In many places in Igboland, the python is
regarded as a 'sacred being' which no one is
expected to kill, harm or maltreat. It is an age-
long observance because to most Igbo
communities, Eke or python is seen as the
symbol of the sea or river goddess. It protects
and provides for the people, both in terms of
wealth, fertility and long life. To the people, eke is
a harmless 'being' and it is actually harmless to
those who do not kill it. To them, eke symbolises
peace, prosperity and abundance, especially in the
waters.
At Umuohi, Okija, in Ihiala local government area
of Anambra state, a man called Ukata Nnanna in
an interview gave a clearer picture of why the eke
has come to be regarded as being so sacred and
in
some places is worshipped as a goddess.
"The story of eke we have here is sacred and
different. But before we go on, it is good to point
out that the mystery surrounding eke is greater
than most of us can actually understand. Our
own case is quite peculiar. In the olden days, our
people used to provide shelter for strangers. This
was how the issue of eke became a symbol of
respect and regards here in our village", Nnanna
said, grinning and shaking his head repeatedly.
"There was one certain aged widow who was said
to have been driven away by her husband people.
She set out on a journey, a journey she did not
know where it would take her. When she got to
Umuohi, Okija, she stopped and begged our
people to provide a place for her to rest her feet.
She was by then too tired to continue on her
way.
"Our people did not only give her a place to settle
down, she was also asked to remain with us.
Without knowing it, our people had given shelter
and hope to a woman with plenty of mysterious
powers. Before the woman died she made a lot of
promises to our people. In the first place she
asked that her house be built by the riverside. No
one knew why she made that sort of request. But
then at her death she decreed that no Umuohi
woman should be maltreated by her husband
people. And wherever she is married to, on the
first night of her arrival, a python would appear to
encourage and strengthen her. To date, this
situation still exists; that once an Umuohi woman
is being threatened at her husband's place, a
python appears, sometimes a very big one that
would frighten people out of their wits. For this
reason, a lot of people are sceptical about
marrying an Umuohi woman.
"The woman did not even die. She turned into
eke. She lives inside the Okpu stream or if you
like river, which is along Owerri-Onitsha road,
Anambra state. There you can see this big python
and it comes out once the sun is out to suntan.
This is what it does everyday. It is so huge that a
lot of people are scared of it," Nnanna stressed.
"But we the Umuohi people are not," he boasted.
The python which is called eke ogwugwu-mili
therefore is said to be the mother of all the
pythons that litter the length and breath of
Igboland. Today, anyone who kills or maims eke
either knowingly or unknowingly is compelled to
buy all the necessary materials with which to
bury it. These range from white cloth, to coffin,
kola nuts, white chalk and so on. The coffin
would be placed in a conspicuous place where
passers-by are wont to pay condolences and
show some sign of remorse. Where one fails to
bury the eke in the traditional way, more stringent
punishments will be placed on him and members
of his family. Sometimes he would be ostracised
or banished from the land depending on the
circumstances of the death of the python. Some
even have small pox sickness placed on them.
It is because of all these that eke does not bite
the natives of Okija and other places where these
observances are made. If eke bites one by error,
all it does is to hiss, and then the bite will have
no effect on the person. Even then, Christians
also obey the law; they too do not kill eke. Why
would anyone kill it when it does not harm him?
Some people would often ask. Eke is a common
sight in many places in Igboland where they are
at liberty to crawl without let or hindrance. There
is the eke Idemili (for Idemili, river). There is also
eke Ogba which is supposed to be the king of all
the pythons. That one lives inside huge forests
and so has no contact with human civilization.
Each area gives the eke a name according to
what it does for them and the deity it represents.
For some, it is eke atamili' or eke nkwo ocha, all
in the name of what place it has in their
communal lifestyle and existence. Today at
Umuohi, Okija, eke still remains their symbol,
some kind of rallying point. And you are not
expected to treat their daughters with disdain and
disrespect.
Source: The Nation
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