WHY MEN APPEASE NATURAL FORCES

In ages past, there lived a couple Mmiri (Rain) and Egbe-eluigwe (Thunder). They begot a son, Amụma-mmiri (Lightning), named after Mmiri, his father. The couple were very close hence the adage: “If you heed the voice of thunder you will not be drenched by the rain.”  Egbe was well known for her deep and thunderous voice that sounded like a gun and whenever she conversed with her husband, her voice rumbled in the distance. In fact it was because of her voice that she was named Egbe, meaning gun, and because it seemed as if Elu-igwe (the sky) shot the gun, eluigwe was added to Egbe to get Egbe-eluigwe (Sky’s gun). Moreover, she had to be distinguished from her namesakes Egbe (Hawk) and Egbe (Dane gun).

Egbe-eluigwe was adventurous but life in the sky was unexciting. Therefore she preferred to live elsewhere with her son, Amụma-mmiri, amid a community of people. She was very humorous.

Her husband asked her to return to the sky to live with him but she entertainingly said that life was boring up there. If all were well with him up there, her namesake, the Hawk would not be swooping down below to steal chicks. No matter how high a bird flies it must touch the ground. On land is where things are happening. “Anaghị aghara ebe ana-echi ọzọ gawa ebe anarụ agwụ - One does not leave where ọzọ title is being celebrated only to attend the marking of Agwụ,” a lesser event.

Egbe-eluigwe and her son Amụma-mmiri were very useful because the community benefitted immensely whenever Mmiri (Rain) came down to visit his family, as he watered their farmland for the good of the crops. However, Amụma-mmiri was very hot tempered and brash. Of course, nobody expects less from the child of two strong parents. The Rain tends to be gentle but when he wants to show his power and majesty, he rides on the crest of rainstorm and thundershower. On her part, the voice of Thunder instils fear and thunderstorm is something else. Therefore, their child, lightning, cannot help but be a firebrand. As the elders say, “Ihe agwọ muru ogologo ogologo - The offspring of a snake is necessarily long,” and “Ihe egbe muru aghaghị ibu ọkụkọ - the offspring of a chicken hawk never fails to snatch chicks.” Whenever Lightning was enraged, he lost self-control and raced off destroying things that stood on his way. Anything he laid hands on often died. This did not go down well with the community. Thus, time without number they complained to Ezeala, their Leader. Ezeala summoned the mother and her unruly child and cautioned them. Egbe-eluigwe pleaded with the Eze and Amụma-mmiri promised to be of good behaviour.  However, he often lost self-control because acquired bad habits are very difficult to break let alone deep seated innate traits. Our elders rightly said “Eburu pụta ụwa anaghị agwụta ya n’ ọgwụ - Corrective medicine is incapable of curing inborn traits.”  Nonetheless, Egbe-eluigwe tried to reason with her son. “A father who is determined to punish a child would ask him to sit on the air. The Eze knows that you are naturally choleric yet he asked you to purge yourself of hot temper. Please my son, try your best to curtail your excesses. I am not unmindful of your good intention to be well-behaved. Just make more efforts.” No matter how much Egbe-eluigwe tried to control her son, they could not keep their promise to the Eze. Amụma-mmiri remained erratic and very destructive. People kept protesting and reporting him to the Eze.  The Eze tried to distance Amụma-mmiri and his mother as far as possible from his loyal subjects by making them live at the outskirts of the town. Still whenever he lost his temper, Amụma-mmiri went on the rampage and set houses ablaze, struck and killed palm trees and even human beings at times. The people detested him the more and kept reporting to the Eze who got fed up with Amụma-mmiri’s uncontrollable outbursts of temper, and his mother’s inability to take charge.

But in all fairness, his mother tried her best. Whenever he unleashed terror one could hear the voice of his mother rebuking him and ordering him to stop the menace. “One who is unwanted in the community is accused of raising dust even when he falls into the mud, let alone someone who burns cash crops and houses.” “Agbịshị gbaa otele ya amụrụ akọ - The buttocks learn wisdom and tact when the black ant bites them.” Eze has threatened to repatriate us yet you learnt no lessons from it. Why are you heedless my son? Why?” the mother entreated.

Further complaint from the people whose lives and property were constantly threatened made the Eze take a drastic measure. But before taking action he consulted with the members of his cabinet. They reasoned together and advised him as follows: “The fowl says let nobody joke with its head.” “Our elders say “Kama ji ga eshi, kama nkụ gwụ - Instead of yam to be undone, let firewood finish.” “Kama mgba ga aghọ ọgụ, mmiri zuo - Instead of a wrestling friendly match to turn into a fight let rain fall.” “If a child does not take time, what killed his father will kill him.” Our elders say “Let go whatever will take your life.”  “Ajụ mere ka ite mmiri kụwaa anaghị ebu ya na isi - A pad that caused a water pot to break does not remain on the head.”

The Eze, therefore, banished both mother and child from the land and they had to return to the sky. Thus, Thunder and Lightning went to live with the Rain in the sky far away from the community so that they would cause minimum destruction. Even at that, whenever Amụma-mmiri got angry he still raced down to the ground and wreaked havoc and one could hear the mother’s voice calling and rebuking him, ordering him to desist from further destruction for enough is enough. “He who ignores parental advice endangers his own life. That which makes you deaf wants to kill you, my son. “Ekene gafe nku aka ọghọọla mgba - When greeting exceeds the elbow it has turned to wrestling;’ your ill temper has turned to madness. Gallantry, my son, is not the only way to greatness.” She runs after him to stop him but being younger, Amụma-mmiri outruns his mother. When he was at a long distance from her it could be seen that he was infuriated and still committing atrocities and the mother’s voice becomes faint and faint and faint until it can no longer be heard having faded away in the distance as she coursed after him. The Rain follows because he cannot abandon his family.

Thunder (Egbe-eluigwe) and Lightning (Amụma-mmiri) constituted themselves into a dreaded deity (Amadiọha) and remained a firebrand, a god of vengeance. Amadiọha was ruthless. Ironically, people turned to this deity to help them settle scores. Even now, they invoke it to destroy their enemies, and they use its name to curse one another.  They appeased it with sacrifices. Of course, no one appeals to the gods empty-handed. “Anaghị agba aka ahụ nwata eze - One does not empty-handedly observe the first tooth that a child cuts.” “Ọbụ ana-akụ okpokoro mbe ana-anụ olu ndị mmụọ - It is while beating tortoise’s shell that spirits’ voice is heard.” It is as though men adopted a standpoint: If you cannot suppress natural forces, appease them. Amadiọha’s shrine is domiciled at Umunneọha. Thunder and Lightning maintained their social and people-oriented characters in their name Amadi - ọha and in the name of the community they chose to operate from Umunne - ọha.

CRITICAL THINKING

The hermeneutics of the nomenclatures: Mmiri, Amụma-mmiri, egbe-eluigwe and egbe are quite fascinating. Emmanuel Levinas rightly said that “Reason lives in Language.” The term amụma, means prophesy and splendour. Amụma-mmiri therefore signifies that Lightning is the splendour of the Rain and Lightning prophesies the coming of the Rain. The coming of the Rain is announced when the Lightning flashes and the rumbling of the thunder follows together with rainstorm. Hence the aphorism “If you listen to the voice of thunder you will not be drenched by the rain.” It follows that the Rain is regal because “Gidigidi bụ ugwu eze - The dignity of a royalty consists in the retinue of courtiers in attendance, the noise and movements made.” The conceptualization of the destructive nature of lightning and the interpretation of the rumblings of thunder as the voice of a mother calling her recalcitrant son to order is quite intriguing. Much more fascinating is the imposition of age on the mother which made it impossible for the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning to occur simultaneously. According to Science, the flash of Lightning precedes the sound of Thunder because light travels faster than sound but according to myth it is because amụma-mmiri is young and agile and so runs faster than his mother, Egbe-eluigwe. Paul Feyerabend made a notable remark when he observed that “Science and myth overlap in many ways.”

An Igbo proverb has it that “Onye onye ya na-agba ajọ uri ụkọ iku akọbuole ya - A person whose relative is dancing badly develops an itching eyebrow.” That is, he is ashamed and crestfallen.  Of note therefore is the fact that no matter how dreadfully reckless the son was, the mother never abandoned him even though she was not in support of his hot-headedness. Not minding the fact that she had issues with him she faithfully followed him each time they were banished to the outskirts of the town or exiled from the land; and ever after remained a faithful companion. The position of a mother is quite challenging. It takes a people who respect, and are at one with, nature to reflect on and interpret natural phenomena with minute details. What is more, they formulated principles for almost everything.

 He who is unwanted in a community is accused of raising dust even when he falls into the mud let alone they that set ablaze people’s houses and cash crops. Communal living requires peaceful coexistence and conviviality but Lightning was overbearing and impossible to live with. Thus he was rejected but “Onye ajụrụ anaghị ajụ onwe ya - One who is rejected does not reject oneself.” Thunder and Lightning therefore enhanced their status and created their own world when they were cast away. From the status of an outcast, they made it to the top and became a god and even now they strike with impunity the very land from which they were banished. They made the best out of their banishment, turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones, and obstacles into challenges. Through thick and thin they soared to great heights for the way to the top is never easy.  In fact, nothing good is attainable without difficulties. A dogged person is known in times of crisis. Crisis brings out the best in people because “Unless the palm tree is harmed (tapped), palm wine does not come out.” Strange enough the very Thunder and Lightning which the community could not stand became a sought after deity. Was it due to fickle mindedness, forgetfulness or sheer vindictiveness? The great lesson to learn from the scenario is that if we work hard enough to realise our dreams and succeed in life even our enemies will be forced to acknowledge us. Persons who do not have challenges are insignificant and had better work hard to make themselves relevant or become completely relegated to the background. That a god of vengeance became a sought after deity and that people invoke the very destructive power of Lightning which they abhorred evokes the reason why people do evil. 

Eboh M.P., Fables, Proverbs & Critical Thinking, Pearl Publishers International, Port Harcourt, 2015, pp. 104-112.