Lekeleke

Here comes Lekeleke, the white bird/ Let no one harm it, let no one dare stop it...
This song was originally written for a dance drama woven around the story of an ancient Yoruba town visited by a strange white bird sent by the gods to warn the people to change their ways. This bird spoke to everyone, the natives and their visitors:
Be careful how you live your life/ Do not let widows suffer, and orphans too/ Let moderation be your watchword/ Stop maltreating the poor...
In their anger, the people designed all kinds of means to get rid of the bird. First they sent the children out with stones and slings, the bird just kept hopping from tree to tree. In desperation, the elders brought out axes and machetes, cutting one tree after the other till the only one left was the Iroko, the mighty tree which, even in their waywardness, the people still acknowledged as sacred. Yet they detested this Lekeleke so much that they cut the Iroko down to get at it. With no tree left to run to, the bird simply flew away, leaving the people to mourn their depleted forest and their folly.