The Ride from Kingston to Montego Bay

By Deborah Mboya

There is an African proverb that goes, There is a king in every man. The Ride From Kingston To Montego Bay is about a young man named Aghagbolu who is the great-great-great-grandson of Obi Okonya I, the first king of the village of Mbubu. He was an African prince when he lived in Iboland, the land of the living, a society that is filled with the magic of ancestral spirits, ceremonies, chiefs, clansmen, compounds, earth gods and goddesses, families, farming, feasts, festivals, kings, kinship, marketplaces, oral traditions, priests, priestesses, queens, towns, tribes, and villages. As the son of a king, growing up in a Royal Palace was a time when rumors of war with surrounding villages was a way of life. His father, Obi Mberekpe, inherited the African Company and a debt that was never paid to the Royal Jamaican Company when his father, Obi Ezeukwu, was the king of the village of Mbubu. To setttle the debt, the Royal Jamaican Company fought with the African Company in Iboland. Aghagbolu has lived in Jamaica ever since trade ships left the village of Mbubu with him on board at the end of the war. Today, he is a chaffeur in Jamaica and well-known throughout the Carribean for the oral tradition of his African village, telling folktales. Aghagbolu and his passenger, Lyndon Johnson, a very wealthy realtor, create an unforgettable friendship together on their way to the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort in Montego Bay from the airport in Kingston.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781477280072

Deborah Mboya

I knew I wanted to be a freelance writer ever since I was in the twelfth grade in high school because I fell in love with writing when I wrote my first short story in the fifth grade. What I didn’t know was how I was going to, when I was going to, and what I wanted to write about. Special thanks to AuthorHouse for being a part of one of the most fascinating experiences and opportunities of my life.

Book preview

© 2013 Deborah Mboya. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 1/21/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4772-8007-2 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-8008-9 (sc)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

Special thanks to the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont for awarding me the writers residence and fellowship in October 2009 to study for the completion of this book.

CHAPTER 1

Call me Aghagbolu, out of war peace comes. I am the great-great-great grandson of Obi Okonya I, an African king who was crowned by Obis who had the collective right to choose the next candidate to become a king before presenting him to the village of Mbubu in Iboland. The village was ruled by over eighteen Obis who lived along the banks of the Niger River more than 150 years ago. It was powerful in war and in magic, and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. Obi Okonya I was a war-like man who was well-known throughout his village for going to battle against neighboring people and one of the most fearless warriors of his time. Obi Okonya II was crowned the king when he captured a leopard. Obi Okonya III was crowned the king when he proved that he was skillful at answering questions about the customs and traditions of kingship. My grandfather, Obi Ezeukwu, was crowned the king when he proved that he was skillful at answering questions about kingship. My father, Obi Mberekpe, inherited the throne because of the achievements of his ancestors. The first European traders who reached the village of Mbubu discovered African trading vessels from the African coast conducting business with Obi Okonya I for negro slaves. From that day forward, trade companies and merchants would gather together and talk for long periods of time about building and operating factories and huts that could be changed into forts – buildings to be used as a means for trade activities. Obi Okonya II organized the African Company to sell hundreds of his negro slaves to different countries all over the world. Trade companies from all over the world reached the Niger River on vessels with contracts for Obi Okonya III to sign for the sale of negro slaves to work on the Carribean sugar plantations. Obi Ezeukwu ordered his negro slaves to build him factories and forts. Obi Mberekpe ordered his negro slaves to build him a castle.

Men who wanted to become members of the upper-class, rich politicians, earned the highest title, a king. A king opened up each day in the village like an usher in a church. He decided on the number of days in a week, the number of weeks in a month, and the number of months in a calendar year. He participated in all ceremonies and festivals throughout the year, and his presence at those gatherings determined the seasons of the year. He was the ruler of a royal house that was rich enough to collect wealth, people, and power throughout the community and trading companies from other nations, but there were conflicts, different ideas, between kings and kings, kings and chiefs, and royalty and the community. In order to prevent rebellions and wars, there was always an ingathering of the government and the people to give them an opportunity to express their opinions about the Obi.

Who has the right to choose a king?

There is no definite rule for choosing the next Obi.

One king always follows after another king.

The simple man of yesterday can become a king today.

He must also possess the mystical power of kingship.

The choosing of one king after another king should be done by contests.

A contest will give a king an opportunity to compete with a candidate for the throne.

More than one king from one royal house gives them an advantage over other kings.

The making of a king is a national concern.

There can be as many as three or more candidates, people who want to be a member of an office, for an Obi.

There can be as many as three or more candidates who can be chosen to become the next Obi.

Each royal dynasty should supply a candidate for an Obi.

The candidate for a king must pay back any money he has borrowed.

The candidate for a king should be wealthy.

The candidate for a king should prove that he can earn a title as a member of one of the title societies.

The village of Mbubu is not even big enough to consider having more than one king.

It is customary to have more than one king.

There should be a number of qualified candidates to choose from.

The missionaries are against too many kings.

That is because they want a king who is a follower of the missionaries.

The missionaries, traders, merchants, and churchmen argue that it is impossible to serve many masters.

We should not have to meet with missionaries to discuss the kingship of our own village.

Meetings with these people to discuss the Obi are ignored by townspeople.

The people should have an opportunity to consider the best person before putting them up for selection.

The Obi is supposed to select his son to continue the program of kingship.

The Obi is free to will his throne to any of his sons by pronouncing it so.

A male relative should take charge of the affairs of the palace and hold the throne.

It would make the king look more powerful to appoint powerful people to the throne.

One candidate should be selected from one of the three royal houses in the community.

The throne can never be left vacant.

There should be no elections.

The rulers do not become kings in the same way.

The successful candidate to be crowned the next Obi is the one that wins the support of the majority of the people.

People want to use force as a way to settle conflicts.

To take measures into your own hands is not the answer to choosing the next king.

We must be careful how we choose between candidates for the title of king to avoid a war.

There are very powerful war chiefs who are willing to rush into a war if their candidate is not chosen.

A man who is rich enough can buy a title and slaves to build up an army.

A man’s army has to be strong and powerful enough to do what he wants to do in the state and outside of it.

There are four states on the east of the Niger River that govern the choice of a candidate the same way.

A candidate for Obi must be able to identify the generations of his family.

A candidate for Obi has to be able to answer questions about the customs and traditions of kingship.

A candidate for Obi has to be able to answer questions about kingship.

The Obi’s council would sit as frequently as four to seven days of every week at a cabinet meeting and discuss their customs, traditions, and kingship in the spirit of healthy competition. Each dynastic group tried to outdo the other group in good government, healthy administration, and popular policies. All of the rulers spoke very confidently at the Obi council meeting during the discussion about how they felt towards one another.

Meetings are being rescheduled at will to suit the arrangements of the Obi without asking other Obis.

The Obis are calling on us when they desire to have a meeting.

They do what they like to do in all matters.

Some of the Obis move around against our customs.

There are people in the community who represent the Obis better than others.

We have Obis in this meeting who are here because they feel attached to the Obi who has brought them here.

Some of us are respected by the community for our education.

"Other Obis are not as