Long ago, Efriam Duke, the king of Calabar, a port city in southern Nigeria, owned a magical drum. Whenever he beat it, a feast of delicious food and drink appeared. If another kingdom threatened to attack, the king invited his enemies to a banquet. Well-fed and happy, they forgot all about fighting. So Calabar remained peaceful.
The drum came with one important rule. If its owner ever stepped on a stick or a fallen tree, the magic would be broken. Instead of food, 300 fierce Igbo warriors carrying sticks and whips would appear and beat everyone present.
One day, the king’s wife took her little daughter to bathe in the river. Nearby, a tortoise was high on a palm tree gathering nuts for his family. One ripe nut fell to the ground. Thinking it had dropped from the tree, the queen picked it up and gave it to her daughter, who ate it.
Complaint
The angry tortoise climbed down. “That nut belonged to me,” he complained. “Now my family has lost its food.”
The queen apologised and took him to the king. “I must make this right,” said King Efriam. “Choose any reward you wish.”
“I want your magic drum,” replied the tortoise without hesitation.
The king agreed but said nothing about the drum’s secret.
The tortoise and his family soon stopped working. Every day they beat the drum and enjoyed endless feasts. Then, one evening, while walking home tired and sleepy, the tortoise stepped on a dry stick. Snap! went the stick … and the magic.
The next morning, he struck the drum, expecting another feast. Instead, 300 Igbo warriors burst into his home and gave the whole family a terrible beating. Bruised and embarrassed, the tortoise returned the drum to the king.
Another gift
The king felt sorry for him and gave him another magical gift: a foo-foo tree that produced food for the family each day.
“Remember,” warned the king, “take only what you need for one day. Never return for more.”
The tortoise obeyed. Once again, his family lived happily. But his son was greedy. Curious to discover the secret, he followed his father to the tree. After the tortoise left, the son returned and gathered extra food for himself.
The next day, when the tortoise went to the foo-foo tree, he found it had vanished. Thick, thorny tie-tie palms had grown in its place.
Sadly, the tortoise told his family, “Because we broke the rule, we have lost our gift. From now on, we must live beneath the prickly tie-tie palms and search for our food.”
That, the people of Calabar say, is why tortoises still make their homes beneath the thorny tie-tie palms to this very day.
Folktales are an oral tradition with stories being handed across generations. The stories are not necessarily true.
Published - August 21, 2026 08:30 am IST