The legend of the Queen-King Ahebi Ugbabe
It is said that only a strong head can carry the mighty Ogidi oracle masquerade. When one queen falls another takes over. If a king is found wanting, the throne belongs to the queen if she can take it.
One day, a little more than a hundred years ago, a farmer in a large, rural farming community in present-day Enugu state gave birth to a pretty little angel. Enugu-ezike is a large community made up of 36 villages with a present-day population of a quarter of a million people.
Her parents named her Ahebi because she was a blessing. Her mother was a trader who knew the routes to distant towns and mastered the psychology of human persuasion as a means of selling her husband’s farm produces.
The farmer and his wife had given birth to 2 boys earlier, Ahebi was their little angel. Her eyes were fierce, her look was stern but it is said that she was so beautiful that even the gods melted when they saw her. She was a paragon of beauty.
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Everything was good until Ahebi was about 13 years old, a mysterious disease attacked her family’s farm and wiped off all their cops. This drove her poor family even further into poverty. After trying all other means to understand the cause of the misfortune and resolve it, her dad who is now in serious debt decided to take the one last option remaining. That is, to consult the beautiful oracle goddess called Ohue. It is said that even the goddess herself trembled at the sight of little Ahebi. The goddess’ beauty was no match for the natural charm and bodily aesthetics of Ahebi. The male diviner told Ahebi’s father that he has to surrender Ahebi to the goddess as a way to atone for his sins. He explained that those sins are the causes of their family misfortune.
Being a devout traditionalist who believed so much in the power of the gods and their veracity, it was a catch-22 situation for Ahebi’s father. Should he sacrifice one member of the family to save 3, that is his wife and 2 sons? After heavy thoughts, he decided to make the ultimate sacrifice to hand over his little angel to the shrine of the goddess Ohue in exchange for success so he can provide for his family.
On the day he was ready to take Ahebi to the shrine, he couldn’t find Ahebi. The little angel had gone missing. Years later, it turned out that Ahebi had made an incredible escape journey to a distant town along her mother’s trade routes. She journeyed 3 days on foot from Enugu-Ezike to Igala. Many people believe her mother facilitated this escape.
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Ahebi was a little runaway-girl with no skill or former training in anything. The only thing Ahebi arrived Igala with was her irresistible beauty. She was a walking temptation, no Adam could resist the fruits that dangled on her chest. Legend has it that during the days when Ahebi walked outside, the sun stayed longer in the sky. The stars twinkled through the windows at night just to get a look at Ahebi while she slept. Everyman in Igala fell for her, her charismatic presence created an urge so strong that even distant kings traveled to get a taste of her. All these made prostitution the only profitable job she could do and she did it proudly for years. But through all these, she had a dream and it was one that no one would expect.
As she grew into a young woman, even the king Attah of Igala became her friend. Ahebi learned several languages including English. Through the help of the Attah of Igala, she convinced the British to send her back to her hometown and make her the new headman. No one could resist Ahebi’s offer.
In 1918, Soon as she arrived, she made the existing warrant chief look incredibly incompetent because of her obvious multi-lingual skills. Within a few months, she became the first-ever female warrant officer under British rule. She was the only one in her kingdom that could speak English. One day, when the current king of her town became too old to perform his duties, the people looked far and wide for a replacement but there was only one head that is strong enough to carry the Ogidi.
Enter the new Queen, King Ahebi Ugbabi Amehin-Ayibi of Enugu-Ezike. A woman endowed with the prowess of a man. The lady who is called “mighty man”, “our husband” and “our father”. When one queen falls another takes over and if the King be found wanting, the Queen can take his throne if she be strong enough. Only he whose head is strong can carry the Ogidi, isi kara aka na-ebu Ogidi. Eze Nwanyi Igwe ka ala. She who overruled the gods at the age of a child. The king of 36 kingdoms. An absolute monarch, one whom the priests of all the shrines in the kingdom pay homage to, including the goddess Ohue and her diviner priests.
Long live the king.
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During her reign, King Ahebi married so many women. Yes, same-sex marriage. She also married the finest young men for her wives and hence gave birth to hundreds of children through them. Her descendants all bear her name till today. Before she died, she conducted and supervised her own citywide burial ceremony which included lots of gunshots, animal sacrifices, and magnificent music. It is said that she did such a burial that her community will never forget that such an incredible being lived once among them.
In 1948, she succumbed to her aged body and bowed out of the planet like a true legend. Her community rallied and gave her the full burial rites of a man. In Igbo land, kings are buried sitting down on their throne with their full regalia and jewels.
Death does not like warriors because warriors are not afraid of it. Igbos believe in re-incarnation, so it is said that one day she will return. But before she returns, how do we even explain her emergence in the first place?
The vulture eats the dead, the eagle eats the living but if the Eagle marries the vulture what freak of nature do they give birth to?
A snake cannot fail to give birth to something that isn’t slim, but what if it does? How do we explain it? An impossible journey can only be completed by an incredible traveler, is this not what the afa says on the 4th market day?
Exit one of the toughest women that ever walked this planet. Eze na iga adi gi de.
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UPDATE: people are asking me if the story is true. Yes, it is 100% true. I just wrote about it so more people will know about her.
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