Alone

 We are four

Nay, three going by tribal lore

Yet I am alone.

Misery has me but for a loan.

Eshu

A long time ago in the faraway land of Keei there existed a god called Eshu. Eshu was a mischievous god. He ate where he never sowed and reaped where he never planted. Eshu was a god who did not mind a little bloodshed as long as the blood watered the tree from where his fruit was picked. He thrived by convincing the people that their problems were his problems. But when the people faced hunger, diseases and poverty, Eshu and his kin lived in sumptuousness.

The people of Keei were famed for their farming. They would till endless tracts of land and plant cassava, millet, vegetables, fruit and rear countless animals. This is because the Keei people were descended from two great farmers, Inga the father from the mountains and Rewe the father from the lakes.

Inga and Rewe were children of the same father who was called Keei and who the land was named after. When Keei’s two sons had come of age and needed a place to settle, he allocated the mountains to Inga and all the descendants who would come after him while Rewe was  apportioned the lakeside to occupy and till with his descendants.

Despite this, the people of Keei always lived in peace and harmony with each other. To avoid conflict among themselves, they decided to have their two vast farms separated by a long wide road that ran from the north of the farm to the south. This notwithstanding, they would till their lands side by side, sing the same songs of their forebearers as they planted and share their porridge during breaks taken from weeding their two magnificent farms.

All this time, Eshu the god of mischief would watch them from his palatial home up in the sky. But when the time for harvest came, Eshu would immediately spring into action. Harvest time was Eshu’s most favorite period in his life for this was his time to reap where he did not sow.

As the people of Keei, the descendants of Rewe and Inga prepared their sickles and sacks in readiness to go and pick their harvest from the farmlands, Eshu would summon his wizard who would perform a rite on him. This rite would make Eshu acquire two colors. The right half of his body would turn into orange, the royal color of the Rewes while the left side would turn into red, the royal color of the Ingas. All Eshu needed to do after this was to wreck confusion among the people of Keei.

It therefore happened that during a harvest season, Eshu in his two colors would wait for the Ingas and Rewes two descend on their two farms and start harvesting. While at it, Eshu would appear in his two colors and walk from the north end of the road separating the two farms to the south end facing ahead and not mentioning a word. In those days, gods were revered beings and whenever he appeared, the people would lay prostrate in honor.

Once he had disappeared at the south end, the Rewes would ask their brothers the Ingas “Have you seen how magnificent Eshu was in his orange splendor, the royal color of Rewe?” The Ingas would then respond in objection, “That’s a lie! Eshu passed by in red, the color of our forefather Inga.”

And the Rewes would accuse the Ingas of calling them liars and the Ingas would accuse the Rewes of the same. The two would put aside their harvest and get embroiled in a bitter fight about who between them was right. Meanwhile, Eshu’s minions would gather from the abandoned harvest the best picks. After his servants had filled his sacks with most of harvest, Eshu would carry it back to his glorified home up in the sky, living the people of Keei with leftovers to gather.

And the people would not have enough to eat and no strength to fight any more. Meanwhile from his palace high up, Eshu would enjoy the sweat of the people’s labor, watching impishly as they went back to their farms to till, to plant and to weed. Eshu was a patient god, he would patiently wait for the next harvesting season.

The Man in the Mirror

Long long ago in the Balubanga Kingdom of the Abandu people of Western Kenya, there lived a Mighty King by the name Guyuguyu. Omwami Guyuguyu was famed in all of Abandu land for his ruthless bravery. He had led his army across all of Abandu land and those Chiefdoms that wouldn't co-operate with him were vanquished by his army but those that paid allegiance to him would be incorporated into his Kingdom. At seven feet tall, Guyuguyu was a hugely built and well chiseled warrior who would intimidate any opponent by his stature alone. He had been a great wrestler too and had floored every opponent he faced in the popular omunyikha wrestling matches.

It so happened that during a raid on the un-cooperating chiefdom of Abasonga, Omwami Guyuguyu’s son Ogungo was hit by a poisoned arrow sent by the enemy. Ogungo the King’s son died from this fatal strike. Omwami Guyuguyu mourned his son honourably and after the forty days of mourning were exhausted, he led his army blazing into the Abasonga chiefdom and when he was done, all the Abasonga females were slaves of the Balubanga and all the males were carcasses.

This raid to avenge his son’s death was so brutal that Omwami Guyuguyu’s name spread like wildfire. Musicians composed endless songs about the vanquishing of the Abasonga. The wind too, it carried the stench of the rotting Abasonga carcasses to the end of the earths. None of the surrounding Chiefdoms wanted to cross Omwami Guyuguyu’s path anymore.

Since Guyuguyu’s ferocity had spread fear all around, he did not need to do raids anymore. His reputation preceded him. All he needed to do was to send his messengers accompanied by a few warriors to any Chiefdom and they would return with whatever he wanted be it taxes, workers or volunteers for his now mammoth army. This made Omwami less and less active. He mostly spent his days feasting on Nyama Choma and traditional beer. 

There would be a feast in his palace every other day and the palace officials and visitors would be treated to sumptuous meals, flowing beer and subservient women from the conquered Chiefdoms. This lifestyle soon had a toll on Omwami Guyuguyu. His muscles became fatty, his height seemed to have diminished, his belly was overflowing, his cheeks became chubby and his once thunderous voice was now reduced to a shrieking whisper. 

Upon the advice of his eldest and most respected wife Ng'inabandu, Omwami Guyuguyu summoned Ogirinyo the revered wizard. He asked Ogirinyo to commune with the ancestors and find out why Omwami looked different in the mirror. After throwing his cowrie shells in the name of the gods, Ogirinyo advised the King thus:

‘Omwami Guyuguyu, your mirror and all the mirrors on our land have been bewitched by your enemies to make a false impression of how you look. Only the true mirror of our God Were Khagaba Rachar hidden in His cave atop the Namalo hills can give the true picture of how you look. You must journey up the Namalo hills to see your true self in Were’s mirror and order that all the mirrors on the land be covered and put away for they are bewitched. The gods also demand that before the journey is complete, no feast should be held in Bulubanga.’

So for the first time in months, Omwami Guyuguyu set foot out of the palace gates. On this first attempt, he could not walk beyond the walls of his village. That short distance left him panting and gasping for breath and he had to turn back and try again on the next day. Ogirinyo kept urging the King day after day and after some time, he was able to walk past the village walls to the fields beyond but whenever he felt like he could walk no more, he would turn and walk back to the Village.

Namalo hills are the sacred seat of the Abandu people and one had to walk for almost 25 kilometers to get to the sacred hills. The Abandu always made yearly sojourns to the hill to worship their God Were Khagaba Rachar. As days went by, the King gained more strength and resolve to reach the top of Namalo hills in order to look at his true self on Were’s mirror. Each day he walked further and faster towards the sacred hills and at times had to run all the way back home in case he couldn’t make it home on time.

One night Omwami summoned Ogirinyo to the palace and told him that he was sure he would reach the hills the next day. With excitement, the King told Ogirinyo how he had walked so far that he had seen the sacred splendour of the Namalo hills in the horizon. He asked Ogirinyo to set out with him the next day so that they could look at the King’s image in the gods’ mirror together. 

That night, Ogirinyo sent off two of his trusted helpers with a huge mirror to the Namalo hills and instructed them to place the mirror in one of the chambers of Were Khagaba Rachar’s caves.

On the next day, the King set out on his self-discovery journey with Ogirinyo in tow. Since he had been walking to and fro almost thrice every week, he had formed a habit of leaving very early so on this day they left at 4.00 am in the morning. As they walked along, Ogirinyo was impressed at the King’s speed. Omwami Guyuguyu even joked that with Ogirinyo’s slow pace they might get to the hills on the next day.

As Ogirinyo struggled to catch up with the agile King, he couldn’t help noticing how the King’s spring had come back. All the chubbiness had disappeared and the muscles were showing again. He had become lighter, leaner, tougher and faster. The sheer determination to reach the top of the hill had made him push himself out of his idling ways making him walk and walk days on end. And most importantly, it had stopped the daily feasts at the palace.

After walking for what seemed like an eternity, they finally arrived at the foot of the holy Namalo hills at 3 pm. The climb up the hill was even faster than the journey itself. Ogirinyo could feel the King’s urgency to look upon himself in the mirror of the gods. At long last they stood at the innermost chamber of Were Khagaba caves atop Namalo hills infront of God's true mirror. And for the first time in several months, the King looked at himself in a mirror. All the laziness and fatness was gone. King Guyuguyu the warrior was back and the true mirror of the gods had spoken.

©2015 Otiato Opali.