Obassi Osaw
Obassi Osaw provided man with everything except fire. The men sent a young boy to the god to ask for the gift of fire but the god sent him away empty handed.
The chief of the men then tried and was also sent away with nothing. The young boy scoffed at the chief and said that he was going to steal the fire.
The boy made himself useful in the house of the god and, soon Obassi Osaw became used to having him around. He often sent the boy to the house of his wives to fetch lamps.
One day whilst collecting a lamp, one of the wives asked the boy to light a lamp for her. The boy lit the lamp from the fire and also took an ember, wrapped it in leaves and hid it about his person.
Later the boy made an excuse to go out and used the ember to light a fire in the forest. He took the ember back to the house and replaced it. That night he crept out and took the fire to earth.
When Obassi Osaw noticed the smoke coming from the earth he sent his son to investigate. The boy was caught and the god made him lame as a punishment, but mankind now had the secret of fire and he could do nothing more about it.
Adapted from 'A guide to the Gods' by Richard Carlyon
