Bloodline & Corals
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
2025, Junior, Creative Writing
“Chebe ihe nketa anyị, Chebe ụlọ anyị.” Her voice wobbly yet audible, with gracious tears trickling down her dim almond eyes that told ancient stories. Her frail hands grasped mine, and I bit my lower lip in pain, knowing today was the last day I would ever see her. It was time to let go. “Nakira, daughter of water and Corals, the one who will bring justice, I trust you.” She pushed a rare blue coral into my hand and then drifted to an unknown and vast sleep, leaving me in a world full of crazy history.
Entrusted with a royal heirloom and a title with a mission to protect the seven rivers of our land and of our ancestors, my grandmother had told me that they’re more than just rivers; to us, they’re a testament of hope, resilience, and fate. Colonization had erased our roots, our stories, and our reverence for our oceans that once brought us good fortunes, healed our people. Right now, I could only stare at the majestic scenery hidden in the unknown, far from human science, truly embedded with love, beauty, and a symphony of grace. Gently, I placed my hands in the sparkling water. They say my ancestors would perform a sacred ritual to communicate with the rivers and ask what it needed.
Sitting by the river bank, I placed my tender feet into the water and hummed sweet tidal songs of the coral tribe with my eyes closed, forcing the tears inside, I remembered my grandmother, whom lay lifeless in the coffin; her words echoed within me as I hummed “Chebe ihe nketa anyị, Chebe ụlọ anyị.”Taking a deep breath, I let the rivers’ gentle melody wash over me, accompanied by the heavy wind and swishing trees. I thought about the countless times I spent by the seven rivers of our bloodline, listening to my grandmother’s traditional tales, as I watched the fish and little periwinkles swim, and the stars of our ancestors glitter, watching over us. The river, it seemed, was more than just a body of water – it was a part of me, a part of my story. I was curious; for over a hundred years, how did this retain its beauty? Why was it still our tribe’s bloodline? I knew I couldn’t answer these questions myself.I stood up, running through the stony fields, with hands clutched and a spirit filled with awe and fascination. I approached my father, who was the chief of the coral tribe. “Mama told you everything?” As if he knew why I was here and led me to a wall engraved with drawings of our people back then.
“There was once a time when our rivers had lost their color and were as dark as ever, as foreigners from the neighboring villages had discovered oil. We also began draining, especially close to our river banks, which was so unhygienic. Throughout the coral tribe, they had suffered from great sicknesses due to drinking dirty water, and it affected our business as the majestic coral reefs began to die. A wise priest had performed a ritual with the water, asking what was needed, according to history, and the water asked for life, indicating we were killing its vitality, and in turn, it affected us. This was why we considered the seven rivers as our bloodline.” He paused and went to the other side of the paintings.
“Your great-great-grandfather called all the wisest councilors for a meeting to discuss this matter and ways to overcome it. They first stopped all activities, deciding to think of ways to revitalize the rivers. One of these ways was through habitat restoration and education; they focused on cleaning the surface of the water, more coral nurseries, shoreline protection with the mangroves, and creative approaches. Ever since then, we value the rivers because that incident proved that all of us in nature are interconnected.” He stopped and looked at me with proud eyes. “We’ve passed down guardians, but after some time, the priest didn’t receive a call from our ancestors; therefore, the rivers had not been open but hidden, and the coral tribe has developed with science and other ways. But a day before yesterday, the priest was summoned, and the ancestral spirits said that after many years, a guardian and true princess has been entrusted with this mission. We plan to showcase and celebrate the rivers while protecting the life below. “This is your duty Nakira.
Reflection
Bloodline and Corals is a piece that I hold dearly in my heart, as it's a piece that symbolizes great cultural heritage and the beauty of the natural world. Inspired by the beautiful coral beads adorned by the people of the great Benin Kingdom, Delta State specifically Urhobo and Itsekiri, and other parts of southern Nigeria, it's also inspired by the majestic water bodies in the Niger Delta and the coastal regions of Rivers State. Bringing these two themes together symbolizes how great and important these water bodies are (bloodline) and the great beauty accompanied with it, which is celebrated and popularly used in our culture, represented using the corals gotten from majestic coral reefs. This piece was birthed from the theme Connections to Nature, and I understood that the rivers were something treasured by the indigenous people. I wanted to show how valued it was, not forgetting to add a tinge of our culture to showcase the indigenous people's lifestyle. My message to viewers is: "As the name Nakira implies, the one who will bring justice, I hope this piece inspires you to be guardians of where you call home, protecting no matter how little the area you stay, because small impacts are capable of creating a rippled effect."