THE UNKNOWN HANDS (EPISODE THIRTY-ONE)

STORY SERIES

…I wandered for many days, moving from one hamlet to another and learning different things from different people, further expanding my knowledge about life generally. It was in my wandering that I came across a fellow, Akanji, who having listened to all my

woes, felt great concern and later took me to a diviner who he assured me would unravel the cause of my torment.

We met an old man called Baba Kanako in the groove that was his abode. He consulted his oracles and told me plainly that there was a particular enemy out to see me dead and that no matter where I went; the evil will always follow me. He also disclosed that running away from the home would not solve any problem as the person concerned had his tentacles spread everywhere there was sky:

“Throwing away a knife after it had already cut ones finger will not make the blood dripping from the finger to clot” he had argued.

The man perhaps noticing that I was not taking everything he was saying in due to my experience with such people in the past, went into one of his huts and brought out a pot. Having put the pot down, we were able to see that it contained some water.

“This is the water of the earth!” he confided in us. Then, he started reciting a powerful incantation that went on for a very long time. Surprisingly, there was a rumble in the water and an image started to form on it.

“See, that’s the person I said is after you. Can you see him?”

No doubt, I clearly saw a picture and there was no denying it. The only thing I could not ascertain was who really it was. The old man then told me that he could have given me something to remove the man from my path if I had been initiated but that if he did, as things were, the harm might boomerang as the palm tree can always return the same shot fired at it to whoever is responsible for the shot. That means that any evil message sent to the enemy might come back to me since I had not been properly insured against such. He prescribed what I was to do to appease the enemy. I was to carry a sacrifice to be prepared by him in the nude to a particular spot he would tell me at the dead of the night. I readily agreed with everything he said and on the appointed day, I carried the item to the spot he had instructed me without any cloth on. He later assured me that my problem was as good as ever. Yet, it seemed that sacrifice or no sacrifice, no man can be left completely without any burden.

I visited Ilodo, Imefun and Isaga at later times. Most times, i find myself doing one job or the other or even learning how a product was made. Many a time, I was busy at the blacksmith’s forge either beating metal into shape on the anvil or assisting with the bellows. Baba had opened our minds to the fact that no knowledge acquired was useless and that we should always be ready to take in every good idea we came across. At a time, I was involved in helping to shift the bunch of palm fruits to the “eku” and was fascinated to see how palm oil was processed. The women who handled the processing were experts in their own right. There was a well-cemented pit were cooked palm fruits were poured and pestles were used to beat and crush the items into a mash. The kernels and other impediments were later removed before the reboiling of the oil on fire took place.

There were also some women by the side of the eku, whose own work was to shell kernels which were so many there. Watching them brought memories of my mother. I enquired into the real use of the nuts obtained from kernel and I learnt how it was roasted to extract its oil used as part of the items that went into the making of black soap. The other items needed was ash from either burnt banana leaves or the shaft of palm fruits which was poured into water, filtered in order to remove the impediments, before the-ash water was poured into the palm-nut oil. I marveled at the level of intelligence of my people and wandered who taught them such things. I could not wander for too long though, for, I came to realize that necessity is the mother of invention.

It was very much later I came in contact with another fellow, Oloyede, who on learning that I longed to go to the Lantoro forest, took me to its fringe. Initially, he had advised that I should not try such a thing, that anyone going there must be very powerful and strong. But, when I insisted, he felt I was adamant because I had not come face to face with the reality of a fearful forest that, perhaps seeing the place would force me to change my mind.

Sincerely, on the day we chose, I was nearly discouraged from continuing the adventure considering the distance of that forest to Erinfunfun from where we sailed. In spite of the fact that we left very early and the journey through the thickest of forest that led there, we did not get anywhere until the evening and on that first journey, I was strengthened by my friend’s presence. I began to doubt whether I would ever be able to get there alone.

By the time we got there,…to be continued on Tuesday.

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