By Achile M Umameh
Igala folklore is rich with tales of mythical gladiatorial combats and wrestling contests. Agwude, Agwu-ẹbọ is one of the most distinguished and celebrated combatants of them all, a gladiator, a wrestler against the spirits of the underworlds, subjugator and an accomplished fighter.
Once upon a holiday at Ọfọrachi the headquarters of my grandfathers’ fiefdom. My grandfather HRH Chief Okpachi Umameh, (Agutiti), Achenya-Achadu of Igalamela. The only son of a first son: Akoto ki d’unọ k’ata nwu du. Great hunter of Egbili-Achọkpa and counsel to Attah Ameh Oboni the great. Chief Ọkpachi Agutiti’s fief spanned from Achọkpa through Okotikpa to Alaba, with surrounding lakes, royal hunting grounds, farmlands, palm plantations and farm settlements.
One evening in the dry season the moon hung on the sky above us like a ripen Egili. We sat in around him in his Atakpa, like an arc of little stars around a giant sun. Looking into his eyes for cues, monitoring his red-and-blue beaded wrists for the story time gestures. Suddenly, we heard the antiphon to all Igala great folklores half-sung and half-said:
Ọhiaka mi kwo kwakwakwakwa
kwakwakwakwa il’oji enwu kiane n,
ilia n’oji Agwude, Agwu-ẹbọ.
Agwude is the great undefeated gladiator, who had a wife, Ijojo and a brother Ocholi. Ocholi ọgakọ ad’omu t’uja, k’uja ki n’agbada. Ocholi was a great player of Ufele and Ọkpachina, the great war flutes; he rouses Agwude to the fight. At a clue from his Ufele, thousand leaves of lips burst into an anthem of war:
Agwude, alum’agada kpoloko
Agwu-ẹbọ, alum’agada kpoloko
In Agwude gladiatorial combats turned war into a game, he cooked up an atmosphere of violence in time of peace to keep a warrior people mentally rehearsed, and his endless hunger for wrestling functioned as a socio-political theatre which allowed a mimicked confrontation between rulers and ruled.
So Agwude fought all the nine best fighters of Igala mela and won.
Agwude fought the seven great marine warlords of the seven rivers and won.
Agwude fought Ichekpa and his fourteen attending spirits and won but with a limp.
Agwude fought the twelve disguising incarnations of Ọchẹchẹ, they were no match.
Agwude fought numberless underwater Alijenu of Idu-Okoliko and Ohimini, he won.
Before Ekwe was born Agwude had won a thousand fight, before Agbanabo became a restless rebel incarnate spirit, Agwude was a benchmark of rebellion and before Olagenyi started fomenting trouble, Agwude was the chief troublemaker of all Igala realms.
In the marsh of Ibaji, Agwude fought, in the sandy terrain of Ankpa Agwude wrestled, in the sloppy valley of Ogugu, Agwude was at it, on the mountainous fringes of Awo, in the flatlands of Ejule and Ajiyolo, Agwude was the song, Agwude was the tong of fire. He fought in allover the kingdom.
Agwude now tired and nearly bored to death with fighting fearful men and weak spirits, called for a wrestling match with the greatest spirit in the Underworlds. In the world of the Underworlds, seven palaces of the deathless ones rose with joy to test their mettle with Agwude. They were to fight for nine sunrise and nine nights until the winner is announced. So Agwude took his wife, Ijojo and took his brother Ocholi with his Ufele to rouse and call out the best of his skills and greatest of his tactics.
Firstly, he fought On’egwu, the king of the recently dead and he was easily victorious.
Secondly, he fought Egbunu the patron of the gifted ones and won.
Thirdly, he fought and conquered Omamanya, the fire-eating and fire-breathing estranged daughter of thunder.
He fought and won them all.
Now in the 7th palace of the Underworlds, suddenly, thunder rose from the throats of ten thousand graves hauling and howling: Egwubi-ọkọ! Egwubi-ọkọ!! Egwubi-ọkọ!!!
In the blinding dark and deafening bark, Egwubi-ọkọ woke from 1000 years of sleep. Dressed in his vagabond rags and inaudibly woke his gawky family. The pandemonium spoke through countless toothless mouths and danced in furious demonic shadows. There was a whirl-wind of fire and the stomach of the Underworlds rumbled like an angry belly of storm.
But Agwude, Agwu-ẹbọ stood fast, stood his ground and Ocholi’s Ufele wept, whine and stir him on to the fight. Ijojo too arose with a chorus of fire in her throat and sang:
Agwude, alum’agada kpoloko
Agwu-ẹbọ, alum’agada kpoloko
Agwude, Agwu-ẹbọ buoyed up with the music of Ufele and the voice of his wife Ijojo. He rose a gargantuan beast of war, fearless and ready to tackle Egwubi-ọkọ, the grand-khadi of the deathless ones of the seven palaces of the Underworlds.
The fight started. They fought, and they fought, they fought and fought. On the seventh day, Agwude fought with his 7th hidden tactics with Egwubi-ọkọ and defeated him.
Agwude now rolling up his fighting gears and celebrating with other entrapped spirits who felt with Agwude, freedom from 1000 years of enslavement under Egwubi-ọkọ was near, an incarnation appeared and challenged Agwude to a last fight.
After a short while, the fight started again. This time it was Ijojo, Agwude’s wife fighting in disguise like Egwubi-ọkọ. Because Ijojo knew the secrets of her husband’s powers, skills and tactics, she began to beat him effortlessly and mercilessly. Agwude was ignorant of this false apparition and never knew it was Ijojo in a disguised incarnation.
However, Ocholi, Agwude’s brother who was playing the flute, recognized her and told his brother through a song;
Agwude, alum’agada kpoloko
Agwu-ẹbọ, alum’agada kpoloko
Ijojo mi Jo, Ijojo mi jo alum’agada kpoloko ooo
But Agwude could not understand the signal in the song, the fight went on and Ijojo was winning. Ocholi switched to a new song, giving Agwude a tactics to overcome Ijojo and so he sang again:
I-Ijojo, I-Ijojo d’ọwọ b’ekete b’ejuma,
Ijojo, Ijojo d’ọwọ b’ekete b’ejuma b’ekete.
Agwude then got the message, bent down and got a handful of the sands of the Underworlds and poured on Ijojo, he got some more sand and threw it into her eyes and her powers were subdued and she lost her disappearing power and was defeated by Agwude. Una Ijojo jo k’ere b’Ohimini I m’ọwọ da.
Agwude having won all his fights, divorced his deceptive wife but gradually he was taken over by pride became a bully and a nuisance to the world of humans and the world of the spirit. The consensus of the world of earth and the Underworlds of the spirit was to handover all their powers to Egwubi-ọkọ, who eventually defeated Agwude, Agwu-ẹbọ.
And my grandfather, the great Okpachi Agutiti asked us: What are the lessons of this story?
For every hubris, there is nemesis!
