The Ewe Leader Who Was Thrown Into A River But Came Back Riding On A Crocodile

Togbe Tsali who was a great Anlo had super natural powers and a member of the Tsiame royal clan of present-day Volta Region. He lived during the reign of the wicked king called King Agorkoli at Notsie.

As a result of the wicked treatment the people received from their king, he(Togbe Tsali) decided to run away to a new location(Eweland) with some of the people. He transformed himself into a flying spirit and surveyed the Eweland. On his return, Tsali convinced the people that the land is good; hence, they should run at night and possess it.

Late in the night, they poured water on the land to make it dust-free in order to escape without being detected. When King Agorkoli realized the next day that most of his people had fled, he organized his army to chase them and bring them back. However, on their way, Togbe Tsali asked the people to move backwards. This confused the soldiers because they could not determine the direction the people moved. Other account has it that he changed into a mouse and changed the direction of their footprints in order to confuse the soldiers of King Agorkoli.

When they arrived at the Eweland, he took to farming and hunting. He cleared a large portion of land in a day, caused rain to fall on the land. He planted maize which matured and was harvested on the same day. Since there was no rain on the other farm lands, the people were forced to buy food from him alone. This made the people unhappy because he had used his supernatural power to satisfy his selfish ends. Due to the disaffection among the people against Tsali, they decided to kill him. They captured him and buried him. But three days after the burial, he was seen walking around his compound going about his chores.

The people were surprised. They recaptured him, cut him into two pieces and tied stones on the body and dumped it into the River Volta. Three days later, he was seen riding on the back of a crocodile on the river. He told his people that no person born of a woman could kill him. This improved the relationships between him and his people. He then used his supernatural powers to the benefit of the people. When he was about to die, he asked the people to erect two shrines in his memory. They should call him at the shrines when they needed his assistance.