Awhum, also known as Ohum, is a valley town nestled within the geographical labyrinths of Enugu State, where the indigenous Igbo people have lived for thousands of years. Like many other rural areas in this part of Southeastern Nigeria, Awhum is composed of dusty roads, forests, hills, and occasional modern edifices that contrast with its vintage, pre-modern outlook. Awhum is less civilized, with its people working as traders, farmers, hunters, etc. The Nkwo Market, located at the centre of the town, serves the community for trade purposes and inter-communal exchange.

Deep inside this eccentric town, amongst the several hills and mountains, lie the Awhum Caves and waterfall. It is like finding an oasis in a history of deserts.

This historical site has been both a centre of attraction and circumspection. It is storied that the indigenous Igbo people living in the area have had access to the cave for many years; and during the genocidal Nigerian Civil War, used it as shelter away from bomb raids and uncensored bullet-grazing. In 1975, a group of monks arrived at the site and began to manage it for the Catholic diocese. The Our Lady of Mount Calvary Monastery manages the heritage site to date, preserving it from the fetish acts of traditionalists and human abuse. The Monastery also provides lodgings and even official guides that direct people to the Caves.

The journey from the Monastery to the Caves is a lengthy distance characterized by its rocky sloppiness. This journey becomes even more challenging on the return because, from the cave, the road is hilly, leading upwards to the Monastery. The leg-cleared path is flanked by bushes and pine-fields, and at some junction, one meets a military camp dotted by tankers, trucks, and caterpillars. It is this lonely walk, ethereal in its sacrament of birdsong, billowing trees, and cricketing insects, that pilgrims take, hoping to make it to the Caves, where the miracle waters, running from a high-rise mountain, are sure to grant them spiritual aid and physical bliss.

The waters of the Awhum Cave are said to be divine and curative. Pilgrims travel from far away to fetch, bathe, and pray under its mountain thresholds. A signboard stands along the entrance leading to the mountains, warning tourists to be careful and ensure not to stay longer than 4:00 pm. Nothing is said of the predicament in disobeying this warning, and this adds to the somewhat mysterious, folklorish aura of the heritage site. However, the pilgrims, fueled by faith in this strength-consuming journey, forge ahead, believing their suffering to be worthwhile in scriptural ways.

A grotto of the adored Blessed Virgin Mary is situated on one of the preceding caves. Moulds of melted candles litter the slimy, rocky ground. A popular divine-folk tale goes around saying that the cave was once inhabited by carnivorous animals before one of the monks discovered it and exorcised them into extinction. After the cave, the ground is now watered earth, carrying strands of shrubs and twigs through its coursing flesh. The mountains are taller here, with moss streaking their earthen, bronze-colored surfaces. The sound of rushing waters resounds from the distance. It is this distance, from a 30-meter-high mountain, that runs the water which is said to be curable. It is hard for one to see the source from which the water runs because from below, the descent deafens the sight. This is the Awhum Waterfall.

Beyond its mystery, the Awhum Cave/Waterfall is a testament to the Tropical heritage that graces Nigeria. On a bright day, young pilgrims dip themselves into the water, their bodies carrying grains of sand as they glow with the light of the sun. Sometimes, they sit on large breakages from the mountain lying on the water-covered ground. It brings to mind the possibility of danger; the danger that some breakages from this mountain may come toppling down atop the tourists. But through an inquiry, nothing of such has ever occurred. In fact, during the tragic days of the Civil War, the Igbo natives sheltered themselves inside the Caves because the bombs couldn't destroy them. 

It is reasonable to believe that the cave is alive, its water constantly washing the earth. And its path, forever knowing the history of legs walking themselves into reconciliation with their faith.

Credits

Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awhum_Waterfall 

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