THE OMANHENE WHO LIKED RIDDLES

“Half Kills One, One Kills Three: The Riddle That Toppled a King”

This captivating West African folktale follows three brothers whose desire to see the world leads them to a deadly kingdom where riddles determine life and death. When the first two brothers fall victim to an Omanhene who uses his riddle contests to execute travelers, their youngest brother’s journey becomes a quest for both adventure and revenge.

The story takes a dark turn when their mother, desperate to prevent her last son from meeting the same fate as his brothers, attempts to poison him rather than let him travel to certain death. This act of twisted maternal love inadvertently becomes the key to his survival and ultimate triumph, as the poisoned food creates a chain of deaths that forms the basis of an unsolvable riddle.

The young man’s cleverness shines through his ability to turn every deadly encounter—from his mother’s poison to highway robbers—into advantages through quick thinking and careful observation. His transformation of near-death experiences into the components of his riddle shows how wisdom can emerge from adversity.

The tale reaches its climax in a brilliant midnight trap where the corrupt Omanhene, so desperate to maintain his deadly game, falls victim to his own dishonesty. The young man’s clever impersonation of a servant allows him to expose the ruler’s cheating while simultaneously obtaining the evidence needed to prove it.

This story works on multiple levels: as a thriller about survival against impossible odds, a tale of justice for murdered brothers, and a meditation on how true wisdom differs from mere knowledge. The final reversal—where the hunter becomes the hunted—delivers deeply satisfying poetic justice.

https://mythopia.io/story/952/the-omanhene-who-liked-riddles