STORY MY MOTHER TOLD ME BY NOEL OGADIMMA ONYEULO

STORY MY MOTHER TOLD ME

BY

NOEL OGADIMMA ONYEULO

This is a story from a time when the gods walked on earth and looked as human as you and I. They meet with people in their language and time and sometimes award reward or punishment to them. 

Once upon a time in Greece there was a certain city whose king was Midas. Incidentally the King Midas who appears in this story is the same Midas who had the touch - he could turn everything to gold.  But actually it ended badly for him because all he touches turn Gold including his food and daughter. That however is another story. This one is called “King Midas has ass’s ears”.  I learnt it at the toutledge of my mother Sabina when I was about 9.

In those days: Pan, the god of shepherds, challenged Apollo, the god of music to a musical contest. Pan insisted his flute of reeds could produce a more beautiful melody than Apollo's silly harp. The two agreed on a contest with judges. One of the judges was King Midas, a mortal chosen by Pan.

After hearing the two melodies, all except one of the judges chose Apollo as the winner. But the one judge who preferred Pan was King Midas because Pan is his friend.

Furious that anyone could prefer a reedy pipe to his musical lyre, Apollo disputed angrily, "I see the problem. It's your ears. They are too small to hear properly. Let me fix that for you."

King Midas felt his ears vibrating and behold his ears sprang out, and out, and turned into the large furry ears of an ass (donkey). King Midas was horrified. He grabbed his ears. "Pan, help me!" he cried. But Pan, with a quick nervous glance at Apollo, turned his back leaving King Midas. You can imagine a King with ears like that of a donkey! How will he feel before his subjects and fellow Kings. What a tragedy! One of the most revered and influential king in the Greek Polis with ears like that of a donkey.

King Midas tried to hide his ears from his subjects by wearing a variety of huge hats, heavy helmets, and bulky scarves. The only person who knew about the ass's ears was the Royal Barber who came every week to trim the King’s hair and keep it neat. King Midas made his barber promise he would never tell a soul.

His barber kept his word. But keeping such a huge secret to himself was driving him crazy. On the third occasion that he cut the King’s hair, there could be no doubt he could not bear the mental truant.  He said to himself: “MIDAS THE KING HAS ASS’S EARS”. Walking home afterwards he was in confusion.  I am the only person who knows the King’s secret he said to himself.  How can I carry this burden?  I must find someone to share it.  But who?  I know so few people; and no-one well enough to tell this dreadful thing. Finally, the barber went up a mountain and almost to the edge of a cliff. He dug a hole in the midst of some reeds. He looked about, to make sure no one was near. Then, he whispered into the hole severally, "King Midas has the ears of an ass. King's aaaass ears! King's aaaass ears!" Having gotten his secret off his chest, he felt much better and relieved like a penitent after a penitential service. He returned home, sure that he had kept his word.

Unfortunately for King Midas, the barber had dug right into a “piece of Echo”. You've heard of Echo, right? Pieces of Echo were scattered all over the mountainous kingdom. In fact, pieces of Echo were scattered all over the world which reverberates.

Although I suppose some people might think it was only the sound of the wind in the reeds, it was really a piece of Echo, whispering over and over, "King's aaaass ears, king's aaaass ears".

Sound travels well in the mountains, even whispers. It was not long before the entire kingdom knew the king's secret. What a world hidden under the sun! And so I asked “What sort of secret could be hidden under the Sun?”   

FATHERHOOD AND ACHEBE’S RESPONSE BY NOEL ONYEULO OGADIMMA

FATHERHOOD AND ACHEBE’S RESPONSE 
By: Noel Onyeulo Ogadimma

The killing of Ikemefuna remains the most scandalous and agonizing episode in Chinua Achebe’s classic- ‘Things Fall Apart’. It is an event too pitiful and outrageous to endure at least by all who value sound conscience and prudent judgment. If not for anything, the circumstances surrounding the event make it even more heinous and invite our moral evaluation more intensely on the concept of fatherhood.

We recall in Chapter 2 of that memorable novel “Things Fall Apart”, how Achebe told us that when the wife of Ogbuefi Udo has been killed in a war between Umuofia and Mbaino, the people of Mbaino offered a fifteen years old lad and young virgin as compensation to Umuofia people. They were brought to Umofia by Okonkwo whom Achebe described as “the proud and imperial emissary of war”. The virgin was the replacement of the dead wife of Ogbuefi Udo and the young lad was the sacrifice for the murder. Okonkwo was given the responsibility to look after the young lad named Ikemefuna. He took care of him just like his own son. Until the killing, Ikemefuna believed Okonkwo as his biological father and calls him- Father.

Achebe plotted the story in tragedy when he began by telling us in chapter 7 of the novel, that “For three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo’s household and the elders of Umofia seemed to have forgotten about him”. By this, he situated a kind of paternal affinity rearing almost perfectly between Okonkwo and Ikemuefuna. In this same chapter, Achebe also narrated the intimacy between Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye and Ikemuefuna saying “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna”. But Okonkwo knew Ikemefuna was a sacrifice because the tradition of the society was blood for blood oriented and everybody knows that. So, when Ogbuefi Ezudu an elder of moral repute in Umuofia who understands its values and traditions and the habits of the gods came with the news of the sacrifice of Ikemefuna he warns Okonkwo twice saying: "That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death." Achebe stated that “Okonkwo was surprised, and was about to say some things when the old man continued: "Yes, Umuofia has decided to kill him. The Oracle of the Hills and Caves has pronounced it. They will take him there. But I want [you] to have nothing to do with it. He calls you father". Tragically, Okonkwo did not give it a second thought. He accompanied Ikemefuna till the killing took place. At the scene of the killing, Achebe presented that “as the man who has cleared his throat drew up and raised his matchet, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cried ‘My father they have killed me!’ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his matchet and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak”. However, the deed has been done! Okonkwo has participated in the ceremony for sacrificing Ikemefuna after being strongly warned by the gods. He delivered the death blow that surrendered Ikemefuna into the cold hands of death because he is "afraid of being thought weak”. At a deep emotional level, Okonkwo killed a boy who "could hardly imagine that Okonkwo was not his real father". Okonkwo has not only outwardly ignored his people and their traditions, but he has also disregarded his inner feelings of love and protectiveness over a boy he reared as his own son. The murder scene marks the beginning of Okonkwo’s decline and a turning point in the novel because Okonkwo, the Hero has offended the gods of the land. He is now moving from Hero to Zero. No wonder some scholars represent Okonkwo as “The tragic Hero”.

The effects and nuances surrounding the murder of Ikemefuna could easily be examined over a careful insight into the novel. However, one can also observe Achebe’s feeling when he commented in Chapter 2, that the fate of Ikemefuna is a "sad story" that is "still told in Umuofia unto this day." This observation suggests that the decision to kill Ikemefuna was not a customary one but a decision too exceptional to be justified. However, the murder scene develops a compassion for that young boy because even before dying, Ikemefuna thinks of Okonkwo as his "real father" and of what he wants to tell his mother, especially about Okonkwo. At the murder scene also, Achebe told us that, when one of the elders gave Ikemefuna a matchet blow, he quickly ran to Okonkwo shouting “My father, they have killed me”, yet that did not spurned Okonkwo into remembering neither the warning from the gods nor the fact that a voice intimate and familial to him is dying in pains, yet he Okonkwo out of pride and “afraid of being thought weak” gave the last blow that killed Ikemefuna. A question arose here: Why is Okonkwo afraid of being thought weak? The answer not being far-fetched is given by Achebe in Chapter 2 of that Novel when he describes Okonkwo as “the proud and imperial emissary of war”. By this, he points out the place of pride in Okonkwo’s personality. Hence, Okonkwo harbors a vice that could make him kill in other to protect his ego. Succinctly, that vice is pride! We can see from his actions that pride made him daft even when Ikemefuna ran to him for protection.

Most importantly, the story of Ikemefuna and Okonkwo is plotted to instruct us that the concept of fatherhood rests upon all who have responsibility of care over others. For Ikemefuna rests under Okonkwo’s custody and calls him father, suggests that Achebe wants to underscore the providence behind the responsibility of care over others. For Ikemefuna rests under Okonkwo's custody and calls him father suggests that Achebe wants to underscore the providence behind the responsibility of care over others as that which has less to do with biological affinity. Following Achebe, we can infer that the responsibility of care over others has as its most dangerous threats; pride and the fear of not being thought weak: for these ruined Okonkwo’s inner feeling of love and protectiveness. Thus, with the absence of that inner feeling of love and protectiveness, impunity takes over. Put it this way, Okonkwo’s majesty ended in a tragedy due to pride and fear of not being thought weak. Finally, Achebe chooses to warn the human family of these threats because they remain the most dangerous threats capable of blocking the sense organs and shattering the might of princes just as in Okonkwo's case. Thus, with the presence of these two threats Okonkwo remains a tragic hero.

TOWARDS PRESERVING THE MUSICAL TRADITION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH By: Noel Ogadimma Onyeulo

TOWARDS PRESERVING THE MUSICAL TRADITION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

By: Noel Ogadimma Onyeulo

 

The Constitution of the Second Vatican Council on Sacred Liturgy states that “The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 112). The Church has encouraged singing at liturgical celebrations throughout her history, providing wonderful examples of melodic comment to the sacred texts in accordance with the creativity of every culture, (each according to its own rites of both West and East) as a continuation of the ancient biblical tradition to which the Lord himself and the Apostles abided (cf. Mt 26: 30; Eph 5: 19; Col 3: 16). Music is a treasure that enlivens the body and edifies the soul. It is an expression of joy.  In Music we express the inexpressible; that which we cannot express merely by speaking, we express it in songs. In Music, it is the soul speaking. Little wonder why the Novelist Williams Shakespeare calls music “the food of the soul”. Explaining this fact, St. Pope John Paul II maintained that as a treasure of inestimable value, Sacred Music consolidates its role both as a means of lifting up the spirit to God and as a precious aid for the faithful in their "active participation in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Church (St. Pope John Paul II, The Fitting Role of Sacred Music in the Holy Liturgy, Homily at St Peter's on 22 November, the Memorial of St Cecilia, in the year 2003). Like St. Augustine the Pontiff, John Paul II continued that “he who sings well prays twice”. He observed that Sacred Music constitutes the prayer life of the Church and should be cherished and preserved as such.

Liturgical services are not private functions, but are celebrations of the Church, which is the "sacrament of unity," namely, the holy people united and ordered under their priests and bishops. Thus, Sacred Music does not dominate, it serves. Servers, lectors, commentators, and members of the choir also exercise a genuine liturgical function. They ought, therefore, to discharge their offices with the sincere piety and decorum demanded by so exalted a ministry and rightly expected of them by God's people. In Colossians 3:16, St. Paul exhorts the faithful assembled in expectation of their Lord's return to sing together.  He says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.., singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

At this juncture, for the sake of clarity, we will be pleased to introduce the question to which this paper is trying to address and that is: Whose duty is it to preserve the musical tradition of the Church? The Second Vatican Council Constitution on Sacred Liturgy answers by saying that it is a collaborative effort of both the Clergy and Laity to preserve the musical tradition of the Church. Hence the Council states: “The treasure of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care. Choirs must be diligently promoted, especially in cathedral churches; but bishops and other pastors of souls must be at pains to ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightly theirs”. In this way, we can say that the task of preserving musical tradition in the Church can be achieved through the unanimous agreement of pastors of souls, musicians and faithful. When the Liturgical Musicians work together with their Pastor of Souls and their Pastor of Souls gives them the utmost attention needed it will be possible to achieve what the Constitution on Sacred Music describes as the true "purpose of sacred music", that is, "the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful" (Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 120). In summary, we are trying to say that the task of preserving musical tradition has a lot to do with the worshiping community comprising of the priest and all the Faithful. Hence, they must be deeply imbued with the spirit of the liturgy, each in his own measure, and they must perform their functions in a correct and orderly manner. The faithful must know that bad music distracts the serenity of liturgical worship and this must concern the priest who is the leader of the praying community. Most importantly, priests should be interested in Sacred Music because the nature of the Music sung during a liturgical celebration arouses a kind of feeling that makes him (the Priest) communicates most effectively with the divine. Thus, when the priest communicates most effectively with the Divine, we can be proud to say that "We have a Worthy celebration".