The Missing Ofor

An Ofor is a short staff that is believed to contain lots of spiritual power. This staff is mostly held by the king of a village or the chief priest and is usually decorated with feathers gotten from different animals

When the news about the King's missing Ofor got to the villagers, everyone was thrown into confusion. The Ofor was the most powerful thing aside from the village chief priest. It was the King's personal staff of protection. He had it with him always and it was always by his bedside whenever he went to bed. The Ofor was so powerful that even the King didn't go near it whenever he had just finished being intimate with his Queen or concubine. He must have his bath first, for one must be clean before even thinking of touching it.

The town crier had announced that everyone was to be indoor for the next three days while special rites were performed in honor of the missing Ofor.

When the Elders heard the news, they all quickly gathered at the palace and waited for the King to come tell them how such an abomination had happened. The last time an Ofor went missing was many generations ago and they had performed a special human sacrifice to appease the gods. But that was many years ago, when human sacrifices were still very common in the community.

The murmuring was silenced the moment the King walked into the palace and sat on his throne. One look at the King and one would know he was a troubled man. Losing the Ofor was one thing, getting a new one was an entirely different thing.

The King Sighed as he looked at his son, the crown prince who sat down next to him.

"If only he knew". The King thought to himself as he focused back on the elders.

The King went into details on how the Ofor had gone missing. He had placed the Ofor by his bedside before going to bed and went he woke up this morning, instead of the Ofor, he had three eagle eggs right next to where he usually kept the Ofor. Everyone knew why the eagle eggs were there, they were used to neutralize the power of the Ofor.

“My son, I'm really sorry.” the King apologized to his son who seemed confused.

“Sorry for what papa?” The confused Prince asked.

“You see my son. When an Ofor goes missing, the first son of the King has to journey into the evil forest to get the feather of a very dangerous and rear bird. That feather is what is used to make the Ofor powerful.” The King said and the elders all nodded in approval.

They all knew the rules, they all did except for the prince. The King had felt there wasn't a reason for him to know because it had been ages since an Ofor went missing but he had been wrong.

"He should have told me". The prince said to himself later that day in his chambers. If he had known the tradition, he wouldn't have stolen the Ofor and sold it to the white man.

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