Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle (3 page)

When these fishermen opened the coffin they discovered that it were Simbi and her master's belongings were there. They were greatly terrified and then covered it back at once, because they thought Simbi was dead before she was put inside it.

“It will be better if we return this coffin to the river before morning, otherwise the guardsmen will arrest us for it,” one of them suggested.

Then some of them put it on heads and the rest were following them to the river. Having travelled to the centre of the town, a number of the guardsmen who were on night duty challenged them. Instead to wait and explain how it was found, they threw it down and the whole of them escaped for fear of not being arrested.

And this coffin was carried to the king by the guardsmen. When its lid was removed before the king and his chiefs, they were greatly feared and were wondered greatly to see a girl (Simbi) put inside a coffin alive.

They took her out of it and asked who had put her there, but she was unable to answer because she was half
dead at that time. But after a while, when the fresh air rushed to her, she explained to the king how she was put there. Then he (king) ordered his people to give her food and water. He said to himself that if he could treat her and could become healthy, she would be among of the slaves who were to be sacrificed to his head when it was time. Because this king used to sacrifice more than two thousand slaves to his head every year, so that he might live longer. And the sacrifice was taking place before his gods which were in a special built shrine.

Then Simbi became a slave again and she was put among the slave girls whom the king had bought before her. She was working with them and they were awaiting for the time that the king would sacrifice them on presence of his gods to his head.

Only sinners were living in this town. They were pagan. They were not sacrificing neither fowls nor animals to their gods but their slaves.

Simbi was greatly surprised when she met her four friends among the slaves. They were Rali, Sala, Bako and Kadara. But Rali and Sala had just been kidnapped before her. Bako and Kadara had been kidnapped since when they were children.

All of them embraced Simbi with gladness when they saw her. Then she asked “How did all of you manage to be in this town as well?” “We were kidnapped from our village and brought here by Dogo,” her friends explained with sorrow.

“And I too were kidnapped from the junction near our village by the same Dogo, and he sold me in a town where
I was put inside the coffin and thrown it in the river,” Simbi explained.

“I am afraid, Dogo will nearly kidnap all the children to this town,” Bako wondered.

“How was my twin sister before you left our village, Simbi?” Bako asked, because she was a twin and her second was with her mother.

“Your twin sister and your mother were in good condition before I left the village but they were still in deep grief for your loss,” Simbi replied.

“But I wonder, how Dogo managed to kidnap you from your wealthy mother, Simbi?” Rali asked. “Oh yes, thank you very much for asking me the reason. You see, when I had become tired of my mother's wealths and had fed up with the enjoyments and freedom that the wealths had been giving me, I told my mother that I liked to know the ‘Poverty' and the ‘Punishment' and to experience their difficulties. But when she refused to tell me the meanings of the two words, then I made the sacrifice which could help me to know them, and when I took it to the junction Dogo kidnapped me from there.”

Rali and the others exclaimed when Simbi explained of what she was finding about. They blamed her seriously for it. But they were happy to see each other again.

Though all of them were working hardly every day for the king, their buyer, but he was not giving them anything to eat for many days, because he recognised them as goats.

“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.