Ajaiyi and His Inherited Poverty

by Amos Tutuola

  As soon as this poor Devil-doctor said like that within himself, he then left the pot there and returned to his house with the leaf which he cut.

  When he entered his shrine, he sat on his usual chair with happiness. As soon he sat, he put the leaf down on the floor closely to his right hand. Then he told me to go and call his youngest wife for him. As soon as I left, he started to drink. When I came back with his wife he told her with smiling face to sit down before him. But before he started to tell her the story of the pot of the corals, he first told me to go to my room and I went out at the same time.

  Then with smile, he told her the story of the pot of the corals: “You see, I have seen my wealth today when I went to the grove of the evil spirits to cut this leaf!” (he held the leaf up and showed it to her).

  “Wealth? But I do not understand what you mean about that?” she was confused.

  “I say when I went to the grove of the evil spirits this morning, I found one pot of corals! You know, the corals worth more than four thousand pounds!” he explained with smiling face.

  “But where is the pot of corals now?” his wife shouted greatly.

  “It is still at the foot of the tree where I have found it! It is there now!” he explained to her as he threw some drink into the mouth.

  “Hah, you have left the pot of the corals where you have found it! I am sure, you will die in poverty! But of course, I have told you several times that I am going to divorce you soon! Yay! you have found the pot of the corals and you have not carried it to your house to be sold but you have brought one leaf instead! I shall repeat it, you will certainly die in poverty!” she sprang up, she slapped him on the back with both her palms as she was shouting loudly.

  “Heh, just hold on and let me explain to you now! You see, my evil spirit had warned me not to carry any load with my head and he had promised me that he is the one who is going to carry my good luck to my house by himself. He had told me that I would certainly die if I let any load touch my head! And I am sure he will carry this pot of corals to my house soon!” the Devil doctor explained to his wife but all of his explanations were in vain. She did not believe him at all. Instead, she stood up and began to abuse him loudly as she was leaving the shrine.

  As she had left the shrine, she did not branch to other place but she came into my room direct. She sat on the same stool with me. Then I asked from her:

  “What has happened to you?”

  “You see, your master (the Devil-doctor) has found one pot of the corals at the foot of a tree in the grove of the evil spirits and he did not bring it to the house to be sold but he brought a single ordinary leaf instead!” She told me what her husband had found in the grove.

  “He has found a pot containing corals and he did not bring it to the house!” I asked again as I held my head with a great zeal.

  “Don’t mind the hopeless Devil-doctor. He did not bring it to the house. But he told me that his evil spirit would carry it to the house for him!” she shouted as she was nearly crazy.

  “Why has he left such a great wealth (corals) for the evil spirit to bring it to the house for him but not by himself? Why? Perhaps he was just telling you lie, because I cannot believe him any more!” I told her with a doubtful mind.

  “Not at all. He did not tell me a lie. He is not a liar!” she confirmed all what he had told her about the corals.

  “But he had promised me that he would be paying me some money every month the day I came to him but he has not paid me any money since that time! But of course ‘a born and die baby makes the doctor a liar’. He is a liar in that respect or for failing to fulfil his promise!” I reminded her about the promise which the Devil-doctor had made but had failed to fulfil.

  “Although he has failed to keep his promise, but I do not doubt the truth of the pot of the corals which he said that he has found at the foot of a mighty tree in the grove of the evil spirits. Because many wonderful things had been found in it by many brave people of this town, although it is dangerous to enter it. However, my advice now is that at nine o’clock tomorrow morning you will go to that grove of the evil spirits. Without fearing the evil spirits which are living there, you will be going from one mighty tree to another. I believe, after a few minutes you will see the pot of the corals. But do not waste time to carry it out of that grove. When you have carried it out, then you will hide it (pot of the corals) by side of the road on which to travel to your village. Having done so, then you will come back to the house and both of us will then escape with the pot of the corals to your village in the following morning. I believe, if we can carry the pot to your village and sell all of the corals, we shall become rich, so you will be free from your inherited poverty which has already become a chronic one!” This youngest wife of the Devil-doctor wanted both of us to carry the pot of the corals away to my village for she wanted her to be my wife at all costs.

  As soon as she had advised me like that and I promised that I would follow her advice, she stood up and walked out of my room so that the families of the Devil-doctor or himself might not suspect our secret plans. After she had left, I dropped my head, I began to think about these plans again. Although I agreed to go to the grove of the evil spirits and carry the pot of the corals out of it and to escape with it from there to my village. But I did not like to escape with this youngest wife at all. After a while it came to my mind to carry the pot from that grove direct to my village instead to come back to the town to tell her. It was like that I planned to disappoint her.

  On the following morning, before nine o’clock, she brought a nice food to me in my room. She went back as soon as she had put it down. Then I ate it to my satisfaction. But I hardly finished with the nice food when she walked into the room with one of her big cover-clothes. Having coiled it round, she gave it to me to put it on the head for carrying the pot. Having done so she went away. And when it was about nine o’clock, I took my matchet and bag, I hid both with the coiled cover-cloth under my dress so that the Devil-doctor, his families and his friends might not suspect that I was leaving the town for some place. I took these two my belongings (matchet and bag) along with me with the hope to start to go from the grove to my village and not to come back to the town to tell this youngest wife to follow me to my village. It was like that I planned to disappoint her. My plan to disappoint her was not in respect of the corals but because I did not like to escape with another man’s wife.

  As soon as I came to where this grove of the evil spirits was, I entered it and I began to go from one mighty tree to another with suspicion of not being killed or harmed by the evil spirits. As I was going deeply in it as quickly as I could and I was looking at the foot of everyone of the mighty trees. It was so these evil spirits were shouting greatly on me with their various kinds of fearful voices. And it was not so long when their fearful shouts made me feared so much that I began to tremble from foot to head with fear. However, I still kept going along zigzag with fear until I came to the heart of the grove. After a while, I saw this pot of the corals at the foot of one mighty tree. It was very huge indeed. Without hesitation, I went closely to it as the terrible shouts of the evil spirits were hearing all over the grove like thunder. With great wonder and fear, I bent down, I examined some of those which were on top. But when I saw that they were pure corals which cost more than four thousand pounds. I did not know when happiness forced me to shout greatly: “Hah! This is a great wealth! No doubt, I am free from my inherited poverty today!”

  Having shouted like that I began to dance round this pot of the corals. When I danced round it for a few minutes with great laughter, I hurriedly put the coiled cover-cloth on my head. Then I bent down and with all my power I lifted up the pot and I put it on my head. It was so heavy that three strong men could not even lift it up from the ground but the happiness which was in me this moment gave me the strength of about ten men with which I lifted it on to my head. But to my fear as I was about to leave that spot with the hope to be carrying it from there to my vil
lage. I heard a horrible voice which came out from this pot suddenly. The voice began to warn me so loudly that the whole of the grove was shaking. And it was this moment the voices of the terrible birds, animals, and all kinds of the evil spirits were hearing everywhere in the grove.

  But as soon as I began to hear that the thing which was warning me was inside the pot. I wanted to throw the pot down and then run away for my life. But to my fear, I could not throw it down and I could not lift it up from my head this time. Instead I was hearing the warning continuously:

  “Oh, yes, you have put me on your head better you carry me to the shrine of the Devil-doctor now! Make haste! Walk on your leg, my poor friend!” But I stopped to throw it down and run away when I heard that I should carry him to the shrine of the Devil-doctor. But it became so heavy this time that my neck began to sink down. I tried all my possible best to throw it (pot) down and run away but all my efforts failed. And I began to tremble from foot to head for the sudden heaviness of this pot immediately the warnings had started to come out of it.

  After a while, I pretended to be falling down, but another terrible warning came from the pot suddenly: “If you fall down, you fall on your death! If you throw me down, you throw your life down! But be carrying me along to the Devil-doctor’s shrine now! Make haste! You are keeping me too long on your head!” As I heard like that suddenly from this pot, I obeyed and I kept going along zigzag in this grove of the evil spirits. But to my surprise, I hardly kept going when this pot became as light as a feather.

  As I was still carrying it along, to my utmost fear, there I saw that thousands of the evil spirits with whips in their hands were hurriedly coming out from the mighty trees, from the ground, from the tops and precipices of the mountains and cliffs, etc. All rushed to me and surrounded me. Without hesitation, they began to sing, dance and clap and they were flogging me continuously. I was in a great predicament this moment so that I lost all my senses at the same time but I was just staggering about in the circle. After they had whipped me for a few minutes as they were singing loudly thus: “The thieve of the corals, dance the dance of the punishment and let us see!” And as they were dancing and clapping round me, I did not know when I began to cry bitterly as I was staggering here and there in the circle. As soon as I began to cry and beg them for pardon, they stopped to flog me but they stood still in form of a circle and then they began to laugh at me.

  Having laughed and made a mockery of me for a few minutes then the whole of them collected into one place and without hesitation some of them began to push me along in the grove towards the road of the Devil-doctor’s town as the rest were shouting greatly—“The thieve of the corals,” and were following me. Thus they were pushing me along until I came to the road. But as soon as they had pushed me to the road, the whole of them went back to their grove and were disappeared at the same time. Now I was alone on the road and I was carrying this pot of the corals along on it. Although I was confused whether the corals had turned to the evil spirit as soon as I had put the pot on my head. But after I had travelled far away from the grove, I turned my back to the Devil-doctor’s town. To my fear again, I hardly started to go ahead with the hope to carry it to my village direct when the pot became so heavy suddenly and my neck then sank down into my chest for its heaviness. And within one second that it had become heavy like that, I heard the usual warnings which came out of it that: “Better you turn your face to the Devil-doctor’s town now and carry me to his shrine!”

  However, as I could not lift up my feet to go forward, willing or not, I turned my face to the Devil-doctor’s town and I continued to carry this pot to his shrine. But to my surprise was that as soon as I continued to carry it along to his town, the pot then became as light as a feather. Now I was sure that there was no alternative unless I carried the pot to the shrine of the Devil-doctor. And as I was carrying it along on the road, it was so I was blaming myself that: “I was so stupid to believe the youngest wife of the Devil-doctor who had told me to go and carry pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits. Although when I saw the pot it was full of pure corals but these corals have now turned to an evil spirit. This means the youngest wife had deceived me so that I might be killed by the evil spirits. I am sorry, she has now put me in another punishment!” Not knowing that this youngest wife did not deceive me at all but it was myself who had wanted to take another man’s (Devil-doctor) luck to my village.

  However, I carried it to the shrine. But as soon as I entered the shrine, I heard another warning suddenly which came out of the pot: “Yes, you have carried me to the shrine! But put me down and then run out of this shrine at once otherwise you will lose your life! Put me down and run away!” So I hardly heard like that when I hastily put the pot down gently with fear and then I ran into my room which was in the other house, far away from there. But the Devil-doctor was not in the shrine when I carried it there, he was in his house together with his youngest wife.

  When I entered my room, I sat down and dropped my head and then I began to think of the punishments which I received in respect of this pot of the corals.

  After a while, the Devil-doctor went to his shrine but he was greatly wondered to meet this pot of the corals in his shrine. “Oh yes, this is the pot of the corals which I had seen at the foot of the mighty tree in the grove of the evil spirits when I went there yesterday! My evil spirit has brought the pot into my shrine as he had promised me that one day he would bring my good luck to my shrine by himself! I thank thee!” This Devil-doctor was so happy that he called his youngest wife loudly to come and see the wealth which his evil spirit had brought to him, for he did not know that I was the one who had brought it there although I was forced by the evil spirit which was in the pot to bring it there.

  When the youngest wife came, he showed it to her, he threw the whole corals on the floor and as he began to examine them, he was telling her: “You see now! I had told you several times that my evil spirit would one day bring my good luck to me by himself! I told you yesterday that I saw one pot of the corals in the grove of the evil spirits but you grew annoyed that I did not bring it to the house! You see it here now! And I have become a wealthy man as from today!” When he showed this pot of the corals to his youngest wife with happiness. He began to look at her eyes whether she would be equally happy too. But instead, she scowled at him and then she left the shrine at once.

  When she left the shrine she came to my room with the altercation. As I heard her altercation, I lifted my head up, I stood and with great anger, but she did not allow me to say anything when she shouted greatly with anger that: “You hopeless man who will really die in poverty! Our arrangement was to hide the pot of the corals on the side of the road and then to come back to me so that both of us might escape to your village with the pot of the corals! But why did you bring the pot to the shrine for the Devil-doctor? Oh, you have broken our covenant now. Hah, it is certain now that you will die in your inherited poverty! You hopeless man!” But she hardly said like that when I jumped up with anger as well and shouted on her: “But you are the one who is entirely hopeless! You are a cruel and merciless woman! If you are not so, you should have not told me to go and carry the pot from the grove of the evil spirits! Knowingly that evil spirit lives in it (pot) and that it will punish me! But you have just deceived me that the pot contained the corals! But you are the one who have broken our covenant! Go away, you are a deceiver!”

  Having scolded her like that, she jumped up and slapped me on the face suddenly and I too slapped her on the face at the same time. Thus we continued to slap ourselves as she was blaming me loudly and I was blaming her loudly as well about this pot of the corals. Because both of us were confused. She thought that I wilfully carried the pot to the shrine instead to hide it somewhere on the road as she had told me to do. And I too thought that she had just deceived me to tell me that it were pure corals were in the pot. We were still slapping ourselves with great shout and exchange of words when the families of the Devil-
doctor heard our angry shouts. They then rushed into my room but when they met us slapping each other, they parted us and asked us what had caused the fight.

  She first explained to them that I had broken the covenant. They asked her to tell them the kind of the covenant which was between her and I. But of course when she did not tell them, I explained to them with earnestness that she told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits, but later on I found that it is the evil spirit that lives in the pot. But I hardly confessed to them when she explained to them as well that I was pressing her everyday that I wanted her to escape with me to my village and she denied that she had told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits.

  But once the families of this Devil-doctor had heard from her when she shouted that “I had broken our covenant” they had understood that there was a secret plan between her and I and that she had agreed to escape with me to my village. So without hesitation, the whole of them pushed both of us roughly to the shrine. They hastily surrounded us as both of us stood before the Devil-doctor. When the families told the Devil-doctor that his wife and I had planned to escape to my village. He jumped up with great anger, he roared greatly like the thunder. After that, he asked from me: “You and my youngest wife have planned to escape to your village?” I hastily explained to him with fear that: “It is your wife who had told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits. But as soon as I had put the pot on my head the corals turned to an evil spirit!” When I explained to him briefly like that, he turned eyes to his wife and asked: “Is it true that you have told him to go and carry the pot from the grove?” But she denied. She explained that I had planned to escape to my village with the pot of the corals and herself.