.

Very soon the Ọba noticed that most of his courtiers seemed to share the same view. What he did not know was that the ones in question had asked for Kerebuje’s hand in marriage and had been turned down – that they would be happy if Kerebuje were to go home with Ijapa. They were in no doubt about Ijapa’s intentions. Indeed, they were now thinking:

“It serves Buje right. It’s her vanity and pride that’s brought her problems. She deserves to be stuck with Ijapa – to be married to him even!”

“Kabiyesi! I can’t hold back the information I have on this matter any longer” Sẹgilolu, who had kept quiet since the Ọba had ordered him to silence, put in quickly. The Ọba was happy for the interruption because it gave him time to reflect further on what to do.

Sẹgilolu went on to recount the various incidents that had led him to be very suspicious of Ijapa’s intentions, leaving nothing out – Ijapa’s boasting around the town that he was the one who would marry Kerebuje, his leasing the farm from him, observing Kerebuje as she passed by everyday, his killing that snake…

“What’s more, Kabiyesi, the wording of his song shows that he has designs on Buje. I don’t think we should ignore it.”

“Really!” the Ọba exclaimed, shocked.

“I wanted to take him inside my farmhouse and tend to his wound or get him a doctor, but he refused. He didn’t want anyone to help him, except Buje, and in his house. He wanted her to carry him at her back and take him home, and other things besides. What does this mean? Let me sing some part of the song to you, Kabiyesi!”

Jọwọ bẹrẹ gb’Ahun pọn Please lift Ahun up and carry him at your back
Kerebuje
O gb’Ahun pọn, gb’Ahun jo Carry Ahun at your back and rock Ahun in your arms
Kerebuje

Ko gbe mi s’ibadi o Please carry me at your hips Kerebuje

Gbe mi s’ibadi re ‘le o Carry me home at your hips
Kerebuje
Ibadi l’aiye wa Life’s enjoyment is at the hips
Kerebuje
Ibadi l’aiye wa
Kerebuje
Ijapa denied the allegations, of course.

“The song meant nothing, Kabiyesi! I just like to sing, and I make up the words as I go along. What I’ve already said is the truth. I have no one at home to tend to my wound and fend for me until I’m up and about…”.

Before the Ọba could say anything, Ijapa continued:

“Don’t listen to Sẹgilolu, Kabiyesi! He’s the one who has designs on Buje, and this is why he’s saying all these things!”

“These are just allegations, Kabiyesi”, one of the courtiers who were against Kerebuje put in, and some of the others joined in:

“There are no proofs”.

“Perhaps we should concern ourselves with only what happened today between Ijapa and Buje, and it’s only the two of them who knew how it happened”.

“Supposing Ijapa is right, and Sẹgilolu is saying all this to win Buje over, Kabiyesi!”

These utterances continued, and soon led to an uproar, because not everyone wanted Kerebuje to go home with Ijapa all the same.

“Enough!” the Ọba ordered. He was getting irritated by the turn of events. The matter was brought before him in the first place only because it would have led to public fighting at the scene of Ijapa’s accident, if he had not sent his messengers to intervene, and public fighting was unlawful. Now the same thing seemed to be happening right under his nose.

For the first time, the Ọba questioned whether it was worthwhile for an Ọba to get involved in the day-to-day lives of his people to this extent. He might have to look more closely into changing certain things, but for now he had had enough and just wanted the whole thing over; he wanted to be left alone. He did not know how to settle the matter, what with all his courtiers putting pressure on him to let Kerebuje go home with Ijapa. He was not sure that he trusted Ijapa deep down. Look at how he almost won the competition for the princesses’ hands in marriage – how he tricked everybody, and almost got away with it!

“Buje will go home with Ijapa to tend to his wound”, the Ọba found himself saying finally. “She’ll help him until he’s up and about, and nothing more. Think nothing further of his song, nor of Sẹgilolu’s accusations regarding him.

“Buje, don’t worry about how it would look – don’t be embarrassed by it. Ijapa is seriously warned not to try anything on. Just see it as helping Ijapa out. He doesn’t seem to have anyone he can trust to care for him at home, and perhaps we shouldn’t force the issue. With him under your nose, perhaps you yourself will feel better about the whole episode, and not continue to blame yourself”.

Kerebuje was not happy about the Ọba’s ruling, and wished she could run away. But there was no question of that. Once an Ọba had ruled, an individual had to do his bidden. It was only Sẹgilolu’s presence that calmed her down; she drew strength from it.
“All right, Kabiyesi!” she answered reluctantly.

“Kabiyesi! With due respect, I think we’re making a mistake as we will discover eventually, I’m sure. But who am I to disagree with your ruling. Please allow me to carry Ijapa home.

“Kabiyesi!” I japa started. “I’d rather someone else carry me. After all this man had said about me, I don’t want anything more to do with him. I don’t want him to come near my house!”.

“Nonsense! Sẹgilolu, carry Ijapa to his house, but don’t go back there. Just leave Buje and him alone. It’s better that way, and he’s been warned not to try on anything with Buje!”

“Very well, Kabiyesi!” Sẹgilolu replied. He picked up Ijapa, and left the palace with Kerebuje, acutely aware of her presence at his side as they headed for Ijapa’s house. She found herself constantly stealing glances at him. There was something about him that lifted her spirits – lessened her distress.

“It’s not just his good looks, but something else…How I’d love to see him again, get to know him”, she thought. But how will that be possible”, she thought suddenly remembering the Ọba’s ruling that Sẹgilolu should not come back to Ijapa’s house, where she would be staying for a while. Kerebuje felt dejected and miserable again.

“Surely, I’m not going to be stuck at Ijapa’s home all-day long. Even if Sẹgilolu can’t come there, I can always visit him at his farm. Then I’ll be able to thank him properly for all his kindness. Anyway, I won’t be at Ijapa’s for long. Perhaps it’s not the end of the world. There are worse things…”, she was thinking, and she tried to calm down.

“Buje is not just a pretty face. Such depth of feelings! I wonder why those men can’t see this. Pity I can’t go and see her everyday until she’s out of there. Still, she won’t be there for ever. I’d love to get to know her…Anyway I’m still going to look out for her because I don’t trust that scoundrel one bit. I know what he’s trying to do even if nobody else does…”, Sẹgilolu was thinking.

Unfortunately, little did anyone, except Ijapa, know what was in store for Kerebuje – how her life was going to change drastically by the Ọba’s ruling that she should go home with Ijapa to tend to his wound and fend for him for a while. Nobody, including the Ọba, knew that Ijapa would keep Kerebuje ‘locked in with him’ with the help of some of his friends. Ijapa had lied to the Ọba. These friends could have tended to Ijapa’s wound and fend for him if he had wanted them to.

Kerebuje could not leave the house or receive visitors once she went home with Ijapa – not that anybody would have bothered to look her up anyway – not even her parents who had no sympathy for her. Ijapa himself did not go out because of his wound which did not seem to want to heal. Instead he sent his friends out of the house to buy whatever was needed in the house, and for dressing the wound. The friends hung around all day and night.

“Please let me go out”, Kerebuje pleaded with Ijapa many times, to no avail. “I can go crazy locked up like this”. Ijapa’s friends had no sympathy for Kerebuje either and rejoiced in her plight. They had no doubt about what was going on in Ijapa’s mind. Kerebuje pleaded with them to help her – to send word to the palace to let the Ọba know what was going on, but they refused. Instead they made fun of her. Kerebuje was terribly unhappy.

“What am I going to do? How can I make the Ọba aware of what’s happening? If only Sẹgilolu was here. He’ll know what to do. I wish I had met him before…”

Kerebuje continued to think of her situation. It was only the thought of Sẹgilolu, the possibility of seeing him again that kept her going. However, as the days passed and the situation remained the same, she started to despair.

She could not eat and drink well, or sleep properly, and she became depressed; she started to lose weight.

“Why hasn’t Ijapa’s wound healed anyway?” she wondered but knew that it was not just the healing of the wound that was the problem. Ijapa had brought her here under false pretences, and unless she got out…

“I can’t continue like this – not leaving the house everyday, just stuck here. What am I going to do?” These and similar thoughts went on in Kerebuje’s head. She had no one to turn to, no way out.

Sẹgilolu was deeply concerned about Kerebuje. She did not seem to have left Ijapa’s house since she got there. He had not seen her around once – and he was sure nobody had seen her around. After some time and nothing happened, his concern grew.

“This is not right. Maybe I should go and see the Ọba. But how can I convince him that Buje is ‘under lock and key’ at Ijapa’s when I’m not even supposed to go anywhere near them?” Sẹgilolu was convinced that Kerebuje was being held captive at Ijapa’s. Hasn’t Ijapa’s wound healed? How long is it going to take for goodness’ sake?”

Few days later Kerebuje overheard two of Ijapa’s friends talking about her.

“Everybody is saying around town that Ijapa is Buje’s husband”, one of them said.

“Oh dear! The rumour could have started from what I said to some friends. I told them that there seemed to be no end in sight to Ijapa recovering from his wound. As you know it keeps re-opening as he purposely knocks himself about on the wound”, the other friend replied.

“With the two of them locked in everyday, she may as well continue to live with him as his wife”.

“Heavens forbid!” Kerebuje thought aghast.

However, the matter preyed on her mind. She tried to push it away – tell herself that the rumours were unfounded since she knew she was not married to Ijapa. But what Ijapa’s friends said kept on coming back to her. The statement uttered by one of them: ‘She may as well continue to live with him as his wife’ kept on coming back to taunt her. She started wondering if this was what was in store for her – if she was going to be stuck with Ijapa.

“Supposing this was to happen? Supposing these people are right? After all I haven’t heard from or seen anyone since I came here”. For the first time she suddenly felt all alone in the world.

“I’m abandoned. Nobody really cares for me, including my parents. The only person who seems to care is forbidden to come here. How can I be sure I’ll ever hear from anyone again?”

These thoughts started to weigh down Kerebuje, and she became more and more depressed, until she saw no other option than to trick Ijapa and run away – far away from there.

“If I’m found and forced to return to Ijapa’s I’ll kill myself. I can’t continue to live under the same roof as him”.

The rumours about Ijapa being Kerebuje’s husband got to the hearing of the Sẹgilolu, much to his consternation.

“Things must be going seriously wrong. I’ve known it for some time. I’m going to the Ọba straight away. I can’t let this monster ruin Buje’s life.

Kerebuje’s parents also heard the rumours and were horrified.

“I know that we don’t like Buje’s defiance of us, but surely we don’t want her to live with or be married to an animal! This is more disgraceful than her not marrying at all!” Kerebuje’s mother said to her husband.

“You’re right”.

For the first time the couple questioned their behaviour towards their daughter – their insistence that she should get married whether she wanted to or not – which led to their driving her out of the house, and their turning their backs on her.

“We have to go to the palace at once” the mother continued.

Sẹgilolu got to the palace first and was granted audience with the Ọba immediately.

“Kabiyesi! I believe that Buje is still at Ijapa’s house, and that she’s not allowed to leave the house or receive anyone; nobody has seen her around; nobody has visited her either by the look of things. I’m telling you, Ijapa is up to something”.

The Ọba, was shocked to learn that Kerebuje was still at Ijapa’s house and was horrified to hear about the rumours going around town – that Ijapa was Kerebuje’s husband. As Sẹgilolu spoke, Kerebuje’s parents were led into the Ọba’s inner chambers, and heard everything he was saying.

The Ọba felt very uncomfortable as he had been feeling since his ruling that Kerebuje should go and live at Ijapa’s house to tend to his wound and fend for him. The whole matter seemed ludicrous, blown out of proportion, and the Ọba questioned his judgment, as he had done on several occasions since then.

“Was it really necessary for Buje to go and stay with Ijapa just because she asked him to help her kill a snake, and he got wounded in doing so? I wish my people will not burden me with these matters – matters they should resolve on their own whether they fight over them or not. I should definitely look into what and what should be brought before me in future”, he promised himself yet again.

He remembered Sẹgilolu’s warnings about Ijapa, and his unease grew. The presence of Kerebuje’s parents at the palace, which had been made known to the Ọba, did nothing to decrease his unease either.

In the meantime, Kerebuje’s parents were thinking about Sẹgilolu:
“This man must really care for Buje”. They had heard about what happened between Ijapa and Kerebuje from eye-witnesses – how Sẹgilolu had intervened on that day, the verbal exchanges, and above all, the part played by most of the people there – their hostility towards Kerebuje – the men because she had turned them down, the women because they were jealous of her.

“Perhaps it’s someone like Sẹgilolu that is worthy of our daughter – not someone who goes on and on about how beautiful she is and can’t even lift a finger to help when she needed help”, the father said.
“We’ve made a very serious mistake. Look at where it’s landed our daughter!” the mother pointed out.

When Sẹgilolu left the palace, the Ọba asked for Kerebuje’s parents to be brought before him.

“Thank you for coming to see me” the Ọba said to Kerebuje’s father.

“I’m shocked that Buje is still at Ijapa’s. Why is she still there? Hasn’t Ijapa’s wound healed yet? I didn’t say that she should continue to live with him – only for some time”, he wailed.

“Well, whether the wound is healed or not Buje is coming out of there. I’m going to summon the two of them to the palace tomorrow. That young woman is being treated abominably by the sound of things, and it’s only fair that she leaves Ijapa’s house immediately. She should not have been sent there in the first place!”

“Yes, Kabiyesi! Thank you!”

Unfortunately, Kerebuje was unaware of the developments at the palace. She had made up her mind to put her plan to run away into action the following day – the same day that the Ọba was going to summon Ijapa and her to the palace. Early the following morning she said to Ijapa:

“I need to see a doctor. I’m not well. I know someone in town.”

“You can’t go alone. I’ll get one of my friends to accompany you” Ijapa said, concerned. Kerebuje did look ill. In fact, Ijapa had been noticing this, and some other changes in her, but since she had not said anything to him, he had kept quiet. It did not even occur to him that Kerebuje might run away.

Kerebuje did not argue. She had anticipated this – that Ijapa would not want her to leave the house unaccompanied and was well prepared. She knew the area very well, and how to get out of town. She would cross over from one farm to another, and then come to a river with fast current, on which there was a bridge. Once she crossed the bridge and got to the other side, she would be on her way out of the town.

She left with one of Ijapa’s friends, her mind made up not to return. She was depressed and was not really herself anymore. She and Ijapa’s friend passed through the town centre, towards the first farm in sight. The area was deserted.

“We’re almost at the doctor’s. Wait here”, she said to the man. “I just want to go to that farm over there to pick some herbs that I want to brew; they’re very good for fevers, you know”, she added, pointing in the direction of the farm.

“All right” Ijapa’s friend answered, suspecting nothing. He would seize the opportunity to sit down and eat the food and drink he brought along with him.

Kerebuje went into the farm. Ijapa’s friend helped himself to his food and drink, whilst waiting for her, not knowing that she had crossed over to another farm, and was heading towards the river with fast current, and would be out of the town very soon. After a while and she did not return, Ijapa’s friend got anxious.

“What’s happened to Buje? Why is she not back? I hope she’s all right. She’s not well after all… Supposing she’s met with an accident.”

Kerebuje had, at this moment, got on top of the bridge, heading towards the other side of the river. Suddenly Sẹgilolu, who happened to have another farm in this area, and was fishing close by, saw her, and ran quickly after her. He soon caught up with her and took her firmly by the arm.

“Where’re you going?” he asked, his voice rough with concern, as if he knew exactly what Kerebuje had in mind.

“I’m running away from here. I can’t continue to live in Ijapa’s house, and if I’m brought back, and forced to live there, I’ll kill myself. Everyone has abandoned me. I feel like a prisoner; I’m not allowed to go out, and no one comes to see me. I’m beginning to believe that I’m going to be stuck with Ijapa, and people will start thinking that I may as well be his wife. I overheard Ijapa’s friends saying something to that effect”, she said.

“Listen, Buje, as long as I’m alive such a thing as marrying Ijapa will not happen. I will never leave you. The Ọba did not know that Ijapa was going to treat you like that – keep you under lock and key. Ijapa had no right…”.

Sẹgilolu started to tell Kerebuje how he suspected what was going on, went to the palace to tell the Ọba, how shocked and horrified the Ọba was, and the Ọba’s decision to summon Ijapa and her to the palace on that same day.

“So, you see, you’re not abandoned. By the way, your mother and father came to the palace when I was there”, he added, hoping that the news would cheer up Kerebuje.

“I’ve been going through hell thinking about you, Buje”, he continued, “worrying, wondering what to do. I care so much about you”.

Sẹgilolu put his arms tightly around Kerebuje, turned her round to face him, and they looked into each other’s eyes searchingly for a while. Then he started to kiss her – on her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth, and she returned the kisses, suddenly feeling secured in his arms. All her previous feelings of dejection, despair and misery seemed to have evaporated. In fact, she felt as if her life had just begun! They broke off the kiss reluctantly, and he led her away from the bridge.“I’ll take you to the palace immediately and tell the Ọba what has been happening to you.”

In the meantime, after Ijapa’s friend waited and waited for Kerebuje to return, he went into the farm to look for her. There was no sign of her. He searched for her everywhere to no avail.

“Oh my God! What’s happened to her?” he exclaimed. He was very worried and afraid, and he went back home, crying all the way.
“I can’t find Buje. Buje is gone. Perhaps she’s met with an accident. What am I going to tell Ijapa?”, he told all the people he met on the way, and these people rushed to the farm that Kerebuje went to. They searched and searched all around to no avail. All they could see around were trees.

They saw an extraordinarily beautiful looking tree that they had not noticed was there before, and because Kerebuje was beautiful asked each other:

“Could she have turned into that tree?”

“If so, she must have been so deeply unhappy, and not to want to live anymore”.

“It’s of no wonder, considering what she’s gone through!”

It was quite a common belief at that time, that people who did not wish to live any more sometimes turned into trees.

News got to Ijapa about Kerebuje, and Ijapa was shocked and bewildered, and did not know how to handle the situation.

When they got to the palace Sẹgilolu and Kerebuje were taken immediately before the Ọba. Sẹgilolu recounted the whole incident to the Ọba – how and why Kerebuje had tried to run away, leave town, and what she said about killing herself. Then the Ọba sent for Ijapa who was shocked to see Kerebuje; he had given her up for dead.

Ijapa started to shake from head to toe – to look from one person to the other shiftily.

“Ijapa” the Ọba began “I know what has been going on since Buje left the palace with you – how you’ve kept her under lock and key – how abominably you and your friends have treated her, humiliated her – your friends who, I understand have been tending to your wound and fending for you, contrary to what you made us believe about your situation at home. More importantly I’ve been told about the rumours going around town that you’re Buje’s husband.

“I should have listened to this young man who saw through you from the beginning, so don’t bother to deny that your intention from the beginning was to trick Buje into becoming your wife, just like you tricked the princesses that other time. In fact, as soon as you were brought before me and I remembered that incident, my mind told me that you were up to no good. However, an Ọba should not be biased, and this was why I tried not to let your past behaviour cloud my judgment regarding the episode between you and Kerebuje. But now, as a result of your devious and abominable behaviour this young woman would have run away from her home and her family and be lost to everyone for ever. Who knows what could have happened to her if this kind and honourable man had not rescued her.

“What’s more she told Sẹgilolu that she’d kill herself if she were forced to go back to live in your house. I remember my daughters saying that they would do the same thing if they were forced to marry you. Thank God you were caught out at the nick of time! Luckily nobody is going to force Buje to go back to live in your house. You’re lucky she was found, otherwise you would have been in serious trouble. As it is, you’d be locked up until I decide what punishment you’re going to receive for your shameful behaviour to Buje, and let me warn you, don’t ever go near her again. If anything happens to her because of you, you’ll lose your life! “

Ijapa said nothing; he knew that there was no point in denying the Ọba’s accusations; nobody would have believed him anyway. He hung his head in shame.

The Ọba turned to Sẹgilolu and Kerebuje.

“You’re a good man, and you obviously care a lot about Buje. You two deserve each other”, the Ọba said, and was happy to see the looks that were passing between the two of them – adoring, tender looks.

“Go away and enjoy your lives. You have my support and blessing if you decide to marry each other eventually”.

Sẹgilolu and Kerebuje could not hide their feelings for each other any more. They put their arms around each other, and left the palace in raptures, talking and laughing. From that day on they were inseparable, and as they got to know each other their feelings for each other grew. This was what Kerebuje had been waiting for, and Sẹgilolu as well as it happened.

Kerebuje became, once more, the envy of both men and women in her town. The men who had been laughing at her realized that she had the last laugh. They envied Sẹgilolu; they knew that it was their jealousy that had blinded them to Kerebuje’s real worth, and they regretted the way they had all treated her. Kerebuje was not a proud woman who thought that no one was good enough for her, but a prudent and intelligent woman who knew that beauty was skin deep. They were shallow and did not realize it until Kerebuje’s situation opened their eyes.

The people who thought Kerebuje had turned into a tree learnt later, of course, that Kerebuje was still alive, but decided, all the same, to name the beautiful tree with edible seeds, that stood out in that farm, Buje, after a woman they admired so much. Kerebuje, as far as they were concerned could have turned into that tree for all she had suffered in that town!

Kerebuje’s parents and other family members, and friends were very sorry also for the way they had behaved towards Kerebuje.
Kerebuje and Sẹgilolu were very happy that they had found each other. Eventually they got married, and their love match set a precedent for other men and women of their town.