Ndukwo's Birth

Ndukwo, the only child in his family, was born in a manner so gruesome and unnatural that it set him apart from the other children in his village. The story of his birth circulated through the village, with people recounting how he emerged into the world abnormally and erratically. Locals whispered about how he was born multiple times. Despite his unusual birth and the rumour surrounding it, Ndukwo possessed a fair complexion and a striking intelligence that drew people to him. He towered over most of his peers, and his parents doted on him as their only child. He shared his mother's distinctive dimples, yet there was an undeniable sense of discomfort that emanated from him. His demeanour despoke deep turmoil within him. He was known to wear a permanent frown when alone, likely due to his resentment of the stories surrounding his birth and his life. He seemed to be unable to come to terms with his existence. To the people of Okwo, Ndukwo was like a human neck without a necklace - standing alone and devilish in the eyes of those around him.

Ndukwo was sixteen years old and, for three years, he had been living away from Okwo, his birthplace. His first and last visit to the village was during Christmas time when he was just twelve years old. It was his father who took him to meet his maternal grandmother for the first time. The old woman, whom he had never met before, welcomed him warmly and began to regale him with stories about his birth. She told him how he had come into this world and the circumstances that had surrounded his arrival. Ndukwo listened intently as his grandmother narrated the story of Ndukwo's birth. From that moment on, he was captivated by the stories and they stayed with him forever, etched deeply in his mind.

Okwo is a small village located in the northern part of Ohafia. The Okwo people believed that every newborn's spirit should receive life from Chineke, the Creator, before passing through seven rivers to enter the world of the living. During the forty days and forty nights before birth, the spirit of the newborn would receive every part of the human body by engaging with the wild.

However, there was something quite unusual about Ndukwo. His spirit did not receive its life from Chineke and did not complete the journey through the seven rivers for his body parts. Even before he was born, Ndukwo's spirit hardly completed a meeting with the seven rivers, which made it a weary spirit. Instead, the spirit borrowed his life and every body part from some weird spirits in the third river, from the ogbanje world. The life and the body parts he borrowed were evil and had to be returned shortly after three weeks. This was why he came to life, only to refuse to stay alive and die shortly after.

In that tranquil village of Okwo, the seventh night of October brought forth a blessed event - the birth of a baby girl, which was Ndukwo's first birth. The news of the newborn's arrival spread like wildfire, and soon, many people from the village flocked to the family's home to welcome the newborn into the world of the living. The atmosphere was filled with joy and happiness, and the celebrations continued for days on end, lasting three weeks in total. However, little did they know that joyous occasion would soon turn into a tragedy.

As fate would have it, the newborn's life was cut short. It was unknown to anyone that her time in this world was limited. Tragically, she passed away soon after her birth, leaving her parents and grandparents heartbroken. Although it was a tough pill to swallow, they accepted her loss with grace and let go. As per the tradition of Okwo, the newborn's tiny body was laid to rest in a river called Udennamokai - the place where deceased babies were disposed of by the Okwo people for as long as anyone could remember.

The Udennamokai River had always been a place of reverence for the people of Okwo. They believe that the river was protected by a secret society of women who worshipped a mysterious marine goddess named Aziza Iyi. The people believed that the river was sacred and that no one should ever kill or eat any creatures that lived within its waters. The loss of the baby girl was a sad event that left a deep impact on the village, and the memory of her short life would remain with them forever.

In the Aziza Iyi society, it was customary for young girls, particularly virgins, to undergo a sacred initiation ceremony every three years. This was a significant event in the society and Okwo at large. It was believed to mark the transition of these virgins from childhood to adulthood. During the initiation, no persons born with a penis were allowed to be present in the neighbourhood, as it was seen as a sacred and private ceremony for women only.

The women of Aziza Iyi, those who had been initiated years ago, nestled on the bank of Udennamokai River to celebrate a special occasion. They adorned themselves in their finest traditional attire and decorated their waist with colourful beads that produced a unique sound whenever they moved. As the sun began to set, the women beat their drums and danced to the rhythm of Aziza Iyi, singing:

"Virginity, in vain man cherish

But an offering to the goddess;

It is not for man,

It is for Aziza Iyi,

May all virgins be a goddess

May all virgins be Aziza Iyi

Virginity, in vain man, cherish."

Each woman danced and sang, moving gracefully on her toes, swaying her hips and waggling her waist in perfect unison. The sound of the beads clashing together was audible to everyone present. She continued dancing around the virgins, who were the highlight of the ceremony, and then turned to the right and left directions every so often, clapping their Aja, which was a handle-like wooden instrument that produced the sound of a clap. The atmosphere was filled with an admixture of joy and fear caused by resounding horrible waves of laughter.

Each virgin girl approached an old woman who presided over the rite and ritual. This old woman was known as Ezewanyi, and she had been overseeing the initiation for over seven decades. She was a tall and slender figure with a mixture of red and black dots all over her nude body. Her face was heavily lined with wrinkles, and her hair was matted in dreadlocks. Her presence commanded respect and reverence from all those who participated in the initiation rites.

Ezewanyi, the priestess, stood with an air of solemnity by the river bank, her eyes closed in deep concentration. Her lips moved silently as she murmured incantations to Aziza Iyi, the goddess of fertility and motherhood. In her right hand, she held a piece of sacred wood, which she had carefully chosen for its spiritual significance. The wood had been adorned with red and black ribbons, tied around the handle in intricate patterns. The rest of the wood was covered in a layer of white chalk, which symbolised purity and sanctity. The wood had red and black ribbons tied around the handle, and the remaining part of the wood was in white chalk colour. As the drum beat, she held the wood out towards the river, offering it as a gift to Aziza Iyi, hoping to seek the goddess' blessings and favour for those virgin girls around. 

Expectedly, the first girl moved forward, dancing fearfully with little grace, and then slowly lay herself down on a bamboo-raised platform which was covered up with red linen. She positioned her bosom exposingly to the goddess priestess who used the sacred wood and forcefully pierced the girl's vagina, destroying the hymen. Immediately, she groaned with great pain and blood gushed out. After the first girl went forward, the second girl followed, and then the third, the fourth, the fifth until the twelfth girl, whose scream rent the air. The initiation continued for a while and the whole place was covered in exciting chants mixed with sorrowful voices of cry.

Three weeks later, a group of courageous and effeminate Christians, who were referred to as 'Men of God', dared the Aziza Iyi society. These men were numbering twelve evangelists who were in their late forties. Each of them had a church that he managed independently. Ndukwo's grandfather, his father's father, was one of the crusaders and he played a pivotal role in the crusade. His was Rev. Chikadibia, meaning God is greater than a 'spiritual doctor'. At that time, his son who was his only child, and now Ndukwo's father, was twelve years. 

The 'Men of God' claimed that the earth belonged to their God, both the fullness of the world and those who dwelled in it. So they praised, worshipped and prayed earnestly to their God until their faith grew so mightily that they felt the power of their God had fallen. The following Sunday was Eke. They went ahead and caught enough fish. People, who witnessed the act of desecration, said it was an unprecedented crusade. To measure the extent of the desecration was indirectly an attempt to measure the number of Christian households that shared the fishes. The 'Men of God' brought home their good catches and shared them among their church members and even beyond. 

After one, two and three years, there were no signs of evil befalling these 'Men of God' - that was the earnest expectation of Okwo people, which they did not see coming upon vainglorious crusaders. Maybe things had changed. Or perhaps the God of the men was more powerful than Aziza Iyi, the Okwo people wondered. Those thoughts alongside the defiant acts by those 'Men of God' arrested many souls. Hundreds of thousands were converted, and ten thousand joined in the crusade, and they desecrated other rivers. The people of Okwo, who saw the happening, said that Aziza Iyi was no longer powerful or capable of dealing with her transgressors. So, they decided consciously that they would follow the 'Men of God' and their worship, and great was the number of new converts.

Two and a half years passed and many had forgiven the event of defilement, but Aziza Iyi goddess was not forgiving. What eye could not see, what ears could not hear, what mouths could not talk and what the hearts of men could not perceive what the punishment of them that tempted the gods should be, said Ezewanyi. Six out of the twelve wives of the 'Men of God became pregnant, and they gave birth to mermaids. As time went by, the three remaining wives had strange issues during childbirth and died in the course of that. Such punishment was clearly or specially kept for transgressors.

Rev. Chikadibia had been incapable of putting his wife in the family way the second time two years before the defilement. He knew that too well. He knew that his wife's inability to conceive further pregnancy was not a punishment from Aziza Iyi. Even Okwo people knew the truth about his wife's inability to bear a child the second time. They said that she had outgrown pregnancy, for she was forty years old when she was married. Could it be that the reverend pastor was innocent? Or had Aziza Iyi shown respect for his name and decided to pass the punishment on his son, Ugwa? Other men of God wondered. What was common to Okwo people was that a transgressor hardly got away with the gods. Aziza Iyi as a goddess was no respecter of any man or woman, and surely a transgressor must get its punishment else it would be passed onto his generation. 

The birth of mermaids sent fear to the heart of every man and woman in Okwo, and even beyond. The backsliding of Okwo people on their faith in the 'Men of God' was great - a good number of men and women withdrew their attendance from church. Since then, no man or woman had ever gone to any of the Aziza Iyi rivers to kill a fish or any living creature. People only went there to wash their clothes or fetch water. That happened very long ago before Ndukwo's first birth.