Okpa was a ju-ju man living at Okuni many years ago, and the name of his ju-ju was ’Nda.[9] The old man continually made sacrifices to his ju-ju of goats and fowls and all the young men of the town brought him presents as sacrifices so that they should not get the disease, which is very common throughout the country. Whenever a sacrifice was about to be made, all the people who belonged to the society used to meet together and sit down all round the ju-ju, but as the law of the ju-ju was that no man should open his legs, the people always tied their knees and ankles together with tie-tie, because if anyone opened his legs he would at once get elephantiasis.

Once while the people were feasting and playing round the ju-ju, the hare came along with his fine tail, and seeing them all eating goat’s-flesh, fowls, foo-foo and yams, he asked Okpa if he might join in the feast, as the hare was very greedy and could never resist eating anything he saw. Okpa told the hare that he might join in the feast, but that when he had finished eating he must make the usual present to the ju-ju, and that if he went way without paying something very bad would happen to him. The hare agreed to this, and sat down amongst the people and took his share of all the food; but as he was enjoying himself so much he did not notice that the people were sitting in rather a peculiar fashion, so he sat down in the ordinary way with his legs open. When the food was finished the ju-ju man tied one of the young green shoots from the palm-tree round each of the members of the society. He then dipped his hand into the ju-ju pot, and having touched them one after the other on the forehead and breast, he told them to depart. But he did nothing to the hare, and when he came to where he was sitting he called upon the newcomer to go and bring the usual present of a goat or a fowl to sacrifice to the ’Nda ju-ju. The hare said he had nothing to give just then, and got up to go away, but found that a certain portion of his body had swollen to such a size that it touched the ground when he stood up. He then saw that he had caught the Elephantiasis, and asked Okpa to cure him of the disease, but the ju-ju man said he could not help him until he had made his proper sacrifice to the ’Nda ju-ju.

As the hare was very poor he was in a great state of mind as to how he should pay, and although he begged hard Okpa would not listen to him; so at last he made up his mind to consult his wife, and started off, dragging the Elephantiasis with him. On the road he planned how he should get rid of the disease and at last asked the Elephantiasis to leave him for a little time, as he wanted to relieve himself. The Elephantiasis replied that the hare could relieve himself quite well without his going away, so the hare was compelled to do so; he then returned to the path again.

After he had gone a short distance further the hare thought he would try another trick to get rid of the disease, so, seeing some rubber vines growing near with ripe fruit, he said to the Elephantiasis, “I am still very hungry, are you not hungry also? I want to climb up and get that ripe rubber fruit, but cannot do so as you are so heavy. If you will stop on the ground I will climb the vine and throw the rubber fruit down to you, and you can gather it and put it in the bag, and then we shall have plenty to eat on the road.”

So the Elephantiasis, who really was hungry, agreed to stop on the ground, and the hare, relieved of the great weight, at once climbed the rubber vine and commenced to throw down the fruit, which the Elephantiasis gathered and put in the bag. As the hare gathered the fruit he threw it further and further away from the vine, and the Elephantiasis rolled himself away after it until at last he had gone some distance from the tree, so the hare slid down to the ground, and ran towards his home as fast as he could go.

When the Elephantiasis got back to the vine he called out to the hare, but as he did not receive any answer he guessed the hare had run home, so he rolled himself along the path after the hare, but although he was nearly round he could not travel nearly as fast as the hare, who was a very swift runner indeed. The hare therefore reached his house some time before the Elephantiasis, and at once called out to his wife and told her to go and stay with a neighbour of his for a few days as he was running away from a man, and his enemies were following him to kill him or take him prisoner, and he feared that they might catch her. His wife then packed up her things and went off to their friend’s house, and the hare having said that he would probably be absent for some days, ran off in another direction, leaving his home deserted, so that when the Elephantiasis arrived he found no one about the place.

The hare took a path which led through some farm, and after a time came across some people who were clearing the ground for their new farm. He went up to them, and having told them a long story about the cruel enemy he was running away from, begged them to hide him and cover him up with leaves and branches so that he should not be discovered. As the people were sorry for the hare, they agreed to do what he asked, and put him in a heap of rubbish where he could not be seen; they then went on with their work.

Shortly afterwards the Elephantiasis rolled himself up to where the people were working and asked them whether they had seen the hare pass that way, but the people told him that the hare had not called at their farm. Then the Elephantiasis said, “Oh, I see you want to deceive me, for I tracked him as I came along the path; but let me tell you the hare is a great friend of mine; unfortunately he has long legs and can run fast, whereas I have no legs and can only roll along slowly, and thus got left behind.” But the people still maintained that they had seen nothing of the hare. Then the Elephantiasis got angry, and said to the people, “If you do not tell me at once where the hare is, I will jump on you and you will have to carry me for the rest of your lives.” At this the people were frightened, as they knew the disease well, and did not wish to have it with them always, so they pointed out the heap of rubbish where the hare was hiding, and the Elephantiasis rolled off towards it.

Now all this time the hare had been listening, and when he saw the Elephantiasis coming towards him he jumped out of the heap and ran away as fast as he could go. He ran for some distance, and passed another farm, but did not go in, as he thought the same thing might happen to him there. He went on and on until he thought the Elephantiasis must be a long way behind, and it would be safe to stop for a time, so when he came to a small compound where the people were having their evening meal he went in and told them that he was being chased, and that the enemy were following him. When the people heard this they stopped eating, and having collected all their food they put it in the Egbo house and told the hare to stop there. They then armed themselves with bows and arrows to protect their homes from the enemy. The hare told them to go some little distance from the Egbo house, so that they should not be driven back upon him at once. He then sat down and eat the people’s food.

For some time the people stood waiting for the enemy to appear, but they saw no signs of anyone until the Elephantiasis rolled up to them, when the hare called out “The enemy has come.” At this one of the men raised his bow and arrow and was about to shoot when the Elephantiasis said, “Don’t shoot, I am not your enemy; I am looking for my friend, the hare, and I want you to show me where he is.” The people said he had not come that way, but the Elephantiasis replied that he had just heard the hare’s voice, and again threatened to jump on one of the men if they did not show him where the hare was hiding. The people then called upon the hare to come out of the Egbo house, but instead of doing so, he ran away in the opposite direction, and went down to a stream where he knew a land crab lived. When he got to the hole he found the old mother land crab at the entrance, and told her his usual story, asking her to help him, as the men always gave him up, and he promised to reward her if she drove his enemy away or killed him. The mother crab agreed, but told the hare that she had young ones in one branch of the hole, and that he might go in and sit down in another part until the fight was over. So the hare went into the hole, and the old mother crab stood at the entrance with her large claws open ready and waiting for the enemy.

Not long after this the Elephantiasis rolled himself down to the stream, where he met the mother crab, looking very fierce, and asked her if she had seen the hare.

The crab replied, “Yes, the hare is in my house, but I never give strangers up to their enemies.”

When the Elephantiasis said he was a friend of the hare, the crab said, “I don’t care whether you are a friend or an enemy, I am not going to give the hare up.” This made the Elephantiasis very angry, and he threatened to jump on the crab. But the crab said, “I am not at all afraid of you. You can try if you like, and then you will see what will happen.”

At this the Elephantiasis rolled himself back a few paces, and then went for the crab. The old crab was ready for him, and nipped him so severely with her sharp pincer-like claws that water came from his inside and he yelled with pain.

The hare then shouted out to the crab to fight well, and that when she had killed the Elephantiasis they would both make a good meal off him. When the Elephantiasis heard this he became more furious than ever, and rolled back again, and then made another attack on the crab. The crab then pinched him so severely that he burst and died, at which the hare was very glad.

When the mother crab told the hare that she had killed the Elephantiasis he told her to drag the body to the stream and wash it. Then the mother crab called for her knife, which the hare gave her out of the hole. The crab then dragged the Elephantiasis to the stream, where she cut him up and washed him properly. She then carried the meat back into the hole.

During the time the old crab had been fighting the Elephantiasis, the hare had been very busy, and had killed and eaten three of the crab’s children, and then threw their shells behind the fireplace near to where the old crab used to keep her salt. When she returned the hare told her that they should cook and eat his dead enemy, so he made up the fire, and the flesh was put into a pot to boil. While the meat was cooking the crab went to get some salt, and to her horror saw the shells of three of her children on the ground where the hare had thrown them. Having put the salt into the pot she went into the next hole where she had left her children, to count them. But the hare, seeing that trouble was likely to come, and not liking the idea of being nipped by the crab’s strong claws, with which she had just killed his enemy, took the pot off the fire and ran away with the meat.

When the mother crab returned vowing vengeance on the hare, she found he had gone and had taken her pot with the meat in it; and although she shouted to him several times to come back she got no answer.

The hare ran on some distance with the pot of meat, on the road to his house, and when he thought he was safe from pursuit he sat down on an ant-hill, with his tail down a hole. Having looked round everywhere carefully to see that no one was following or watching him, he commenced to eat the flesh of his late enemy. All this time the ants were busy building their house, and while the hare was eating his food the ants had covered half his tail and had bitten it through.

When he had finished his meal the hare felt that something was wrong with his tail, so he jumped away from the ant hill, and found to his disgust that he had left half his tail behind him where the ants had bitten it through. When he saw what had happened he did not like to return to his wife at once, as she might deny him, so he waited until it was dark and then joined his wife. She was very glad to see her husband again, and asked him about the war party he was running away from.

The hare said, “All the trouble is now over, as I have gone through the ceremony of the war ju-ju, and the chief cut me on the tail so that in future I shall never die from war or fighting in any way.” And as it was then dark the hare’s wife lit the lamp,[10] but the hare hid his tail in the darkness so that his wife could not see it, as the wound had not healed up.

When the evening meal was over, the two hares retired for the night, but when his wife had put the lamp out, the hare told her that if she wanted to get up during the night or light the lamp she must wake him up first, as otherwise his war ju-ju would be spoilt.

Now the hare was tired after all his running, and very soon he was fast asleep, so when his wife was certain that he would not wake up easily, she got out of bed very quietly and lit the lamp, as she was extremely curious to know what the ju-ju man had done to her husband’s tail. When she saw that the hare had lost half his tail, she was ashamed of him, and began to cry. Then the hare woke up and began to abuse his wife, saying that she had spoilt his ju-ju and would have to pay a great deal to make it right again. After a violent quarrel they eventually went to sleep; but in the morning at first cock-crow the hare’s wife got up and packed up all her things, saying that she was going away to find another husband, as she could not possibly live with a hare who had lost half his tail, whether it had been cut by the ju-ju man or not.

The hare then said, “You have no sense. It will not help you at all to leave me, as all the other hares have had the same thing done to them on account of the war ju-ju. You had much better stay with me.” But his wife was not satisfied, and told her husband that she should go out and see for herself whether what he had said was true; so she started off along the path to the nearest hare’s house.

Directly she was out of sight the hare ran through the bush as fast as he could to the house his wife was bound for, and as she was carrying a heavy load he got there some little time before her. He then told his friend that his wife had left him because he had lost part of his tail, and was on her way to see whether he had also lost his. The hare then asked his friend to step into his back room and allow him to speak to his wife from the door when she came. His friend gladly consented to help him, and soon after he had gone inside the hare’s wife appeared and put down her load. The hare then stood up in the doorway, facing his wife, and calling her by name said, “Ekanga, where are you going with that load? Are you leaving your husband?” And his wife said, “Yes.” The hare then said, “What is the matter?” and she replied, “My husband has lost his tail, and told me that it had been cut on account of the war ju-ju, and that all the other men-hares have also had their tails cut, so as I do not like to live with a hare who has no tail, I have come to see if he told the truth.”

The hare then said, “We have all passed through the same ju-ju and had our tails cut off; look and see.” He then turned round and showed her.

His wife then went on from one hare’s house to another, but each time her husband went on in front of her and deceived her in the same way, until at last she got tired and turned back to go home. The hare then ran quickly home, and jumped into bed, and when his wife appeared he said, “So you have returned. You are a foolish woman, and you can go or stay as you please, I do not care.” But his wife said that she was satisfied that her husband had spoken the truth, as all the hares she had seen had had their tails cut off, so she had resolved to turn back.

The next day the hare called all his company together, and told them that he had nearly lost his life the previous day on account of his long tail, as he had sat down on an ant heap with his tail down one of the holes, and some animal inside had caught hold of it and tried to pull him inside to kill him, but to save his life he had cut his tail off with a knife, and he strongly advised them to do the same. To this they all agreed, and cut their long tails off in order to escape from any enemy who might try to catch them by the tail, and ever since the hares have had no tails, as when the men-hares went home they made their wives and children follow their example, telling them that it was done for their good by the war ju-ju to prevent them from dying in battle. On account of the hare’s wife lighting the lamp to look at her husband’s tail and thus spoiling his war ju-ju, it has been a custom ever since that when men are going to fight they will never trust their wives with their war ju-ju, and they will not sleep with them or eat any food which they have cooked with their hands until the fighting is over.

Told by Ennenni, an Okuni woman.—[26.7.10.]