The people of Elark Market Squares tell very beautiful and mystical stories about the lake.
Three popular stories I heard in the market squares are:
The Man and the Egg that Turned into Lake Oku
Once upon a time, a young man visited the Fon of Oku. He was from a village very far far away. The Fon of Oku gave him a gift of an egg. Later that evening the Fon delegated two servants to see the young man off. When they reached the top of the Kilum Mountain Forest the young man greeted the Fon’s servants and continued on his journey alone. The servants hid themselves to see where the young man would go. However, they waited until midnight. When the young man was sure that no one was watching, he stood there playing with the egg in his hands. He did not know the servants were watching, but the servants were watching him from behind a tree.
The servants were so scared, they ran back home and agreed not to tell anyone of what they had seen. They feared no one would belief.
All of a sudden, the young man shot the egg unto a stone and he disappeared into thin air. Very early the next morning a hunter who was used to setting his traps at the top of the Kilum Mountain Forest of Oku, was on his way to supervise his traps. He was surprised by by how much fog had covered the top of the Kilum Mountain Forest. As he climbed to the top of the mountain, the fog was condensing into water very fast. The hunter was amazed at what he saw and he ran back to the village to explain all what he saw to the Fon.
The Fon commissioned a team of 3 elders and 5 warriors to go and verify the story of the hunter. The hunter led the way to the Kilum Mountain Forest. While in the village, news was spreading around of the happenings on the mountain.
The three servants heard of the gossips of the women and they now had courage to share their stories. The women listened to them with awe and wonder as they explained how the young man broke the egg and disappeared.
By the time the elders, the warriors and the hunter reached the top of Kilum Mountain Forest, the fog had totally transformed into water and had created a lake. The elders sent two warriors to inform the Fon that he would have to see this himself. The Fon went to the top of the mountain with all the men, women and children to see the new lake at the top of the mountain.
At dusk, the fun took the villagers back to the village. He could notice the feeling of despair on the faces of the villagers. So he called the Chief Priests and the elders of the village. They planned and organized a big feast that night and the Chief Priest assured the people that the gods had visited them and the lake is a gift of the gods to the people Oku Village.
2. You will want to know about the relationship between the Fon of Oku and the Lake and how many times in a year he makes his “sacrifice and pour libations” and for what reason he does that.
3. You may also get to know how the Fon of Oku and another neighboring Fon went inside the Lake and of a sudden blood floated on the waters and the Fon of Oku came out alive and declared the lake as a property of Oku.
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