Long ago, the people of Ikom had never seen a drum like the enormous wooden instruments used in neighbouring communities. Made from the trunk of a hardwood tree and hollowed out to produce a deep, far-reaching sound, these drums served many purposes. Their beats summoned people from the farms, announced important gatherings, warned of danger and carried messages to those who understood their rhythms.
But one drum was unlike any other.
It lived in a town hidden deep in the bush, and people who accidentally wandered into its territory vanished without a trace. As the disappearances continued, the people of Ikom warned their children never to wander alone or stray from familiar paths.
Among those children was Ibanang Okpong, the only daughter of Okongo Osim and his wife, Inkang Ezen. Her parents loved her dearly and took great care to protect her from the dangers of the bush. They repeatedly warned her about the terrible things that could happen to anyone who lost their way.
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Unfortunately, their warnings only made Ibanang more curious.
Her parents never allowed her to accompany them to the farm. Instead, they arranged their work so that one parent would always remain at home to look after her. While her father worked on one day, her mother stayed behind. The following day, they exchanged duties.
For a while, the arrangement continued peacefully. But Ibanang grew tired of being left behind. She wanted to see the farm for herself and discover what lay beyond the familiar surroundings of her home.
One day, when her mother went to the farm and her father remained at home, Ibanang decided to seize her opportunity.
She told her father that she was going to the river to fetch water for cooking yams. Instead, she left her water pot outside the house and hurried down the path her mother usually followed to the farm.
She ran until she reached a place where the path divided. Unsure which direction to take, she chose the road on the right.
Before long, she came across a crippled man sitting beneath a tree. He greeted her warmly and offered her some kola nut, but Ibanang was in too much of a hurry to stop. She continued running, ignoring his warning that she was travelling along the wrong road.
After going further into the bush, she became exhausted and stopped to rest. As she sat there, a small wooden drum approached her. It offered her kola nut and then warned her to turn back.
Ibanang refused to listen. She was determined to find her mother.
She continued along the path, passing several more wooden drums. Each was larger than the one before it, and each tried to persuade her to return home. Yet she ignored every warning.
At last, she reached a clearing where an enormous wooden drum stood on forked supports, resting close to the ground.
Never having seen anything like it, Ibanang approached it curiously.
The great drum spoke.
It demanded to know what she was doing in its town and warned her that anyone who entered its territory never returned home.
Fear seized Ibanang. She turned to escape, but the path behind her had disappeared. Thick bush surrounded her, leaving no visible way out.
Then she heard singing and dancing. The sounds seemed to come from inside the drum, although she could see nobody nearby.
Before she could understand what was happening, the enormous drum opened its mouth and swallowed her whole.
Ibanang slid down its throat and landed inside a vast compound filled with people singing and dancing. None of them were familiar to her, but they were the very people who had disappeared from neighbouring towns over the years.
She asked why they had not returned to their homes.
They explained that the only way to escape was to climb up inside the drum and cut out its heart and liver. Unfortunately, they had no knives or machetes with which to do the work.
Realising that she could not escape, Ibanang resigned herself to her situation. She joined the others in singing and dancing, trying to make the best of her terrible circumstances.
Back at home, her mother eventually returned from the farm.
Her husband explained that Ibanang had left the house, believing she had gone to the farm. Inkang Ezen immediately suspected the truth. Knowing her daughter had never travelled that way before, she feared that the girl had lost her way and entered the territory of the man-eating drum.
Overwhelmed with grief, she blamed her husband for failing to protect their only child. She wept throughout the night, convinced that Ibanang might never return.
At last, Inkang Ezen made a decision.
She told her husband that she would leave in three days to search for their daughter. If she failed to find Ibanang, she would not come home.
During the next two days, she borrowed small, sharp razors from her friends and carefully sharpened them. She hid the razors in her wrapper, preparing for the dangerous journey ahead.
On the third day, she set out alone for the town of the wooden drum.
She soon encountered the crippled man sitting beneath the tree. Just as he had done when Ibanang passed, he offered her kola nut and warned her to turn back. Inkang Ezen refused both his hospitality and his advice. She explained that she was searching for her missing daughter and would not abandon the journey.
Further along the path, the small wooden drum also tried to stop her. It offered her kola nut and urged her to return home, but she continued without hesitation.
She passed the other drums until she finally reached the enormous one in the clearing.
The great drum asked why she had come into its forbidden town.
Inkang Ezen answered plainly. She had come to find her daughter, Ibanang Okpong, and wanted to go wherever the girl had gone.
The drum opened its enormous mouth and swallowed her.
Inside, Inkang Ezen found herself in the same compound where the missing people lived. She looked around anxiously until she spotted her daughter. Mother and child rushed towards each other and embraced.
Their reunion brought immense relief, but Inkang Ezen had not come merely to comfort her daughter. She had prepared a way for everyone to escape.
She told the assembled people that she had brought sharp razors and explained that they could use them to cut through the drum’s heart and liver. If they worked together, they might finally destroy their captor and regain their freedom.
The people were overjoyed. For the first time in years, escape seemed possible. They celebrated throughout the night, singing and dancing in anticipation of their return home.
At daybreak, Inkang Ezen handed the razors to the men. They climbed up inside the drum and began cutting into its heart, removing it bit by bit.
The enormous creature soon felt terrible pain. It groaned and made such a commotion that the smaller drums and the crippled man hurried to find out what was wrong.
The great drum told them that its heart hurt terribly. It suspected that the people inside were trying to cut their way out and asked whether they could help.
But the smaller drums could do nothing to save it.
Meanwhile, the men continued their work. They cut through the drum’s heart and liver until the enormous creature could no longer endure the pain. At last, it rose from its resting place, toppled over and died.
Inkang Ezen immediately urged everyone to keep working. The people cut through the remaining parts of the drum and opened its mouth wide enough for a person to crawl through.
One man emerged first. Seeing daylight outside, he called to the others that the way was clear.
One after another, the captives climbed out of the dead drum. Men, women, goats and other animals that had been swallowed over the years finally regained their freedom.
Everyone praised Inkang Ezen for her courage and clever preparation. They asked her to show them where she lived so they could remember the woman who had saved them. Gladly, she led them all to her husband’s house.
News of the great drum’s death soon spread throughout the surrounding country. The terror that had haunted the people for years was finally over.
The men returned to the dead creature with axes and chopped its wooden body into pieces. They carried the pieces to Inkang Ezen’s house.
After the drum’s flesh had been consumed, its bones were preserved. The people bored holes into the leg bones and removed the marrow. They then used the bones as drumsticks for playing drums during dances and in times of danger.
The survivors each took one of the bones back to their own towns. There, they made large wooden drums modelled after the creature that had once held them captive.
And so, the instrument that had swallowed so many people became a reminder of their escape and a means of communication among the communities.
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Moral
The story teaches that a parent’s love can inspire extraordinary courage, as Inkang Ezen risks her life rather than abandon her daughter. It also shows that preparation is as important as bravery, cooperation can overcome seemingly impossible challenges, and ignoring warnings or venturing along unfamiliar paths can lead to danger.
Knowledge Check
1. What was the man-eating drum called?
It was called ’Ndofu in the account.
2. Why did Ibanang enter the bush?
She wanted to find her mother’s farm because she had grown tired of always being kept at home.
3. How did Inkang Ezen prepare to rescue her daughter?
She borrowed and sharpened razors, which the captives used to cut through the drum’s heart and liver.
4. How did the captives escape?
They worked together to destroy the drum from within and cut an opening through which they could crawl out.
5. What happened to the drum’s bones?
The survivors preserved them, made holes in the leg bones and used them as drumsticks.
Source
The retelling is based on “How Ibanang Okpong and Her Mother Were Swallowed by a Man-Eating Drum, and How They Escape from its Inside,” Tale 21, in Ikom Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, collected and published by Elphinstone Dayrell in 1913.
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