The Tortoise Gets a Wife

Pixabay CC0

Nwambe the Tortoise was thirty-five years old, not that that holds any special significance, except that he was not yet married. His friends were always teasing him about it. “Tortoise,” they would say, “you are so ugly and unromantic that all the fair daughters of our land refuse to marry you.” Nwambe made no reply to this; he was too sad to do so. He was too poor to afford a bride price.

There was another handicap too. All his friends had titles, such as “Tiger killer,” “Cow killer” or “Swift Arrow”. These names meant something, their owners were highly respected in society. Nwambe yearned to have a title too; but that also cost money and, alas, he had none.

When he saw other animals going to their farms with their wives and children, he would let fall a salty tear. He grew up so sad and worried that he became leaner everyday. The rains had set in. Two months before, everyone had planted their crops, and now their was nothing to do. The days seemed long and dull.

This state of affairs hit Nwambe so hard that he decided to make a journey to a different country where the rich and powerful king had an only daughter who was sick to the point of death. Every night the town crier went round the neighboring villagesand announced in piercing tones. “The kings daughter is I’ll, good citizens. The Princess is dying. If you know of any way to save her life please come forward. The king will give you ten thousand cowries.” Then he would sound his idiophone: Gom!....Gom! Gom! Gom!

To Nwambe, this was a magic message; he knew that his chance to get rich has come. With his usual slow waddling gait, he went into the Kings palace and announced that he was a medicine man who had crossed seven hills an seven rivers, the land of the living and the land of the dead, to come and save the King’s daughter.

This was good talk and it pleased the king. But Nwambe made one condition: “I consulted my Ikenga last night,” he said, “and the god told me that the princess must marry me if she recovers.”

“Ah,” said the king, “if that is all, be assured that my daughter will be yours if she lives.”

Nwambe set to work. His mother, Anum, had once suffered from the same deadly disease, so he knew the remedy at once. Within a few days, he had cured the Princess. The speed of her recovery pleased the king, but his counsellors told him that the labour involved was not worth ten thousand cowries and the princess’s hand. So when Nwambe came to claim his money and his bride, the king could not refuse, but set him a task to accomplish instead.

“Do not think that the King’s daughter may be married like any commoner,” he said. “For the wedding, you must find me a very rare wine, quite unlike any wine we have ever tasted in this country. Take this he-goat and within six months come back with its kid and your wine.”

Nwambe's face was a picture of sorrow and disappointment. Nevertheless, he refused to be discouraged. He combed the country looking for the rare wine, but he found none. Since the King would not be satisfied with palm-wine nor raffia-palm, not even Ojo wine, the problem seemed beyond solution. Then Nwambe had an idea. He carefully tapped banana-stem juice into a gourd and presented that as if it were a wonderful wine.

As for the he-goat delivering a young one, that was impossible. So he only took the wine to the King.

“Where is the he-goat and his young one?” the King roared with anger.

“Oh, may the King live longer than his ancestors!” Nwambe greets him with a low bow. “You see,” he continued, “while my mother was away at the battlefield, my father delivered a female child. When my mother returned from the war, she slaughtered the he-goat to help rebuild my fathers strength.”

“Abomination! The gods of our fathers defend us! Our land is profaned!” cried the King. “How can your father bear a child and your mother go to war?”

“King, you are right,” said Nwambe. “Nor can a he-goat produce a kid. But if you care for rare wine, it is her inside this gourd.”

When the King realised that his wisdom had been surpassed by that of Nwambe, he gave him both his money and the Princess. So Tortoise returned to his homeland with a bride and lived in peace and prosperity ever after.