Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria

These folk stories have been told to me by natives of the various countries to which they relate in the Ikom district of Southern Nigeria. In all cases they have had to be translated by an interpreter, and frequently it has been found necessary to employ two. Some of the stories are very old and have been handed down from one generation to another, but it is most difficult, almost impossible, to judge with any degree of accuracy how old they really are. The word "dowry" comes frequently into these tales, and is used as meaning the amount paid to the parents of the girl by the husband. In the introduction to my Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, published in 1910, Mr. Andrew Lang suggests that the term "bride-price" would better express the institution, and, no doubt, he is perfectly right. I have, however, adhered to the old expression of "dowry" as it is in general use, and is so well known on the "Coast." When a man is asked how much "dowry" he paid for his wife, he will frequently produce his "bush book," consisting of bundles of small sticks tied round with "tie-tie," one bundle for each year. He will then take one stick from a bundle, and holding it up will say: "That is two calabashes of tombo I gave to the father." He will then place the stick on the ground and take another, saying "This is one fathom of cloth I gave to the girl." The next stick may represent twenty yams given to the mother, and the following sticks may mean twenty-five rods, a silk handkerchief, a bar of soap and some bottles of gin. And so he goes on until the bundles are finished, the value of each article being noted in order to ascertain the total amount paid. The marriage customs vary considerably in different parts of the district. In most of the Cross River towns above Abaragba there is no restriction placed on young girls as to sexual intercourse, but when they are married twenty-five pieces of cloth (value 5s. per piece) would be paid as damages for adultery. There is, however, an old custom existing between several towns that no damages can be claimed for adultery. It may be of interest to the reader to state here briefly the usual form of marriage in vogue in this district as the point of several of the tales turns on the position of the woman with reference to her husband or lover. I do not, however, propose to enter into details, but merely to indicate what constitutes a binding form of marriage in this part of the country according to native custom. When a man takes a fancy to a young girl and wishes to marry her, he informs the parents of his intention, and gives them presents....