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The Orphan and her Ụdara Tree

Image
Jụọ Ndigbo
Six children sitting under a large tree, giggling and smiling.

I remember again the stories told us by my grandmother about an orphan whose father’s wife (or stepmother) refused to give a piece of Ụdara fruit when she was sharing the same Ụdara fruit with her stepsiblings. Her stepmother separated the children between hers and the orphan.


This story depicts an orphan as a child who had lost a mother. We know that an orphan is someone who has lost one or both parents. We will maintain an understanding of the usage of the word ‘orphan’ in the story to signify a child who has lost a parent (mother) in this context.


Quietly, the orphan collected the seeds of the Ụdara fruit her stepsiblings had thrown away and planted them in a corner of their garden. Every day, she watered the seeds as she sang:


Ụdara m tobe.
Nda!
Ụdara m tobe.
Nda!
Tobe! Tobe! Tobe!
Nda!
Nwunye nna m.
Nda!
Zụta ụdara n'ahịa.
Nda!
Rachanwo nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
Nwa enwe nna, nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
El'ụwa bụ ọrịrị.
Nda!
Onye nọsịa ọ naba.
Nda!
Bere kwukwukwu kọmsịa
Bere otu nwa kọmsịa
Na kwakwakwa na soja.

The seeds grew and turned into a plant. She continued to sing. The plant became a shrub, and the shrub became a tree. She sang again asking the Ụdara tree to start to bear fruit:


Ụdara m mịba.
Nda!
Ụdara m mịba.
Nda!
Mịba! Mịba! Mịba!
Nda!
Nwunye nna m.
Nda!
Zụta ụdara n'ahịa.
Nda!
Rachanwo nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
Nwa enwe nna, nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
El'ụwa bụ ọrịrị.
Nda!
Onye nọsịa ọ naba.
Nda!
Bere kwukwukwu kọmsịa
Bere otu nwa kọmsịa
Na kwakwakwa na soja.

When she saw that the Ụdara had fully borne fruits, she sang and asked the Ụdara to ripe:


Ụdara m chaba.
Nda!
Ụdara m chaba.
Nda!
Chaba! Chaba! Chaba!
Nda!
Nwunye nna m.
Nda!
Zụta ụdara n'ahịa.
Nda!
Rachanwo nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
Nwa enwe nna, nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
El'ụwa bụ ọrịrị.
Nda!
Onye nọsịa ọ naba.
Nda!
Bere kwukwukwu kọmsịa
Bere otu nwa kọmsịa
Na kwakwakwa na soja.

When the Ụdara tree bore fruits, she sang asking the Ụdara tree to let go of some fruits for her to eat:


Ụdara m daba.
Nda!
Ụdara m daba.
Nda!
Daba! Daba! Daba!
Nda!
Nwunye nna m.
Nda!
Zụta ụdara n'ahịa.
Nda!
Rachanwo nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
Nwa enwe nna, nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
El'ụwa bụ ọrịrị.
Nda!
Onye nọsịa ọ naba.
Nda!
Bere kwukwukwu kọmsịa
Bere otu nwa kọmsịa
Na kwakwakwa na soja.

One day, while she was away, her stepsiblings climbed the Ụdara tree and were plucking them. When she saw them on the tree, she started to sing to Ụdara tree:


Ụdara m tobe.
Nda!
Ụdara m tobe.
Nda!
Tobe! Tobe! Tobe!
Nda!
Nwunye nna m.
Nda!
Zụta ụdara n'ahịa.
Nda!
Rachanwo nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
Nwa enwe nna, nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
El'ụwa bụ ọrịrị.
Nda!
Onye nọsịa ọ naba.
Nda!
Bere kwukwukwu kọmsịa
Bere otu nwa kọmsịa
Na kwakwakwa na soja.

The Ụdara tree grew so tall that her stepsiblings were afraid, crying and pleading to her to let the Ụdara tree become smaller. After many pleading from her stepmother, father, and others, she relented and sang again to the Ụdara tree:


Ụdara m sụba.
Nda!
Ụdara m sụba.
Nda!
Sụba! Sụba! Sụba!
Nda!
Nwunye nna m.
Nda!
Zụta ụdara n'ahịa.
Nda!
Rachanwo nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
Nwa enwe nna, nwa enwe nne.
Nda!
El'ụwa bụ ọrịrị.
Nda!
Onye nọsịa ọ naba.
Nda!
Bere kwukwukwu kọmsịa
Bere otu nwa kọmsịa
Na kwakwakwa na soja.

After that day, her stepmother had great regard for her, and she was respected by her stepsiblings. That ended the separation between her stepsiblings and her. 

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