Post by Runako on Jan 10, 2006 11:54:58 GMT -5
The Path Yet Untaken- A Tale of the Mbanta Runako
“Gather around young ones. Let me tell you a tale of a journey…a search for something greater…for understanding…for a home…for belonging. It begins with…a dream and a young man named Runako.”
What!! Wait!! Stop!!! AHHH!! A dream. Again the same dream. What does it mean? So many images…yet, as I awake, they slip through my mind as water through my fingers. Must relax...the bluish light around me has returned….relax…must not let the others see. But why not!! Chumisa tells me that I must control my thoughts. The others of the clan may not understand. So what!! No…that’s not right.
Many rainy seasons ago, the Shombe of the clan Shumaza took in three Mbanta “refugees”…Chumisa, myself, and another young boy, later named Komasa. We were all that was left after an attack by the Entare. I don’t remember much at all. Only that this clan took us in. We have since learned their ways and have become part of the clan. They are our people now and the Shombe grasslands…our home. At least that is what Chumisa says.
Our clan had recently traveled for a moon before meeting the clan Mror here at this new kraal. My friends and I faced ritual combat against the warriors of the Mror clan. The warriors of the clan that proved most worthy would win the right for that clan to stay at this kraal. We were, of course, victorious. How could we not with companions such as these? The gambas Haulib and Yakubu, the N'anga SombUnto and the nanala Ole tUbi…all Shombe…and finally Komasa, a Mbanta like myself. We have faced battle before.
I remember a trip to see the female mganga, Msiba. Fumo, our village n'anga and soroka, sent us to her to deliver some jars. This was before my friends and I were even named. I recall her stories of ancestral weapons, the power of fetishes, and the tales of the evil orisha. On our way back to the village, we encountered 3 ingogo. They had attempted to ambush us, but thanks to the Oryx we surprised and killed them.
The Oryx. My dream. I remember!! The Oryx has been in my dreams…even before joining the Shumaza clan! But why? I remember the first time seeing the Oryx. I was but a child. My friends and I were returning from a day of grazing cattle. We saw an Oryx gazing at the sky. We looked in the direction of its’ gaze and saw a small hairy round “bat-like” flying creature. We threw stones at it and drove it off. By the time we had finished, the Oryx was gone. But we would see it again. For it was the Oryx that would lead us to our names.
During our naming ceremony, we were given the task of bringing back the tail of a blue lion. During our journey, the Oryx appeared again. It led us to a cleft in a cliff face. We entered and followed a cave system deeper into the cliff. We encountered more ingogo. We killed them and pressed further on. We finally came across the lair of a Ngoloko mchawi wizard. Inside were cages with more of those bat-like flying creatures and a very large blue-grey lion. To our surprise the lion spoke to us…”kill my tormentors and you shall gain your names. He comes.” The mchawi had no chance and fell before the might of our spears. For our aid in releasing him, the lion bit off his tail and gave it to us. And with that…he gave us our names.
Upon our return, we showed Msiba the bat-like creatures. We learned that they were Malata plant seeds and that our village must leave this kraal. This evil plant waits in ambush near the local watering holes. Once it has consumed enough victims, it creates plant warriors to protect itself. Entire villages have been destroyed in this manor. Msiba informed our chief, Muzuna, that the kraal is cursed and that we must move to a new kraal.
And so here I lay in our new kraal…awoke from a dream…waiting for the coming of the rising sun…the return of The Overpower. Last night, at a reading by Fumo, in front of our chief Muzuma, the orisha, Bedaga spoke of a journey…a journey that will lead my companions and I away from our clan…never to return. May the natural orisha guide us safely. For my destiny awaits with the Oryx…I see that now.
“Gather around young ones. Let me tell you a tale of a journey…a search for something greater…for understanding…for a home…for belonging. It begins with…a dream and a young man named Runako.”
What!! Wait!! Stop!!! AHHH!! A dream. Again the same dream. What does it mean? So many images…yet, as I awake, they slip through my mind as water through my fingers. Must relax...the bluish light around me has returned….relax…must not let the others see. But why not!! Chumisa tells me that I must control my thoughts. The others of the clan may not understand. So what!! No…that’s not right.
Many rainy seasons ago, the Shombe of the clan Shumaza took in three Mbanta “refugees”…Chumisa, myself, and another young boy, later named Komasa. We were all that was left after an attack by the Entare. I don’t remember much at all. Only that this clan took us in. We have since learned their ways and have become part of the clan. They are our people now and the Shombe grasslands…our home. At least that is what Chumisa says.
Our clan had recently traveled for a moon before meeting the clan Mror here at this new kraal. My friends and I faced ritual combat against the warriors of the Mror clan. The warriors of the clan that proved most worthy would win the right for that clan to stay at this kraal. We were, of course, victorious. How could we not with companions such as these? The gambas Haulib and Yakubu, the N'anga SombUnto and the nanala Ole tUbi…all Shombe…and finally Komasa, a Mbanta like myself. We have faced battle before.
I remember a trip to see the female mganga, Msiba. Fumo, our village n'anga and soroka, sent us to her to deliver some jars. This was before my friends and I were even named. I recall her stories of ancestral weapons, the power of fetishes, and the tales of the evil orisha. On our way back to the village, we encountered 3 ingogo. They had attempted to ambush us, but thanks to the Oryx we surprised and killed them.
The Oryx. My dream. I remember!! The Oryx has been in my dreams…even before joining the Shumaza clan! But why? I remember the first time seeing the Oryx. I was but a child. My friends and I were returning from a day of grazing cattle. We saw an Oryx gazing at the sky. We looked in the direction of its’ gaze and saw a small hairy round “bat-like” flying creature. We threw stones at it and drove it off. By the time we had finished, the Oryx was gone. But we would see it again. For it was the Oryx that would lead us to our names.
During our naming ceremony, we were given the task of bringing back the tail of a blue lion. During our journey, the Oryx appeared again. It led us to a cleft in a cliff face. We entered and followed a cave system deeper into the cliff. We encountered more ingogo. We killed them and pressed further on. We finally came across the lair of a Ngoloko mchawi wizard. Inside were cages with more of those bat-like flying creatures and a very large blue-grey lion. To our surprise the lion spoke to us…”kill my tormentors and you shall gain your names. He comes.” The mchawi had no chance and fell before the might of our spears. For our aid in releasing him, the lion bit off his tail and gave it to us. And with that…he gave us our names.
Upon our return, we showed Msiba the bat-like creatures. We learned that they were Malata plant seeds and that our village must leave this kraal. This evil plant waits in ambush near the local watering holes. Once it has consumed enough victims, it creates plant warriors to protect itself. Entire villages have been destroyed in this manor. Msiba informed our chief, Muzuna, that the kraal is cursed and that we must move to a new kraal.
And so here I lay in our new kraal…awoke from a dream…waiting for the coming of the rising sun…the return of The Overpower. Last night, at a reading by Fumo, in front of our chief Muzuma, the orisha, Bedaga spoke of a journey…a journey that will lead my companions and I away from our clan…never to return. May the natural orisha guide us safely. For my destiny awaits with the Oryx…I see that now.