by Amos Tutuola
After some minutes they left knocking the big head, but I began to feel hunger as if I had not eaten anything for a year, so when I could not bear this hunger I started to cry out—“I want to eat.” And immediately I was saying so there I saw on my front the food which I like most or which was exactly the same as the kind that my mother was always cooking for me in my town before we left. But as it was on my front my head could not reach it as my neck could not bend anywhere as a dried stick, of course when I tried my best and overturned the pitcher the head fell a little distance from this food instead of touching it, but as the neck was unable to bend or move the head, and the head was also too big for the neck to lift up, I tried all my power to touch the food more than thirty minutes before my mouth could reach the food and when I was about to start to eat it my mouth changed again to the beak of a small bird unexpectedly, but the food was still in front with its good flavour. When this beak disturbed me eating the food then I wanted to cry because I was feeling hunger as if I would die soon, but I cried out like a small bird instead of a man and when all these ghosts that surrounded and looked at me as I was trying all the while to eat the food heard my cry as a small bird’s cry all laughed at me at the same time.
So after I had tried all my efforts on everything and failed, then I was thinking in my mind that it is better for me to die now than to be in punishment like this, so immediately I finished these thoughts the beak disappeared together with the food and there was a mouth as usual and without hesitation I was moving together with the pitcher along the floor of this doorless room, but I saw nobody who was pushing me on and also all these ghosts which surrounded me disappeared unnoticed. At last I found myself where several roads meet together, the place was about one-third of a mile distant from their town, but all these roads were foot paths. After I moved to the centre of these roads by an invisible mover then I stopped. It was an open place, except the bush which spread on it. There I remained till the morning without seeing a single creature.
When it was about eight o’clock in the morning all the ghosts and ghostesses with their children of that town came to me with two sheep and two goats and also with some fowls. Having reached there the first thing they did was that the whole of them surrounded me, then all were singing, beating drums, clapping hands, ringing bells and dancing round me for a few minutes before they killed all the domestic animals which they brought before me and poured the blood of these animals on to my head which ran to the long neck and then into the pitcher in which the rest of my body was. After that the flesh of these animals was cooked and put all near to touch my mouth and I was easily eating it. So all these ghosts were coming every third day and worshipping me there as their god. But the worst part of it was the bells which they were beating with big rods whenever they came, and when sounding it would cause a head-ache, and again the blood of all the animals pouring on to my head was also smelling very bad when rotten. They were spending about four hours with me whenever they were coming to worship me, so I did not feel hunger again as I was eating all the sacrifices they were bringing to me.
Ah! nobody would enter into the “Bush of Ghosts” without much trouble and severe punishment, because as I was repeatedly beaten by rain and scourged by the sun on the centre of these roads as I was unable to move myself anywhere, so at night the bush animals, and other kinds of reptiles would come and stand before me and then looking at me with great surprise for my fearful appearance. And if all of them looked at me for so many hours, then the boa would come to me and start to swallow my head which appeared from the pitcher, but when it swallowed it to the larger part of the pitcher it would disturb him from swallowing the whole of me or the pitcher, and when disturbed then he would vomit me out again and I would not be allowed to sleep or rest for a minute throughout the nights because of the troubles given me by these animals. And if the day breaks again, all the sheep, goats, fowls, pigs and dogs would come again from that town. All would stand and look at me with much astonishment as I was curious and very dreadful to them, even to any person who might see me at this time. If these domestic animals look at me for some hours attentively, motionless or crying once, then all the dogs who were among them would be barking at me and coming to me slowly until they would reach me and then they would start to eat the remaining sacrifice which I could not finish, and before they would finish that the goats and sheep would come to me and start to kick me on the head but I had no hands to drive them away. Again all these dogs would be licking all the blood poured on to my head with their tongues, and as they were doing like this all the ghosts would come again and then all these domestic animals would run back to the town, so by that I had no chance to sleep or rest both day and night.
Within a few months that I was at the centre of these roads in the pitcher news had reached every other town of ghosts of that area and all of them were trying their best to steal me for their towns as they thought that I am really a god.
River-Ghosts
Gala-day under the River
One night at about two o’clock, I saw many ghosts who came to me and put me inside a big bag which they brought. After that one of them put me on his head and then from there to their town which was under a big river, because they are “River-Ghosts”. Which means they stole me from this centre of the roads to their town. Having reached their town they took me to their chief ancestor who sat down on an idle chair before a fearful god which they supposed to be the most powerful among their gods which they were worshipping in this town. Then they put me down before him as he was the one who ordered them to go and steal me from the centre of the roads when they heard information about me. Immediately I was presented to him he sent for a ram, then he killed it before me and poured its blood on to my big head which was as big as an elephant’s head and also fearful to look at. After, they cooked the flesh of this ram and put the best fleshy parts of it before me to eat. But as I started to eat it the whole of them were very surprised and were also exceedingly glad as all their gods that I met there could not eat, breathe, or make any sign. But as these river ghosts or sceptical ghosts hate the heavenly God most and love earthly gods most, anything they wanted to do the chief ancestor would ask me first and if I made a sign with my head which would show him that the request should be done then he would tell the rest that I favoured them to do the requests, but if the sign showed that their requests should not be done then he would tell the rest that the requests are not granted by me, so therefore the requests would be cancelled at the same time. The chief ancestor was my interpreter as he only was permitted by his highest title to approach me at any time.
As I was so highly recognized by these river ghosts or sceptical ghosts so they built a one-roomed house and put me inside it and all of them were coming there to worship and sacrifice to me there as well. I was feeding on any sacrifice that I wanted and drinking the blood of the animals which they were killing and pouring on me as water, because they were not giving me water to drink. But as the blood was always pouring on me, so it was attracting flies which were covering me totally all the time and I had no hands to drive them away. Even sometime if the chief ancestor came in to visit me, he would not be able to discover me among these flies unless he first drove them away with a broom before he could see me.
When it was a week that they had brought me to their town the whole of them gathered together. First of all they opened the room in which they put me, after that the chief ancestor who only is permitted to approach me or to talk to me washed my head with my long stiff neck as only both appeared out from the pitcher, after this, he put a small red hand sewn cloth on the long neck which made it more ugly; after this, he put a kind of ghost’s face cap on this my big head which made it more fearful to see. After that he put a kind of smoking pipe which was about six feet long into my mouth. This smoking pipe could contain half a ton of tobacco at a time, then he chose one ghost to be loading this pipe with tobacco whenever it discharged fire. When he lit the pipe with fire then the whole of t
he ghosts and ghostesses were dancing round me set by set. They were singing, clapping hands, ringing bells and their ancestral drummers were beating the drums in such a way that all the dancers were jumping up with gladness. But whenever the smoke of the pipe was rushing out from my mouth as if smoke is rushing from a big boiler, then all of them would laugh at me so that a person two miles away would hear them clearly, and whenever the tobacco inside the pipe is near to finish then the ghost who was chosen to be loading it would load it again with fresh tobacco as it was about three feet deep and four feet diameter.
After some hours that I was smoking this pipe I was intoxicated by the gas of the tobacco as if I drank much hard drink, because it was only ghosts could smoke such tobacco and it was only in the “Bush of Ghosts” such tobacco could be found.
So at this time I forgot all my sorrow and started to sing the earthly songs which sorrow prevented me from singing about since I entered this bush. But when all these ghosts were hearing the song, they were dancing from me to a distance of about five thousand feet and then dancing back to me again as they were much appreciating the song and also to hear my voice was curious to them. After a while all of them surrounded me closely, opened their mouths downward and looked at me with surprise. But as I was more intoxicated by the gas of the tobacco and also as the pipe was loaded continuously with fresh tobacco by the ghost who was specially chosen to be loading it, so by that I could not stop or tire of singing, and again my town’s songs were then rushing to my heart at that time. So as they bent, their mouths which opened with great surprise downward onto my head the spit of these mouths was dropping on me and wet me as if I bathed with water, the spit was smelling so badly so that it was hard for me to breathe out or in.
After they listened to my songs for about half an hour, the chief ancestor took me out of this room which was specially built for me, then he rooted out a tall coconut tree which was about three hundred feet long, after that he put me on the top of this tree, then another ghost who was next in rank to him put the tree on his head upright which means I was on the topmost of it, after that he jumped together with the tree on to the chief ancestor’s head so the chief ancestor, the one on his head who was next in rank to him, the tree and myself on this tree with all the rest ghosts and ghostesses were dancing together. But as I was intoxicated more and more by the gas of the tobacco which I was smoking in the pipe and also as the ghost who was loading it with fresh tobacco was so busy in loading it so that he could not see or talk to anybody at all at that time, so I was singing other earthly melodious songs which sorrow prevented me singing since I entered into this bush, in such a way that all the ghosts or every creature of this town were dancing, singing and shouting with joy and running warmly up and down in the town.
But as this “Gala-day” was so highly recognized with the new earthly songs which I was singing, so the King of the Bush of Ghosts whose seat is at the 20th town of ghosts, which is the capital for all the towns of ghosts sent an invisible message to the chief ancestor to bring me to him when he heard the information. But as the 20th town was very far away and again the invisible message was very urgent, so as all of these ghosts, together with the coconut tree were dancing up and down in the town as a crazy man, there I saw unexpectedly that one quill appeared on each side of the pitcher in which I was on the top of the coconut tree, after that one quill appeared on each side of the coconut tree as well, then ordinary feathers appeared on both arms of the ghosts, but the quills which appeared on the chief ancestor’s arms were the largest and strongest because he would be the one who would carry the coconut tree together with me.
After that the whole of us flew by air to the 20th town the seat of H.M. the King of the Bush of Ghosts.
In the 20th Town of Ghosts
Within two hours in the air we reached the 20th town, but before we reached there millions of ghosts have been waiting and looking in the air for us. Immediately we appeared to them and they saw me at the front with the long pipe in my mouth with the smoke which was rushing out as from a big boiler, then the whole of them were shouting at me, pointing their hands at me and then rushing here and there to the King’s palace. But when the palace could not contain all of them, then they rushed to their field which was about nine miles in diameter, then we landed on the centre of the field. It was very surprising to see over twenty thousand children smashed to death before we reached the field. Immediately we landed I started to sing and dance together with the tree, the ghost who carried the tree and the chief ancestor who carried us. When all the ghosts of this 20th town with H.M. the King could not bear to hear my earthly songs and also see my dance and sit down or to stand up motionless, then they joined us to dance, and again the smoke of the pipe was rushing out of my mouth continuously, because the ghost who was specially chosen to be loading it with the fresh tobacco did not neglect his duty at all.
But after the whole of them danced with me till the late hour in the night, then the chief ancestor commanded that the whole of us should stop and we did so but hardly as none of us were tired or satisfied. After that he commanded the coconut tree to stand still on the ground with a magical commandment, and at the same moment it stood on the ground as if it was planted there, then he commanded it again to bend down and it did so at once, after that he took me from the top of it and put me on the ground, again he commanded it to stand upright as it was and it did so.
They took me from this field to the palace. Having reached there they built a special doorless house which had only one room in this palace for me and put me inside it so that other kinds of ghosts might not steal me away before the day would break, because it was that day they specially arranged for “Gala-day” in the 20th town as the first one was a hint. After they put me inside this doorless house they also put uncut roasted sheep before me to eat, after that everyone went to his or her house to be preparing for tomorrow on which the “Gala-day” would be celebrated throughout.
Immediately they put this roasted sheep before me I was eating it greedily as I was very hungry in respect of the smoke of the tobacco which was intoxicating me like hard drink. But as I was eating it greedily and when it was one o’clock midnight the wall of this house split into two suddenly and there I saw another kind of ghost enter through that space. I looked at him with fear as he was not a native of the 20th town, then he came to me cautiously with a big coil of rags of cloth on his head. The first thing he did, he sat down and started to eat the meat and within a minute he finished it. For this reason I was so frightened and also his exceedingly fearful appearance with his harmful attitude, so I tried to run away but the pitcher did not allow me at all.
Having finished the meat, without hesitation he put me on his head, he got out of the palace cautiously and then kept going in the town to an unknown place. But as this 20th town is a large town he travelled for about two hours before he reached the gate of the town. As the gate is watched both day and night so he met the gate-keeper at the gate. When the gate-keeper saw me on his head he challenged him that where he was carrying me to, but instead of answering the gate-keeper’s question he was only telling him to open the gate for him to pass. But when the gate-keeper insisted and after both argued for a few minutes, then he put me down closely to him, after that both were fighting fiercely so that all the other creatures who were living at the back of the gate woke up from sleep and came nearer to the scene, they were looking and laughing at them, as the gate-keeper was struggling to take me from him and return me to the palace and the ghost who was carrying me away was also struggling violently to take me away to his town.
After they were fighting fiercely for about two hours so as the gate-keeper has seven of the same kind of juju which he could use to change the night to day seven times, because he has no power at night but only in the day, and again the ghost who was taking me away has eight jujus which could change the day to the night as well because he has no power in the day, so the gate-keeper first threw down one of his seven jujus on th
e ground and at the same moment night changed to the day, so he become more powerful than the one who was carrying me away as he has no power in the day. Then he too threw one of his eight jujus on the ground and that day became night at once and then he became more powerful than the gate-keeper. Both of them were using their juju like this until the gate-keeper had used all his own, but the ghost who was carrying me away still had one. At last he used the one which still remained with him, it changed that day to the night at the same time, so he had more power, then he started to fight the gate-keeper who had been already powerless. But as the gate-keeper received heavy blows from him, so he fell down suddenly, but the ghost who carried me to that place laid down on the gate-keeper and beat him greedily. So the ghost who carried me to that gate kicked the pitcher in which I was unnoticed and it broke into pieces, so immediately my body touched the ground then I changed at once to my former form before they put me in the pitcher. But as both of them were still fighting fiercely and did not know that the pitcher had been broken and I have come out of it, so without hesitation I took to my heels and left them there.
Immediately I came out from the pitcher, and then running away in the bush at that night uncountable flies which were following me along nearly made me suspected, because all the blood of all the animals which were poured on me as sacrifice was rotten on my body as black paint and was smelling so bad so that it collected these flies from the hidden place that they slept, even the cloth which my mother wove for me before I entered this Bush of Ghosts had torn into rags by the rotten blood.