By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
Tenka And His Magic Drum – A Story Adapted From Yoruba Folklore; By Temi Halim; Illustration By Judith Bicking; Hardcover; Ananse Ltd, Ibadan
Nothing can be more magical than a well-told story. In a sense, the story tends to completely overwhelm one. African folklore is replete with such magical stories that need to be conveyed to the modern age. It is saddening, however, as Nigerian children are left to make do with European children’s books such as Cinderella, Pinocchio, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, etc.
It is, therefore, a matter of profound joy for me beholding the book, Tenka and His Magic Drum, a story adapted from Yoruba folklore by Temi Halim and sumptuously illustrated by Judith Bicking. The self-effacing author Temi Halim deserves praise for blazing a trail of situating the story as our guide into the future.
Tenka and His Magic Drum tells the enthralling tale of Prince Royal Adenrele Ajaka, the precocious son of Great King Jagunmolu Oluyosade III and his beloved Queen Asabe. The young prince has a best friend in Didi, the daughter of Aare Ona Kakanfo Gbija, the generalissimo of the empire. Born on the same day but two years apart, both made a seal of friendship when he was six and she was four by “exchanging friendship bands of silk, which they had made out of their mother’s alaris.”
Queen Asabe, very fond of telling the prince of his proud lineage and great ancestors, narrates the legend of his son’s celebrated namesake and ancestor, Ajaka the Conqueror King, who in his time travelled to the fabulously wealthy city of Djenne-Jenno in search of treasure. Ajaka of the legend is attacked by a fiery tribe of warriors such that he appeals to his ancestors “who then transported him home on a golden stool and buried the treasure high, high on the Chappal Waddi, under the guard of the ancient spirit of the mountain.”
The magic of the story fires up the imagination of young Prince Ajaka and he makes up his mind to go bring home the treasure buried on the Chappal Waddi, otherwise known as “the Mountain of Death”! The prince, an only son of his parents, is so unrelenting in his determination to make the deadly journey that his father and mother could not but give him their blessings.
Prince Ajaka set out with 40 young warriors known as “The Invincibles,” unbeknownst to him that the rival Royal Princess Adaeze had paid one of the warriors to eliminate the young prince. Travelling for many months, Ajaka and his warriors are assailed by thunderstorm in the course of which the bribed warrior pushes Ajaka and his horse into a gully. The horse drowns but Ajaka somewhat survives, left to the mercy of the crafty Tenka the Tortoise.
Temi Halim somehow expands a story that would have been restricted to the Yoruba mindscape to cover the entire African landscape and beyond. The book is beautifully packaged in hardback and has clear, attractive type. Tenka and His Magic Drum is a delightful read that I recommend to all libraries. We need to be telling our own stories so that our children should stop having seasons like “summer” as their reference points.
Tenka beats on his magical drum, which swallows up his captive, Prince Ajaka. Desperate to be rescued, Ajaka keeps singing inside the drum until Didi his lover hears the familiar voice in the drum and leads the charge for his rescue. In the end, Ajaka and Didi “were married on the day after the celebration of the New Yam and they lived happily and lovingly ever after” while the greedy and lazy Tenka the Tortoise “was sent to the Royal Cocoa plantation for a full year of good honest work”.
Like all good children’s stories, Tenka and His Magic Drum is richly didactic. The lessons to be learnt are self-evidently portrayed, notably courage, obedience and love, among others. Even as the book is written for children aged four to eight years, it has rich veins of meaning for even teenagers. Temi Halim does not fall into the trap of some writers of children’s stories who limit the vocabulary in a manner that does not help the minds of the kids to wander farther afield. There is a concise glossary of the difficult words and the menu. There are also succinct explanations of historical features such as Chappal Waddi, The Sungbo/Eredo Ditch and Djenne-Jeno.
Temi Halim somehow expands a story that would have been restricted to the Yoruba mindscape to cover the entire African landscape and beyond. The book is beautifully packaged in hardback and has clear, attractive type. Tenka and His Magic Drum is a delightful read that I recommend to all libraries. We need to be telling our own stories so that our children should stop having seasons like “summer” as their reference points.
Temi Halim points the correct way to follow in telling the African story.
Uzor Maxim Uzoatu is a renowned poet, journalist and author.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
