MBEKWU----- MBE---- AND HIS CUNNING WAYS

To be continued------Mbekwu or Mbe (Tortoise) is the animal featured in most Igbo fable and folklore. Mbe, always portrayed as very wise and cunning, always tricking other animals and even humans must have earned that reputation because of the way he protects himself from danger and dangerous situations. The tortoise is always very careful and when approached suddenly or surprised quickly withdraws into his hard shell and plays dead until the coast is clear.

Here in Florida, there is a species of tortoise called Gopher Turtles and they are protected by the law. They live in underground dens which they sometimes share with other animals especially during the short cold spells of the winter. Gopher turtle dens can hold bunnies, snakes, even stray dogs. Once I had animal control officers remove a stray dog and her puppies from my property, it took them several hours of digging to get to the puppies. The tunnel meandered left and right with resting chambers. It reminded me of Alice of " Alice in Wonderland" and it was amazing that those puppies could get air for survival that deep in the burrow. They stayed near the entrance and hurried back when anything approached. They were whisked away to the dog catchers joint for fear they may habour rabies.

Gopher turtles are all over central Florida and they are bad news to a property owner because they have more rights than the property owner. They cannot be disturbed, removed or killed, no matter what. If they must be moved, the State will be called in to do it after collecting a handsome sum of money for the relocation. That means that a person with Gopher landlords must share the space with the landlords. The gopher turtle burrows his den where he chooses to. If it is noticed and covered up quickly, he goes back and digs it again with an attitude as if to let it be known that he did not like that joke at all.
Currently with about seven established gopher dens on my five acres, I occasionally come across the big landlords taking leisurely strolls across the yard or the driveway. They would stop, if grazing and casually size up the person or car before deciding what to do, lazily chewing on the wild flowers they love to munch on. They may withdraw their heads into their shells and just sit there, , or just keep on eating occasionally glancing in your direction. These gophers vary in size, from quarter sized newly hatched turtles which the hawks swoop down to pick up, to huge old timers, the size of a medium sized ikwe (motar).
Sometimes the gopher turtle would not withdraw his head into the shell when confronted , but would actually fight and defend himself and are therefore also called snapping turtles.

Occasionally, these creatures would become roadkill when hit while crossing a deserted country highway by a speeding driver who suddenly comes upon them. Many a driver have wrecked a car while trying to avoid or stop for some of these creatures. Stories have it that some country restaurants deep in the back roads actually serve gopher, rabbit, and opossum stew from roadkill in addition to deer and alligator dishes. The alligator and deer are taken during the short hunting season by State licensed hunters. I have not visited any of these restaurants but I hear that gopher stew is really yummy. Years ago my youngest son and his playmates / classmates came upon his friend's father cleaning turtle meat which he claimed was roadkill. An offer of the turtle stew when it was ready was declined. I would taste it if given the opportunity, just out of curiosity. I was once tricked into tasting Octopus. It tasted really good but I wanted to throw up when I found out what I had eaten.

Going back to the tortoise story, I have observed first hand why I think Ndi Igbo chose mbekwu (mbe) for their fables and folk stories.

To be continued.