by Amos Tutuola
“Yay—ay! punishment and poverty are too severe beyond of what a young girl like myself should try to experience. Of course, I had already been warned by my mother not to try to know them,” Simbi remarked painfully one day when she and her friends were nearly punished to death by the king.
“Oh—o! which means you had already been warned not to try to know the ‘Poverty’ and the ‘Punishment’?” Bako asked wonderfully. “Oh yes,” Simbi replied sorrowfully. “And which means you had fed up with all the happinesses, merriments, etc. that which the wealths of your mother had been giving you?” Kadara asked with astonishment.
“Of course, but I have found out now my silly mistake,” Simbi responded.
“Surely, Simbi, you have already found with your hands for yourself the everlasting poverty and punishment!” Sala added when she remembered with mind all the wealths of Simbi’s mother.
“I admit,” Simbi replied seriously.
“Put in mind that all of us are going to sacrifice to the king’s head in the very near future,” Rali reminded her.
“What is the remedy now, I mean how can I free from all these punishments?” Simbi asked calmly from Rali.
“Remedy?” Rali astonished. “Yes,” she muttered.
“Let me tell you now, Simbi, there is no remedy at all in this Sinners’ town. You have already involved yourself in punishment, poverty, etc. And this is to remind you that a person who has already fallen in water, there is no need for the person to run for the cold any more hence your mother is wealthy and you have fed up with her wealths, but you have preferred the poverty and punishment most. Therefore, there is no need to fear for anything which may happen to you,” Kadara explained briefly.
Having heard like that, Simbi sighed and then remarked painfully “It is hopeless for me then.”
Then all of them continued to work. Thus Simbi and her four friends, Rali, Sala, Bako and Kadara and with about ten slave girls whom the king had bought before them, were working hardly every day without sufficient food, till they had completed one year.
When the day that the king would sacrifice them to his head remained five days, he gathered all his dirty clothes together, he gave them to them for washing. For it were these clothes he was going to wear in the night that he would sacrifice to his head. Because if he did not wear such clean clothes as these in that night his head would not accept the sacrifice and by that the head would not help him to live longer. And whenever his clothes were given to his slaves for washing, it meant that his sacrificial day was approaching and all of his slaves should be getting ready to die.
When the day reached, the king’s guardsmen took all his slave girls to the outside of the town where the shrine of his gods was built. Simbi, Rali, Sala, Bako and Kadara were among the other slave girls whom were taken to the shrine. This shrine faced the Path of Death.
There were twelve tall trees at the front of the shrine. Then each of them was tied with rope to each of the trees. All of them faced the shrine. After that the door of the shrine was opened very wide. Both inside and outside of it were swept very clean. All the fearful gods which occupied the shrine were dressed with the new or green palm fronds.
Several long palm fronds were hung at the entrance of the shrine and that was a door blind. After that the surroundings were dashed with plenty of the palm fronds, just to show the people that the king would sacrifice to his head in the mid-night of that day.
Having done all of that, they (guardsmen) dressed all the slaves with the palm fronds and with a kind of the leaves which were very hot if touched the body. And all of them started to cry loudly immediately they covered them with these hot leaves. All of them became mad at the same time.
After a while, women and men of the town came there when they were hearing their cry which was a sign for them that the decorations were completed. And that was the reason why the hot leaves were for their last decoration.
Then the women were dancing and singing round them while those guardsmen were busy in sharping their swords.
Those women did not stop of singing and dancing round and round and round till when the king, chiefs and the prominent people arrived there in the mid-night. Then those women went back to the town, for having seen the king and others they believed that it was the time for the sacrifice, and that must not happen on the presence of women, that was forbidden.
When the king and the others (chiefs and prominent people of the town) entered inside the shrine and sat down before the gods, the slaves were loosened from the trees and then were taken by the guardsmen to the inside of the shrine and they were forced to kneel down before the gods.
After that colas were split, palm oil was poured on the heads of the gods. Then the king held the split colas with both his palms which were secured together. He touched his head with the split colas for three times. After that he opened the palms widely, he showed the colas to the whole gods and asked from them “Pay heed to my prayers now and let all what I say before you this mid night be so. Those who are before you now are the twelve slave girls that I bring for you. [He showed the twelve slave girls to the gods.] Let me reign longer and live longer than my predecessor, and be helping me to get the slaves always. But now, if you accept my prayers and that you are happy to accept these twelve slave girls, let the faces of half of these split colas face the ground.”
Having said all his prayers, he threw down the split colas before the gods. But to his greatest horror and surprise, it were only three of the whole split colas faced the ground, the rest faced up. Having seen this, he was excited with the great fear and was nearly run mad at the same moment. Because as it were only three of the split colas faced the ground. It meant his gods and head did not accept his prayers, and it meant that a very bad omen was ahead, probably he was going to die in a few minutes time. And he threw down all the split colas for the second and the third times but it were only three of the split colas faced the ground as the first time.
Having seen this again, he was so puzzled at the same time that he was staggering about in the shrine. Although all the chiefs and the prominent people who were in the shrine with him guided him not to run out of the shrine, because they thought that he had already mad.
A few minutes later, he became conscious, then he came back and stood before his gods. But he was not happy at all. For if it were half of the split colas faced the ground and the rest half faced up, then it meant the gods and his head accepted his prayers.
“What is the next thing to be done now, for I believe, that I have bad omen for this year?” he asked from the chiefs and the prominent people with embarrassment.
“Yes, the next thing to be done now, is to start to behead these twelve slave girls and to be pouring their blood onto the gods. Perhaps if we do that, your (king) head and your gods will accept your prayers at that time,” they advised him.
Then the king forced all the slaves to sing the song with which to behead everyone of them. Because everyone of them must form a kind of a song and when singing it nearly to the end, then the king himself would behead her with a sword.
Willing or not the first slave at the extreme right formed a kind of a song at the same time. And when she was singing the song nearly to its end the king beheaded her and the chiefs and the prominent people took her body from the ground, they poured the blood of her neck onto the heads of the gods and onto the king’s head as well. Thus the king was doing to everyone of the slaves until it was the turn of Simbi, before it would be the turn of Rali, Sala, Bako, Kadara and some of the other slaves who were not the natives of their village.
But as Simbi had been an expert singer in her village it was easier for her to form a kind of a long sorrowful song at the same time. And she was mentioning a part of the song often and often to the king—“Please, the king, set the rest of us free.” “Ha!—a!—a! don’t you know you have become the slave of these gods this mid night!” the king and the rest exclaimed at a time.
“Please, the chiefs, deliver
us from these gods!”
“Ha!—a!—a! you chiefs, don’t you hear her plead now!” the king exclaimed to the chiefs. Then the chiefs, king, the prominent people and with the whole of the common people who were at outside of the shrine replied to Simbi’s request with song loudly—“Don’t you hear, she asks the chiefs to deliver her. But she does not aware that she had become the slave of the gods this mid night, who (gods) are going to drink her (Simbi’s) blood just one or two minutes time!”
Having heard like that, Simbi did not waste the time. She changed that song to a kind of a melodious song.
When she started to sing it, the king, the chiefs, the prominent people and the common people who were at the outside of the shrine had lost all their senses at the same time and then were dancing here and there and were shouting loudly with great joy.
As they were still dancing about, it was so Simbi was thinking in mind how she could be saved. “If I had obeyed my mother’s warning, all these things would have not happened to me. Yay—ay! I am dying this midnight! Of course, my spook may go and inform my mother that I have been killed for the gods of the Sinners’ town,” Simbi painfully said.
Accidentally, it came to Simbi’s mind at that moment to grasp the sword which the king held, with which he had beheaded some of the slaves before her own turn.
“Hurah! hurah! hurah!” the king with the rest people exclaimed with happiness.
“I am happy now that my head and gods accept my sacrifice and accept all my prayers as well, if not so this slave (Simbi) will not be singing a melodious song as this one!” the king happily announced to his people.
When he and the chiefs, etc. danced back to the gods and as Simbi was laid down before them (gods) all the while, and immediately he (king) raised up the sword just to behead her as well as he had beheaded many others, she jumped up and grasped the sword from him. Without hesitation she beheaded him with that sword and some of the chiefs, etc. as well who attempted to hold her for killing. And the rest chiefs, the prominent people and all the common people who were dancing at the outside of the shrine, having seen this, they were disordered.
As the whole of them were still hurthing here and there, Simbi with the rest slaves who had been expecting their turn to die, ran out of the shrine. Having glanced round there for a shelter and when there was none, they were running along on a path that which was found thereabouts as hastily as they could, so that they might run far away and then shelter themselves from the people of the Sinners’ town, who probably might be chasing them to kill.
But Simbi still held the sword with which she had beheaded the king, etc. Thus she saved herself and the rest slave girls of about nine in number, among of whom were Rali, Sala, Bako and Kadara respectively.
Having run furiously on that path for about one hour and became tired, then they started to walk along slowly. Having travelled till the daybreak but they did not reach a town and they did not meet anybody, then they stopped and sat down in form of a circle and were mobbed, of course, they were always on the alert perhaps the people of the Sinners’ town were chasing them to kill.
CHAPTER FIVE
On the Path of Death
When they were quite sure that that path was the Path of Death, they thought first to return to the Sinners’ town and from there to find out for a safe path on which to be travelling and looking for the right way to their village.
But then they remembered that the people of the Sinners’ town would catch and kill them as a revenge of what they had done to them before they had escaped from the shrine. Therefore they did not attempt to go back and they did not go further but sat down on this Path of Death.
Having moped for some minutes, the first question that Simbi perplexly asked was “Am I now a spook, Bako, because I remember now that I had already been beheaded last mid-night by the king of the Sinners’ town?” “Not at all, Simbi, you were not beheaded by anybody, but you were the brave girl who beheaded the king together with some of the chiefs, etc., and by so did, the rest of us were saved by you,” Bako explained to her.
“All right, Bako, but I am not yet sure that I am not a spook!” The rest sighed and glanced at her whether she was mad.
“But as there was no any safe path on which to travel except this Path of Death, I am sure, all of us are going direct to the house of death and he (death) shall kill us without any struggle!” Rali thought, and the rest were terrified when heard this.
“But ladies, I want you to believe that we are now a gang of refugees!” Sala reminded the rest. “Surely, we believe before you remind us, that we are now refugees,” the rest said. “What are we going to eat, because I am nearly to die now of hunger?” Simbi asked calmly. “Of course, you are our leader and you suppose to find what all of us shall eat,” the rest replied.
Then Simbi stood up, she went round there for any edible thing, but there was none to be found, except a kind of a tree which had the fleshy props could be found. And she cut some of them with the sword with which she had killed the king of the Sinners’ town. Then she brought them to her gang. These fleshy props were to be roasted in fire before they were to be eaten, but there was no fire. Having thought of the fire for a while, they raised up their heads, they looked round as far as their eyes could reach. Luckily a light smoke was rushing out on the summit of a mountain, and it was the fire which the eruptions had caused. And at the same time, two ladies went there and a few minutes after, they brought the fire. Then the dried refuses and sticks were gathered together and they put the fire in it, and within ten minutes, it became a big fire. The fleshy props were roasted and they ate them, and it was about eight o’clock, in the morning by that time.
Having satisfied their hunger with the fleshy props (roots), they sat round the fire, they were warming their bodies with it.
After a while, Simbi, the leader, suggested whether they could continue to be travelling along the on Path of Death, hence they could not go back to the Sinners’ town, and they could not stay with the fire throughout their lives time.
“I suggest that it would be better if we should start from here to be finding the way to return to our village,” Kadara suggested.
“But we ought to be travelling on a path probably before we can trace out the right path to our village!” Simbi exclaimed.
“And we are to put in mind that we have lost the right path to our village from the Sinners’ town. And now we cannot trace out the right part of the world that our village is!” Rali reminded the rest loudly.
“Of course, I am quite sure, our village is at the West!” Sala said. “No! is at the north!” Bako doubted. “At the north? No! that is entirely wrong, please. But our village is at the east!” Kadara explained.
“All right, ladies, to make sure of which part of the globe that our village is, let us wait until the run rises. For I am quite sure, any part of the sky that the sun appears in the morning, is the west, and that is the part of our village is!” Simbi explained.
“Oh yes! that is a fair judgment!” Bako supported. “All right, let us be keeping watch of the time the sun will appear!” the rest confirmed.
Note: Bako, Rali, Sala, Kadara and Simbi were kidnapped by the same Dogo from the same village, although Simbi was kidnapped after the rest four were kidnapped. But the names and villages of the rest ladies were not known, because they had been kidnapped by the same Dogo from their villages since when they were children, although the whole of them were behaving towards each other as sisters after they had bolted away from the shrine of the Sinners’ town. But Simbi was quite sure that Bako was a Siamese twin by birth, her second was a girl as well who was a very rough-mannered girl and she was with her (Bako’s) mother in their village.
Then the whole of them stood up, they huddled quietly, rose up their heads to the sky and were waiting for the sun to appear. But unfortunately there was no trace of the sun from the sky, the day was murky.
A few minutes later, Bako remembered “But we are in the rainy season and so
metimes the sun does not appear at its right position, and sometimes it will not appear at all for the whole of this day, or even for many days to come!” “Oh yes! you are right, Bako. We are in the rainy season, therefore we cannot wait for the sun to show us the direction of our village!” the rest supported.
“Now, ladies, what to do next!” one of the nameless refugees exclaimed.
“Let’s throw some dust into the sky and to any direction the breeze blows it, that is the right direction that our village is,” Sala suggested.
“Yes, that is another good idea!” the rest exclaimed and were agreed to do so.
Then they looked thereabout for the dust but there was none to be found, for every part of the ground was wet and muddy.
“Ladies! we have forgotten, we are in the rainy season and therefore we cannot get the dust from the ground except the wet heavy earth or mud!” Simbi reminded the rest and all of them grinned.
At this stage the whole refugees buried their heads under their arms, they kept quiet and were thinking as how to reach their respective villages and also as how they would not travel on this Path of Death before they would reach their villages.
After a while, Simbi, the leader, stood up unexpectedly, she walked round there. She took a handful wet earth from the ground and then came back to the fire, but the rest were looking at her and expecting what she was going to do with the wet earth. Then she dried it with the fire and it became a dust at once having pressed and rubbed it with both palms. Then with all her power she threw the dust into the sky. But alas! there was no powerful breeze at that moment which could blow it, and it came down only a few inches from them.
Having failed for this again, Kadara suggested “I am now quite sure, there was no strong breeze at this moment. But I suggest, if we cut one leaf and throw it into the sky, to any direction it flies is the west and that is the direction of our village!”
“Good! you are quite right, Kadara, and you are sensible too!” the rest praised her. And then Bako, the Siamese twin among them, went to a tree nearby, she cut one leaf from it. With all her power she threw it into the sky. But to their greatest horror and disappointment, the only light air which was blowing at that moment, blew this leaf along the Path of Death, though they had rejected this path as a safe one. And a few seconds after, the strong breeze came and it started to blow everything along the Path of Death, and within that moment, the sun appeared from where the Path of Death went along.