BY THE RIVER

BY THE RIVER

Chinedu crouched quietly in the clearing in the bush by the banks of the Mmiriani River, a place that usually served as a washing spot for the villagers of Mgbeochie. There were two logs of wood used as a platform, both for beating the clothes while washing and sometimes for drying them; the logs lay to the right side of the clearing and some rocks that served for stools were scattered about. He heard footsteps coming down the path leading to the river. It was probably someone coming to take a bath. He had not counted on having company this evening. Twilight had come early and he welcomed the darkness which would help shroud his visibility. He remained in his crouched position, trying not to make a sound so as not to give himself away. The path that led to the clearing from the main road was tortuous; and this meant that anyone in the clearing would be hidden from people walking along the main foot path. He hoped the intruder would be quick and leave. He was in the section of the river where the men of the village came to have their bath; the women had another area further downstream.

But as he settled to wait for the intruder to leave, he heard another set of footsteps coming down the path. He groaned inwardly, cursing his luck.

Soon he began hearing voices from the river. The two intruders were engaged in a conversation. He quietly tiptoed to the end of the clearing closest to the river and strained to make out their voices. One of the voices was deep and familiar while the other was not quite so. They were faint at first, but soon the changing direction of the wind carried the voices in his direction and he could not only hear what was being said but also knew the people talking. This knowledge caused a wave of excitement to wash over him because he liked the two people. At this moment, he no longer minded so much their intrusion on the private time he wanted for himself that had made him come to the clearing at that time of the night.

It was a full moon that day, and as was the custom, the villagers had trooped to the square for fun and games. The little children chased each other about and played games, some of which involved songs with chorus and answers. The singing was however interspersed with squeals of laughter and excitement, and as usually happened with children’s activities, there were protests and cries with the attendant tears. There were the young boys gathered together, telling their stories and playing at wrestling and games that showed their strength. Chinedu considered these games foolish and always found himself on the fringes, because they never interested him. He was not one for brutish demonstrations of ability. Besides he did not want to get hurt and have a body full of scars like some of the other boys his age.

The unmarried ladies had staged a dance that evening under the moonlight, and like moths to a flame, the young men had flocked to watch, teasing each other and laughing at crude jokes. Some from his age grade had started developing interest in the young girls of the village, and when they had tired of their games, had gone to join in watching the dance. He looked at their faces as they watched the young girls whose hips were gyrating rapidly to the beat of the drums. He observed something he couldn’t explain. There was awe and longing on their faces, eyes open wide, and he noticed some mouths slowly falling open as his mates focused all their attention on the females. He imagined that he could flog any of them with a cane like the masquerades did during the masquerade festival, and none of them would feel it. He couldn’t understand it.

In his bewilderment, he turned his attention to the young girls and watched them dance, hoping to see what had taken hold of the senses of his mates. But whatever it was appeared to elude him. He just couldn’t get it. He wondered if he had ever felt that way, and then realised after a short while that he had. It had been during the wrestling matches, when he watched the muscled men of the village, clad as they were only in loin clothes, locked in combative embraces and falling on each other during the throws. He had imagined things then, and had been so lost that his close friend, Anene, had to hit him on the head to rouse him from his preoccupation.

It was this recollection that stirred something in him, causing him to steal away to the river to relieve the burgeoning urge in his loins, only to get interrupted before he could get started.

The first intruder Chinedu knew to be Ugonna; although the villagers teasingly called him Ugomma. Ugonna did not seem to mind this. Everyone in the village agreed that he should have been born a girl. He was the only son of his parents, who had five daughters before him. The chief priest had said that he had already been formed as a girl in his mother’s womb, but because of the sacrifice his parents made, he was turned into a boy and that was why he was so good-looking and had retained the mannerisms of a female. His parents were so happy that he was a boy that they didn’t mind his behaviour. The only thing that mattered was that he had a stick and stones between his legs and when the time came, he would marry and have children to perpetuate their lineage.

Ugonna was a lively fellow and always left everyone he met feeling pleased. The young men in his age grade had initially not included him in their activities. This changed however when, on one occasion, they’d needed someone for the Adamma Masquerade, for a competition with Ndiagbatobi Village. Ugonna had volunteered and had performed so well, mesmerizing the crowd with his dance moves and winning the competition for Mgbeochie. And overnight, he’d become a village celebrity and an integral part of his age grade. The other men further discovered he was a useful ally in their dalliances with the young girls because he could talk to the women about anything. In fact, he only had to threaten any young man who displeased him that he was going to tell the lady he has his eye on that his penis was too small, for the man to fall on his knees and plead for mercy.

The other intruder was someone Chinedu had gotten involved with in a lot of his dreams both at night and in the day. His name was Dike, and he had a kind face, a burly build, and was always level headed. There was always something about him that seemed to draw Chinedu’s attention. Since he encountered Dike, he’d began thinking about him a lot in the mornings, in the waking hours when his penis would be hard. It had been a wonder to him the first time it happened. He was lying in his own hut, where he’d been moved to by his father after his rite of passage into manhood. He had rubbed the engorged penis and it felt good. He did it again, and again, and then again. With each rub, the feeling of pleasure got stronger, and so he continued till all of a sudden, he felt an intense sensation build from his groin to the tip of his penis, and moments later, something erupted from his penis and splattered over his hand and his wrapper. And at the same time, the sensation rocked his body like he had seen happen to Okechukwu, the village imbecile. He examined the erupted liquid and noted that it was like pap but sticky. He had never seen anything like it before, never experienced anything like what led to its eruption before, but he knew he was going to do it again. He did, in fact, invent new methods of doing it, sometimes lying face down and rubbing his penis with his thigh till the explosion happened.

And some of these times, he imagined it was Dike that was making him reach that climax. He already knew, from his interactions with his mates, how to lie with a woman. He knew women had a hole inside where he could put his member, but in his imaginations, he could not fathom how to lie with a fellow man. It was confusing to him.

So as he stood there in the bush, having been interrupted from rubbing himself like he’d wanted to, he wondered what these two men were talking about.

He heard Ugonna’s voice say, probably in response to a question from Dike, “Yes I was sweating a lot. So I decided to have a bath to cool off. I got so hot from all that dancing.”

“You danced very well,” Dike’s voice rumbled.

“How would you know?” Ugonna rejoined with some apparent petulance. “All of you were watching the girls like your lives depended on it.”

“I was watching you,” Dike said. “In fact, I was watching only you.”He said the last word with some emphasis, his voice almost becoming as quiet as a whisper. “The way your hips moved, it does something to me.”

There was silence. Feeling a heightened sense of unexplained anticipation, Chinedu crept into the bushes, not minding the itching caused by the grass as they rubbed against his skin. His interest had been piqued and he wanted to see what was going on and hear them better.

Dike continued, “You know everything about you pleases me, Ugo. I think about you all the time. Anytime you are near or I hear your voice, I can’t concentrate on whatever it is I am doing.”

There was silence again.

“I want to be your friend, your special friend.”

By this time, Chinedu had crawled close enough to the river that he could part the grass and make out the silhouette of the two men.

Ugonna was standing in the river, facing the clearing where Chinedu was. The water came up to his mid-thigh and he was naked. He had dropped his wrapper on the river bank. Dike was standing in the river a distance from Ugonna, but as he spoke, he moved closer till he was standing by Ugonna’s side.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” he said.

Chinedu saw Ugonna drop his head, but he also thought he caught the hint of a smile on the man’s face. He watched as Dike raised his hand and placed it tentatively on Ugonna’s shoulder. Ugonna did not stir. Dike let his hand drop and rest on Ugonna’s buttocks.

At this point, Ugonna raised his head and Chinedu noticed his penis was erect. Dike saw it too, because he reached forward and grasped it in his hand. Then Ugonna turned to face Dike and locked him in an embrace.

What followed next seemed like a blur to Chinedu. As he watched, the arms of the lovers flew about, their bodies twisting into each other. Dike moved his lips from Ugonna’s mouth and went down to suck his nipples. In response, Ugonna threw his head back with an expression on his face of such glorious rapture that caused the rise of a sharp yearning inside Chinedu.

“Choi!” Ugonna suddenly exclaimed. “Your penis is too big. I hope it can enter.”

“Enter where?” Dike asked, echoing the question on Chinedu’s mind. “Do you also have a hole like a woman?”

“Mine is at the back,” Ugonna replied.

“But can it enter?” Dike asked once again, the tone of his voice mirroring Chinedu’s incredulity.

“Yes, your penis is big,” Ugonna said, “but it is only slightly bigger than the fingers I usually put there myself.”

Upon saying this, Ugonna took Dike’s hand and led him to the further bank of the river. Chinedu could barely make out their forms and he didn’t want to give himself away. So he crept quietly through the grass encircling the enclosure till he was almost on the river bank and strained his eyes to see as much as he could. He could make out the two bodies, one was leaning against a tree at the bank of the river away from him, with his buttocks pushed back towards the other, who was standing behind, presenting his front to his companion’s back and his hip to his derriere. They seemed to be still for a while, and then Chinedu heard someone say, “It is in.”

And then, the one behind, who he assumed to be Dike because of the muscular form, started moving rhythmically front and back, bumping himself against his lover with each forward motion. The moans from both men kept getting louder till Dike let out a harsh groan and became still.

“Leave it in,” Ugonna husked as he began stroking himself furiously.

So he also does that, Chinedu thought as he watched the activity.

“You are even sweeter than a woman,” he heard Dike say.

“Of course,” Ugonna quipped in a playful tone.

Both of them chuckled.

After a while, they straightened, but Dike could not find his wrapper. Chinedu had seen it drop in the river, which had carried it away. After searching for a while, Ugonna offered to get another from the village while Dike waited by the stream.

Chinedu couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He was amazed at how a man could be with another man. He had imagined it but never got as fathoming how it would work in reality. Having seen this, his mind started considering other possibilities, and an idea came to him. He also had an incredible longing to be held by a strong muscular man like he imagined one would do to a woman. Now he knew just the man to do it.

He decided to leave and forgo pleasuring himself that night. What he had witnessed was more than enough satisfaction. He left the clearing quietly and then broke into a run when he felt Dike would not be able to hear him. He also did not want to meet Ugonna on his way back, especially now that he was already plotting how to get Dike to do to him what he had just done to Ugonna.

Written by Dimkpa

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  1. KryxxX
    May 13, 07:50 Reply

    A very crazy and stupid fantasy of mine in fiction……watching two guys get at it without them knowing. That rush! That adrenaline! Ay Dios Mio! ? ? ? ?. I am a mess.

    Nice write Dimkpa m!

  2. Johnny
    May 13, 08:16 Reply

    All this Igbo boys ehn… How possible? No lube and it entered, that boy has been using his mother’s pestle to do something.

    • Francis
      May 13, 09:14 Reply

      ?????

      Nice piece dimkpa. Brings back memories of looking through keyholes to watch my cousin wanking. Na so I learn masturbation

      • KryxxX
        May 13, 11:15 Reply

        Perv!!!!! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!! ?????

        • Francis
          May 13, 11:20 Reply

          Dahling a boy was super curious…….and horny ??????????

  3. lonz
    May 13, 08:23 Reply

    and the audience screams. Where is Part 2.

  4. Delle
    May 13, 08:26 Reply

    Yes Lawd!!!! Wanking material.

    And what i loved most about this was the Ugonna’s character. It’s about time effeminate men get some recognition *broad smile*

    Enchanting piece, Dimkpa.

  5. Khaleesi
    May 13, 10:02 Reply

    A lovely piece of rustic, rural romance! Great piece!! But did homosexuality​ exist in ancient igbo villages? How did they hook up/meet up? Sorry if the question sounds dumb ….

    • ambivalentone
      May 13, 12:09 Reply

      Because of the fertilizer of badoo, 2go and manjam, u can’t remember hook-ups thrived organically??? I dread that day when internet fails o

    • Bryce
      May 13, 15:44 Reply

      Homosexuality existed then and was acknowledged as a facet of life,but it wasn’t actively encouraged.
      Even now,they talk about who’s gay in hush tones and innuendoes, then shrugs.
      No homophobia of the sort seen in urban areas,bar some fanatics

  6. Adichie
    May 13, 14:36 Reply

    so apparently I was captivated by the names of the villages. Mgbeochie – old times/olden days, Ndiagbatobi – Neighbouring people. Nice one Dimkpa. I must read part 2 as a personal message sent to me only before others. Have you heard?

  7. Z
    May 13, 18:42 Reply

    Finally some decent fiction here
    … I also wonder how same sex thrived in the old times too. You never get to hear stories or rumors of such from the ancient past in Africa . That’s why many people think it was imported by the Europeans

    • Gad
      May 13, 18:58 Reply

      Your not hearing much about same sex relationships in Ancient Africa was largely due to the fact that in those good old days, men don’t kiss and tell. Many secrets followed corpses to the grave. Talking about who one slept with as is it happens these days used to be the exclusive reserve of classless women. Even when men accidentally stumble on men having sex with each other, they kept it with them or at worst amongst other men. Vengeful outing of each other was non existent and inconceivable unlike what obtains today. Gays and bisexuals watched each others back then.

      • Francis
        May 13, 19:08 Reply

        Which history book is this one quoting now? Abi do we have a vampire amongst us? ???

        • Bryce
          May 13, 20:37 Reply

          Actually,he’s 100% right Francis.

          You need to get off that ‘sky is falling’ narrative particular to modern,urban settings.
          Homophobia,as we know it,did not exist then.
          Even now self.

          • Gad
            May 13, 21:11 Reply

            My brother please you don’t have to blame him. He was born and bred in the “city”. He has never visited his village nor told about it lest his “civilization” be polluted. The few unfortunate times his village name was mentioned to his ears was when he was feeling SSCE registration forms and he had to call his parents on phone to ask for the name of his village and L. G. A. They even spelt it for him so it’s understandable for village tales like this to sound weird in his urban ears

        • Gad
          May 13, 20:54 Reply

          Hmm. This unrelenting creature!!!. Now that I have noticed you, I hope you will have sweet dreams tonight and other nights.

      • Pink Panther
        May 13, 21:04 Reply

        Um, so going by what you’re saying, Gad, the reason there’s visibility for gay people in modern Africa is because gay people have started talking about who they are sleeping with and outing themselves and not keeping their mouths shut?

        • Bryce
          May 13, 21:14 Reply

          Partly.

          But mostly because colonialism brought along homophobia as part of the Victorian legacy bequeathed us.

          • ambivalentone
            May 13, 21:26 Reply

            Wait, along with other things that Europeans brought, we were quick to also cast our ‘brotherhood’ and ‘secret keeping to the grave’ for imported homophobia but not polygamy, child marriage etc?? Interesting.

            • Bryce
              May 13, 21:33 Reply

              We cast away a lot,not just our brotherhood.
              ‘He put a knife to the things that held us together,and we have fallen apart’.
              That quote from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart captures it all,quite succinctly.

            • Gad
              May 13, 22:35 Reply

              Our cherished brotherhood

        • Bryce
          May 13, 21:16 Reply

          What happened to my comments elaborating on my point to Francis?.
          They all just disappeared,two of them,posted twice each time

          • Pink Panther
            May 13, 21:17 Reply

            I did not see any comments pending approval. Perhaps your network is the problem.

        • Gad
          May 13, 21:26 Reply

          What I said was different from what you are alluding to. You are bringing in an entirely different level of discourse. Visibility for the gay man in modern Africa is quite different from acceptance/tolerance of same sex friendships in ancient African societies.

  8. Bryce
    May 13, 20:57 Reply

    Hian.

    All further comments from the last one to Francis keep disappearing,even after I’d sent them like two times.
    What’s happening

  9. Francis
    May 13, 21:59 Reply

    @Bryce Homophobia never existed but somehow sha managed to enter to the Bible.

    Funny how you people are taking homophobia away from your precious Bible and dumping it on the bloody homos who can’t keep their mouth shut.

    Talking about who one slept with as is it happens these days used to be the exclusive reserve of classless women.

    I repeat where did you and Gad get this info from. I want to read biko.

    Be careful what you’re aligning yourself with unless you’re also of the opinion that gay visibility and living in one’s truth is a non-issue asin every man suppose dey man him closet properly.

    • Bryce
      May 13, 22:10 Reply

      No one mentioned the Bible here.
      We’re talking traditional Igbo society precolonialism.

      Sure you’ve had that beauty sleep yet?

      • Francis
        May 13, 22:15 Reply

        Ain’t nothing like beauty sleep during this hot/dry season.

        No one mentioned the Bible but it’s the reason why acceptance/tolerance died with the coming of the colonial masters…. not because some gays decided to go to war against their sistahs.

        • Bryce
          May 13, 22:22 Reply

          A convenient excuse,based on unfounded assumption.

          I’m an historian,what do you know of Victorian society?

          • Francis
            May 13, 22:27 Reply

            Well look at that. Awesome. I’d be happy to read whatever you have to show that kissing and telling is the genesis of our wahala in Africa

            • Francis
              May 13, 22:30 Reply

              Oh, i know nothing of the Victorian society. How e take enter this matter?

              • Bryce
                May 13, 23:10 Reply

                The Victorian era reacted quite extremely to the libertine ways of the preceding Georgian era.
                Things romantic and/or sexual,especially public displays,were deemed derelict and to be actively,forcefully discouraged.
                That was the same period colonialism was foisted upon us,with its attendant laws and attitudes.
                That was when all the intolerance began.
                Of course,they found crutches in some passages of Holy Writ,but then,man has always twisted scripture to suit his desires from time immemorial, regardless of if that’s what the writ actually says

                • Pink Panther
                  May 13, 23:18 Reply

                  This bit about the Victorian era, I understand. What I don’t get is how this explains the absurdity that its gay men turning on gay men that gave the gay community the visibility it didn’t have in ancient Africa.

                  • Bryce
                    May 13, 23:22 Reply

                    You are nitpicking.

                    Read his whole comment,and in context.
                    I got what he was saying,I wonder why you don’t.

                    u

                    • Bryce
                      May 13, 23:24

                      ‘Vengeful outing of each other was non existent and inconceivable unlike what obtains today. Gays and bisexuals watched each others back then.’

                    • Pink Panther
                      May 13, 23:31

                      African gays and bisexuals watched each other’s backs then, huh? How do you — or he — know this for a fact? I don’t get it. How do you know there were no vengeful gay men back in the day? What texts exist today that documented this community spirit of the ancient African gay community, which apparently doesn’t exist anymore in today’s community?
                      You can’t simply pull ‘facts’ from thin air to support your claims and admonish us for our skepticism.

                      I don’t mean to sound derisive here. I genuinely want to understand this, and to know why the onus of visibility fell on the bad habits of gay men of nowadays.

                    • Francis
                      May 13, 23:33

                      I don dey tire to dey shout show me the links

                    • Pink Panther
                      May 13, 23:35

                      Bryce is sounding like we aren’t even asking because we genuinely want to learn. Instead he’s making it seem like we are being petty for asking for the sources of their claims.
                      Odiegwu o.

                    • Francis
                      May 13, 23:45

                      Yes na. As our pettiness enters overdrive in all matters Gad related. ??

                    • Bryce
                      May 13, 23:52

                      Actually,you are being petty.

                      And you’re piling it on my head cos I supported Gad’s assertion traditional Igbo society was more tolerant than we have now.

                      I don’t even know the guy,but he is right.Whatever else you two have with him,you go settle amongst yourselves.

                      @Francis,I’ve pointed you in the ways to go,given you enough clue.
                      If you do your own research in your spare time and find anything I’ve said here false,do well to share it with the blog at large.

                      Again,the topic I thought we were discussing and for which I dwelt on is homosexuality and tolerance in traditional African/Igbo setting.
                      Bringing in visibility in modern times and hammering on it I see as deliberately muddying the waters,to peck a fight or whatever.
                      Take that up with Gad on another thread,and do quote him fully and in context.

                    • Francis
                      May 14, 00:07

                      Forgive us for dumping Gad matter on your head. I felt as you were supporting him, you’d be able to answer questions that ought to be directed at him.

                      You ought to have been specific about which part of his yarns you were supporting. You said Actually,he’s 100% right Francis. which made me believe that you supported every single word of his thus the reason why I said
                      Be careful what you’re aligning yourself with

                      With regards to the Victorian matter, my Google search is yet to land on anything that explicitly states the source of their moral codes

                    • Bryce
                      May 14, 00:21

                      He brought up the Bible ish or you did,Francis?.
                      And what exactly was it he said,in response to Z’s question,that he got wrong?.Kindly point it out

                    • Francis
                      May 14, 00:38

                      That entire response to Z was what he got wrong IMO and he failed to prove them.

                      In reference to this your comment cos I supported Gad’s assertion traditional Igbo society was more tolerant than we have now please where in that response to Z did he assert that? Cause all i saw there was him bashing gays that run their mouth and women folk.

                    • Pink Panther
                      May 14, 00:18

                      Dude, whatever ‘pettiness’ you perceived about me against Gad is all in your head. Please do not use a distortion of my queries to cover up for your inadequacy.

                    • Bryce
                      May 14, 00:32

                      Inadequacy, really?.
                      Guy,you just defined petty.
                      Keep going

                    • Pink Panther
                      May 14, 00:33

                      Look in the mirror. You’ve been exuding it yourself.

                    • ambivalentone
                      May 14, 07:33

                      I need clarity because EVERY DARNED Nigeria’s woes is blamed on her colonial masters. Was Victoria even the queen when Livingstone ‘discovered’ the Niger?. Isn’t it the Igbos that claim links to Jews and Judaism??? And u pointed out that Igbos av never been homophobic??? When Jews av just as much held on to the Sodom and Gomorrah story with all their heart and mind and soul? Issokay.
                      I am also interested in this ‘homophobia is the snitch gay ma’s fault’ article as well o.

                    • Bryce
                      May 14, 11:46

                      Nigeria’s woes are largely blamed on the colonial masters cos Nigeria is a creation of the colonial masters.

                      Igbos and Judaism?.
                      Whatever gave you that impression?.
                      Igbos have never claimed to be Jews. Some do point at similarities between Igbo practices and that of the Jews,like male circumcision on the eight day,belief in on mighty and supreme God (tho Igbo has lots of lesser gods who help suplicate to him).Aside these,no Igbo tribe has ever seriously claimed Jewishness/Judaism.

                      BTW,that Sodom and Gomorrah story had little to nothing to do with homosexuality. Not even the Jews believe that.Gays live an open and fulfilling lives in Israel today,no discrimination.

                    • Vhar.
                      May 13, 23:55

                      This might help:

                      From the 16th century onwards, homosexuality has been recorded in Africa by European missionaries, adventurers and officials who used it to reinforce ideas of African societies in need of Christian cleansing.

                      The Portuguese were among the first Europeans to explore the continent. They noted the range of gender relations in African societies and referred to the “unnatural damnation” of male-to-male sex in Congo. Andrew Battell, an English traveller in the 1590s, wrote this of the Imbangala of Angola: “They are beastly in their living, for they have men in women’s apparel, whom they keep among their wives.”

                      Transvestism occurred in many different places, including Madagascar and Ethiopia. Among the Pangwe people of present-day Cameroon and Gabon, homosexual intercourse was practised between males of all ages. It was believed to be a way to transmit wealth. The Nzima of Ghana had a tradition of adult men marrying each other, usually with an age difference of about 10 years. Similar to the pederasty of ancient Greece, Sudan’s Zande tribe had a tradition of warriors marrying boys and paying a bride price, as they would for girl brides, to their parents. When the boy grew up, he too became a warrior and took a boy to marry.

                      In this same tribe lesbianism was practised in polygamous households. In the 18th century the Khoikhoi of South Africa used the word koetsire to describe men considered sexually receptive to other men, and soregus was the word they used for a friendship which involved same-sex masturbation.

                      Homosexuality is also recorded among the Siwa of Egypt. It was considered a boy’s rite of passage in Benin, and woman-woman marriages involving a bride price existed in more than 30 African societies from Nigeria to Kenya to South Africa.

                      How far back can homosexuality be traced in Africa? You cannot argue with rock paintings. Thousands of years ago, the San people of Zimbabwe depicted anal sex between men. The truth is that, like everywhere else, African people have expressed a wide range of sexualities. Far from bringing homosexuality with them, Christian and Islamic forces fought to eradicate it. By challenging the continent’s indigenous social and religious systems, they helped demonise and persecute homosexuality in Africa, paving the way for the taboos that prevail today.

                    • Francis
                      May 14, 00:09

                      In summary they succeeded in suppressing it so much that it now sounded foreign to new generations

                    • Pink Panther
                      May 14, 00:23

                      Thank you, Vhar. But please, here’s my conundrum.

                      “Your not hearing much about same sex relationships in Ancient Africa was largely due to the fact that in those good old days, men don’t kiss and tell. Many secrets followed corpses to the grave. Talking about who one slept with as is it happens these days used to be the exclusive reserve of classless women. Even when men accidentally stumble on men having sex with each other, they kept it with them or at worst amongst other men. Vengeful outing of each other was non existent and inconceivable unlike what obtains today. Gays and bisexuals watched each others back then.”

                      This comment confuses me. I have made it clear how I understood it, and have been slammed for not understanding it correctly.

                      Seeing as the guy who supported the comment 100% has failed to enlighten me, preferring to muddle the issue by claiming I am being petty, could you perhaps tell me what I’m getting wrong from this?

                    • Bryce
                      May 14, 00:24

                      Thumbs up,Vhar.
                      Putting that up for others to learn.

                      The two I’d been engaging weren’t up to learning,but to score some needless point against the Gad guy.
                      I only got in their way

                    • Francis
                      May 14, 00:26

                      I have told you this isn’t some petty agenda against Gad but you still insist. It’s annoying as fuck!

                    • Bryce
                      May 14, 00:36

                      I have no intent to annoy,Francis but the evidence for pettiness is littered all over your leading comment and the subsequent responses

                    • Bryce
                      May 14, 00:39

                      Let’s back off a bit,let it rest.
                      Also,mind that……goading you on

                    • Pink Panther
                      May 14, 00:27

                      Yes, Bryce, from the comfort of your device, you can tell very accurately that we are just here to get Gad. Forgetting that you’ve been too busy sniping at our motives to impart any real understanding.

                      @Francis,leave am. When one can’t teach, drum up a vendetta.

                • Bryce
                  May 13, 23:18 Reply

                  Imagine daytime sex or having lights on during intercourse being seen as taboo.
                  Being totally naked with ur partner during sex an anathema.
                  Then there was the sodomy laws and others.
                  A man having anal sex with his wife commits a crime punishable by years of imprisonment, talk less of two men sodomizing each other

                • Francis
                  May 13, 23:20 Reply

                  Please do you have an actual link to this?

                  This Things romantic and/or sexual,especially public displays,were deemed derelict and to be actively,forcefully discouraged. Of course,they found crutches in some passages of Holy Writ
                  sounds like they were already intolerant and the Bible just came along to boost their morale.

                  I’m interested in the source of this their moral standards before they carried the Bible to cement it

                  • Bryce
                    May 13, 23:29 Reply

                    Let that be a subject for another day,so as not to derail this one.

                    To understand their rationale,you have to go back to the whole Georgian era.
                    George III,Regency/George IV and William IV,paying particular attention to the Regency/George IV

                    • Francis
                      May 13, 23:44

                      Eerm, What I’m asking is simple. If the Bible wasn’t the main source of their “war on immorality”, what was? I don’t need you to go into big details

            • Bryce
              May 13, 23:03 Reply

              You’re throwing up shiny objects,Francis.
              I’m way above that.
              First Bible, now kissing and telling.
              The subject here is homosexuality in ancient African settings,with particular reference to Igbo society.
              Focus.

              • Francis
                May 13, 23:13 Reply

                Also try and focus on Gad’s first comment and yours that followed it

          • Pink Panther
            May 13, 22:35 Reply

            Perhaps instead of condescending to him, you might want to point him in the direction of the education he has so frequently asked for?

            • Bryce
              May 13, 22:59 Reply

              Only if he’s genuinely interested.
              He’s not.
              He just wants to beef that other guy,Gad.
              They have a history,I suppose.Going by their sniping at each other

              • Francis
                May 13, 23:07 Reply

                Only if he’s genuinely interested. He’s not.

                Seriously?! You think this is me just me wanting to shit on Gad?! And I thought we were having a mature convo.

                I might as well jump to the conclusion that you’re just stanning for Gad.

                SMH.

                • Bryce
                  May 13, 23:13 Reply

                  Scroll up a bit,man.

                  That was just me replying pink panther.

                  How can I be stanning for someone I don’t know from Adam?.

                  Your blood dey hot tonight.

                  • Francis
                    May 13, 23:21 Reply

                    Beyhivers dey stan die for Beyonce and they don’t know her personally

        • Gad
          May 14, 10:53 Reply

          It will do you a lot of good when you start reading to understand rather than reading to comment. I now understand that apart from Gad another problem you have is the Bible but I’m sure an inquest into how long the Bible has been here in relation to when homophobic attacks, blackmails, etc started, help provide some cure to your sickness. I’m not unmindful of the fact, though, that, some sicknesses don’t get cured except the patient, accepts to be healed.

          • Francis
            May 14, 11:09 Reply

            Mscheeeeew! I don exhaust my energy on top this matter yesterday. When you’re ready to provide links to the source of that your ******** comment, we go talk.

  10. Vhar.
    May 13, 23:46 Reply

    I believe something else, other than homosexuality was brought to African soil by Christians and Muslims who had an axe to grind with Africans that were already engaging in homosexual intercourse: homophobia.

    I read somewhere, that throughout African history, people everywhere have explored and experimented with their sexuality. The desire to do so has never been confined to particular geographical locations. Its reach is universal. Yet today the myth of a pre-colonial sexual innocence, or more fittingly, ignorance, is used to endorse anti-gay laws and blah blah blah.

    And reading Bryce’s comments, I’d say that homosexuality had existed way before colonialism. Both in this country and other African countries.

    Well done, Dimpka. This made me ask a lot of questions and thankfully, I got answers too.

    • ambivalentone
      May 14, 07:47 Reply

      Of course, it had existed looooong before ppl started conquering other lands to earn trophies. BUT the assumption that homosexuality became a major taboo because gay guys started tattling and couldnt take secrets to the grave and that Igbos were less of homophobes than say, Yorubas is mind-boggling and as far as I can see, very reaching, especially after all your googled excerpts av shown clearly that it was a rite of passage in some cultures and outrightly acceptable in others where it was practised OPENLY

      • Pink Panther
        May 14, 07:54 Reply

        Thank you very much, Ambi! You have just helped illustrate the bewilderment I’ve been feeling since yesterday.

  11. Yazz Soltana
    May 14, 16:44 Reply

    ??tell me it wasn’t the river from which everyone drank from those two were banging each other in.. .

    This is one of the best stories have ever read. Thank God I wasn’t born in the olden days tho. .. I can’t just think any punishment to an effeminate man greater than that. ..

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