After days on sea, Enun finally arrived Calabar. It was approaching midnight and only the moon lit the water side. Gently he offloaded his belongings from the boat, taking them up in a sling on his shoulder, as he walked into the town of ancient Calabar.
He’d gone a while before he came to a narrow street paved by very tall grasses. There he heard the muffled sound of a sob. “Strange,” thought Enun.
Hugging his bag more closely, he approached the bushes to inspect what was happening. What he saw shocked him. There were five slaves altogether, each of them down on a knee. Slaves, he knew, because of the rusty manacles that had been slapped on their wrists and the way they could only sob for their lives and not fight for it.
The ten men who surrounded them were armed and looked bloodthirsty. “That’s my cue to leave,” Enun thought to himself, but just as he made to, one of the sobs rose into a song.
“Of what essence is my birth that I was born a slave! What is my life if it isn’t mine?”
One of the armed men raised a punishing blade to strike the one who spoke but someone held his hand so strong that he couldn’t move it. It was Enun. Every head turned towards him.
They confronted him, asking for his reason for interference with their duty. In response, he calmly asked why they chose to destroy something they couldn’t create. A tense exchange of words ensued, culminating in a physical confrontation where Enun’s prowess overshadowed the strength of ten men.
As they futilely struggled to overpower him, a realization dawned upon them—they were no match for his might. Fear gripped their hearts, compelling them to flee the scene in retreat.
Enun, victorious, untied the slaves who too fled for their lives, fearing the wrath of their masters. Unwilling to let them face any more persecution, Enun chose to follow their path.
Arriving at the encampment where the slaves sought refuge, Enun inquired from the slaves of their offense. They revealed a shocking truth—that these slaves were destined to be sacrificed in service to a prominent figure in the afterlife. The wealth and status of certain households were flaunted through the number of slaves sacrificed. Armed with this knowledge, Enun conceived a plan—a brotherhood known as the Order of the Blood Men. He initiated a blood covenant among the slaves, binding them together in a solemn vow to protect one another from the oppression inflicted by the elite Ekpe Order. The potency of their pact became evident as thunder cracked across the sky, accompanied by the dazzling brilliance of lightning. On that very day, they embarked on a collective mission, launching protests at various locations where sacrifices were scheduled to take place. Although they arrived too late to save some, nineteen lives were spared that fateful day.
KING OF TAMESIS MEETS ANANSA
At the river palace of Anansa, maidens sang songs in Efik praising the queen that sat on the throne. An attendant appeared and informed the queen Anansa that she had a visitor, who she ordered to be let in.
Shortly after, the river god walked in, the king of Tamesis, god of the great river of Thames. His attendants lowered themselves into a bow, but he didn’t. He climbed the platform steps, took her right hand, and kissed it passionately.
The queen rose up from her throne and they both took a walk in the palace gardens. The king of Tamesis began to woo Anansa, taking particular care to introduce his intention of marrying her. But she explained that she hadn’t yet given much thought to marrying.
When she said that she hadn’t even found a man who possessed the qualities she wanted, he pulled his hands away from hers, angry. He left her alone in the gardens, muttering a threat about visiting her soon in his rage.
ENUN SCARES A LEOPARD
Enun was enjoying the cool of the river when he heard a movement behind him. He turned around sharply, and behold, a leopard was stealing its way towards him.
The courageous Enun refused to act afraid. He spread his arms out of his sides to make himself look bigger. He roared, stamping his feet repeatedly into the sand and clapping his hands together, everything to scare away the approaching beast.
One look of uncertainty was all he needed. When the leopard missed a step, he had his cue. With a stick he chased it up a farm and up into the hill.
After some more time of watching the river, Enun was about to leave when he discovered he was being watched again. For the second time that day. This time it was a maiden and she appeared to be scared, as though she had witnessed what had occurred with the leopard.
When he called on her to approach, she did so with her head bowed.
“You may raise your head now,” he said.
“I may not,” she replied.
And Enun, insisting, proceeded to raise her head with his hands. Seeing her face, he confessed to her that she was the fairest creature he had ever seen.
“You are the fairest creature I have ever seen.” Enun said. “You must be a marmaid.”
“Why is it that men never think women can be beautiful in themselves? They are either a mermaid, a siren, or a witch. Never just a woman.”
Enun laughed at that. “I only speak of your unnatural beauty. It does not seem very human that you coveted all the good looks in the world.”
“Now let’s talk about you,” she said, unable to meet his eyes. “Are you a god?”
“Why? Is this flattery?”
“I saw you scare away the leopard.”
“It’s just a simple trick. Stand still and betray no fear. Make yourself look big and brave, but avoid eye contact, because, they’ll view this as a challenge.”
“What if it is a lion?”
“You can do the same thing save for the fact that this time, you have to make direct eye contact to show it how brave you are.”
“What about buffalos?”
“They move in herds of several thousands, so it’s probably wise to get a head start. Maybe climb a tree. There are times when you must simply run. If it were a gorilla, then I’d have crouched down low and faced the ground. It understands surrender. You don’t have to fight back all the times. That’s how life is.”
“Thank you, but I will have to leave now.” She said, starting to retreat.
“What’s your name?”
She was halfway into the bush path when she called right back, “I do not tell my name to strangers.”
“Then I shall call you Onne,” he screamed. Then more to himself, he said, “It means beauty.”
A GOD THAT WAS A MAN
Enun found himself inside a river palace. While scanning around the palace, he saw a maiden afar-off. She beckoned on him to follow her. He followed her towards a very big door which opened as she got near. She entered inside the big palace.
As Enun walked to the door post, he looked inside and there he found sitted on the throne, the same maiden he had seen earlier by the river side. He was surprised and dumbfounded. Then suddenly, he was awakened by a blood man. It was all a dream.
“King Archibong is dead.” The blood man announced. This meant that they should be ready for another protest.
Enun stood up giant-like, making his way immediately to the river. He found his maiden standing there alone, staring out at the waters. Completely speechless, he stood there too, to watch the waves with her.
After some time had passed, he finally managed to stutter out some words. “You… are…”
“Yes I am, but you are a god too.” She said.
“Me? No, I am… just a mortal” He said, his time to bow before the goddess.
“When men die, they become spirit, but great men become gods.”
“But I’m still living.”
“That’s why your nature isn’t fully manifested. But sure, you can command nature. If you command things rather than wish, they will obey.”
He said, “How can I?”
“You can command it in your spirit without even speaking a word. Let me give you an illustration,” she said. And at that, a mighty tree fell behind her.
“Is this happenning in real life?”
“Yes, you are not dreaming. Your time is short on earth. You will soon be translated to the world of gods. You must learn to live as one.”
“Does this mean that I will die soon?”
“Gods don’t die. They are translated.” When she said this, several more trees fall at the same time.
“You shouldn’t continue with that,” he said, alarmed that someone might come to inspect the noise, and find them both.
“Of course. And there are better things you should be doing with your powers now. I’ll take my leave now,” she said as she bowed. “God of equality.”
“Is that who I’m to be?” He asked. She gave a copy smile before vanishing into mist before his very eyes.
He smiled to himself and said, “Wow. It is who I am.”
THE TRANSLATION
Enun and his blood men filled the streets, protesting against the killing of slaves. King Archibong had just died, so they knew several slaves would have to be killed to accompany the king to the great beyond, as was believed, in order to perform services for him while there.
Arriving at the compound, they discovered that the white men who usually came to trade in slaves in Calabar as well as the colonial authority had already taken sides with the elite Ekpe Order and therefore, had given out rifles to them. The blood men had to retreat when they found guards everywhere with rifles. But Enun came forward and shouted in a very loud voice, surprising everyone there with his courage, even in the face of death.
“Your weapons can’t harm me.” He beat his chest. “No human can because I am Enun, the god of equality.”
When he spoke this, a great light flashed across the sky and the thunder that followed made even some of the blood men scramble for cover.
“A god?” People were asking each other.
“He is no god,” announced an annonymous voice. “Kill the liar.”
On the order, the guards started shooting at him. They poured at least a hundred bullets on him that evening, but none penetrated. None could cause harm. None so much as nicked the silk of his garment.
When they witnessed the power of their adversary, they began to drop their rifles and flee into the plantations. But he gave hot chase, and slew as many as he could. The blood mean could not believe they had a god on their side. They joined in the chase, and victory was more than certain.
In the frenzy, only one blood soldier noticed Enun leap into a small path. He hid himself between rocks, where he thought no one could find him in the commotio, and let go of the grip he had on his abdomen. When he removed his hands, they were filled with blood. Apparently, a bullet had gotten through.
“But she said I won’t die.” He said to himself. Then suddenly he noticed that he was being followed.
“Stop there or die.” He said to the man behind him.
“I am your man,” the soldier said. “Blood man,” he added.
“My time to be translated into the land of gods has come.” Enun said. “You are blessed to be present here. Now promise that you shall tell no one about what you shall see here. Touch the ground and swear.”
And then the soldier touched the ground and said, “I swear.”
When he said this, Enun fell to the ground, having already lost too much blood.
“Bury me right here when I die and let no one know about it.” He said to the soldier. “It looks like a good place to spend forever.”
After he had spoken this, there was lightning, followed by the splitting sound of thunder. And darkness filled the place. And in that moment, Enun breathed his last.
The blood soldier buried him and did as he had requested, urging his brothers to be strong and comforting them with the lie that their god hadn’t died but had been translated into his spirit form.
The soldier who has been with him made a shrine at the spot where he was buried, and only told his brothers that it was the mount where he had been translated.
They never made any protest without praying to him for protection. He lived as a man, a great man, and died a god.
The blood men made many other protests and succeeded in bringing an end to the killing of slaves in Calabar.
© Kanu Ekpezu, All Rights Reserved