Itoya was one of the male citizens of Iden; who lived at the time when the village became so famous through the activities of wrestling competitions and warrior conquest in inter-tribal wars which led to the growth and expansion. During the rise of Iden village to glory, Itoya, like every other male citizens, tried to make positive impact and contributions at one time or the other but his efforts didn't gain any recognition.
Itoya, by nature was physically weak and unable to fit into the village rigorous activities of either wrestling or of being a warrior. As a man, Itoya did all that he could to be strong like other men in his days; but the more he tried, the more his strength failed him.
His physical weakness was such that was only a tool or instrument for beginners to toy with in any category he found himself. Itoya never enjoyed the opportunity of winning one wrestling match like every other male citizen of Iden and so, was denied his wish to be a champion for just one full moon in his life.
In spite of Itoya's physical weakness, he had one or two areas of his life that gave him consolation. He was able to make himself happy through the use of his mouth. He was full of fun and jokes that made people to laugh and crack their ribs. It was always 'a day of a thousand laugh' for any one who came his way.
Itoya was always find of saying in his jokes that any man who defeated him in wrestling because of his strength, will suffer the defeat of his mouth in return. In order to cover up his deep sense of shame of physical weakness and inability to win one wrestling match in his days, he was always saying that he was only reserving his strength for the one who is coming after him, whose legs no wrestler will be able to lift up. These words of Itoya were taken as fun and jokes by the villagers as they responded 'Amen' with no importance attached to his sayings.
Itoya, as one endowed with the ability to make fun and crack jokes, he got married to a beautiful maiden whose name was Akomu. Itoya and Akomu together lived happily with his parents because he could not build his own house. In spite of the fact, his parents loved and cherished him because he was their only son out of two children.
However, three years of Itoya's and Akomu's marriage gave birth to a male child with two mysteries. First, the child had six fingers each on both hands and legs. Secondly, there was a tattoo of a sword on the right hand side of the child's chest. With these mysteries surrounding the child's birth, the entire Iden village was thrown into a controversial state of what to do, regarding the new born baby; whether to kill or not to kill him.
Some said it was a taboo for a normal human being to posses six fingers each on both hands and legs, while others said it was a sign of both strength and power. And the tattoo, some said it was a sign that signifies the dawn of a new era of a great warrior in the land. While others said, it was a sign of danger that the child would rise against the land in the future.
At the end, wisdom was applied by the king and the elders of the land in resolving the issue and the child was allowed to live. The first reason for this was that the birth of the child did not terminate the life of his mother or cause an unusual issues in the land. The second reason was that Itoya needed a child to redeem his name; if truly the mysteries were about strength and power which will also be good of the people in the village as a whole.
Finally, they agreed and promised to revisit the matter in future if things were not in line with their speculations. The people of Iden at this point felicitated with Itoya for his new born baby. In sum, Itoya at the child's naming ceremony gave him the name "IYAMA" ; meaning 'I will show it myself'. After Iyama, Itoya had two more children, a boy and a girl, called Ireko and Imuma respectively.