Author Information
The triumph of Ete
The Triumph of Ete
ODENGALASI UZOMA NWAEKPE, Esq.
uzonwekpe@yahoo.com
Receiving the victors and the vanquished into Ete
Ogbudu was filled with joy
Over the success of their exploit.
They had tied up the prisoners
And the Ete men were still dancing around,
When Ogbudu,
Filled with the spirit of his god
Shouted out to him in triumph:
‘You took our war and fought
You who made Ete
You who found this land
Long before it was ever dominated
By man or beast
You chose those of us
Those you put here
To take care of this land
Is Ete not yours?
Etedi that saves and destroys
You took our war and fought
Thunder and lightening
Rainstorm in peak heat.
You came down from the sky
Leaving your home right up in the sky
Far away from the earth
Where your domain stood for ageless time.
And you came down to Ete
A land you saw and found.
You came with locusts and stinging bees,
The locusts ate all there was in the land
The bees stung all lives to death.
You wanted your own plants
You wanted your own people
And so Ete was born
Under your care
Ah!! Etedi,
You took our war and fought.
You planted your own trees,
You grew your own herbs.
Ete grew with herbs and roots
You married a daughter of the sun
And fathered the first father of Ete
Who became your priest
My ancestor
Akadigidigi.
Dwelling at the banks of our great river, Nnekuluku
Until you built for yourself
This shrine. . . .
Coming with udo, abadi and dike ukwu,[1]
You are gods and good spirits
Good spirits of our good land.
You sowed peace in Ete
And peace came to all men.
Power of all powers
Tiger, devouring tiger
You took our war and fought.
You took Akadigidigi
Away from the banks of Nnekuluku.
In his stead,
Where he dwelt
You poured blessings and riches
Blessings beyond words,
Riches beyond all thoughts.
You gave Agbara iri na asaa[2]
To the great river
And came to dwell within it yourself.
Fire burning the desert,
Gun shooting in the sea
You left your spirit with our blessed river
And breathed life into the river
We towered so high,
Etedi, you fought this war for us.
You left Nnekuluku,
And took over your shrine.
Your spirit controls the land
This is Ete, your own Etedi.
You gave babes to our mothers
And cries of new born…
Filled the air with joy
It was the growth of Ete.
The ancestors of Oba
Came after our ancestors
To kill and destroy
To eat up our deity
You saved and kept,
They inherited the envy
Of their ancestors
And ever since have asked to take
All that belonged to us.
Now they came after us again
And you took the war and fought.
As a protective father
god and protector
Over suppliant children
You stood over us
We never fought,
You took this war and fought.
Brother to the rainbow
Oturukpookpoo
Igwe
Chi la Ete
Arusi
Arusi ukwu
Arusi Ete
Arusi ukwu n’Ete[3]
You took the war and fought.
It was in the time of Nkalili
That Oba came first,
After farm lands
They claimed from Ete
It was not our war
It was your war
You fought it for Ete.
You warned us never to prepare for war,
The men of Ete never stood. . . .
Oba marched round and round
Ete was in peace. . . .
Peace, you gave.
They marched and marched
And were guided away from Ete
Until they knew, your spell was on them. . . .
You fought before us Etedi
As in the day of Nkalili.
Again, you refused to give way,
In the days of Agalamba.
When again the men of Oba
Came after us.
They were after our land again,
This time you did not give them a chance.
Your thunder, fearful god
Your thunder struck across the sky.
Carrying a rainbow with it
It struck the armies of Oba
And burned their champions.
They fled from your terrors
And their champions gave up.
You fought before us Etedi
As in the days of Agalamba.
You stopped them before Aku
When you ordered that our men go after them.
Aku was your priest,
Igirigi was the leading warrior.
The men of Ete marched after Oba
Stopped them in the field
By the side of Ogba n’elu[4]
And Oba was routed.
A great routing by a great god
Their gods were put to shame
Their men were slaughtered in tens
Tens of hundreds they went
Ete prevailed.
Brother to the rainbow,
Oturukpookpoo
Igwe
Chi n'Ete
Arusi
Arusi ukwu
Arusi Ete
Arusi ukwu n’Ete.
You fought before us Etedi
You fought, your sons followed.
You fought, as in the days of Aku.
The victory was sweeter still
In the days of Olu-Aloka,
When at night, Oba made
To come after your shrine.
You smote their leading warrior
With killing paralysis.
The legs were dead
The rest of him
Dried out in little life
So he lived
Until the morning came.
His frightened war men,
Saw, heard, fled.
The god of Ete is great
You marched against them
Now again Etedi,
You came and fought the war.
You fought before us Etedi
You fought, as in the days of Olu-Aloka.
And before our eyes,
In the days of Ezeribe,
They heard your powers were gone
They made up stories of triumph over you
And took up arms again.
You did not fight with thunder,
You did not fight with our men,
You did not fight with frightful pestilence,
You fought with Nnekuluku.
The waters of our great river,
Over flew at the boundaries
Between your people
And our enemies.
Each path they took,
There they saw your watery presence
Left, you were there
Right, you were there
In their front, you were there
At their back, you were there
Only in their eyes
Fear, great fear took over them.
Ant-like, they shook and shook,
Wobbling legs,
Screaming voices,
Swelling heads,
They had heard wrong.
So wrong had they thought
The powers of the Ete deity
Was still greater that all they had.
They walked back in shame,
Our envelope ever sure.
The watery presence of Nnekuluku,
Protecting, keeping and saving
The waters of Nnekuluku
Daughter of Etedi
Spat out of you bowels.
These six times
They came in envy and anger
Anger so unrighteous
Envy so unfounded
From times of old
And these six times
You stopped them.
Brother to the rainbow
You reign supreme
Oturukpookpoo
You reign supreme
Okpu mma ekwu
You reign supreme
Chi nwe mmiri
You reign supreme
Agawa agwu ike
Chi n’Ete
Arusi
Arusi ukwu
Arusi ukwu n’Ete[5]
You fought in your power
You fought before us Etedi
You fought, as in the days of Ezeribe.’
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[1] Deities in Ete
[2] Seventeen Deities
[3] Praise titles for their great god Etedi
[4] A stream between Ete and Oba.
[5] More praise names for their deity
