GRANDPA’S SOUP

The arrival of European expeditioners in the Gulf of Guinea in later part of the 15th century sparked a new trade with the Kalabari and other Ijaw communities in the Niger River delta. The trade with the Europeans, initially the Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish and later the English and French were majorly on palm oil and later slaves from the 16th century to early part of the 19th century. Kalabari and other Eastern Delta states became prominent players along the so-called Slave Coast of West Africa acting as middlemen between peoples of the hinterlands, especially the Ibo, where slaves were sourced and the European slave buyers. A critical component of the evolution of Kalabari society during that period was the transition from a primarily descent or lineage based socio-political groupings to the War Canoe House system, perhaps, as a response to increasing rivalry with neighboring Ijaw states and/or a means to dominate the European trade. The War Canoe House or Wari was indigenous to Kalabari and viewed by many historians as one of the most sophisticated political and social structures of the 18th and 19th centuries. It consisted of a man, his wives and children, extended family members, trading assistants, slaves, and servants. It was a large but closely knit ‘house’ that welcomed worthy new members no matter where they came from. It was called War Canoe House because its foremost purpose was to defend its territory and protect its trade links with Europeans against rival groups and kingdoms. The male members of the Wari were constituted into a well-trained fighting force under the command of the Head Chief or Wari Da Bo. Grandpa Tasker Young Briggs was born in New Calabar or Elem Kalabari, or Old Shipping around 1880, just after the Kalabari civil war, and brought to the new town of Abonnema in 1882 as a toddler. He was the fifth biological son of Chief Isiowu Young Briggs. His mother, Madam Ibiayigbariya was the daughter of Chief Ajumogobia Bestman Briggs who, like Isiowu, was an adopted son of Oruwari Briggs. Whereas both men were from the same Oruwari Briggs House they were not related by blood and their children were allowed to marry under the Kalabari custom of ‘wari bio be sime’. As a child, I felt Grandpa carried himself like some sort of a nobleman exuding an air of importance. Adults in the community showed him a lot of respect, even some reverence. African culture does reserve respect for age, but it appeared Grandpa was getting more than his due by virtue of age alone. Also, I felt he was respected to a higher level than most other elderly men in the community. Yet he lived a modest life and was not a chief. It made me curious. Now, Chief Isiowu Young Briggs was a legend in his lifetime and even more so after death. At a very young age, I had heard several heroic stories of his fearlessness, bravery and battle prowess. One of such stories had it that the Oruwari Briggs House had on its crest a snake totem (of the viper named aya in Kalabari) to which its members ascribed spiritual symbolism such that it was regarded as an abomination for a member of the House to kill the snake. Although the snake appeared quite harmless, its population around the living quarters of the people grew very high and became a nuisance. Chief Young Briggs decided to break this myth by killing the snake in public view after which he cooked its flesh for a meal. And for that act of bravery and consequential demystification of the snake, he was nicknamed ‘Obu-abara’ which in the Igbo language translates to ‘juju killer’. The pampering of a new mother could sometimes be elevated to the level of the traditional practice called ‘Fattening Room’ where the goal would be to ensure that she got fattened to a desirable size while being fed regularly and restricted in her activities and movements. During that period, her body would be robbed with local cosmetics to give her a ‘glowing’ skin. At the end of the fattening period, she would be dressed in a special manner, as an iriabo, exposing as much of her body as was permissible (bite sengi) and paraded around town to show off her beauty and how well she had been taken care of after delivery. If perchance she did not get sufficiently fat during her time in the fattening room, the blame was placed squarely on the husband with an accompanying song, iria ma du wa be be adi ye dogi bo apri ya …. The ability to swim was an important if not a survival skill for a child born into a riverine fishing community. The younger the child in acquiring the skill the better. Older kids taught younger ones how to swim. Parents were usually not involved in that endeavor and oftentimes it was done without their knowledge. Learning to swim in the creek behind our house was an unforgettable experience for me; it was an adventure. A group of us kids would meet at the waterside to swim. As we took off our clothes and jumped into the river, the learners among us were cautious enough to stay at the shallow end, close to the bank of the river. We knew where to stop by walking down the river until the water got to our shoulders. The end of term interaction with Grandpa had assumed the form of an informal ceremony and become a highpoint of the school year for me. I looked forward and seemed to be working towards it from the beginning to the end of term. I was super excited to be having such an opportunity to interact with my grandpa and proud that I was always one of the grandchildren qualified to partake of his special soup, sometimes the only one to do so. Also, I was curious and somewhat enamored that, Grandpa, who did not attend any formal schooling was that much interested in his grandchildren’s education.