Untold story of Enugu’s Aku mysterious cave where “disobedient” hunters never come back alive

Hunters in Aku mysterious cave drop some of their games after hunting inside the cave

Those who flout this rule die mysteriously after hunting

The mysterious served as a refugee camp during some communal wars in the community

For the people of Nkalagu Obukpa, Igbo-Eze south local government area of Enugu state, Aku cave is not just an ordinary cave. Rather, it is more of gateway to the world beyond.

Shrouded in seemingly deep mystery, the cave is said to be rich heritage bequeathed to the community by their ancestors.

Nkalagu-Obukpa is located in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State. It is in Nkalagu-Obukpa that Ugwu-Aku (Aku Hill) is located.

It is within this Ugwu Aku that the cave is located harbouring springs of water fall and deep mysteries yet to be unravelled

When WITHIN NIGERIA visited the cave, tucked away about twenty kilometers from the local government headquarters in Ibagwa-Aka, some people on local tourism were seen hovering around the cave, but afraid to go inside the hole for fear of unknown.

Mysteries surrounding the cave

However, aside  the mysterious waterfall which originates from the top of the cave and gushes out, there is an opening that stretches forth as a tunnel, albeit, a horizontal tunnel.

According to our findings, it was gathered that the opening surrounded by rocks under the cave opens and closes on its own accord at any given time.

A chat with one of the elders of the community Mr. Boniface Ugwunweze showed that in the olden days Aku cave was a hunting ground for some strong hunters in the community.

According to the custom of the land, the hunters of the village hunt for Aku deity under the cave once in every two years. It was a carnival of some sort which attracted so many community dwellers. It should be noted that Aku is worshiped as a deity.”

Narrating further, Mr. Ugwunweze explained that “majority of Obukpa people are sort of pantheists. They believe that spirits inhabit some natural phenomena such as hill, trees, rivers etc.

“These supernatural forces are regarded as the essence of the beingness of those natural phenomena” he said.

Explaining further, Ugwunweze  told WITHIN NIGERIA that “the Aku cave is regarded as being controlled by Aku, the supernatural force that governs the place. Therefore, Aku has his rules.

“That particular tunnel under the cave leads to another world where a different type of humans with different tongues or languages are found.

“The hunters who undertake such task of hunting for Aku would crawl through the tunnel for days. They eventually return back with many hunts. Each, as a matter of rule, must leave two of the game behind for Aku deity.”

On why they must drop two game, Ugwunweze told our reporter that “it is the rule of the game from time immemorial. If you fail to do it, that will be suicidal.  Any disobedient hunter who flouts this rule dies hours and even minutes later. You will die few days later, if you are lucky. Otherwise, you will die few hours later”

However,  further checks revealed that in war times, the cave protected the Obukpa people. In other words, it served as a refugee camp or military barracks