AN INCREDIBLE CAVE IN NIGERIA

          The Ogbunike Cave

The Ogbunike Caves are in Ogbunike, Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. Located in a valley blanketed by tropical rain forest, the collection of caves has been in use over centuries by local people for whom it has particular spiritual significance. This spiritual significance is still apparent, as the “Ime Ogba” celebration is undertaken every year to commemorate the discovery of the caves.

   Descending into the valley where the caves are located is a lengthy walkway made up of about 317 steps said to have been constructed by the Anambra State Government in the mid 90s. Visitors must remove their shoes before entering the caves, as per tradition. And women who are having their monthly circle cannot go in.

                      

The main cave consists of a massive structure with a big open chamber of about 5m high, 10m wide and 30m long at the entrance. There are ten tunnels at the main chamber leading to different directions. Within the tunnels are big chambers and other tunnels of varying lengths, some of which are inter connected. The caves are occupied by a large colony of bats of various sizes.

   There are streams and body of water at various places. A stream flows out from one of the tunnels into a rapid flowing river (River Nkissa). At the meeting point of the river and the stream one can feel the warm water from the caves and the cold river water. Beside this portion of the river is a tableland of about 5 X 5 square meters used as a relaxation spot by visitors to the caves.

   The immediate environment of the caves up to about 200 meters radius is a thick tropical rainforest type of vegetation. The site has sufficient boundaries (20 hectares) to protect its values from direct effects of human encroachment.

It is a place where Africans hid from slave raiding parties during the slave trade. Sandstone caves are rare and small. This cave is big for this type of caves. It was formed by tectonic forces, which produced weak zones in the rock. Physiochemical and biological weathering and erosion formed the cave. The cave has a large bat colony.

According to Igbo oral tradition, there was a god called Ogba who lived inside the cavein the middle of a large rock. Despite the opaque nature of the rock, he was an all-seeing spirit who could detect crimes, especially, theft. When someone was accused of crime, he could prove his innocence by entering the cave. The guilty ones never returned alive. The town is Ogbunike and the cave is called Ogba, like the god. But the English name used by tourists is Ogbunike cave.

 A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the caves have retained the same biodiversity for hundreds of years, and are like a glimpse into another world. Climb over slippery rocks into the main chamber, where you see bats nest high above the cave floor. Test the water and feel the threshold between the warm water that runs from the caves and the cold temperature of the Nkisa River that flows into it.

Tags: Ogbunike

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