(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Night has fallen, and the moon is a glowing golden orb in the black sky. See how it shines on the dark back roads of America, and on one road in particular. Come with us, and we'll take a walk down the moonlit road, for the night is waiting. And the moon is full. On the coastal waters of Georgia, there's a place called Eboe Landing, near St. Simon Island. And no one will go there to hunt or to fish.
You see, they say that the place is haunted. Haunted by the spirits of the Eboe slaves. You see, many years ago, when slave trading was very popular, a group of slave traders went to the land of the Eboes. And there they found a group of people who had a very rich culture. They were artisans, and they were happy. And they had a chief named Oba, whom they adored. And they felt that they were protected there by the spirits of their dead who walked amongst them.
And by the spirits of their unborn children. Oba was well loved, and he had a beautiful wife and two little boys, and a child not yet born. One day he said to his villagers, come, let us go and find some fresh meat for the village. So Oba donned himself in his most wonderful ornaments and his garments. And he prepared to leave the village with some of the other tribe's people. When all of a sudden, the voice of his unborn child spoke to him. The waters, the waters will bring you back to us.
A shiver ran through Oba's body. What do you mean the waters will bring me back? What do you mean I'm not going near any rivers? I'm not going near any water? What do you mean? But the voice would not speak to Oba again. So Oba shook it up, and he told the tribe's people, come, let us go and find fresh meat. They had not gone very far from the village when suddenly they came upon a beautiful herd of antelopes. Antelopes were everywhere.
So Oba pulled his spear, and he was about to pounce upon one of the antelopes, when suddenly they disappeared. Where did they go? They disappeared. They stood there in amazement, wondering what had happened, when suddenly a warring tribe pounced upon them, hitting them, beating them, chaining them, throwing them into canoes, and they took them up the river, up the river, up the river, up the river, to a large boat, the biggest boat they had ever seen in their lives.
And there, these strange men, dressed in these strange clothes, took them and pushed them into the belly of this boat, and there they stayed, night after night, day after day, dying, hungry, bleeding, hurt, afraid, not knowing what was going to happen to them. Some of them were so afraid they would hold their breath and will themselves to die, and many of them did die. And they took their bodies and threw them into the waters, the waters infested with maggots.
You see, they really weren't maggots. They were really sharks, but they were so thick that they called them the maggots of the sea. And these sharks would take their bodies and crush the very bones of them, night after night, day after day, night after night, they stayed in the belly of this boat. And finally one night, the voice of Oba's unborn child spoke to him again. The waters, the waters will bring you back to us. Oba smiled. This gave him hope and the courage to hold on.
So month after month they sat in the belly of this big ship until finally they arrived off the coast of Georgia. They saw the seagulls, they saw the low -hanging sea marshes, and they thought they had returned home again. But suddenly these strange men dressed in these strange-looking clothes with this pale skin boarded the ship, and they started to pinch and poke and check them out, and they started to exchange money, wads and wads of money.
And it was then that Oba knew that their fate had been sealed. For you see, in Africa, many of the tribes also owned slaves. So Oba knew what was happening, so he called his people together and told them, quickly, quickly, join hands, join hands with each other, form a link of chains with your hands. Let the older ones go first, then the children, then the women, then the men.
And he looked at them and said, before we die as slaves in this strange land, we'll die and our spirits will go back to Igbo land and there we will dance. And he turned and they started to walk into the waters, chanting one by one, the waters brought us, the waters will take us away, the waters brought us, the waters will take us away. The waters brought us. When the slave traders saw what was happening, they tried to run after them. But their legs, their feet would not move.
So they tried to yell to them, stop. No sound would come from their lips. So they stood there in utter amazement, watching these people, one by one, walk into these deep, dark waters, chanting, the waters brought us, the waters will take us away, the waters brought us, the waters will take us away. Oba looked into the face of a little boy who looked up at him and smiled.
Just before he walked into the waters, chanting, the waters brought us, the waters will take us away, the waters brought us, the waters will take us away. So you see, if you are brave soul and you like to hunt or you like to fish, go to Igbo Landing near St. Simon Island. They say there's plenty of fish there, plenty of game there. But the islanders will tell you that no one goes to Igbo Landing at night. For at night, they say, you can hear them, the rattling of the chains, the chanting.
And they say a strange light illuminates the waters. And then you can hear the chain rattle as the chant goes on and on. Oh, the waters. Oh, the waters. Oh, the waters brought us, and the waters will take us away. Oh, the waters. Oh, the waters. Oh, the waters brought us, and the waters will take us away. Oh, the waters. Oh, the waters. Oh, the waters brought us, and the waters will take us away. That concludes this tale from the Moonlit Road. Be sure to visit our website at themoonlitroad
.com to find out more about our stories and let us know how we're doing. The Moonlit Road is produced and directed by Craig Dominey, recorded and soundscaped by Henry Howard in beautiful Stone Mountain, Georgia. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.