Author Information
My River, my Land: (Poems from homecoming)
Nnekuluku; My River, my land.
Nnekuluku, river of my land
Good river of a good land
You whose knowledge abides
Whose beauty we adore
Whose presence was ever sure.
Your healing power was total
Only to those who came to you in truth.
Your spirits work for the safety of our land.
Omen river,
You surge blood in one end
We know an elder goes from that end
You recede before we plant
We expect a poor season
And appease the earth more.
We see your turtles
Crawling around the banks
And it is your purification,
Women keep away for one day.
Your trees fall,
One here, one there
Then a problem has come
Prowling evil.
Refuge,
You save an offender
Who runs into your groove
In flight from his offence
Acts inadvertent,
Against your people.
Purifier,
You clean and wash
Taking away guilt
Guilt of atoned sins
And after sacrifices,
You clean, save and make save.
Saving river,
We drink deadly things
We eat deadly food
And straight to you we run
A gulp,
Death gulped away.
Saving river,
They once came against us
Famine and drought
You left your place,
And flew into our farm plots
They held the rains
But not our lives.
With you, we seal our bonds
And sealed, they remain.
A thief that strides across you,
Steals his last
Waters of fertility,
Strengthening our men
As they go into our women
Mother of seven rivers,
Your daughters span seven clans
Through wilds and hills
Through farm plots ad homesteads
Softening rocks and stones
You give these people,
Streams of life.
And do they not come
Year after year
Gifts and tribute laden
Respects for a mother river.
Nnekuluku is blessed,
Owner of ten and seven spirits:
1.Ojionu;
It is who keeps the good waters of Nnekuluku in place
Good waters from the beginning
Draining through the land
Taking away vile
Planting virtue in its place
Keeping the water in check
The good waters, never overflowing its banks
Who does this for us
Ojionu.
You also lead on,
When ever it has been,
That Nnekuluku leaves its banks,
In peaceful purification,
Through my land.
2. Ajumanwanyi,
Daughter of Nnekuluku
Yours is the farmland
Vast fertility
Full around Nnekuluku
Assuring fertility.
We sow
And reap even more
Much more than we sow
And so is your groove filled
With sacrifices of thanksgiving
We pay these,
Daughter of Nnekuluku.
For what do we live
If your fertile plain goes away
And yet, more is yours
For you own our sacred mushrooms
Healthy and luscious
Serving the people
In all things, for all things.
3. Ike dimkpa,
You know it all
Much more than we know
You it is that holds
Nnekuluku’s healing power.
Wonder power.
What ailment do we bring
That you do not heal
Aches of the head and body
Mind’s malaise
Poxes, rashes
All do you heal
Barren women
Barren men
All receive fruit from you
Every agbara with his duty
Ike dimkpa
Yours is the healing power
Do your waters ever dry?
Never do the seasons affect you
Full waters
Swim arrogantly around your banks
That, your making, Nne mmiri
You are mother to the waters
Guardian of fullness
What you keep for Nnekuluku
You also keep for us
4. Nne mmiri
Shall I forget our salt, sand, and clay
Coming from Nnekuluku
Which you also keep
We are filled with these gifts
And our nieghbours too
Who flock round to get from us
A bit of what you gave.
Do you not have your laws, Nnekuluku
Perfect laws they are
Not administered by men
Protector of our moral corpus
No man teals from you, Nnekuluku
Your gifts are for all
Any who for himself takes them
Invites your wrath
5. Ofo n’eru eru
The custodian of your law and order
Ofo n’eru eru
The custodian of your moral corpus
6. Ikwa aka
Limitless store
You feed the other agbara
Making our river happy
With messengers that are well fed
Leaving my land happier
With robust deities
Hunger does not afflict our deities
Can a man fill a guardian spirit
Which man can even feed him
Would they not have starved
At the soft banks of Nnekuluku
If not for you Ikwe aka
7. Aki nmanwu,
Terror of enemies
Terrifying unwelcome guests
At the approach of Nnekuluku’s banks
It is not the work of a man
No mortal takes up such duties
That rightly belongs to you
Frightful spirit
Aki nmanwu
Working hand in hand
With ofo n’eru eru
Men and spirits are scared away
Once with an intention
Evil and unwelcome
They approach your banks
There is a spirit at your banks
Who neither sleeps nor rests
But daily sees to our peace,
Sending forgiving thoughts,
Sympathetic
Empathetic
Into the people of my land
That agbara is a good spirit
A good spirit of Nnekuluku
8. Udo obodo
9. Osukwu afo
Owner of our raffia palms
Luxuriant trees of goodness
Fulfilling men and spirits
With your good wine
Making my people rich
With your products
Envy of our neighbours
Your palms tower high
You own these helpful palms
Blessed trees of Nnekuluku
Lavishly endowed
Osukwu afo,
Born on an afo day
Before our fathers came
Owner of the palms
I salute you
10. Osukwu nkwo
This is for you
Owner of our woodland
Your searching eyes protect the woods
And nurture them
To full strength and maturity
What help your wood has done
To me and my land
Warmth in cold
Wealth for my land
House for our animals
Where do we dwell,
If not under your shade
For you make our houses
Helpful woodland
Osukwu nkwo
Born on the following nkwo day
Before our fathers came
Owner of osisi Nnekuluku
I salute you
11. Osukwu eke
You give us food abundant
In full and full
Seafood of all sorts
Variegated delicacies
Snails and periwinkles
Of Nnekuluku
Belong to you
You multiply them
Beyond numbers imaginable
Never dying is your stock
Never drying is your stock
They come new and new
And so, we have food
And so, we have wealth
Food for my land
Wealth for my land
There is no scrambling
At you holy presence
Last moon was the night of snails
We all gathered at your banks
To gather snails and periwinkles
Solemn and serious
Coming once in three moons
Unimaginable heaps
We watch the women of our land
Cart them away in large parcels
Down, down to different parts of ala Igbo
Soon they return
With a lot of wealth
The wealth of my land
The wealth of my river
Nnekuluku our own
Osukwu eke
You indeed own these foods
And you enrich us a right
You who were born on the following eke day
Before our fathers came
Owner of the enriching foods
I salute you
The shrimps that come
From your depths Nnekuluku
Taste like honey
Your varieties of fish
Are strange to other parts of our country
For your endowment
My land is held in high
The fish belongs to no one
No man claims them for himself
Every man receives a share
The rest go into our wealth
Our elders ever wise
Always give the land its wealth
Nnekuluku your fish is eaten
So far and wide
Your shrimps so talked about
In distant clans
Moved there by trading women
From their land and ours too
The trade of my land
Of fish and shrimps
Do they not belong to you
Do you not control them all
12. Osukwu orie
You who were born
On the following orie day
Before our fathers came
Owner of the enriching foods
I salute you
Luxuriant palms
Tall sturdy trees
Held even by swamps
Your fruits ripen
In amazing succession
Others seek oil
We have it in abundance
Red rich oil
From you, we get our soap, blessed palms
Our bodies oiled
Our foods tastier
Our utensils protected
And proceeds from you
Have built our land
Our market wide and clear
Our sons and daughters happy with our land
Which of our neighbours
Which clan in their midst
Has what we have
Our healers
Do they not live
Well equipped and happy
Our priests
Are they not provided for
Do we lack in arms
Do we leave our widows to fate
Do we abandon our youth
The palms of our land, full blessings
13. Udele elu
Spirit of the palms
The trees of Nnekuluku
These glorious palms
Yours, all yours
We bow before you
Udele elu
Will the count be over without you
Nutritious peas
Growing by the river banks
Ever flourishing
Ever flowering
Ever fruiting
Doing its own parts
Like all others
14. Ogbu nma ubi owns you
Keeper of the peas
You also love my land
And those sea loving rodents
Life in innumerable holes
Around Nnekuluku
Fraternal points
Hunted for growth
And your people grow
And your rodents grow
15. Otu na otutu
The rodents of Nnekuluku
Are yours to keep
You may have them alone
But you choose to share with us
Nay
You let us have all
How great you are
Your meat how gainful
Otu na otutu
We love your gifts
You release your spirit
Spirit of creativity and creation
Good spirit
Tendering its devotees
Endowing them with gifts
Gracious gifts indeed
You give them
Abilities beyond normalcy
You give them
They are our singers
Our groits
They have charge of far stores
They use their gifts for our good
The land is better on their account
I stop to think;16. Atanini agwu Nnekuluku
How wise you are yourself
If such great wisdom you pass on
To mortals as you choose
Man’s free will
Nnekuluku respects that too
Your wrath is ameliorated
And a man is not punished
Until after he has defiled you
But in your punishment
Pity envelopes your act
All these come from your good spirit
The last spirit
You never the least one
17. Arusi omiko
Today the land is troubled
Nnekuluku has gone
Its banks and depths all dry
Its fishes all dead or gone
All agbara are gone with it too
Gone with all they have
Gone with all they keep
Three ruling elders
Stole her wine and fish
Wine for everyone
Fish for everyone
They took for themselves
The spirits of the river were vexed
Calamity
Never before said
That leaders took away
What was for the led
A people, a community,, a family, which they led
Abomination
Nnekuluku has gone
But so great a love had she
And yet so swift in justice
Sacrifices, numerous sacrifices
The begging elders slain
Ofo n’eru eru came upon them
They and their families
Still more sacrifice
Two moons, mourning and sacrifices
Men and women hardly eating
My land so devastated
So suffered we on
All for their theft
Till his voice came
Forgiving voice
Nnekuluku has forgiven
“I am coming back” she says
With all I have
Ask then not, why these ten and seven groups of men
Stand still at the banks of Nnekuluku
We await her return”
