.
I was told that it was not a journey for the fainthearted but i knew i had to go.
As i placed my feet one after
the other in movement, dust from the red
African soil swirls around while some settle on my feet. After a long
while, the dust stops as the road turns to a pathway and the noise of
occasional passing cars, human chatters and footsteps are lost to the
quietude of this enigma of a forest. Pulled by an invisible force of
curiousity, i moved further into the forest towards the stream. That is
where they say my village shrine reigned from, even before the days of the
father of my fathers'' father And the deeper i go into the belly of the
forest, the more fearsome the trees grew to be. Even the shrubs became
phantoms by tricks of my mind and the earie silence became loudly
menacing.
The running water startled me as i got near to it and then, remembering
the wisdom of the elders, i liberated my voice to shouts of the
mortals so that the water spirits would go in and then grant me safe passage.
Here, between the water that gives life and the land of the African
gods, the journey ends for the mortal female except the few favoured by
the gods and initiated into the revered cult of priesthood. Just as the
secret of the owl shall never be made known to daylight, so is the
trail to my village shrine. My fathers'' father told me that i was initiated
ahead of my mates and should not be afraid of a handshake with the
gods. I looked around me, shook off the cobwebs of trepidation hanging all
over me and in a leap of faith and courage, i jumped across the stream
and walked into the thick undergrowth - fabled playground of the gods.
I knew about them - messengers of the gods, but having one jump right
onto my path sent chills down my spine but i had come too far to
tolerate thoughts of going back. The ape considered me for a while and
probably finding me worthy of an encounter with the abode of the gods, left
me to my fate and continued on its tour of duty. The cries of unusual
birds i do not see bid me welcome as i ventured yet nearer my
destination. Excitedly, i sallied forth into the last of the shrubs before the
sacred grotto but as nothing prepared me for the extraordinary spectacle
that beheld me, i was bewitched and enthralled. I cautiously moved my
unwilling legs towards the subject of my visit. I sat down on a carved
ancient wooden stool right in front of the cave and picked a white clay
of the gods. I crushed a little and applied on my eyes and with a
gradual comprehension that i was really in the presence of a force beyond my
mortal understanding, my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness
enveloping me and i beheld it - my village shrine.
Published: January 25, 2008
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