"What is happening to the family of Okoli? The news of death has become a common thing in Umuise." Chima said as the elders gathered in the village square.
There were many men and women sprawled on the ground. None of them brought stools along with them. It was a day of mourning.
"What will the ancestors of Okoli say when they hear that his family lineage was wiped out within a week?" Chima asked but no one replied.
The women sprayed ashes on their heads as if they were mourning the death of a chief priest. The children covered their bodies with sand as they wept and called Ifeme's name.
After Chima sat down, the next elder who spoke was Ekwensi. He did not salute the crowd.
"Great people of Umuise, our gods have been offended. They have been desecrated and now they seek justice for the blood of Okoli. People of Umuise, we have sinned against our gods by sending a man that did not deserve death an
When James Streamer and his father arrived at Osisiakalaka's shrine with some of the people of Umuise who had converted to Christianity he was shocked to find a large crowd of men and women sitting tiredly in front of the shrine. He asked a young woman to explain what was going on in the shrine and she obeyed without hesitation."A great man has fallen in Umuise," she said with tears in her eyes."Who is the man that has attracted everyone in this village to Osisiakalaka's shrine?" James asked."The man is not here. He is far away from this village.""What do you mean by that?""His body is lying in the shrine but his spirit has departed," the woman replied slowly."What is the name of the man that has caused so much tears to flow in your eyes?"The young woman turned and pointed at the door of the shrine."Osisiakalaka," she said. "Maybe you will be able to tell us why your god has sent his messenger to kill the greatest
The room was silent. The door swung open and James came inside, holding a book. Ibekwe stared at James and sighed. They looked at each other for a while before James sat down."I got some interesting information you might want to hear," James said."Tell me," Ibekwe said. He had been feeling guilty since the death of Ifeme."The same boy who killed Osisiakalaka confessed some of the diviner's sins to me. He gave some fascinating explanations about your history that still baffles me," James said, moving his fingers. "Is the name Isiewu familiar to you?" He asked."Not really. I have only heard my grandfather mention him once and that was when he told me to story of Umuolu's war."James reasoned with compressed lips. "Isiewu played a major role in destroying your family. According to Efulefu, the diviner slept with Agunwa, the daughter of a chief priest named Egwusinala. Does these names sounds familiar to you?""I think it does," Ibekwe said.
Chibuzor Victor Obih was born in the southern part of Nigeria. Delta State to be precise. His writing includes essays, poetry and short stories. He likes to play soccer, read, study and above all, write. He is currently a fourth year student of a renowned public university in Nigeria. The University of Port-Harcourt is where he is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Shading Black is his first book and his first attempt to explore the beautiful world of a novelist. To stay connected with him and his works, you can follow him on Instagram using the account name: Chibuzor Victor Obih or follow him on Facebook using the account name: Author Chibuzor Victor Obih.
The glint of a machete flashed through the head of a man. He rose and ran to a thick forest, pushing leaves along the way. He darted towards a tall tree that stood in the center of the forest and stopped. He looked behind him and saw an older man running speedily with a machete over his head. Soon he would have to face the old man and fight, for he knew it was the only way out from this unending chase. He clung to the tree, his feet slipping and sliding over the trunk, and bore in mind his fate depended on his ability to wave through difficult obstacles like this. He tried again to climb, but his feet failed and slipped back down, his heart pounded harder.He stopped and looked back. He saw a lurid glare of the palm oil lamp the old man was holding. Ought he to continue climbing the tree? No! It would be too dangerous, and the man would turn him into a pile of rubbish. History! He had to run and find a place so he could hide, think, and plan properly. He ran d
Echi was from Umuolu, a village filled with people whose ancestors were mainly immigrants from Afam. The first settlers in Umuolu probably gave the village its name because of their indulgence in productive activities, which has led many to become farmers, woodcarvers, and hunters.The people of Umuolu were known to have war with many of the neighboring villages, and they usually came back victoriously with the spoils gotten from the raided villages. They sometimes came with girls, which they captured to ease the sexual desire of the men who went for the war. This brutal display of power by Umuolu through war, made the fear of Umuolu spread through the villages which had not been raided. Those villages came together in a meeting and decided that five girls should be given to Umuolu every new yam festival so that the warriors of Umuolu would not attack their villages and destroy it. This idea was welcomed by the people of Umuolu, especially the men who saw it as a me
Two long years passed, and there was no child. this posed a threat to Echi and Olanna as his mother would constantly visit them and gaze at Olanna’s stomach, saying, “Is there a child in there?”Many times she would say, and many times, he would reply, “Mama, a child would come, we believe a child would come.”“When will it come, Echi. I am no longer getting younger and I want to see my grandchildren before I die,” she would add and then look at Olanna in disgust. “Echi you are wasting your time with this woman. Go and marry another woman in this village that will bear you children since your cock has refused to bear you children.”His mother never came to his compound without asking for her grandchildren, and he knew this made Olanna feel unhappy. His mother’s words were always tormenting and laid emphasis on her inability to produce children. Once, she had called Olanna “an infertile woman who had refused to receive the seed
On the path that led to Isiewu’s shrine, their ears were constantly disturbed by the sound of whistling insects that communicated to their folks as they joyfully whizzed through the air.“We will soon get there,” Echi assured her in a low voice.The morning breeze blew and was accompanied by a rumbling sound. Olanna pressed her wrapper tighter around her body to shield herself from the cold that was steadily gaining entrance into the soft body that Echi caressed every night. They kept on walking and passed two men.“Excuse me,” one of the men beckoned them with a lively tone. “Do you know the road to Umuolu?”“You are already in Umuolu,” Echi replied.The men chatted with Echi for a brief period. They asked him a lot of questions about Umuolu before bidding him goodbye.“Who are they looking for?&rdq
Olanna felt lonely. She thought she was fighting for her life and a way to preserve it. All along, she had believed she would have a child because Echi had assured her that she would. But now that her fate had been declared by Isiewu, all her struggle seemed hopeless.Inside her, she discarded the sacrifice and made up her mind not to die. She also reasoned the benefit of three sons and the pride it would bring to her husband, who had constantly been facing insult from friends and relatives because of her childlessness. She did not believe in diviners, men who threw cowries and waited for it to land on the feathers of decayed birds, men who were thieves and used cunning ways to deprive and exploit people as they pleased. That was how she saw them, felt them, thought of them, but yet she had a sudden urge to cooperate with Isiewu, although she knew the sacrifice Isiewu would perform on her body would be too painful to bear. How could she cope with hot palm oil on her body? It w