+234 812 797 4628

jephthahzainaba@gmail.com 

If you spend time among the Bassa people of central Nigeria, you will soon discover that stories are more than entertainment. They are vessels of memory, carrying wisdom from one generation to the next. Around evening firesides, elders speak of creation and of animals whose habits today are said to reflect the earliest struggles of the earth. At the centre of these tales is Agwatana, often called Agwatana Okokuma, the divine force believed to have shaped the universe.

Mr. Spider and the First World

The spider, respectfully known as Mr. Spider, is remembered as the very first living creature formed by Agwatana Okokuma. In those days, the earth was still covered with water. To move across it, Mr. Spider wove cobwebs that stretched like bridges over the vast surface. This image of the spider, navigating an endless watery world, has come to represent both cleverness and survival in the Bassa imagination.

Why the Chameleon Walks Slowly

Another tale explains the chameleon’s curious walk. When land was drawn out of the waters, it was soft and unstable. The chameleon, fearing that the ground might collapse beneath its weight, learned to move with caution. Its slow, deliberate gait remains a reminder of a time when even the earth could not be fully trusted.

The Toad and the Scattered Land

The toad’s hopping is also traced back to creation. According to the story, the land did not appear as a single body but in fragments divided by water. The toad had to leap from one patch to another to survive. Mr. Dagba recounts that its constant hopping today is seen as an echo of that early journey across a broken landscape.

The Ant and its Hidden Grief

One of the more sombre myths tells of the African stink ant. Elders such as Mr. Labaran recall how, when the world was still mostly water, the insect had nowhere to bury its dead. It carried and buried its mother within its own body, and the lingering smell it bears is said to come from this act of sacrifice. For the Bassa, the ant’s odour is not just a natural trait but the memory of grief preserved in the living world.

A World Shaped Before Humanity

Together, these stories reveal a striking order of creation: water before land, and animals before humans. For the Bassa people, myths are not merely explanations but cultural truths. They give meaning to the movements of creatures, linking the spider’s web, the chameleon’s careful steps, the toad’s leaps, and the ant’s odour to the hand of Agwatana Okokuma.

Living Heritage

Even today, these myths remain part of the Bassa identity. They are told to children as lessons about creation, survival, and respect for the world around them. To listen to them is to hear more than folklore; it is to enter a cultural archive where history, spirituality, and the natural world are woven together. In the stories of animals and water, the Bassa people continue to guard a heritage of wisdom, reminding us that every creature carries within it a trace of beginnings.