Otem Erectus
15:1-44

Chapter Fifteen
1. Now Adabara said to the homos of Itaho and to the homos who came from Baji, get ready, for tomorrow we shall return to Okerune and possess it. We shall overcome the Ohinoyi and take up his position.
2. And our father Enesi shall be honoured with a great feast before his body shall enter the ground. And like a ruler shall he be buried.
3. Now one of the brothers of Adabara said, it is the best time to go and attack the land. For they are now weak. For many of the guards of the king have gone to other land to a mission which the children of Ireyi have embarked upon.
4. Now I shall take with me my five children who are strong, being youths. And they shall go with us to conquer the land.
5. Now the homos of Itaho got ready to do battle against the homos of Okerune. And they were three hundred and fifteen altogether, for thirty strong homos from Baji joined them also.
6. Now a wise homo from Okerune went to seek the king. And he said, O great Ohinoyi Aruvo, it shall become foolishness if I do not come to tell you that which bothers me. For I have heard how Adabara the son of Enesi came to the land to seek for a place for the burial of his father.
7. And you O king have denied him a space here, saying that he should be buried in Itaho which is not his native land.
8. Now O king, listen to the advice which I shall give to you from my grey hair. Accept the proposal of Adabara so that there could be peace upon the land. For according to the proverb of our land, the snapping of the finger is more terrible than words of mouth. For when the plan of the mind is greater than what the mouth can express, the fingers shall do the talking.
9. Now O king, be prepared, for they shall come suddenly at the time which you do not expect.
10. Now Aruvo said, I have heard you wise one, but I have resolved to refuse their proposal. And my resolution shall stand. I am neither a coward nor a lame homo, therefore I shall not slack.
11. Now wise one, let your mind be at rest, for we are more than the homos of Itaho in three fold. And we shall give them no space to attack.
12. Now Aruvo called all the strong youths of the land together that same night. And he said, my guards shall train you tomorrow and you shall be prepared for the battle against the homos of Itaho.
13. For we shall even attack them before they attack us. Now all the strong youths which Aruvo gathered were four hundred. And they slept within the court of the King.
14. Now at dawn, report came to Adabara, saying the king of Okerune have gathered about four hundred strong youths of the land. And now they are in the king's court.
15. And Adabara said, let us scatter them, for they have little experience. Now let twenty of you go into the bush and hunt for snakes. And only ten minutes shall I give you to return, everyone with a snake.
16. And the snakes shall be poured among the youths such that everyone of them shall scatter. Now twenty homos got ready to hunt for snakes. And the names of the homos were Itoku, Opotu, Esuboye, Onimisi, Ipemida, Etudaye, Ifakunle, Eshovo, Ayonete, Okeku, Eneyi(who was exiled from the land of Tampa), Asuku, Ochavuchangudu, Adare who was a very great farmer, Anajuru who was exiled from Nzamu when his lover betrayed him and went to be the wife of the leader of the land ;
17. Ovivi, Akuro, Ireche, Koto and Babayaro who came from far north of Negre in the days when a battle ravaged their land.
18. And the twenty homos went into the bush to hunt snakes. And each of them had a gourd of palmiwine. And they went and set the gourds on the ground and on trees did they also hang them.
19. But Eneyi and Babayaro and Ochavuchangudu, three great homos who were very fearless took their gourds and drank the palmiwine which were in them. And they cast the gourds away, saying, we shall catch the snakes with our bare hands rather.
20. Now when the snakes had perceived the good smells from the gourds, they went and put their heads in the gourds to eat the things which were in them. And the hunters caught the snakes while their heads were inside the gourds.
21. And after ten minutes, nineteen of them returned with a snake each. But Ochavuchangudu alone did not return. For he was among the three homos who said that they shall hunt for snakes with their bare hands.
22. And Eneyi and Babayaro had caught two snakes each, which they grabbed by the neck with their bare hands.
23. Now Adabara said, you have all done well. For our weapons are snakes and not spears or fire. And we shall confuse the youths who are ignorant and inexperienced in the matter of war.
24. Let everyone take his snakes and let us go to the camp of the Warriors of Okerune and throw the snakes in their midst. And they shall be caught by surprise.
25. Let four homos carry the body of our father Enesi, for he shall not delay to be buried before sunrise. For the sun shall not have gotten to the centre of the head before we shall bury him in the court of the kings.
26. Now Adabara and all his brothers and the nineteen warriors and all they who came to help him began to March towards Okerune. And they reached the court of the king few hours before sunrise.
27. And the snakes which they had were thrown into the gathering of the youths and the guards of the King forcefully, for they had plugged off the gourds from the faces of the snakes. And they who were in the court had no experience in killing the snakes. And they scattered here and there.
28. Now at the gate of the court, they were met with the people of Adabara. And they killed many of them and captured some of them.
29. Now when words got to the king that his court had been surrounded by the homos of Itaho, he crept out of the palace through a big hole at the back of it. And when he came outside, he thought that he had escaped, but a big snake, which was a large python twisted itself before his face.
30. And Ochavuchangudu who kept the snake there stood close to it. Now Ochavuchangudu said, O king Aruvo, choose now between me or the snake. For if you choose the snake, it shall strangle and kill you. But if you choose me, I shall get hold of you, but I shall not kill you.
31. And the king said, come and have me and save me from this death. And Ochavuchangudu said you have determined your fate. And he held the king by his right hand and the snake did he hold by his left hand. And he dragged the snake along towards the king's Palace.
32. Now when Adabara and all his people had checked all the rooms in the palace, they could not find the king. And Adabara said, where is Aruvo? How did he escape? For if I get hold of him, I shall do to him even as he did to Itopa my only son.
33. Now while Adabara spoke, Ochavuchangudu appeared with the king on his right hand and a large python on the left.
34. And the other nineteen hunters were amazed, for they did not expect to see Ochavuchangudu alive, being missing when they went to hunt for the snakes.
35. And Ochavuchangudu said, I wrestled with this snake when it was alive and I killed it. And the king feared it even when it is already dead.
36. Now when they saw how the snake wriggled on, with its head still on his neck, they were all amazed. And Ochavuchangudu said, I cut off its head when the fight was too great between us. And I thought saying, did Adabara not command us that we should only bring the snakes alive?
37. And I said, I shall make it look as if it is still alive. Therefore I went and fetched a smaller snake alive. And I fixed the head of the smaller snake into the head of this one. And its body did I fix into the upper body of this snake. And the live snake wriggled hard in the body of this great python.
38. And it seemed as if it is alive by itself. And when I saw Aruvo coming close, I put the snake at its path. And I asked him to choose safety from my hands or death from the snake and he chose safety.
39. Therefore I have brought him before you, O great Adabara. Do to him what is befitting for him.
40. Now Adabara took hold of Aruvo and tied his hands and legs. And he said, the same manner in which you buried Itopa my son alive, that way shall you also be buried alive.
41. And your body shall be laid lower than the body of Enesi my father. For he shall be laid over you. And you shall not be able to do anything. For you rejected that Enesi our father should b we buried in the court of the King, but now shall you bear his weight.
42. Now Adabara instructed and the grave of Enesi was dug. And Aruvo was laid alive at its base. And the dead body of Enesi was laid over the living body of Aruvo. And the body of Enesi was dressed with many flowers and precious things. And the grave was covered up.
43. And many homos of the land who loved Enesi came to celebrate his funeral. And the homos of Baji and Tampa and surrounding lands came also. And it was a very great celebration.
44. And Adabara said, now have we the children of Enesi done what the soul of our father shall be happy about. For he desired that his body should be buried with the Kings in the palace court of Okerune and we have made it so.

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