Ijapa and the dancing palm tree

The Tortoise, Sigidi and the dancing Palm tree

A long time ago in a certain Yoruba kingdom known for its hard working people, lived Ijapa the tortoise.

Ijapa, was not like everybody else, he hated the idea of working. He was much happier begging his neighbours or playing tricks on them for food.

One day as he sat thinking about where he was going to find something to eat, he noticed traders taking their goods to the weekly market. Ijapa thought to himself “I wish all those yams and corn were mine”. And then, a wicked idea entered his mind so he jumped up excitedly and marched into the nearby forest to carry out his plan.

Ijapa and the Dancing Palm Tree

In the forest, Ijapa found a palm tree with a large hole by its roots. He immediately climbed into the hole and started to sing.

Dance, palm tree, dance
Dance all around the marketplace
Dance all around the marketplace

Not many people knew it but Ijapa had some magical powers. Not a lot, but it was enough to make the palm tree obey him. And so, the tree pulled up its roots and started to dance. Twisting and whirling through the forest as it made its way towards the market.

The Tree at the Market

Imagine the fear that spread through the marketplace when people saw the tree coming. “Monster!” one person cried as they dropped their bags and ran. Another person shouted “the palm tree is possessed”. There was chaos everywhere as the traders fled the market.

Soon the market was empty. Then Ijapa climbed out of the tree and started to gather all the food the people had left behind for himself. He filled the tree with as much food as he could fit in, climbed back into the hole and made the tree to dance back into the forest.

That week, Ijapa ate like a king.

As the next Market Day approached, Ijapa planned to repeat his trick and steal more food from the marketplace. When the day arrived, he snuck into the forest again, climbed into the palm tree and when the market was busiest, he started to sing.

Dance, palm tree, dance
Dance all around the marketplace
Dance all around the marketplace

Just like the week before, the tree picked up its roots and started to dance. Twisting and whirling its way out of the forest and towards the market. The market people who had hoped the dancing palm tree would not return, were horrified to see it again. And they fled the market leaving all their goods behind.

Ijapa climbed out of the tree excited at how well his plan had worked. And like the week before, he filled the tree with food before climbing back inside it and disappearing into the forest with his loot.

The Traders Complain

The traders were upset that the dancing Palm tree had stolen their goods again and they worried that this might keep happening. So they marched to the palace to report the strange event to the King.

“Kabiyesi O!” They greeted the king. “A dancing palm tree has been causing chaos at the market and stolen all our food. Twice” they cried.

“A dancing palm tree?!” The king asked in disbelief. “Are you sure that is what you saw?” But seeing how frightened they were, the King decided to do something about it. He called Jayesimi, a wise old man, and asked him to find out what was really going on.

Jayesimi listened carefully to the people and he came up with a plan that he hoped would get to the root of this mystery.

Ijapa and Sigidi

The next Market Day, Jeyesimi made a lifelike clay statue, Sigidi. He covered the statue in a very sticky, gluey substance and placed it near the centre of the market. He disguised Sigidi so that he looked like one of the traders at the market. Then Jayesimi climbed to the top of a nearby tree from where he could see everything that happened in the market.

As he expected, the dancing palm tree showed up again. Twisting and whirling its way towards the market. Its leaves rustled loudly as it approached sending the terrified people running. Everyone except Sigidi, fled the market before the palm tree even got to the market gate.

Seeing that Sigidi did not run like the others, Ijapa made the tree dance right up to the centre of the market. He thought seeing the tree so close would be enough to scare anyone off. But Sigidi remained seated. His face, expressionless.

Ijapa was surprised. So he made the tree dance more vigorously than ever. Still, there was no reaction from the statue.

Irritated by Sigidi’s boldness, Ijapa climbed out of the tree and marched up to it. “Why didn’t you run like everybody else?” he yelled. Sigidi was silent. “Fine, you don’t need to talk, but you need to leave” he declared. But the Sigidi did not move. “Are you deaf?!” Ijapa yelled “If you don’t move, I will give you a dirty slap!” Nothing. And so, Wham! Ijapa struck Sigidi with his right hand, hard, across the face. To his surprise his hand stuck to the statue’s face.

“Let go of my hand immediately or I’ll hit you with my stronger left hand”. He threatened Sigidi. And when he got no response, he struck it again, Gbose! And his left hand also got stuck to Sigidi’s face.

“I see. You think you’re tough. You want to play games abi? You’d better let go of my hands before I kick you with my powerful leg”. Sigidi remained silent so the frustrated tortoise kicked him with all his might “Gboom!” But the statue did not budge.

Worried but hoping he could still bluff his way out of this sticky situation, he threatened Sigidi one more time. “I’ve tried to be patient with you but if you don’t let me go now, you’ll really get it.” With no response from Sigidi, Ijapa landed another mighty kick. “Gbi!”. Now he was completely stuck and no matter how hard he pulled, he could not get free. So he begged the statue. “I’m sorry I was so rude my friend. Please let me go and I promise to share half of the food with you.”

Ijapa Faces the King

Jayesimi, who had been watching everything from afar, climbed down quickly and tied Ijapa’s hands and feet, and carried him to the palace to face the King. At the palace, Jayesimi told the king everything that had happened. He explained how Ijapa had enchanted the palm tree in order to scare the people and steal their food.

The King was furious. “So while other people worked hard in the sun to earn their food, you chose to scare them and steal from them because you were too lazy to work?”

Ijapa lowered his head in shame.

“Very well,” said the King. “Now that you’ve had your fun causing chaos, it is now your job to restore order. From today on, you will tidy the marketplace before and after every Market Day as payment for the goods you stole.” And so, every Market Day, Ijapa was made to clean the market on his own. The work was hard and tiring and it reminded Ijapa of why he didn’t want to work. But now he knew the cost of being lazy and stealing. And for the first time in his life, Ijapa earned his meals honestly.

The End.