14. The Disobedient Girl (Alantere)

A long time ago, the world was very different. In a land far away, in the town of Ipẹri-Ake there was a river called Odo-Oro. This river was considered mysterious and sacred by the inhabitants. People were afraid to go there, because on certain days of the week water-spirits (orisas) were known to come out in the evening, to honour Oluwẹrri, the overall goddess of the river, with fairies all around. It was said that anybody who went to Odo-Oro at that time did not return and that the only person who could go there at any time without danger was the Chief Priest.

In this town lived Jagun and his wife Korewa with their two sons, Sigirolu and Sigirire. Jagun and Korewa were honest, hard-working folks, devoted to each other and to their two sons. Jagun was a farmer and Korewa took care of the home. Their two sons helped their father in the farm and their mother with her chores whenever they could. They were obedient, well-behaved boys – hardworking like their parents.

“How I wish we had a daughter as well!” Korewa often lamented to her husband.

“Yes. Someone to help you with your chores, no doubt!” Jagun said teasingly.

“Oh! No. That’s not the reason,” Korewa answered, although it was true that having a daughter generally meant that as well.

However, as months turned to years and nothing happened, Korewa’s disappointment grew. Then suddenly, as if by miracle, she became pregnant, much to the delight of the couple.

“If our wish is granted and it’s a girl, we’ll take very good care of her,” Korewa said to her husband.

“We’ll make sure she has everything she needs and wants,” Jagun joined in. “After all, why am I working so hard at the farm and doing well!”

Korewa gave birth to a girl, to the couple’s utter delight – a beautiful girl whom they called Sẹgilọla.

“This is wonderful! We have a daughter at last!” husband and wife kept on saying for a long time, unable to believe their luck.

Sẹgilọla ’s parents gave her everything she needed and wanted, and she was allowed to do whatever she liked. She was made to feel special. It was not surprising, therefore, that Sẹgilọla grew up into a wilful, self-centred and stubborn girl.

“Father and mother have spoilt Sẹgilọla rotten,” Sigirolu, one of Sẹgilọla ’s brothers complained to the other brother, Sigirire, one day when Sẹgilọla did something her mother specifically asked her not to do. “She’s so disobedient. No matter what you say she won’t listen. She’s very stubborn,” he continued.

“She’s not only disobedient and stubborn, she’s also too inquisitive, daring, bold and brash,” Sigirire remarked on these other characteristics of their sister.

The two brothers were right. Sẹgilọla loved doing dangerous and often forbidden things such as climbing tall trees, climbing and jumping down from rocks, going to the forest with her friends when it was dark. Once when the family went out to a river, she rushed headlong into the river not listening to her mother telling her that the current was fast.

“I hope her stubbornness and disobedience don’t get her into trouble one of these days,” Sigirolu confided in Sigirire.

As Sẹgilọla grew up she was fascinated by the stories she heard about Odo-Oro. Odo-Oro, the biggest river in that town, was known for its therapeutic properties. The peaceful and beautiful surroundings and the lovely and clear water worked wonders for the health of those individuals who were not afraid to go there at the times Oluwẹrri ceremony did not take place. Unfortunately, the majority of the inhabitants preferred to steer clear of the river at all times by dint of its association with Oluwẹrri and the water-spirits.

“Who are these water-spirits and the goddess Oluwẹrri? What do they look like? Do they look like us? How do they honour Oluwẹrri? I hear that there are fairies as well. How wonderful! Surely fairies wouldn’t harm anyone?” Sẹgilọla would ask these and other questions of her parents. She had never been to Odo-Oro but knew its whereabouts. Her curiosity about the river grew – about the mysteries surrounding it, and more importantly about the fact that it was forbidden.

Sẹgilọla ’s parents did not have the answers to their daughter’s questions.

“Nobody knows for sure what goes on at Odo-Oro – about these water-spirits. This is why it’s better not to go there at all. Some brave people, like your father, do so once in a while – avoiding the times the ceremony is supposed to take place. It’s said that anyone who goes there at the times it takes place does not return. You must never go there, Sẹgilọla . It’s just not safe”, her mother said. “I’ll tell you another story about Odo-Oro though, which, whether it is true or not, might convince you not to go there.

“It is said that the Goddess of the River”, she continued, “had several children but lost them, one by one, and mysteriously, to couples who could not have children, and that she believed the last one, Antere, a beautiful girl, would come back to her. How could all this be even possible? It is said that if Antere were to fetch water from the river or do her laundry there, the Goddess of the River would be re-united with her daughter, unless Antere had got married by then, and had a child of her own. Very strange story indeed! Some people, by the way, refer to the Goddess of the River as Alantere”.

Sẹgilọla said nothing.

“Does my mother think I’ll be mistaken for Antere if I were to go to Odo-Oro? Surely she doesn’t think I’m Antere because I came late to her and father?”

Sẹgilọla ’s curiosity about Odo-Oro and her fascination with it continued to grow, nevertheless.

One morning Sẹgilọla heard her parents talking to each other. Usually her father was the first to leave the house (after having an early, hearty breakfast).

“I want to go quickly to Odo-Oro on my way to the farm,” Jagun was saying to his wife. “I need a swim. My body is aching. The boys can go ahead to the farm”, he added.

“You’re lucky you’ve got the time. My body is aching as well, but I need to wash a lot of clothes and fetch water for bathing. Whilst we’re at it, I’m actually getting tired of fetching water for the whole house. Perhaps Sẹgilọla should start helping out”, Korewa answered.
Korewa usually went to a nearby river to do the laundry and to fetch water. There were two sections of the river – one where the water was suitable for purposes such as clothes washing and bathing. The other section was where people fetched water suitable for drinking and cooking. The boys helped her with these chores when they were not too busy at the farm. Up till then Sẹgilọla was assigned chores such as tidying and sweeping of rooms in the house and no outdoor ones, which they thought would be too much for her.

“That’s a good idea”, Jagun replied. “I’ve been thinking that Sẹgilọla is old enough to do more work than she’s doing. We’ll discuss it tonight”. “See you later”, he added, waving ‘goodbye’. He usually spent the whole day at the farm.

Later on, that day, after Korewa had finished cooking and doing other chores, she called out to Sẹgilọla :

“Tidy the house and make sure you sweep all the rooms and the corridor and do the rest of your chores. I’m going to wash clothes at the river and then fetch water for bathing”.

“All right, mother. Bye,” Sẹgilọla answered. Hearing her parents talk about swimming at Odo-Oro and fetching water from the nearby river triggered off Sẹgilọla ’s thoughts about Odo-Oro.

“How I’d love to go to Odo-Oro”, she mused. “What does the water look like there? It must be so different from the other rivers. I wonder what it would be like to swim there! Why don’t the water-spirits choose other rivers for their ceremony for Oluwẹrri? Why is she called Oluwẹrri anyway…?”

So many other questions rushed one after the other in her head, some relating to the story about Antere and Alantere. Her fascination with Odo-Oro grew as did her curiosity. If only she could be taken there just once!

“But it’s not as if one can’t go there at all. After all, hasn’t father just said to mother that he was going there this morning to swim? From what I hear it’s only at certain times that these water-spirits come out to honour Oluwẹrri. Why are people so afraid? Well, I’m not!”
Sẹgilọla started sweeping the rooms and the corridor, after she had sat down to a good morning meal and rested her food. She took her time to tidy up and do the rest of her chores and thoughts of Odo-Oro kept coming back to her.

“Why don’t I just go there now? I don’t know the days the ceremony takes place, but it doesn’t matter since it takes place in the evening and I’m not going to be there in the evening. As long as it’s daylight it’d be all right”, Sẹgilọla reasoned to herself. “Surely there’s no harm in that! I won’t stay that long – certainly not until evening! As for being mistaken for Antere or being Antere herself – that’s ridiculous!”

Picking up a bucket she headed for the front door.

“I can always say that I overheard the conversation between father and mother this morning about helping with fetching water and wanted to surprise mother that I’m up to the task – not even by going to the nearby river, where she usually goes, but to Odo-Oro, the biggest river of all! I can say that I thought the water at Odo-Oro was cleaner and nicer than at the nearby river. Above all, by going to Odo-Oro, without danger, I’ll be able to prove to everyone that that river is not a no-go area during the day!”

That was how Sẹgilọla built up a case in her mind to justify her going to the river that was forbidden to her. That was how Sẹgilọla left for Odo-Oro, intending to come back home before her parents’ return. Her temerity knew no bounds.

When she got to Odo-Oro, Sẹgilọla was stunned by the beauty of its surroundings. There were clusters of tall and elegant-looking palm trees, coconut trees and pine trees all around, a gentle breeze blowing their leaves against the blue sky. At their feet the green grass with beds of pine-needles, beautiful flowers and plants, lent an array of dazzling colours to the surroundings.

Sẹgilọla gazed around her in raptures – at the clear water flowing and ebbing gently, the blue sky, the horizon, and the rest of her surroundings. There was whispering in the trees caused by the gentle breeze, which, together with the chirping of birds, the sound of the water flowing and ebbing, made Odo-Oro truly enchanting and mystical. She had never seen anything like this before.

She sat down on the green grass, close to the river, with thoughts of fetching water far removed from her mind. She did not even think she was wrong in coming here – wrong in disobeying her parents. She just gazed and gazed in wonder at her surroundings, marvelling at their beauty, wondering why it was forbidden to come to such an enchanting place. It was so calm and peaceful all around, and not a single person in sight.

“Pity everyone is so afraid of coming here. But I’m not. I’m not even afraid that I’m the only one here. Nothing can frighten me. I’ll just have to make my parents understand how I feel about this river. I’m lucky they always come around in the end even when I do what they ask me not to do! How can there be water-spirits and Oluwẹrri, their goddess, at a place like this! Even if they exist, they won’t come out now”. These were the thoughts that were going on in Sẹgilọla ’s mind. She felt so good, so peaceful and happy, and after a while she started to doze off, and before she realized what was happening, she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Sẹgilọla was woken up by some strange sounds.

“What was that?” she asked herself suddenly realizing where she was and was shocked that night was falling. “How could I have slept that long” she wondered, getting up quickly from the ground, scared.
“I’d better just run home. Supposing the stories about the water-spirits and Oluwẹrri are true after all, and they’re coming out today of all days!” she said to herself. Falling asleep and finding herself where she was at this time was not part of the plan.

The strange sounds became louder and louder, and very soon she realized that what she was hearing could be voices of fairies, and that the fairies were now coming towards her. She relaxed slightly. She had heard of them but had never seen them before – only pictures of them – and surely fairies would not cause her any harm.

“Fairies are not wicked. They’re there to help people”, she reasoned.

“Perhaps they’ve come to help me get away from here.”

However, as the fairies got nearer and nearer, and then surrounded her, she became very scared. They were blocking her way – many of them! Sẹgilọla started singing, believing perhaps, that her song ”Alantere…Antere” would appeal to Oluwẹrri – the mother (in case she found herself face to face with the latter) – and bring about a reversal of circumstances. Sẹgilọla had a beautiful voice; she sang as follows:

Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Baba mi nlọ s’oko My father is on his way to the farm
Antere
Iya mi nr’odo lọwẹ My mother is on her way to the river
Antere
Oni npalẹ mọ d’oun She gave me some chores
Antere
Mo mulẹ mo pa ranyin I swept all the rooms
Antere
Mo m’odẹdẹ mo pa ranyin I swept the corridor
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alant(e)re o
Antere

Iya mi ‘bomi ile ‘sanra My mother has gone to fetch water for bathing
Antere
Baba mi nr’odo lọwẹ My father has gone to swim in the
river
Antere
Oni npalẹ mọ d’oun She gave me some chores
Mo mulẹ mo pa ranyin I swept all the rooms

Antere
Mo m’odẹdẹ mo pa ranyin
Antere

‘Gba mo palẹ mọ tan o
Antere
Mo gbe kẹtẹ o d’odo
Antere
Mo d’odo mo b’Oluwẹrri I got to the river and found
Antere Oluwẹrri there
Mo b’orisa mẹta I found three orisa there
Antere
Ọkan f’ọju, ọkan y’arọ One is blind and on is Antere paralyzed
Ọkan Ọkan ‘yoku seti gboin The last one is completely deaf
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Bẹ ba d’ele o When you get home
Antere
Ke ba mi ki iya mi Greet my mother for me Antere
Ke ba mi ki baba mi Greet my father for me
Antere
Ke l’o d’oju ala o Tell them I’ll see them in my dreams
Antere
A o ṣi pade o We’ll meet again
Antere
Ma’tun y’adọ wọn wa ṣ’ọmọ I’ll be bestowed upon them as child once again
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere

As she sang, she cried, trembling with fear. But the fairies were enjoying her song and were now dancing around her. The fairies always came out on the occasion of Oluwẹrri’s ceremony – before the ceremony began. They liked Sẹgilọla and wanted to warn her about the dangers involved in meeting Oluwẹrri and the water-spirits face to face. They only warned anyone they saw around whom they liked.
“You’ve got to get away immediately. God help you if you don’t. The three water-spirits and Oluwẹrri must not find you here”, one of the fairies said, whilst the others nodded in agreement.“One of the water-spirits is blind”.

“The second one is deaf”.

“The third one is disabled”, the fairies said one after the other.

“They don’t want anyone to know this, and some other things besides, so they take certain steps…”.

Sẹgilọla grew more alarmed when she heard this and wanted to make her escape. “So, there are water-spirits here after all!”

The fairies got out of her way, waving ‘good-bye’ to her. Sẹgilọla rushed off but could not find her way around anymore in the darkness that was enveloping her surroundings. Suddenly the three water-spirits and Oluwẹrri emerged from the sea, resplendent in their shimmering outfits – Oluwẹrri, outshining them all! Sẹgilọla could see them clearly despite the increasing darkness around. They were coming towards her – nearer and nearer. Then a strange thing happened.

“I can’t see, I can’t see!” Sẹgilọla cried out in horror, as she suddenly realized that she could not see her surroundings anymore. She started singing again:

Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Baba mi nlọ s’oko My father is on his way to the farm
Antere
Iya mi nr’odo lọwẹ My mother is on her way to the river
Antere
Oni npalẹ mọ d’oun She gave me some chores
Antere
Mo mulẹ mo pa ranyin I swept all the rooms
Antere
Mo m’odẹdẹ mo pa ranyin I swept the corridor
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alant(e)re o
Antere

Iya mi ‘bomi ile ‘sanra My mother has gone to fetch water for bathing
Antere
Baba mi nr’odo lọwẹ My father has gone to swim in the
river
Antere
Oni npalẹ mọ d’oun She gave me some chores
Mo mulẹ mo pa ranyin I swept all the rooms

Antere
Mo m’odẹdẹ mo pa ranyin
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alant(e)re o
Antere
‘Gba mo palẹ mọ tan o
Antere
Mo gbe kẹtẹ o d’odo
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Mo d’odo mo b’Oluwẹrri I got to the river and found
Antere Oluwẹrri there
Mo b’orisa mẹta I found three orisa there
Antere
Ọkan f’ọju, ọkan y’arọ One is blind and on is Antere paralyzed
Ọkan Ọkan ‘yoku seti gboin The last one is completely deaf
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere

Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Bẹ ba d’ele o When you get home
Antere
Ke ba mi ki iya mi Greet my mother for me Antere
Ke ba mi ki baba mi Greet my father for me
Antere
Ke l’o d’oju ala o Tell them I’ll see them in my dreams
Antere
A o ṣi pade o We’ll meet again
Antere
Ma’tun y’adọ wọn wa ṣ’ọmọ I’ll be bestowed upon them as child once again
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere

Then another strange thing happened.

“Oh my God! I can’t move!” Sẹgilọla was paralyzed!

She started to cry, petrified, not knowing what to do. Then she noticed something else yet again. She could not hear the sound of the birds in the trees around her anymore, or of crickets which she had been hearing since nightfall! She strained her ears…No sound! By now the three water-spirits were upon her with outstretched hands. Sẹgilọla could not see them but felt their presence.

“What are they going to do to me?” she wondered, her heart beating fast – almost bursting.

“Are they going to strangle me?” she wondered further when she felt their hands on her throat and remembered the fairies’ warning. “So, this is what does happen to people who come here at this time.

Sẹgilọla startled them all by singing again:

Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Baba mi nlọ s’oko My father is on his way to the farm
Antere
Iya mi nlọ s’odo My mother is on her way to the river
Antere
Oni npalẹ mọ d’oun She gave me some chores
Antere
Mo mulẹ mo pa ranyin I swept all the rooms
Antere
Mo m’odẹdẹ mo pa ranyin I swept the corridor
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alant(e)re o
Antere

Iya mi ‘bomi ile ‘sanra My mother has gone to fetch water for bathing
Antere
Baba mi nr’odo lọwẹ My father has gone to swim in the
river
Antere
Oni npalẹ mọ d’oun She gave me some chores
Mo mulẹ mo pa ranyin I swept all the rooms

Antere
Mo m’odẹdẹ mo pa ranyin
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alant(e)re o
Antere
‘Gba mo palẹ mọ tan o
Antere
Mo gbe kẹtẹ o d’odo
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Mo d’odo mo b’Oluwẹrri I got to the river and found
Antere Oluwẹrri there
Mo b’orisa mẹta I found three orisa there
Antere
Ọkan f’ọju, ọkan y’arọ One is blind and on is Antere paralyzed
Ọkan Ọkan ‘yoku seti gboin The last one is completely deaf
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere

Alante(e)re o
Antere
Bẹ ba d’ele o When you get home
Antere
Ke ba mi ki iya mi Greet my mother for me Antere
Ke ba mi ki baba mi Greet my father for me
Antere
Ke l’o d’oju ala o Tell them I’ll see them in my dreams
Antere
A o ṣi pade o We’ll meet again
Antere
Ma’tun y’adọ wọn wa ṣ’ọmọ I’ll be bestowed upon them as child once again
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere

The fairies, who were still nearby and had been observing everything that was happening, knew what was in store for Sẹgilọla . Usually the three water-spirits would strangle anyone they found around – anyone whom they came face to face with before the ceremony for honouring Oluwẹrri began and would throw their bodies into the river. The fairies felt sorry for Sẹgilọla because they liked her and her singing. They also thought that it could be a case of Sẹgilọla being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Perhaps the poor girl knew nothing about the dangers involved in coming here,” one of the fairies said to the others.

“Perhaps she had not been warned by her parents about the water-spirits and Oluwẹrri. She’s probably only trying to help her parents in coming to fetch water here”, another fairy added.

As the water-spirits were about to strangle Sẹgilọla , one of the fairies rushed quickly forward.

“Don’t kill her! Listen to her song””, she ordered. “Isn’t it beautiful? And her voice…Hum. Magnificent! She’s beautiful as well. She’s too beautiful to be strangled and thrown into the river!”

The three water-spirits halted what they were about to do, taken aback by the fairy’s words, and the fairy went on quickly:
“Why don’t you turn her into a water-spirit – into the River Goddess‘s daughter. After all she does look like Antere, her beautiful daughter, whom Oluwẹrri longs to be re-united with. She can sing for her whenever Oluwẹrri wants. She’ll be useful at her ceremony as well. She’ll add splendour to the occasion”.

This suggestion seemed to delight Oluwẹrri.

“Yes, yes, she can be my daughter – after all Antere still hasn’t come back to me – and she can sing to me and honour my ceremony. A daughter eh..?” Oluwẹrri answered, smiling and chuckling. “It’d be such a waste to have someone who looks very much like Antere, and sings as beautifully as this girl killed”, she added.

Oluwẹrri had magical powers that enabled her to turn ordinary mortals into water-spirits like herself, and so Sẹgilọla was immediately transformed into the River Goddess’s daughter – with her sight, hearing and mobility restored. The fairies walked back into the woods, happy that Sẹgilọla had not been killed.

Sẹgilọla ’s parents and brothers got back home to find the house empty.

“Sẹgilọla must be at the home of one of her friends,” Sẹgilọla ’s mother said to the rest of the family, and nobody was worried. Usually Sẹgilọla visited some of her friends after completing her house chores, especially if her mother had not returned from the nearby river. So, it was not unusual for her mother to come back home and not find her there. But when it started to grow darker and darker, and it was dinner time, they became anxious.

“Sigirolu, Sigirire, go and look for Sẹgilọla at her friends’ homes,” Korewa told her sons, mentioning a few names. “It’s unlike her not to be here at supper time, unless she had warned us in advance…Did she say she was going anywhere else?” she added, perplexed.
“No, mother,” the boys said at the same time.

When the boys came back without Sẹgilọla , the whole family was thrown into panic.

“Where can she possibly be? She’d have told one of us if she was going somewhere. Let’s look around the house. Maybe we’ll be able to find some clues as to her whereabouts”, one of the boys suggested.
Suddenly the mother noticed something.

“One of the buckets for bathing is missing. Could Sẹgilọla have gone to fetch water? If she has, where? But she has never done so before”, she said.

“Could she have heard us talking this morning about fetching water?” the father asked her.

“Possibly, but then I didn’t see her at the river where I was throughout the time that I was there washing clothes and so on. Surely, this is where she’d have come if she wanted to fetch water,” Korewa said.

“Let’s go to the other rivers in town to check,” one of the brothers suggested, and the two of them left. They went from one river to the other, with the exception of Odo-Oro, and did not find Sẹgilọla at any of them. It would never have occurred to them to try Odo-Oro.

This was how the search for Sẹgilọla began. Sẹgilọla ’s family appealed to relatives, friends, and neighbours for help, in their search, and finally approached the Ọba (ruler), who sent out a search party for Sẹgilọla . For three days they searched for her and could not find her. 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. An Ọba was expected to solve mysteries of any kind that baffled his subjects.

After searching for Sẹgilọla , to no avail, she was given up for dead. Her father, mother and brothers grieved for her.

Some months later word started going around about a phenomenon at Odo-Oro – the voice of a female person singing from the bottom of the river, as soon as the water is touched, with no sign of the person. It started when a woman, allegedly, went to Odo-Oro, and saw a bucket floating on the water, but nobody around, and as soon as she touched the bucket, she heard a female voice singing – the music and the voice strange and enchanting.

“She must be a water-spirit since nobody can see her. She usually sings the same song as soon as the water is touched”, people heard. As more and more attention was paid to the words of the song, people started to realize that the voice could belong to someone like them – one of those individuals who went to Odo-Oro and never came back. The news spread far and wide until it got to Sẹgilọla ’s family.

“Could it be Sẹgilọla singing?” Korewa said to her husband, Jagun, when she learnt of the wording of the song. “Could she have gone to Odo-Oro to fetch water, and got caught up with the Oluwẹrri ceremony? You remember that the blue bucket for bathing was missing that day she disappeared”.

“Impossible!” Jagun exclaimed.

“It’s not that impossible when you think of it – when it’s Sẹgilọla we’re talking about!” Korewa pointed out.

“If it’s so, where is she? What’s the meaning of all this? Surely Sẹgilọla can’t be dead if she’s singing. Yet, it’s known that nobody who goes to Odo-Oro on the wrong days comes back alive, except the Chief Priest”, Jagun said, baffled by the whole thing.

“Mother, father, we’ll go to Odo-Oro”, Segirere offered.

“But it’s not safe…” Korewa began.

“Don’t worry we’ll be careful. We won’t go there on the evening of Oluwẹrri’s ceremony.

The two brothers went to Odo-Oro, and as soon as they touched the water and heard the singing, they recognised Sẹgilọla ’s voice from the bottom of the river. Sẹgilọla was singing:

Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Baba mi nlọ s’oko My father is on his way to the farm
Antere
Iya mi nlọ s’odo My mother is on her way to the river
Antere
Oni npalẹ mọ d’oun She gave me some chores
Antere
Mo mulẹ mo pa ranyin I swept all the rooms
Antere
Mo m’odẹdẹ mo pa ranyin I swept the corridor
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alant(e)re o
Antere

Iya mi ‘bomi ile ‘sanra My mother has gone to fetch water for bathing
Antere
Baba mi nr’odo lọwẹ My father has gone to swim in the
river
Antere
Oni npalẹ mọ d’oun She gave me some chores
Mo mulẹ mo pa ranyin I swept all the rooms

Antere
Mo m’odẹdẹ mo pa ranyin
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alant(e)re o
Antere
‘Gba mo palẹ mọ tan o
Antere
Mo gbe kẹtẹ o d’odo
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Mo d’odo mo b’Oluwẹrri I got to the river and found
Antere Oluwẹrri there
Mo b’orisa mẹta I found three orisa there
Antere
Ọkan f’ọju, ọkan y’arọ One is blind and on is Antere paralyzed
Ọkan Ọkan ‘yoku seti gboin The last one is completely deaf
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Bẹ ba d’ele o When you get home
Antere
Ke ba mi ki iya mi Greet my mother for me Antere
Ke ba mi ki baba mi Greet my father for me
Antere
Ke l’o d’oju ala o Tell them I’ll see them in my dreams
Antere
A o ṣi pade o We’ll meet again
Antere
Ma’tun y’adọ wọn wa ṣ’ọmọ I’ll be bestowed upon them as child once again
Alante(e)re o
Antere
Alante(e)re o
Antere

Everywhere around was quiet and nobody was in sight. Not surprising since hardly anyone came here!

“Sẹgilọla, Sẹgilọla, where are you?” Sẹgilọla ’s brothers called out. There was no answer. There was only the singing. When it ended the boys rushed home and recounted the incident to their parents.
“We’ll go to the palace and tell the Ọba about all this, and see what he comes up with”, Jagun said to his wife.

“If Sẹgilọla is the one singing, then she must still be alive”, the Ọba said, when Sẹgilọla ’s parents sought audience with him, and briefed him on the developments. “But where is she? What’s happened to her?” he continued. “I’ll call a meeting of my advisers. Surely they should be able to come up with something we can do to bring Sẹgilọla back to us.”

“The Chief Priest must be approached. He should be able to advise us as to what to do, Kabiyesi!” one of the Ọba’s advisers, an elderly man, suggested at the meeting that took place the following day. “The Chief Priest is gifted in dealing with matters of this nature,” he continued.

The Ọba sent for the Chief Priest immediately.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this before,” the Chief Priest confessed, nodding pensively. “But nothing is impossible under the sun. Sẹgilọla has obviously not been killed, which is what apparently happens to anyone who is unfortunate in being at Odo-Oro at the wrong time. On the other hand, if she is alive, where is she? Why does she sing anytime the the water is touched?”

Suddenly he stopped speaking as an idea occurred to him.

“Good Gracious! She must be under there – under the water. She must have been turned into a water-spirit like the rest of them. I’ve heard the story about Antere, the Goddess of the River’s remaining child, how she had been lost mysteriously (like her other children) to a couple who couldn’t have children, and how the Goddess of the River had been waiting for the day when her child would come to Odo-Oro to fetch water or do her laundry, and be re-united with her, unless…”, he paused “You probably know the rest of the story.

Naturally she would become a water-spirit again like the rest of them if she were re-united with them. Whether the story is true or not, we don’t know, and how could all this be even possible? Besides it is not Antere we’re talking about here, but Sẹgilọla . Nevertheless, we have to accept that Sẹgilọla has been turned into a water-spirit.

“A water-spirit!” the Ọba asked, in disbelief. “But if she’s a water-spirit, how can we get her back?” he added, pushing away his thoughts on this subject.

“I’ve an idea. I’ll go to Odo-Oro and speak to the fairies…”, the Chief Priest suggested.

“Yes, I’ve heard the stories about Odo-Oro – about fairies, water-spirits, and the overall Water Goddess, Oluwẹrri, and even about Antere and Alantere (as Oluwẹrri is supposedly called), but I’ve never known what to make of the whole thing – what to believe”, the Ọba said.

“There are a lot of things we don’t understand – that can’t be explained. But I know for sure that there are fairies at Odo-Oro. I’ve talked to them before. Who they really are, what they do and how they live I’ve no idea,” the Chief Priest replied. “The water-spirits, on the other hand, are more elusive; they’re believed to live under the water and come out on certain days of the week, and nobody is allowed to see them, let alone know what they’re up to at the ceremony. Anyone who is unfortunate to do so…”, he breathed in, “…perishes. Ghastly! I’ve never come across them myself and don’t wish to, but the fairies have assured me that I’m the only person who’ll not come to harm if I were to do so!”

“All right,” the Ọba replied, shivering suddenly. This matter was far from his liking! “Please just help us in any way you can.”

“The fairies may be able to come up with something. After all, they’re closer to these water-spirits than we are.”

The Chief Priest went to Odo-Oro the following day. As soon as he got there, he touched the water, and he heard someone singing – just like he had been told. Then he went in search of the fairies.

“A girl called Sẹgilọla is missing,” he informed them, “and everyone in town including the girl’s parents, and the Ọba himself believes that she’s the one singing anytime the water here is touched, and they hear a voice. Nobody knows where she is or what really happened to her.”

“We saved a girl from strangulation some time ago, when she came face to face here with the three water-spirits and Oluwẹrri, the overall Goddess. She must be Sẹgilọla . We liked her and her singing and appealed to Oluwẹrri to turn her into Oluwẹrri’s daughter,” one of the fairies said.

The Chief Priest said nothing; he just nodded and listened on.
“Being a river goddess’s daughter is not the life we would have chosen for Sẹgilọla ordinarily, but we had to come up quickly with something to save her. There was nothing else we could have done at the time. We don’t have the special powers they have”, another fairy added.

“Please appeal to Oluwẹrri to return Sẹgilọla to her family. They’ve suffered enough and I’m sure Sẹgilọla has learnt a lesson in coming here,” the Chief Priest continued, remembering the words of Sẹgilọla’s song.

“We’ll see what we can do,” said one of the fairies. Sẹgilọla has certainly learnt a lesson and should go home. Come back tomorrow and we’ll have an answer for you”.

The fairies were not sure that Oluwẹrri would want to release Sẹgilọla, although they knew that Sẹgilọla was deeply unhappy, and that anytime she sang she longed to see her family again.

The fairies approached Oluwẹrri that same evening which happened to be one of the nights of the ceremony in honour of Oluwẹrri, and one of them said:

“Sẹgilọla is your daughter. She’s a very beautiful girl. Supposing the three water-spirits decide to honour her as well as you or instead of you?”

“They’ll never do that!” Oluwẹrri exclaimed, astounded.

“You know that you’re considered the most beautiful of all the water-spirits, and that’s one of the reasons you’ve been chosen as the overall goddess by them. They honour you for your beauty,” the fairy continued.

“What about the special powers I have. I transformed Sẹgilọla into one of us. No one else can do that. Sẹgilọla may be beautiful, but she does not possess the powers I have”, Oluwẹrri pointed out.

“The three water-spirits are not too bothered about your powers. They have their own powers which they exercise on any mortals they see around here, as you know. One is blind, one is deaf, and the third is crippled remember, and they have the powers to inflict their disabilities on any mortals who are unlucky to come face to face with them, and with you. They honour you because they see you as having no defects, and as the most beautiful creature in the sea”, one of the fairies said.

“Is it worth risking all that in keeping Sẹgilọla . After all she is not really your daughter, and do you really need a daughter now? Nobody, except us, knows that you have Sẹgilọla as a daughter, but people know that there’s an overall goddess called Oluwẹrri,” the fairy continued.

“That’s true,” Oluwẹrri answered, and started to waver. As much as she had been enjoying having Sẹgilọla around – her singing, the care and attention Sẹgilọla had been bestowing on her, Oluwẹrri valued being the overall water-goddess far more. She thought over the matter.

“But what shall we do with Sẹgilọla then, if she’s no longer my daughter? Are you saying that she should be strangled and thrown into the river like the others?”

“No, no, no!” shouted the fairies at the same time.

“It’s good she wasn’t killed. She should be returned to her parents. Sẹgilọla doesn’t belong here. She misses her people terribly. She’s pinning away”, one of the fairies said.

“She shouldn’t have come here then! You know the rules…”, Oluwẹrri answered sternly.

“But listen to the words of her song about Odo-Oro. Perhaps nobody warned her about coming here, and she just wanted to help her parents out when she came to fetch water. You yourself have been saying since Sẹgilọla came that she’s an obedient, thoughtful, and helpful girl. Even if she disobeyed her parents in coming here, she has learnt a lesson by being here with you – away from her family and friends all this time. It’s a miserable life for her. I’m sure she won’t come to Odo-Oro ever again!” the fairy continued, urging Oluwẹrri on.

Oluwẹrri listened to everything that the fairies were saying to her, and gradually she started to feel sorry for Sẹgilọla and her family. She thought about her own daughter, Antere, and her other children, how she missed them. She also knew that turning Sẹgilọla into a river goddess’s daughter and having her live with them was punishment enough for the girl.

“All right,” she conceded. “Tell the Chief Priest that I’ll grant his wish, and that Sẹgilọla will be ready to go back to her family tomorrow”.

As soon as the fairies thanked Oluwẹrri and left, Oluwẹrri asked the three water-spirits to bring Sẹgilọla before her.

“Sẹgilọla , I’m sending you back to your family. I know life here away from them is hard for you. However, your experience with us has turned you into a different person. You’ve been a good, obedient and helpful child to me. Continue to be, and I’m sure your parents will be happy with the changes”.

Sẹgilọla could not believe her ears. Was she really going to be allowed to go back to her former life?

“Tomorrow, you’ll be handed over to the Chief Priest who will take you back to your parents”, Oluwẹrri continued.

The following day Oluwẹrri transformed Sẹgilọla to her former self, and the fairies escorted her to the Chief Priest who had been told to come back at a certain time, and who was now waiting near the river. He was happy to see Sẹgilọla in person, unlike the previous day when he had heard her singing, but she had been invisible.

“Thank you very much,” he said to the fairies, who waved at him and Sẹgilọla as they both left Odo-Oro.

The Chief Priest took Sẹgilọla to her parents’ home after warning her seriously never to go near Odo-Oro again.

When Sẹgilọla’s parents and her brothers saw Sẹgilọla they were overjoyed, and so was Sẹgilọla, who was still dazed by the whole experience. They hugged and hugged each other, crying for joy.

“Mother, father, I’m so happy to see you again. I never thought I’d do so and have been so unhappy…I’ll never disobey you again. I’m a different person now…”, Sẹgilọla said between sobs. Sẹgilọla had been so unhappy and had learnt a lesson for disobeying her parents. She could have been killed, or she could have disappeared for ever if she had not been returned to her family.

However, Jagun and Korewa wondered whether they could not have handled Sẹgilọla ’s inquisitiveness, her curiosity about Odo-Oro and her fascination with the river differently. After all the river was not a no-go area, since Jagun himself went there once in a while, unlike many others, including Korewa, who were dominated by their fears about the river. Perhaps Sẹgilọla should have been taken there when it was considered “safe” – at least once. After all being inquisitive or curious about things is not necessarily a bad thing in itself. But then who knows what might have happened thereafter even if Sẹgilọla ’s curiosity about Odo-Oro had been satisfied earlier on…!