The Myth of Lur Chu: The Stone that used to Talk

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Luh, a village in Donga Mantung Division, is a place with two incredible stone stories you would probably want to hear. There is the stone with the footprint (Ku Lunga) and there is the talking stone. Our interest today is in the talking stone. For a stone to talk, it needs a mouth and this stone definitely has one. Or should I say it had one? Let me tell you the story of Lur Chu for you to decide on whether to say ‘have’ or ‘had’.


A very long time ago, there was a popular and an unpopular whistleblower who reported the mischief of young boys and girls, acts of adultery, thefts; pretty much all the transgressions. The reports always bore the names of the transgressors. This whistleblower was the talking stone. It was loved by the law-abiding and exemplary villagers and despised by thugs, criminals, dishonest people and most especially, by witches and wizards.

On market days, the stone gave a rundown of all that had transpired within the week, exposing all guilty persons in the process. It repeated its accounts to all people who passed by on their way to/from the market. The information quickly spread because on market days, villagers came from far and near and even from neighbouring villages. The news was passed from mouth to mouth extremely fast and it reached the whole village before sunset.

It is believed that witches and wizards got tired of the stone. They could not bear their secrets,
identities and activities being exposed. They came together and used their powers to destroy the mouth of the talking stone. It's mouth was damaged and it couldn't talk anymore. Today, it is remembered as the stone that used to talk. I am still undecided about what to call it. I can't decide between “the stone that used to talk” and “the talking stone”. Which do you prefer?


L. Norwan

Comments

  1. Anonymous12 May 2020 at 00:32

    If it was destroyed such that it couldn't talk anymore then it's wise enough to say the stone that used to talk rather than terming it the talking stone bc it entails the present condition whereas it's not talking anymore unless it devised another means to talk which I can say not everybody will be able to hear unless the wise ones in the village.
    Apparently every tribe in the grassfield used to have such creatures who detects those evils people in the society but with an increase in the evil doings in our societies those in question had to derive a way to deal away with everything that could do away with their evil malpractices. Nevertheless can I discredit such olden days creatures bc they defined our real African culture.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12 May 2020 at 05:34

    We need another talking stone to save us from this Carnage.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous13 May 2020 at 06:52

    If only this stone could talk today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11 December 2020 at 01:49

    I hope when I'm ready to visit this stone, The Griot will be my guide.

    ReplyDelete

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