Ekoi

(map)

In the very, very, very ancient time, Etim 'Ne (Old Person) came down from the sky, along with his wife Ejaw (Wildcat). They were the first people on earth.

At that time, there was no water on earth. Etim 'Ne and his wife stayed for seven days, with only the juice from plantain stems to drink and cook with. Then Etim 'Ne went to the sky, to the house of the god Obassi Osaw, and asked him for some water to bring back.

Obassi Osaw gave Etim 'Ne a calabash with seven clear stones inside. He said, "Whenever you open this, let no one else be present. When you want water, take one of these and throw it on the ground."

Etim 'Ne thanked Lord Obassi and returned to earth. When he reached an area near where he had begun a farm, he made a hole and placed one of the stones in it. Water welled from the hole, creating a broad lake.

In time, seven sons were born to the couple, and then seven daughters. When the daughters had all matured and were sent to the fatting-house, Etim 'Ne told his sons to build their compounds, and he would give a daughter to each son. "Do not care that she is your sister," he said. "Marry her, for there is no one else to become your wife."

The eldest son lived near Etim 'Ne, and Etim 'Ne gave a river or lake to each of the other sons. After a year, each of the girls had seven children, three girls and four boys. Etim 'Ne was very happy.

The seven sons were all hunters. Three of them were good and shared their meat with Etim 'Ne, but four were bad and hid the meat to keep for themselves.

When Etim 'Ne saw this, he took away the rivers from the four bad sons. These were very sad; they consulted together and brought palm wine to their father, asking what they had done to cause him to take away their water. Etim 'Ne answered that they had not shared their meat with him, but he forgave them and returned their streams.

After another year, the sons had children again. When they grew up, Etim 'Ne sent them to different places to build their houses. When they were ready to leave, he said to them, "Take seven smooth stones from the streams of your fathers, some small and some big as the palm of your hand. Each of you go in a different direction and lay a stone on the ground. Walk on again and do the same, until all the stones are used. Small streams will come from where you place small stones, and big rivers from the big stones."

All the sons did as they were told except one, who filled a big basket with stones. He went to the area near his farm and thought, "If I throw down all the stones together, the water that comes will surpass the waters of all my brothers." He emptied the basket in one spot, and water came from every side. It covered his farm and all the land around it, and it threatened to overflow the whole earth. He and his wife ran away to the house of Etim 'Ne. The other children, also hearing the rushing water, did the same.

Etim 'Ne heard the water and knew what the bad son had done. He took the magic calabash and ran to a hill behind his farm, and everyone else gathered around him. He held high the calabash and prayed, "Lord Obassi, let not your gift for our joy turn to our hurt."

The water went down, making broad rivers and small streams for itself. The farm of the bad son remained covered by a lake, so that he was hungry and had to beg food from his brothers until he could establish a new farm.

After many days, Etim 'Ne called all his children around and told them the names of all the rivers and streams, and he told them to remember him as the bringer of water to the world. Two days later he died.

P. Amaury Talbot, In the Shadow of the Bush (New York: George H. Doran, 1912), 366-369; Harold Courlander, A Treasury of African Folklore (New York: Marlowe & Co., 1996), 267-269.