By Nahum Sule (Taraba State Correspondent, in Jalingo)
In the ancient history of the Jukun, a popular tribe in both Taraba and Benue States, North-East and North-Central Nigeria, there is a tradition among the Jukun people called 'Pankya'.
It is a historic event for the transition of the Jukun King known as the 'Aku Uka', once he joins his ancestors. The 'Pankya' event only takes place when the king dies. The occasion draws together all the descendants of the old Kwararafa kingdom to pay their last respect to their demised traditional supreme leader.
The Jukun people are majorly found in present day Taraba and Benue states. Jukun-speaking people trace their ancestry to the rulers of the kingdom of Kwararafa, a state which existed in Western Africa from the 14th through to the 18th Centuries. According to history, they were said to have disintegrated during the invasion of Uthman Danfodio's expansionist expedition.
For over 50 years ago, the 'Pankya' event was witnessed again on February 14, 2021, in Wukari, the headquarters of the Jukun Kingdom, where Late Dr Shekarau Angyu Masa-Ibi Kuvyon II CON, the supreme leader of the Jukun was 'escorted' to join his ancestors.
The life of a Jukun king from the period he ascends the throne and to his passage to the spiritual realm, is usually shrouded in mystery. This is because he is not just the traditional head of Jukuns but also the spiritual and religious leader. To the Jukun, death is not the end for their King, it is only a stepping point to the next life of immortality.
In accordance with this beliefs, a King does not die in Jukun land, instead, he is transposed to the spiritual realm while the new king is put through a rite that makes him a continuation of the dead king.
In the Jukun tradition, the death of the king must be followed by the ritual suicide of the king's horseman as well as the king's wears, because the horseman's spirit is essential to helping the King's spirit ascend to the afterlife. A specific family in the Jukun land has been tasked with the duty of the horseman to the king. Members of such family are trained from childhood to perform such duty relentlessly. But this arrangement is already suffering hitches in modern time as most Jukuns believe it is barbaric and archaic to be continued with.
The death of a king remain unannounced, until certain traditional rites are completed. The 'Abun Wa Cio' (King Maker) will communicate the news of the King's passage to the traditional council for official announcement to the Jukun community and for the preparation of the 'Pankya', a post-royal transition rites.
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The 'Pankya' is usually kicked-off by a group of young Jukun men called the 'Akye'. They often holds sticks, drag it on the ground and hit it all round, proclaiming to themselves "this is my ancestors land, and I will ride on it with pride". This procession is seen only during such event, as all the willing young men and women of the Jukun Kingdom will appear in the traditional Jukun attires, walk in the middle of a tarred road with pride to escort their late king to the other side of life.
Many people have wondered why there has never been a grave for any previous Jukun King. The answer is that the Jukuns never buried their King. Dating back to history, there's a thick forest where one big hut was built for any of the wives of the King who is in her menstrual period. It is a taboo for a Jukun king to stay in the same roof with a woman who is in her monthly period. Such woman is sent to the deep 'Puje' forest to dwell there until the end of her menstruation cycle.
This practice was later abolished, but that hut inside the Puje forest still remains. It is the final destination for every late Jukun King.
The hut is now called "Nando", (a place where kings rest). Just as we witnessed on Friday (January 14, 2022 during the funeral of the late Aku Uka), people who wish to see the transition, gathered at a designated place close to the Puje forest, a temporary blockage from the audience using a thatch fence, and the king and the Horseman rode out heroically. The women indulges in shout out songs, praising the legendary act of the horseman as rode deep atop the horse.
Only capable men of courage go further with them. The strongest spiritual men among them go further with the Horseman, but deep in, it is only the Horseman and the late King ride alone into the thatch hut in the heart of the forest. This will be the last time you will see the Horseman.
The 'Pankya' ceremony often attract traditional rulers from across the nation, royal fathers like the Gara of Donga, Longomai of Shandam, Attah Igala, Ochi Idoma, Fagachin Keffi, Chief Mark Elayo Tutaki of Kiana among others. Tourists, citizens and residents of Taraba and a mixture of persons fŕom diverse walks of life are allowed to attend the "Pankya".
Responding to Pankya event however, a prominent son of the Jukun, Bala Bako Sungbadu, Chairman of Ibi local government area, shed more light about the event which he said he's witnessing for the second time in his life. "This is my second time of witnessing the 'Pankya' occasion, the last one took place in 1972, so the generation behind us are in high spirit to see for themselves and to be part of this event. If there is no event, there won't be history, so this event has equally added colour to our rich Jukun culture because our culture is unique in the whole of this country. I believe that God after creating Adam and Eve, created the next set of people which he called the "Apajukun" and all Kwararafa descendants. So we are here to pay our last respect to our Supreme Leader who served us for 45 years. I said He served us because he has brought peace and development to us as a people. Our late king was a leader with exceptional virtue that can't be described in a sentence or word", he said.
However, at the Pankya event in Wukari, a prominent son of the Jukun Kingdom, Dankaro Solomon, was asked by NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent the significance of what actually took place, he asserts that "For an outsider, even some insiders, there are questions to be answered. Firstly, 'Pankya' is the Jukun transition ceremony for the Aku Uka (King of Jukuns) to the great beyond. The Aku does not die. He is a 'son' of the gods, the guardian and protector of his people. His place is between the mortal and the immortal. The Aku is not venerated or honored. No, he is worshipped by his subjects.
"He is a priest-king to whom libation is offered every morning. He is not associated with the affairs of mortals like funerals and weddings. He is beyond emotions and weaknesses. Thus, he DOES NOT DIE. There is no 'funeral rites' for him but the of journeying to 'NANDO' and finally 'KINDO'. The 'Pankya' is a mystery, a mystery because it is not what can be understood using the strength of human logic. Only those initiated into its traditional cult and are 'educated' in its practice, can make sense of it", he said.
It is however interesting to recall here when the late Aku Uka was crowned king of the Jukuns during the dry hot season in 1976, heavy rains descended in the nearby Jukun town of Kente. Again, as the king was transiting at the weekend, heavy rain, thunder and lightning enveloped the ancient Kente town, signifying that the heavens indeed have taken back the King into glory and majesty, Emmanuel Jolly Masaibi, a renowned traditional stakeholder in Wukari confirmed this to this Correspondent. NNL.
