HOW THE CHOICES WE MAKE IN LIFE CAN MAKE OR MAR US

Among the Igbo, to nurture good relationship, a person may give a she-goat, ewe or hen to a friend to rear. As the goat/sheep/hen reproduces, they share the offspring. But if the goat, sheep or hen dies it has to be returned to the owner.

Once upon a time, God gave two brothers a goat each to take good care of. One fateful day, the younger brother was both hungry and angry. As our elders say “When hunger is in only anger can enter.” As he was preparing his food, his own goat kept bleating incessantly. The goat was probably very hungry too. The continuous bleating made the young lad more angry and nervous. There was a heap of palm kernel beside him. He picked one and threw it at the goat with all his might. Surprisingly, the nut hit the goat on the forehead with great force and it died. He very much regretted his rash action and he cried ruefully. He must return the carcass to God, the owner of the goat and he did not know how God would react to what he did. On the way people kept asking him how the goat died and he sang:

Nkpụrụ akụ -o Kparanụma! (2ce)

M tụrụ eghu Chukwu Kparanụma!

Tụgburu eghu Chukwu Kparanụma!

Eghu Chukwu anwụọ kparanụma

Ejem ebe Chukwu Kparanụma!

Oribed’ isi m Kparanụma!

Nkpụrụ akụ -o Kparanụma! (2ce)

Oh! Palm kernel, Kparanụma! (2ce)

I threw at God’s goat, Kparanụma!

Killed God’s goat, Kparanụma!

God’s goat died, Kparanụma!

I am going to God’s house, Kparanụma!

Even if it costs me my life, Kparanụma!

Oh! Palm kernel, Kparanụma! (2ce)

He got to God’s house and narrated what happened to the goat. God was very understanding and kind. He forgave him. Having made a long journey and wept all the way, he was worn out and hungry. God invited him to a meal and served two different kinds of dishes – choicest food and a more common one. He was asked to choose one. The boy was considerate and sensible. His mind told him that one of the two must be God’s own meal so he chose the common dish and left the choicest food for God saying in his mind “It is not good for me to eat the choicest food and leave the ordinary one for God.” As it was already night time, God brought out two mats, one beautifully well designed one and an old worn out mat that was tattered. He asked him to choose one. He chose the tattered mat and left the beautiful one for God to lie on.

The next day before he departed from God’s house, God brought out one big box and a small one and asked him to select one. He chose the small box. God warned him not to open the box until he reached home and shut all doors and windows. He did exactly as God said. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the box contained riches. So he suddenly became wealthy, very rich indeed. He took some gifts to his brother. His brother became envious and indignant. He rejected the gifts and decided to kill his own goat in order to go to God for his own wealth. He killed the goat that God entrusted to his care and carried the remains to God’s house singing exactly the same song that his brother sang except that he mentioned the real instrument used in killing the goat, which was a “stick.”  When he reached God’s presence, God was as gracious and kind to him as he was to his younger brother. He forgave him and offered him exactly the things he offered to his brother and asked him to choose. He was avaricious. So he chose the choicest food, the beautifully well designed mat and the big box. God gave him strict warning not to open the box until he got home and shut all doors and windows. When he opened his own box, he discovered to his greatest dismay that the box he chose for himself contained not riches but various kinds of sicknesses. Having contracted them, he died shortly after that. So he shared the same fate with the goat he wilfully killed.

CRITICAL THINKING

The idea posited is that of a just God. It is striking that God treated the two brothers in exactly the same manner.  Strange enough, he neither chided nor punished any of them for maltreating his goat. He forgave both of them. To crown it all, he was hospitable and even gave them gifts to choose from. Thus in Igbo worldview God is forgiving, good, impartial and large-hearted.

An adage has it that “Virtue is its own reward.” The younger brother was rewarded for his humility, thoughtfulness, and prudence. He was equally generous because he took gifts to his brother. He put God first and left the best of everything (food and mat) for God. This act underscored the virtues of humility, and consideration for others.

Envy and jealousy are cankerworms to be avoided at all cost. The elder brother was inconsiderate and tactless. He treated God with the same insensitivity with which he treated his brother. His greediness made him choose the best food and best mat and left the common dish and tattered mat for God. He purposely killed God’s goat because of his avariciousness whereas his brother killed God’s goat by accident. The same avarice made him choose the big box and hence the big diseases that killed him. An aphorism rightly has it that “Ori ihe ukwu agụrụ n’egbu ya; Ori ihe nta agụrụ  anaghị egbu ya - He who eats big things dies of hunger; he who eats small things does not die of hunger.” “Ori ihe ukwu, onye ibi naa-alụ ya - One who eats big things marries a person suffering from hydrocele.”

The moral of the story is that one should not do things because others are doing it. “Oke soro ngwere maa mmiri, mmiri kọọ ngwere ọgaghị akọ oke - If the Rat follows the Lizard to be in the rain, the Lizard’s body will be dry when the Rat will be wet and shivering.” In addition one should be considerate and have self-contentment, not avarice – “big eye - anya ukwu.” “He has the most who is most content with the least,” says Diogenes of Sinope. Whatever happened to each one of the brothers depended solely on the choices he freely made. Man is the architect of his own fortune or misfortune. Hence existentialism requires individuals to take responsibility for their actions and shape their destinies.  
Eboh M.P.,Witty Tales and Proverbs for Moral Renewal, Pearls Publisher International Ltd., Port Harcourt, 2015, pp. 201-206.