The Presumed African Apple: The Myth behind it in Igboland

For a long time, since I was a child, Nigerians call a fruit with brown back, white juice and brown seeds the African apple. In my linguistic acquisition, I learnt that this African fruit is called Udala in my native language. As I had contact with the Yoruba language, I learnt that it is called agbalumo; I don’t know if I got the spelling right. Well, this fruit can only be seen in Africa.

This fruit is the product of a giant tree which usually grows near village squares in Igbo land. No one owns the tree, majority of the udala trees are not owned by anybody, but they are owned by everybody—the entire village. No one has the knowledge of the planter of these trees or how it was planted; however, the mystery behind it is how it usually grows near village squares. And because it is not owned by anybody, anyone can pick the fruit when it falls and eat it.

The myth surrounding the existence of this tree is that it is a tree for children and for spirit children. What this means is that it is near the foot of this tree that children converge to play and watch and wait patiently for a fruit to fall from the tree. So, therefore, no man or woman or child is allowed to climb this tree. Every member of the community must be patient enough to allow a fruit fall before picking it up: there should be no plucking of any sort.

It is also believed that this tree has spirit children who hang and live on the tree; barren women go to these trees to sit down under tree and wait for one of the good spirit children to come to them. So, this tree gives good children.

Aside the myth, the fruit of this tree is delicious, but it slaps like the hand of a human on the cheek when it is not yet ripe or when it is sour. It gives vitamins and the necessary nutrients gotten from a fruit. Up to this day, no one climbs the udala tree or plucks the fruit in Igbo land.