Ojiugo The Rare Gem

It was nighttime, and the community of Izu was quiet. In the dark, Urenna held a small torch in his left hand as he walked next to his younger brother, Somadina, who was carrying a small bow across his back. Somadina’s age grade had their
10th ceremony the month before, so he was ready to keep watch for the first time, and Urenna’s job was to keep him safe, just in case. The night watch was present because even Chineke used one eye for daylight and another eye for night, so people should keep an eye open at night too—or at least that was what their father said. Urenna was six years older and had long passed the age of keeping watch; his age group was in charge of hunting instead. As they walked, they saw some of Somadina’s friends, but they did not stop to talk. It would be dangerous to draw attention to themselves.
Urenna and Somadina spoke sporadically in low voices.

“I thought something was going to happen,” Somadina
murmured, glancing around him. Besides his brother and the
other watchers, they were alone.
“That’s a good thing. If you ask for trouble, trouble will come to you,” Urenna said, without looking at his brother. “It’s better to have peace.”
Somadina nodded, but he still peered into the night intently,
ready to respond to anything that cared to come toward Izu.
Urenna smiled and continued walking in silence. His brother’s
behavior was necessary too.

“Ure, are you getting married?”
Urenna jerked and glanced down at his brother. “Why are you asking that?”
“My mother said you were getting married soon, and I should
look at what you were doing, because it would be my turn
soon.”
Urenna shook his head. “Don’t think about that. I’m not doing
anything.”
“You’re not getting married?”
“No I am.” Urenna pulled out a small kola nut the color of ivory
from his traveling bag. “But I’m waiting for this. Ojiugo. Then I
will get married.”
“You’re going to marry a kola nut?”
Urenna laughed and put the kola nut back in his bag before he ruffled his brother’s hair. “Exactly. A very precious one.”

The brothers finished their walk in silence, ending it just as the
first signs of light began to show. They made their way back
to their compound, one of the largest in Izu. Their father was a
titled man, and each of his two wives carried titles as well, so
their compound was big enough for five or six families. It was
surrounded by a red soil wall decorated with ùlì. The brothers
entered through the wooden gates that had been left ajar.
They washed themselves with water from the pots outside before they went into their room and collapsed, exhausted, onto their sleeping mats.

Urenna woke up not long after, sleep still trying to force his
eyes closed. Somadina was snoring on a mat next to him, his limbs stretched out. Urenna considered waking him up, but he decided to give him more time to sleep. Instead, he followed his morning ritual, consulting with his chi and then
his ancestors before stepping out of his room. It did not take long for someone to be aware of his presence.
“Urenna, you’re up? Your father is looking for you.” His father’s
younger brother, Eke, jogged up to him. “Did you sleep well?
You seem tired.”
“Eeh, thank you, Uncle. I’ll go now.” Urenna yawned. “I was
with Som last night, so I’m still tired.”
Eke tsked in pity. “Okay, rest early today, enh?” He jogged off, and Urenna went to meet his father.
He made his way to his father’s obu. When he entered, he was greeted by three people: his father, his mother, and Zara,
Somadina’s mother and his father’s second wife.

His father, Okoye, smiled when he saw Urenna walk in.
“Okpara, you’ve arrived. I want to talk to you. Come and sit down.”
Urenna sat, and they broke kola. Then Okoye explained. “In
three days, Ora is going to be celebrating the might of their
wrestlers. They are asking everyone surrounding them to
send wrestlers. I want you to go.”
Ora was one of the communities next to Izu. The two communities
had lived next to each other and traded for longer than
anyone could remember. It was common to host competitions
or displays between them. Dancers and wrestlers from Ora would come to Izu festivals too.
Urenna nodded. “Of course.”
His mother, Golibe, chimed in. “We want you to take your
brother too. He will learn from the journey. Let him grow well.”
Urenna looked at Somadina’s mother, Zara, who nodded in
agreement.
“Yes, a well-traveled child is wiser than the oldest person. He
shouldn’t just stay at home. Remember, I have a brother in
Ora. You can stay with him when you go.”
Okoye added, “You heard them, Urenna. Take your brother
and go. Make sure to look after him.”
Urenna agreed, and he was about to ask for permission to
leave when his mother spoke.
“Nna, will you not take a wife?” Urenna looked at his father,
but Okoye pretended not to see him.
“Well, when I find a wife, I will bring her back,” Urenna said,
finally.

“You don’t need to find one!” Golibe exclaimed. “How many
people have sent us requests about a marriage? You can
choose a wife right now. If it continues like this, would we not
be insulting them?”
Zara stepped in to speak for Urenna. “Nne, to marry is not a
simple thing. He can’t just choose a wife like that.” She paused.
“But Ure, you really should start looking. Have you not found
anyone?”
Urenna shook his head. “Mma, my father was lucky. He just
had to leave his house and he found not just one but two
eagles. But he forgot to leave the blessing for me, so I haven’t
been as lucky. Maybe if you send a message to your kind, they
will look out for me?” He said the last bit with a smile, and his mother sucked in her teeth in mock annoyance, while Zara
laughed.
“If you have that mouth, you won’t have a problem finding a
wife. Don’t make your mother worry too much, eh?”
Urenna nodded and said his good-byes. He was glad to have
escaped the questioning intact.

Two days later, Urenna and Somadina joined a group of
wrestlers heading to Ora. The journey would take the whole
day so they were setting out early. Along with their personal
items, most people brought animals to help them carry the
heavier things. Somadina led their donkey, while Urenna
joined the older men to guard the traveling group. They took short breaks for water and rest, but they managed to make it through the bush-path to get to Ora before dark.
They were welcomed warmly, and the group split up to find the people they knew.
Zara’s brother, Ossai, met them at the town’s entrance. He
smiled at them in delight when he spotted them.
“Ah, is it Urenna and Somadina? The last time I saw you, Ure,
you were not even to my chest, now you’ve come to wrestle, enh? Somadina, you were still crying to stay with your mother.
Now look at you, smiling. You’ve grown. Come, let me take
you inside.”
They greeted Ossai and followed him to his compound. They
would stay in the same rooms as his sons—Urenna with the
older ones, Somadina with the younger ones. Ossai’s wife,
Simdi, had prepared a meal for them, and so they ate with the
family before going to sleep.

The festival began the next morning. Urenna and his brother
joined Ossai’s family and the rest of Ora as they swarmed to
the center of the community.
They found a place to sit and waited for the event to start.
Once everyone was settled, the eldest titled person in Ora, a
man named Afam, started the festivities.
The first group of people to perform were the musicians. They
played their drums and flutes so quickly that Urenna was
almost dizzy watching them. Somadina clapped his hands
in excitement at each music group. Then came the storytellers.
Each person tried to engage the audience, and some were more successful than others. The most popular story was about a father and son who tried to journey from one
place to another with their donkey. On the way, they would be stopped by passers-by who would comment on how they chose to travel. Some would say the son was disrespectful
for letting the father walk; others would say the father was careless when his son let him ride their donkey and the son walked instead. Eventually, the pair realized that if they never stopped listening to everyone’s opinion, they would never
finish their journey.

The crowd clapped in approval of a good story. The least favorite story was about a fishing competition,
but the storyteller did not engage the crowd, and so they sent him off before he finished. He took the crowd’s rejection good-naturedly and promised to be back with a better story.
Then it was Urenna’s turn. Somadina was not wrestling, so
Urenna left him with Ossai and went to stand with the wrestlers.
He was given a shorter wrapper to wear, and his bare chest was decorated with nzu before the fights started.

He was not the first to fight, so he waited with the others. Urenna knew
he was not the best wrestler, but he saw himself as one of the best. The people he saw fighting made him doubt that. Either way, Urenna would find out whether he was good soon. When it was his turn, he won his first match easily. His opponent
was bigger than he was but slower, so Urenna tripped him.
His next opponent was a harder challenge, and he faced the
opposite problem—it was he who was bigger and slower. He
almost lost. Then he decided to anticipate where his opponent
would go next instead of chasing him. His decision won him
his match.

His next match was not as fortunate. Urenna put up a good fight, but his opponent was more skilled. They were locked in a grapple for a long time before Urenna’s strength
gave out and his opponent flipped him. Urenna laughed and
shook his head. He was not too upset because he knew he did
his best, but he was going to train more.
When he returned to his seat, his brother was staring at him
with wide eyes, and his uncle clapped him on his back.
“Good work, you did not disgrace your father.”
“Ure, can you teach me more when we go back home? I’m
going to surprise everyone when I wrestle again. I’ll be as strong as you!”
Urenna thanked his uncle and then shook his head at his brother. “Som, I’ve already cleared my own path; yours is still waiting for you. You can check to see where I stumbled and
avoid it. You have to be better than me, enh?”
“Okay!”
They settled in to watch the rest of the fights. Urenna found
out the name of the person he lost to—Diké—who ended up winning the competition after two more fights. Urenna cheered with the others.
After the wrestlers came the dancers. First, the warriors of Ora
performed their dance. The ground beneath them trembled
and spat up dust as they moved. Urenna shivered in fright
and awe as he watched them. He was a hunter, but he had
never been in battle. War was something else. Unlike Izu, Ora
was right by the coast, so they had to defend their community
from people sneaking in through the rivers that cut through their town. Ora’s strong defense also protected many of the inland communities like Izu, which was part of why they had
such a strong bond. Ora had mostly fishermen because it did
not have a lot of land; therefore, Izu provided much of Ora’s
produce.
After the warriors, different dance groups came up to perform.
One of them caught Urenna’s eye—specifically, one of the
dancers did. She did not stand out. She was not taller or shorter than the other dancers, so Urenna was not sure why he had noticed her. But once he did, he could not look away.
He leaned over to his uncle and asked, “Who is that?”
“You mean Amara?” His uncle was quick to respond with
a smile. When Urenna nodded, he continued, “That is Ezè
Onochie’s daughter. She’s one of the most talented dancers in
Ora, and people say she will take a yam title, like her mother
too.” Ossai eyed Urenna. “Come to think of it, aren’t you
looking for a wife? What? Are you interested? You want me to
introduce you?”
Urenna shook his head hard. “No, no. Please don’t. I was just
wondering.”
Ossai did not seem convinced, but he allowed Urenna to stop
talking about it.
After the dancers came Somadina’s favorite part: the people
of Ora filled the performance space with pots of food and
water. After the elders took some food, Somadina rushed
Urenna and Ossai to the center, and they grabbed bowls of food. As they were getting their food, Urenna saw Amara walk up next to them.
He cleared his throat and said, “I saw your dancing.” When she
looked up and smiled, he continued, “It was really good.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was as thick as fire smoke but as light as clouds.
Urenna was about to walk away when Amara said, “I like your
wrestling.” She laughed. “It’s not as good as my dancing, but
it’s not bad.”
Urenna scratched his head. If he had known he would meet
her, he would have fought harder. He was so lost in thought,
he almost missed the rest of her words.
“You must be really good at the thing you actually do.”
“What?”
“I mean, you’re clearly not a wrestler, yet you did really well.
You have enough talent to be a wrestler if you choose, but
you chose something else?” Her voice held amusement and
Urenna realized he was being complimented.
“Oh, yes. I . . . I hunt. A group of us do, but I lead the group.
He could not keep the pride out of his voice as he finished.
He kept his people fed. From the look on Amara’s face, she
agreed he should be proud.
Their conversation was interrupted by someone behind them
trying to get food. “The talk is sweet, but it will not expire if
you wait. Our food will get cold. Nna, let us eat, enh?”