---
title: Ix.--the Story of the War Between Inkum and Enfitop. — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · full text with trees
description: Ix.--the Story of the War Between Inkum and Enfitop., «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: When the Inkum people first came to the Cross River about one hundred years ago, Chief Indoma 
---

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# Ix.--the Story of the War Between Inkum and Enfitop.

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Ix.--the Story of the War Between Inkum and Enfitop. of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell: the whole text, 167 sentences and 4991 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself.

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When the Inkum people first came to the Cross River about one hundred years ago, Chief Indoma established the five Inkum towns on the right bank of the river, and Chief Awum took his people over to the other side, and, having given the Enfitop people presents, asked them to allow him to build his town there, and also requested them to give him sufficient bush where he and his people could make their farms.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics")

The Enfitop people eventually agreed to do this, and Chief Awum built his town, which he called Aliese, and appointed a man called Osode to be his second chief.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") Both these chiefs were under Chief Indoma of Inkum.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics")

When the houses were finished and their farms made, Chief Awum called a society to play, the name of the society being Eberambi.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics")

It was one of the rules of the society that anyone wishing to join must pay fifty rods, one goat, and five pots of tombo, which would be divided amongst the members.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics")

Then Chief Osode sent invitations to the young men of Enfitop to come and join their society, and altogether about fifty of them became members.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics")

Now, when the young men of Enfitop joined and paid their goats, rods, and tombo, Chief Osode divided up all the things they brought amongst the Inkum members, and never gave the Enfitop boys their share.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics")

This caused great dissatisfaction, and at last they became so vexed that the Chief of Enfitop gave orders that for the future no more of his boys were to join the Eberambi Society.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics")

When Chief Awum heard this, it made him angry, so he made a scheme or plan to rid the society of the Enfitop boys, who were no longer of any use, as they had paid up their presents to the society.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics")

The Chiefs Awum and Osode then went into the bush, and searched about until they found an open space, which could be cleared without much trouble.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") There was a big rock in the middle, and the members all began working on the ground, and after a few days had it quite clear.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics")

Chief Awum then told his young men to dig a very deep pit on one side of the rock next to its deepest side, and, when it was finished, he placed sharp stakes firmly in the ground with the points upwards.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics")

A meeting of the members was called for the next evening, and the chief told his young men to sit all round the rock.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics")

When the Enfitop boys arrived, they all sat together a little distance off, and one of their head boys was told to sit on the rock with his back to the pit, which he could not see, as it was dark.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics")

The singing and dancing then began, and the tombo was passed round, but when it came to the turn of the man sitting on the rock, just at the moment when he began to drink, one of the Inkum boys, who had been instructed by the chief what to do, seized him by the ankles and pushed him over backwards, so that he fell into the pit on the sharp stakes and was killed at once.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") As it was quite dark and such a noise was going on, no one missed the boy or saw what had happened.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics")

Then, in the early morning, before it was light, the Inkum boys went to the pit, and having taken out the body, covered the blood stains with sand and carried the body back to the town.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") The body was then cut up into small pieces and divided amongst the members of the society, who lit fires and cooked and eat their portions.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics")

That night Chief Awum said to Osode:--“Well! that accounts for one of the members, and I hope soon that we shall have got rid of all of them.”[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics")

Chief Osode said that he thought the plan a very good one, particularly as it brought them in a supply of food which was always welcome.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics")

Then, for four nights running, the same thing was done, and the boy who had been killed the previous night was divided up and eaten by the Inkum members of the society on the following day.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics")

On the sixth night, however, the Enfitop boys met together, and counted their numbers.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") Finding that there were five of their members missing, they could not understand what had happened, so they decided not to attend the play that night.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics")

This enraged the Inkum people, and the next day Chief Osode went to Enfitop and told them that, as they had refused to attend the play, they would not be members of the society any longer.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") So, after that, the Enfitop boys did not go to the play again, and the Inkum people lost their chance of getting any more of them for food.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics")

After a short time had elapsed, Chief Awum consulted with Osode as to how they should get some more Enfitop boys to eat.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") After thinking some time, he said he thought the best way was to steal the children from the town.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics")

So the following morning the Inkum young men surrounded Enfitop, but hid themselves in the bush, and waited there until all the men and women had gone to their farms to work, leaving only the old people and young children in the town.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics")

When they had all gone, the Inkum men went very quietly into the town from house to house, and stole all the children they could find and carried them off.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") They did not take any of the old people as they were not much good for food.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics")

That night they had a great feast in the town.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics")

When the parents of the children who had been stolen returned from their farms they missed their little ones, and so they went and complained to the head chief.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics")

The next day he called all his people together, and they held a big palaver to settle what should be done.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") At the meeting, one of the boys who had been a member of the Eberambi society got up and said that five of their members were missing, and he believed that it was the Inkum people who had killed them, and that they had stolen the children as well.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics")

After a long discussion, it was decided to drive the Inkum people away, and to send them back across the river again, so a message was sent to Chief Indoma to tell his people to leave their town at Enfitop and go over to the Inkum side.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics")

Chief Indoma could not understand the reason of this message being sent, so he replied that he certainly would not tell his people to move, and that he would see what they could do.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics")

When the Enfitop people had completed their preparations for war, the head chief took one of his slaves to his ju-ju as a sacrifice, and the blood was sprinkled all round the ju-ju, the chiefs dancing in it.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") The body was then cut up and divided amongst the fighting men, who eat it.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") The chief then addressed the ju-ju as follows:--[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics")

“You always help us in the time of trouble.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") Here are my fighting men.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") I want you to make them strong and so that they will not receive any wounds from their enemies.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") If you help me, when the war is over, I will bring all the heads of the men we kill to you as tribute.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") I will also bring the prisoners we capture and kill them before you as a sacrifice.”[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics")

The chief then put his hand into the ju-ju pot containing water, rotten eggs, and mashed-up leaves and roots, and having stirred it well up, the fighting men all came up to him one after another, and he smeared them with the liquid on the forehead and breast.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics")

After this ceremony was over, all the people went to the chief’s compound, where he consulted his head ju-ju man as to what the result of the war with the Inkum people would be.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") The ju-ju man then cast lots, and told them that they would drive the Inkum people away, killing many men and taking many men, women and children prisoners, but he warned them that they must not commence the fight, as it was the Inkum people who were in the wrong and had killed the Enfitop people.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics")

They then armed themselves with bows and arrows, stones, and short heavy throwing sticks sharp at both ends, so that one end or the other would stick into their enemies.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") The next morning they surrounded the town of Aliese, and very soon the Inkum men came out.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics")

The first arrow was fired by an Inkum man named Osim, and at once the fight became general.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") They fought for the greater part of the day, until at last the Inkum men were beaten, many having been killed and wounded.[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") The survivors, including Chief Indoma, who was present at the fighting, escaped into the bush, leaving the women and children and old men at the mercy of the Enfitop people.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics")

Most of the old men were killed, and the women and children were made prisoners and taken to Enfitop.[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics")

That very night they held a big play, and the heads of all the men who had been killed were placed before the ju-ju.[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") Six of the best of the prisoners were then killed in front of the ju-ju, and after their blood had been sprinkled on the ground, the bodies were cut up and given to the fighting men, who lit fires and boiled the flesh with yams, pepper and salt.[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics")

While the food was cooking, a big dance was being held, and one of the prisoners was placed on his back upon the ground in front of the ju-ju.[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") He was then staked securely to the ground, and a heavy wooden drum was placed upon his stomach and was beaten with sticks while the fighters were dancing.[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics")

When the food was sufficiently cooked the fighting men eat it, and then, after drinking plenty of tombo, went to bed.[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") The prisoner was left on the ground all night with the heavy drum on top of him.[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics")

The next morning the head fighting man released the prisoner, and having tied him up to a tree, cut his head off with his matchet.[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") He then dressed himself up in the long hair (mane) of a ram, wrapped a leopard skin round his waist, painted his face, breast and right hand with white chalk, and placed four feathers from the black-and-white fishing eagle in his hair, one down the centre in front, one behind, and one on either side.[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") He then took the head of the man he had just killed in his left hand, and holding his matchet in his right, he danced all round the town, shouting out that they were great fighters, and that the ju-ju had made them successful in the battle.[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") When he had been all round, he went into the open space in the middle of the compound, and the women came up to him with presents; some would present him with a fathom of cloth, but the poorer people would offer a few rods, yams, or some salt.[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") The body of the man was then divided up amongst the chiefs, the head chief getting the right arm, shoulder and breast for his share, and the head fighter was given the man’s heart to eat.[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics")

All the heads were then collected and placed over a fire to singe the hair off.[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") They were then given to the head chief, who boiled and eat the meat off them with his sons and people.[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") The chief placed the skulls on the ground of the room where he slept, so that the room was quite paved with them.[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") This was done so that the chief could put his feet on them, to show that he had trampled on the enemies whom he had conquered.[68](68/ "tree and pragmatics")

The head of the man who was first sacrificed before the war commenced was not eaten, but was left on the ground in front of the ju-ju as his share.[69](69/ "tree and pragmatics")

To return to the Inkum people, who had escaped into the bush on the night of the battle, as soon as it was dark, Chief Indoma called them all together and asked his ju-ju man what he had done to make him so unfortunate in the battle and to lose so many people.[70](70/ "tree and pragmatics") The ju-ju man told him that Chief Awum and Chief Osode had caused all the trouble by killing the Enfitop boys and stealing the children for food.[71](71/ "tree and pragmatics") He also said that the Inkum people had gone to fight like women; they had not consulted him (by which he lost a handsome present) neither had they killed a slave as a sacrifice to their ju-ju.[72](72/ "tree and pragmatics")

Chief Indoma agreed with the ju-ju man, and said he would not forget again, and that in the future when he went to war he would see that the proper precautions were taken and the usual sacrifices made as had always been done in the past.[73](73/ "tree and pragmatics")

He then spoke to Awum and Osode, saying “I am very angry with both of you.[74](74/ "tree and pragmatics") Up to the present I have been known to all people as a good fighter and leader, but I shall always be ashamed to meet the Enfitop people now.[75](75/ "tree and pragmatics") You have done wrong.[76](76/ "tree and pragmatics") You have killed and eaten many of the Enfitop people and told me nothing about it.[77](77/ "tree and pragmatics") When they sent a message to me, I told them that I would not move my people across the river, as I never thought they would fight against me, but now I am compelled to do so, as they have either killed or taken as prisoners nearly all the men, women and children of the town.[78](78/ "tree and pragmatics") I look to you to arrange how to get me and the remaining people over the river in safety.”[79](79/ "tree and pragmatics")

Then Chief Osode stood up, and said that he could manage that quite easily, as he was a ju-ju man, and would make a bridge for them out of his body.[80](80/ "tree and pragmatics")

Now, in those days there was a big snake who used to live on the land, and when he grew to be as long as a palm oil tree is high, he forsook the land and lived in the small creeks and rivers, where he grew to a tremendous size.[81](81/ "tree and pragmatics") The name of the snake was Ku Ku Barakpa.[82](82/ "tree and pragmatics")

In the early morning, Osode turned himself into the snake, and placed himself across the river with his tail on the Enfitop side and his head on the Inkum side, his back being out of water, so that the people could cross over in safety.[83](83/ "tree and pragmatics") As soon as he had done this the survivors of the Inkums, headed by Chief Indoma, walked over the snake’s body, but, when the Enfitop people tried to follow them, the snake waited until they were in the middle and then sank, leaving the Enfitop men to drown.[84](84/ "tree and pragmatics") After two days their bodies floated and were picked up by the Inkum people who carried them back to their town and eat them.[85](85/ "tree and pragmatics")

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