Heroic Poetry
Traditional Tiv Poetry · 1982
TIV
OOO Agebage vaa kar
Onov mba Tsegba ande due sha tembe
Aakpya hembe ayem
Begha ande sha hyande ve
Inyaregh ki bov ki kum er ka wula yo
Aa a a a
On begha ande nyor nomsu or
due sha tembe
aa kpya hembe ayem
ENGLISH
OOO a cry has sounded
Sons of Tsegba have come on to the open
Akpya has vanished.
Lion has raced on to the grass
bad money rumbles like rain
ah
Lion men have come, real men have come
to the open
Akpya has bolted away.
EDITOR’S NOTE
First published in Nigeria Magazine, Friday, January 1, 1982.
Source: Archiving.