The King Who Laid No Eggs
The King Who Laid No Eggs
Opanyin Kwodwo was a very powerful King in the history of the Akans.He had earned so much respect from his contemporaries and all who came into contact with his family.
There was an air of peace, happiness, love, unity,strength and prosperity in their large family: Opanyin Kwodwo prided himself in godly fear, humility, kindness, fasting and confessing his wrongs to the Almighty until the fateful day when his beloved wife, Queen Akua Mansah, feasted on a snake's venom and started to quarrel with everyone in the entire village.
The King before too long had to face the music. Queen Akua Mansah suddenly felt the King was surrounded by a sweet scented aura of respect and tried to do her best to break his source of power , charm and influence.
Having remembered a taboo she knew since her infancy she decided to punish the King -her husband - by deliberately breaking the traditional rule.In ancient Africa, women and young girls were not permitted to eat eggs at the high table when Kings entertained important guests in the palace.But Queen Akua Mansah did exactly the opposite.
She went into her several acreage poultry farm, gathered together and brought home two large baskets full of eggs whilst the King ,Opanyin Kwodwo ,was busying himself enjoying leisure by swimming with his loyal servants in the village swimming pool.
When Opanyin Kwodwo arrived home, he was welcomed with the glad news that he had received very important guests from a distant Akan community countless kilometres away from his beautiful village.
The news made him so much happy and he meant to exhibit to all and sundry that his wife was well accustomed in preparing mouth watering ,appetizing and very delicious traditional meals.
Here was poor King Opanyin Kwodwo.He had forgotten the fact that whenever his wife wanted to settle scores with him after an argument she hid her intentions and openly displayed her unhappy emotions at the last Saturday of the month when the family had gathered together.The king believed in forgiveness and thought humans like all other social creatures forgave each other when wronged except for cats.
"My wife cannot play the role of cats in my village constantly holding on to grudges, fights and arguments.It is the last day of a couple of months since my wife disagreed with me about when the village fisher folks should fire arms to begin the native festival.She had long forgotten about the objections she raised as a rational human being does.I fully trust her hospitality and warmth she shows to strangers and visitors."
The king had totally entrusted everything at home in his absence to the queen and would not believe any contrary thing someone told him about his wife.He would not allow even their children grown as they were now to interfere in the relationship between his wife and himself.
When history smiles the people frown.History exposed Queen Akua Mansah's greatest weakness that very day.The long and short of it was that the King came to dinner to find the supper table full of egg dishes.It was an egg day.Not in the huts but in the dining room in the presence of folks who had so much respect for the King.
When the dinner pots were opened for supper to be served the King bowed his head.The message was clear-he was powerful, he could maintain and enforce law and order.He could cater for his household.He had equal love for each individual in the village.But he could not lay eggs like the mother hen does neither could he hatch chicken.Only women and girls when they grow could play that role-give birth,nurture babies.
Sad as he felt, Opanyin Kwodwo beckoned to his loyal servants to leave the dining table and to pluck some coconut at the palace garden for dinner.The visitors followed him wherever he went.
After the three week of stay of these important guests in the King's palace, Opanyin Kwodwo, his guests and the loyal servants became very wise, knowledgeable and had very sharp memories.
The King became wise and ever since as oral tradition has it, from time to time story tellers say that whenever Kings , their households and guests gather coconut served as an important course in their menu all through out the numerous villages in Africa.
Written by Ebenezer K N Baiden-Amissah
Accra,Greater Accra Region,Ghana
Ebenezer Kobina Nyarko Baiden-Amissah
P O Box LG 1254, Legon,Accra.Ghana
Telephone 0245310380/0277461262
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