There was a story, told to me by our old grandmother. I'll shorten it:-
The girl was chased by the ogre and her chase was cut short when she reached a big river. The Ogre was approaching. She talked to her gods, then to the water,
"Oyasieen wee peechu sakonok sonoyat nelel ak netui..." ( Part yourselves, oooh water and I shall give you white and black beads..." She did that three times.
The water did part. And she went through. When she reached the other end, she uttered these words after giving the water the beads,
"Otuiyen wee peechu..." And the water did close and meet.
The ogre arrived, mad that he couldn't get hold of the girl. He looked at her, and wondered how she escaped his captivity and how she had managed to put on that last ng chase. He was cunning and so, he asked, "little girl, we should settle our issue once and for all, let's talk and you go your way, I go mine. So, how did you cross this big river? How did you make it?"
The girl looked at him. She wasn't that little gullible girl. She put on that innocent look and directed the gaze towards the Ogre. She three some beads and cowrie shells into the water. "Say this to the water..." She began, "opesien wee peechu nomi kwenet otuiye ole KING' ". The ogre said those words and the water did part. He began going through the trench but while he was in the middle of his course of crossing, the water met and he was carried away. The girl was safe. The Ogre had not decided the spells of his words. The water met as he had requested.
Could this story be related with the Moses and the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea? The giant being the pharaoh? I believe this story was stolen from us. Our version is the original.
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