Beyond the Gods

A white missionary, Father Jones, in his priestly journey from the neighbouring Ụkwa village, advances his cause further, into Amaokwe, a land comfortable in the traditional ways of worship. Jones and one of his earliest converts, Brother Peter, take their audacious Christian teachings to the unbelieving villagers, declaring that only those who embrace the new faith and renounce the old ways would be saved. Their evangelistic efforts meet stiff opposition from staunch adherents of the traditional religion. The ensuing religio-cultural impasse throws the people of Amaokwe into a dilemma: to continue with the worship of their ancestors and the gods or to serve the Christian god? Ụwakwe, like a few others in Amaokwe, becomes a nominal Christian. He suddenly grows circumspect of the new faith and lives, afterwards, in godlessness to the strong disapproval of his unbelieving friend, Ibeku, and to the disgust of his Christian wife, Ugomma. Undeterred by the hate for him and the bickering between his converts and the rest of the villagers, Jones plants a new mission in Amaokwe and his activities gather momentum to the chagrin of the unbelieving townsfolk. As the conundrum persists, a plague befalls Amaokwe. The powers of the gods are impatiently tested as the roles and influence of divinity in the affairs of the village are impetuously questioned. During the plague, the land of Amaokwe witnesses a time when pagans and Christians speak with one voice and look up to one of their own as their saviour.

Chinwendu_Chukwu_7123 · History

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MY BELIEF OR YOURS

"They say their god is a white man and they call him Jesu," Ụwakwe said with a wry smile on his face.

"Jesu?" Ibeku asked.

"How can a man offer sacrifices to his fellow man? Or was Jesu not born by a woman?"

"Fada told his church members that it was not a human being that fathered Jesu. That Jesu's mother, Mary, slept with a spirit and the spirit impregnated her and she bore Jesu," Ụwakwe said as Ibeku was already laughing in disbelief.

"I have said it that the white man is a foolish liar. How can a spirit sleep with a mere woman without destroying her? When a human being encounters a spirit, if it is a good spirit, such a person suffers from bouts of life-threatening ịba for many market days. If it is a bad spirit, the individual either dies there and then or lives no more than seven market days. Only Ugwumba, a diviner who lived many harvests ago, was once said to have saved a man who came face to face with a bad spirit. The medicine man made a potent potion of egbu roots and alligator pepper to cure the victim's high fever. He survived the eighth market day after several sacrifices were offered to his chi to let him live. The man's name was Ogbuagu, a famous hunter from Ụkwa."

"I have warned you not to offend the gods anymore by associating yourself with this foolishness. You are inviting the fury of your ancestors and the wrath of the gods of this land upon yourself and your household."

Ibeku was a man known for his faith in the gods, his tenacity in obeying their will and doing their bidding. He worshipped in the ways of his forefathers. After he had said his prayers every morning, he would pour libation to his ancestors before he drank his share. He was set for a visit to his farms to inspect his yams. Unlike his friend Uwakwe, Ibeku was an early riser. On the other hand, Ụwakwe minded neither the gods nor their ordinances. This made Ibeku fear for his friend. Whenever he visited Ụwakwe, he would yet again remind him not to destroy himself.

Ibeku was the older of the two men. In Amaokwe, an older man cared more for the younger and in this regard and more, Ibeku was an exemplary Amaokwe man. Other elders taunted both of them and referred to them as wine and water. It was Akụerika, the wealthiest Amaokwe man, who reproached Ụwakwe for the flimsiest of reasons. Whenever the elders gathered to deliberate issues of concern in Amaokwe, this man would call these two friends "buttocks and shit", causing the other elders to laugh as loud and long as their aged lungs could.

Akụerika always called Ụwakwe an elder without titles and therefore a lesser man in Amaokwe. Ụwakwe would kick and rage in confrontation to any form of derision from anyone, whether rich or poor. He was not one to be intimidated by wealth or titles.

"My son, Nwaigwe, sends me money that is enough for me. I do not have to pass by your house to beg or borrow because every man is a king in his own home. Your yams, many wives, and titles do not move me, Akụerika. It is obvious that your wealth has robbed you of virtue. You now insult a fellow elder because you took the Ọzọ title just two harvests ago."

"But you are yet to pay back the hundred and fifty cowries you borrowed from me," the wealthy man scoffed.

"Your son was trained by a woman. We are kinsmen Ụwakwe. We all know that," Ukegbe, the eldest among the men, raised the bar of rage inside Ụwakwe.

"Ukegbe! That woman is my wife. Her name is Ugomma and she is my wife. By the way, did you marry her for me?" Ụwakwe responded and his harassers went silent.

Ibeku rose to broker peace. "I do not know why you fellow elders behave like children. Anyway, my late mother, Nne Nwafọ, told me that if an elderly man has never quarreled like a child, such a man never sucked on his mother's breasts. But we are here to see the king and not to display the childish part of us. Yes, we know it is in us all, titled or not. We are men and we were all breastfed by women."

"But Ụwakwe is still being breastfed by his wife and he will soon run home to be suckled," Akụerika said and everyone including Ụwakwe laughed.

One man in the congregation stayed above the fray as the elders waited for the king's address. While the others talked, Obidike conducted himself differently. He was a man held in high regard by the king. He coveted the position of Onowu following the death of Nze Amadi, the last one. The only thing that stood on his path to the stool was Akụerika but he hoped to scheme the wealthy man out of the contest.

"Akụerika may be ambitious for more wealth but not power. He respects me more than any other ichie. In traditional matters, the king should not be told that no man in Amaokwe can boast of being as knowledgeable as me. I know our customs and tradition quite well. My late father taught me many things and I have learnt more through my association with Amadi. Did I know I was understudying that man?" Obidike mused to himself. He then remembered his favourite saying that no matter how eager an Orie market day is, it cannot come before Eke.

"I am the son of Agaba and he taught me not to be a man of much worry. Those who worry too much offend the gods, who see such people as men of little or no faith in what the gods can do for them. I shall worry no more about this. The gods have placed me where I am today and shall favour me with the position of Onowu very soon."

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