Feather Woman of the Jungle (10 page)

And it was hardly nine o’clock of the eighth night, as the moon was just appeared, when the whole people of my village had gathered in front of my house. When all of them sat quietly then everyone was served with one keg of the
palm-wine
and the biggest keg was in front of me. After they had drunken some of their wine and then sung and danced for a while, and when I put the fire in my pipe and then sat up in my usual old arm-chair. Then when the people sat back quietly and were ready to hear my story. I began to tell them the story of my sixth journey thus:

Although I had discontinued my journeys since when I had brought Sela to the village from her mother, the Goddess of Diamonds, the ruler of the town on the mountain. But of course, since when she had been taken away and again, all of my property had burnt into ashes. Therefore, I made up my mind to continue my journeys once more, probably I might be a rich man as before, after the journeys.

But as I was just preparing to leave in a few days’ time for another town in which there were treasures as beads, raw gold, silver, brass, copper, etc. in which the inhabitants of
that town were not interested. So six of my friends insisted to go with me. They told me that they too liked to be rich when they returned. Of course, I told them the difficulties, dangers, punishments, starvation of the roads, etc. But yet, they
insisted
to go with me, then I allowed them to follow me, for I believed that soon or later they would understand that all the wealths which I had brought to the village and had been burnt into the ashes, had not been stolen nor had I been
monopolized
people of their properties, but I had done a lot of dangerous and risky works for them before they had given them to me as rewards.

Now, in the morning that I was leaving, I borrowed one gun, because my own gun had burnt the other day. Then I put some edible things in the new hunting-bag which I hung on my left shoulder together with the gun. Then I held my usual matchet, after that I bade my father, mother, etc. good-bye. I hardly done that when my six friends came, then we left the village at the same time. But the town in which I was going this time was under the ground and the entrance of it was
invisible
and before we could trace it out, we would travel as far as to Ile-Ife. And it was in Ife town the sun and the moon were rising from different wells into the sky and were setting in the same wells. Of course I was very happy as I was talking and joking with my friends along the road, I was not lonely at all as my last five journeys. (ILE-IFE is in the West of Nigeria.)

Having travelled for many weeks, with much difficulties, etc. we reached Ife town at about six o’clock in the evening. But it took us some hours again to reach the “boundary keeper’s lodge” because we were attracted by the wonders which we saw on the way leading to his lodge. And we were very lucky that there was no darkness in Ife town because it was from there the sun and the moon rised and set. Therefore, everything was very clear to us through the rays of the moon.

After a while, we met one of the inhabitants of Ife on the
road and as we did not know the way to the “boundary man’s lodge” or porter’s lodge. So he led us to the lodge which was at the outskirt of the town. We reached there at about ten o’clock in the night. But he was not in that moment, he had gone to the town, of course one of his attendants was sent to him to inform him of our arrival. After a few minutes, he
returned
with his attendant. He entered his sitting-room and when he sat, we were invited to come in and then we
prostrated
and saluted him with great respect. Having answered us with a cheerful voice, then he ordered us to stand from the prostration otherwise we must not stand up, or if we did so it was an insult to him. So we sat before him.

Then he asked from us: “My sons, from where did you come?” I hastily knelt before him and replied: “We come from a village in Abeokuta.” He said at the same time: “Oh, is that so? Good! But what did you come to me for?” I
replied
: “We come to you to show us the invisible entrance to the town which is under the ground.” But he laughed greatly when he heard like that from me. He was so much surprised that he repeated the name of that town several times within that moment. But with bravery, I still confirmed that we were going to the town which was under the ground.

Then he explained to us as the old men of my village had already explained, that the inhabitants of that town were very dangerous. But when I told him that I had already heard about that, he shrugged and then said that he would show us the entrance later on. He said that we must spend a few days with him so that he might take us round Ife town to see the wonders and also the king of Ife who was the father of all Yorubas.

After a while he told his servant to give us food and drink and having eaten and drunken, then we played for a while before we were taken to the bedroom and then we slept.

When we woke up in the morning, we met him (porter) in
the sitting-room. He sat on his old ornamented arm-chair and he was chewing stick while the hot drink was in front of him. We prostrated flatly before him and saluted him according to how young Yoruba men were saluting an old and high rank man as he was. He answered cheerfully and then he first gave one shot of that hot drink to each of us. Then he gave chewing sticks to us and having chewed it then we went to the bathroom to bathe. But the morning pap was ready before we returned from the bathroom and it was served hot to each of us as soon as we returned.

After the pap, and he amused us for a while, then he stood up and as he was leaving the sitting-room, he told us to
follow
him. First, he took us to the well from which the moon was rising into the sky. When we peeped into this well, the water reached a half of it and it was very clear. The well had no bottom at all. And we saw the moon in it as it was moving round like a wheel. It shone to every part of the well as if it was as big as the sky. But of course, we were unable to look at it so long for its ray was too powerful for the eyes. Having left the moon, he took us to one vast rock which went along without end. When we climbed it to the distance of about one half of a mile. Then we came to where several foot marks were appeared on this rock. Some went up that rock and so some went down. He showed us two foot marks which proved that one who had walked on there had shoes on feet and both went downward as if one who had the marks had descended from the rock. When I asked the porter why those two were quite different from the rest, he told us that those foot marks which bore the shoe marks, were belonged to the first white men who had first travelled from heaven through that rock to the earth.

Again, he showed us the road leading to heaven but it was very rough indeed and full of refuses. But when I asked him why that road was so rough and full of refuses while the
others were very clean, he explained to us that because the people hated to go back to heaven always. But as he had omitted one thing in which I had much interest. So I asked him to show us the well from which the sun was rising into the sky. He replied without delay that as that time was the day-time and that the sun was on, we could not go near it or if we did so, we would burn into the ashes at the same moment. Of course, he pointed finger to the well and in fact nobody could go near it in the day-time because we saw plainly the heat which was rushing out of the well. He told us further that all the people of Ife town did not worry to go to another town for fire but they were getting their fire from the heat of the sun.

After that he took us to the palace of Oduduwa, the father of all Yorubas, and we met his successor in his (Oduduwa’s) robes. And with happiness, the king took us round the palace and we saw many images, gods, idols, etc. which he and his royal family were worshipped. After we returned to the palace and sat in front of him and his chiefs. Then he started to
explain
to us that all Yoruba Obas (kings) like the Alake of Abeokuta, Alafin of Oyo, Owa of Ilesha, Alaketu of
Dahomey
, Olubini of Benin, etc. etc. etc., were the sons of Oduduwa. Again, I told him to show us the grave of
Oduduwa
. But to my surprise, he and his chiefs and the porter bursted into a great laughter at a time. Then the king
explained
that Oduduwa did not die at all but he walked from the earth back to heaven when he was old and weary. But when he noticed that we did not believe him, he, together with his chiefs and the porter, took us to the road on which
Oduduwa
had travelled back to the heaven in those days. To everyone’s astonishment, there was no bush or weed sprouted on that road since when he had travelled on it. But it was as clear as if somebody was sweeping it every moment and so it is till today.

We remained in the palace till the following morning. We ate and drank as we liked. The king and his chiefs advised us very strongly not to go to that town which was under the ground, but I refused. So when it was about nine o’clock we followed the porter back to his lodge after the king and his chiefs had given us many presents.

In the following morning which was the third day that we had arrived in Ife town. The porter took us to another town which was called Ede, the home of the god of thunder and his wife whose name was Oya. But we travelled for two days before we came to Ede town. Then the porter took us direct to the palace of the god of thunder. Luckily we met him and his wife, Oya, in their respective robes with which they
worshipped
their gods. When the porter introduced us to him and told him the kind of persons we were, he and his wife shook hands with every one of us. After a while, we were served with nice food and drinks of all kinds. After we ate and drank, then he and his wife took us to his gods which were occupied the whole of a mighty building. This building was far away from the palace or any other buildings because the gods in it were so powerful that people could not live near them.

As he stood before his gods, just to show us how powerful they (gods) were, he took one big gourd which was hung
before
them. The shape of that gourd was just like that of bottle of beer. Some round pebbles were put in it before it was cocked. Its outer part was entirely soaked with the blood of the animals which had been sacrificed to the gods and plenty of cock’s and hen’s feathers were stuck to every part of it. Then he started to shake this gourd as hastily as he could as he was talking to it.

To our fear this day was that, he hardly shook it for about thirty seconds when the sky became very cloudy, and a few seconds more, a heavy rain came but immediately the rain
began, we saw his wife who stood before her own gods as well in another part of that building. And she took her own gourd which was a little different from her husband’s. She held it with right hand and she took one thick copper (about one foot long) from the mud bowl which was before the gods. The head of that copper had two thick edges. Each of the edges was in shape of axe but much shorter. As she was shaking the gourd with the right hand and held up that copper with the left hand and as her husband was still shaking his own continuously. Then there was lightning and thunder. As the lightning was flashing into this building with great power and as several thunderbolts were dashing in repeatedly, it was so she was snatching them with the copper which was in her left hand and then she was dropping them in the mud bowl which was in front of her gods. (Songo is male, the god of thunder, and Oya is female. So when the god of thunder vexes, his wife, Oya, appeases him with the copper.)

As the husband was shaking the gourd continuously with great anger and the thunderbolts were dashing in and the lightning was flashing in with full force but when his wife caught the thunderbolts for some minutes then he hung his gourd back before his gods and then the thunderbolts and the lightning were stopped at the same time and the rain stopped after a while as well. After everything was stopped, then Oya hung her own gourd back before her own gods as well.

It was like that we had enjoyed their displays. Then we went back to the palace after more wonders had been shown to us. But when we got ready to leave in the following
morning
, the husband (god of thunder) gave us four black tablets which, when swallowed, would turn us into another form. His wife, Oya, gave us four red tablets as well which, when swallowed, would change us back to our former forms
whenever
we turned into anything. Then we thanked them greatly before we left their town.

We reached Ife town in the third day. But as we did not want to keep long there again, so I told the porter in the night that we would continue our journey in the following morning. He told us to wait and enjoy more days with him but I told him that we were anxious greatly to reach where we were going as early as possible. So he agreed and then prayed for us that we would reach our destination savely and that we would return to our village savely as well.

The people of my village were gathered earlier in the front of my house to hear the continuation story of my sixth journey. All were served with the palm-wine as usual and then I
continued
to tell the story as follows:

In the following morning, when we were ready to leave, the porter or the boundary-keeper asked us to show him the weapons with which we were travelling. But when I showed him my gun and machet and my friends showed him their own matchets as well, he bursted into a great laughter. He told us that all our weapons cannot save us from the dangers of the underground, especially the fearful hairy giant and the hairy giantess whom we were going to meet on the way. But of course, as he was a kind porter, he gave us plenty of bows and poisonous arrows. After that we told him to show us the invisible road which led into the underground. So he pointed hand to a kind of a house which was far away but within our sights.

This house, as I called it, was as narrow and long as a chimney. It showed that it had been built with mud more than two hundred years. Its narrow entrance was very rough and the withered leaves were full up the bottom of it and this showed that people were not going through there to the underground town frequently. It was closed with a very heavy flat stone which about one hundred men could not move. There was a small space on top of it through which
something
like smoke was rushing straight into the sky.

We felt very reluctant when the porter told us to go to this
house and bow down for three times before we knock at the stone which was the door for the entrance. Anyhow, after we had thanked him greatly for his kindness and then bade good-bye to him and his family, we started to go to this house with doubtful minds. Having travelled hastily for thirty minutes we came to the house and then all of us stood before its entrance. Having bowed down for three times, then I knocked and we were waiting for the reply. After a while, we saw many hands which pushed that heavy stone to one side and then we heard a weary voice which told us to come in. But to our surprise, we did not see the rest bodies of the owners of those hands and we did not see the person who had told us to come in as well.

Anyhow, with bravery, I entered the house and my friends followed me with fear. Immediately I entered and walked to a short distance, I saw a long ladder which went into the
underground
. Then I began to climb that ladder down as my friends were following me. When we climbed it for about one hour then we came to the ground of the underground. But as we stood in one place and were still wondering to see that this underground was another world, one middle-aged man, who was completely in black dress, came to us. He told us that we were wanted. When he said so, I asked him with a soft voice: “We are wanted by whom?” He replied: “By my father who is the keeper of this place!” Then we followed him with the hope that his father was near that place. But after we had travelled with him for about two hours, we came to a very high rock and without hesitation, we were following him as he was climbing that rock along to the top.

When we got to the top, we saw his father sitting on an old wooden chair. Having brought us to his father and as we bowed and were saluting him, this middle-aged man entered the house which was behind his father. After the salutation, the father told us to sit before him and each of us sat on each of the
stones which were at a little distance in front of him like the visitors’ seats. I hardly sat down when I began to notice his appearances and surroundings. He was so old that he seemed that he could not die. He was old beyond death. Because all the muscle of his body had already dried up to the state that when he stood up there was no difference between him and a dried slender stick. Neither of his eyes had dried up to the size of a bean. His cheeks had already melted but his teeth were complete. His legs were stretched forward as if both could not move to anywhere. But what made us afraid was that the hairs on his head were very few but his beard was long up to ten feet and all went along on the ground. One guana lay down on his left and one snail on his right. The snail was as big as a load which a strong man could not even move to one side. Of course, I could not say the kind of helps that which the guana and the snail were rendering to him.

But as I began to notice his surroundings, he asked
suddenly
: “I believe, you were the persons who had knocked at the door of the entrance!” When I replied: “Yes,” he asked again: “Where are you going?” I replied: “We are going to the town of wealths!” “What for?” he asked. I replied: “We are going there for wealths!” “Wealths?” he repeated it with great wonder and I confirmed it loudly: “Yes, indeed!”

Then he looked at the sky and thought over for a few minutes before he raised head down and told us that he was very sorry that the hairy giant and hairy giantess who were on the rock would kill us as soon as we climbed that rock to the top. Having told us like that I asked him whether there was another road on which to travel but he said that there was only one road in the underground. When he told us like that some of us were so much feared that they wanted to return to the village from there. But this old man hastily explained to us that we could not go back again because once we had
entered the underground, there was no way to go back except to go forward.

Then all of us became quiet at the same time, we did not talk until the old man asked whether we knew him before, but I said: “We did not know you before because we had not come into the underground before.” After that he explained to us that he was there as well to be interviewing those who were coming in to the underground. He said that every
newcomer
was bound to pay the boundary fee to him before he or she would be allowed to proceed on his or her journey.

Then I asked him for how much we were going to pay, but he told us that it was ten thousand cowries (about threepence) per head. Then I gave him seven threepences from the money which was given to us by the king of Ife town and the king of Ede town, the god of thunder. These seven threepences were the boundary fees for the whole of us. After the payment, he stood up like the skeleton and then he blessed every one of us before he allowed us to go. But we could not travel so far when it was night. Then we slept under one tree which was on a small hill near the road and we woke up in the morning and then continued to travel along as early as possible.

We felt to eat when we had travelled as hastily as we could till twelve o’clock. Then we stopped under one of the mango trees which lined up along the road on which were travelling. We hesitated for some minutes perhaps we would see the owner of these fruit trees so that we might beg him to give us some of the fruits. Having hesitated for a while but we did not see anyone. Then one of us, whose name was Ajasa, climbed one of the trees. As he was plucking the ripen mangoes down to us and we were eating them with greediness and as he was eating them on top of that tree. One fearful man and his wife appeared from a distance of about five hundred yards.

Then the whole of us stopped eating the mangoes at the same time but we gazed at both of them as they were coming
direct to that place. When they came nearer, we saw them clearly that the man was a giant and his wife was a giantess. None of them wore clothes but their bodies were full of hair. The hair were as fluffy as that of a cat but had many spots like that of a leopard. The hair of their heads were very bushy and made the heads bigger and so the hair of their feet were bushy and made the feet bigger as if they wore shoes. Their palms had no hair at all but their mouths were hardly to see when were shut up because of the hair which made them seemed as if there were no mouths at all. But of course, their eyes were seen always because of the eyeballs which were swelled out like a big knob of a big tree.

Their nose were very big and the nostrils were full of hair. Each of their teeth was about a half of an inch wide and about two inches long. The husband was about twelve feet tall and was very stout and strong and smart. Both of them were
always
seemed as if they were in a great anger. But I noticed again that the eyeballs of his wife were four times bigger than the husbands. She had the breasts which were nearly to touch the ground.

The husband held one short thick cudgel of stone and it was so heavy that he placed it on the shoulder as he held it. His wife held one dead antelope with the left hand and one half-dead hawk with the right hand. Immediately both of them saw us, the husband held his cudgel of stone very tightly and then raised it above head this time.

But when they were about twenty yards from us, the
husband
shouted greatly: “Who are you? Who are you eating my mangoes? Stop in one place and let your death meets you there or be running away and let your death chase you! Please, choose neither of the two! Because I am the death who is coming to kill you all now! Willing or not all of you will go in my soup pot tonight!” But when this fearful hairy giant shouted like that and was getting ready to beat us with
his cudgel of stone as both were coming to us with great anger. So without hesitation, we snatched our loads from the ground and then we started to run along on the road for our lives. But unfortunately Ajasa, who was on top of that mango tree, was unable to climb down and follow us, until the hairy giant came to the tree and then threw his cudgel of stone to him as that was still trembling with fear. But when the cudgel missed him but was hung between two branches. Having failed to bring Ajasa down with his cudgel he began to climb the tree to the top as hastily as he could just to take it and then to beat him to death at the same time.

Having seen him coming up to him, Ajas hastily jumped from the top of that mango tree to another one which was nearby. But as this fearful hairy giant was still struggling hardly to take his cudgel in time and then to jump from that mango tree on to the second one on which Ajasa was and as his wife, the hairy giantess, was going round that tree so that Ajasa might not be able to jump down before her husband would be able to come to him. Ajasa jumped on to another part of the ground suddenly and without hesitation, he was running away as fast as he could.

When the giant had taken his cudgel and come down from the mango tree, he and his wife started to chase us. After a while, Ajasa overtook us, and then we were running along together as fast we we could. After a while we were lost within the sight of the giant and his wife. But of course, that was not so long when we ran to one hill on top of which the road went along to the other side. Then without hesitation, and as we were breathing in and out heavily for tiredness, we began to climb it with all our power. And with much difficulties and tiredness, we climbed it to the top when it was about six o’clock in the evening.

As we were very tired before climbing this hill to the top and as the darkness of the night was coming gradually. So
we did not waste time but we began to find a place in which to hide ourselves at the same time before the hairy giant and giantess came. As there were some houses on top of the hill which had already ruined from a long time. Therefore it was very hard for us to find a hiding place as soon as possible. The roofs of these houses had already fallen down and the walls were badly split and some were nearly washed away by the rains. So this showed us that the inhabitants had left there or died from a long time. But there were many fowls, goats, rams, etc. which were seeing everywhere in this ruined town.

But as we were trying to hide ourselves before this fearful man and his wife came. So without hesitation, we entered one of these ruined houses but we hardly entered when the fowls which were perched on the walls and beams scattered and began to make great noise. Then without hesitation, we ran out so that they might not suspect us to the giant. Again, we ran to another one which was next to that and without
hesitation
, we entered it but we ran out with fear when several big and small birds which were perched in there to sleep scattered by that time. Again, without hesitation, we ran to another one but as there was no shelter on the floor of it we began to climb it so that we might hide on some of the beams which were not yet fallen down. But as we sat on the beams and then we were peeping and expecting when the giant and his wife would come, the beams together with the old walls fell down suddenly and all were broken into pieces. And all of us were wounded but two of us were wounded seriously and they were fainted before we took them out from the fallen walls and beams.

Having taken them out, I hastily cut some long strips from the stem of the plantains which was near there Then I used them as bandages for the wounded parts of the bodies of those two men. After that I cut some palm-fronds and wove
them. So we carried these two men with them to another house as hastily as possible. But this house was not so ruined and it showed that somebody was living in it. Because I noticed that there were pots of water, plates, brooms, one big mortar and pestle, soup pots and a very big hearth in which there was a big fire, was in the centre of the house. All these things were not in order at all and this showed us that the person who was living in there was not so normal.

Anyhow, we did not think so much about the owner before we entered one of the four rooms. We lay the two wounded men near left corner and then the rest of us lay in the second corner which was on the right. But as we were very tired, so it was not long when we fell asleep without putting our loads and gun inside, all were in the front of that house. Not
knowing
that this house belonged to the fearful hairy giant and his wife and they were coming to sleep in there that night. Only two of them were in that ruined town.

When they had tried all their efforts to find us out but failed. Then they were coming back to that house with great anger when it was about eleven o’clock in the night and they were very happy when they met us sleeping in one of the rooms. When they entered that room and met all of us still sleeping, he told his wife to look very sternly at us with her big eyes. But she hardly did like that when the power of her eyes made us powerless at the same time. We were unable to move any part of our bodies but we could feel if something touched us and we could think as when we were not
powerless
by the power of the eyes of the hairy giantess.