The Leopard - By Liambi Willy - Chapter 1 : Moving to Sasa

Introduction

In a night so dark, rainy, and cold the moon was full. In a deep jungle merciless. Filled with all sorts of creatures. We could hear the thunders and screams of anguish at a distance. This is a special night. Something is happening. Something so good. Something so frightening. Something so uncertain. A baby leopard is born. The skies are crying all of their tears. God is hitting the earth with thunders. Kingdoms far beyond the land of the middle are shaking. His father’s name is monga, the baby leopard name is baptized after its father, monga.

All of the creation celebrate the birth of the baby leopard. Both forces of Good and Evil are all in admiration in a great display of creativity like none ever before. The next day is sunny, and the storm has passed. All at the Bumba village come to pay homage to the newborn monga and wish him good fortune. All wish for him an intelligence greater than the man of the north.

How could one explain exactly what motivates monga the father to desire a western education for his son? In fact, long before the birth of Monga the son, men from the north came to the land of the middle and colonized it. Took many of its people into slavery to work in the land of the west, and for those who stayed great indoctrination and oppression was placed upon the people of the middle. The man of the north had greater technology which is why the people of the middle could not compete with them. Monga the father noticed that the witchcraft from the man of the north, which they had partially taught to the people of the land of the middle, was the main reason, their magic was more powerful. He, therefore, decided that his son, would learn the sciences from the north in order to one day bring prosperity to the people of the middle, and insure for them that never again would they have to suffer at the hands of a more technologically advanced invader.

The bloodline of the monga is one of an advanced brain and cognitive function. Science would therefore not be too hard to understand for them. Monga the father had other sons, that unfortunately weren’t as brilliant as the one name like himself.

Forever those brothers of monga would depend on him since he had the bigger brain. Monga the father did his best to send his children to school, doing all sorts of occupation and businesses that would earn him money. At elementary school the intelligence and brightness of the young monga could already show, he impressed all of his teachers even back then. Monga the father, had accepted the God of the north as the one true God and had the young monga baptized to his faith. At the day of baptism, a great feast was offered and all family and friends rejoiced together. His Christian name came to be Valentin.

The land of the middle was fresh out of colonization from the men of the north and west. After much infighting and political instability, the tribes of the monga’s came to prevail as the rulers of the land. The land of the middle was vast and rich and an era of prosperity for the monga’s was glooming in the future. In the meantime many years had passed, young monga had grown, and came to admire the sciences and religions from the north and west even more than his father would have hoped for. Never was a father more proud of his son, monga the son was both extremely intelligent and had a heart big, kind and gentle as any man could be. Once he was done with high school he received a scholarship to continue in university and learned about the medical arts of healing. Because of his big heart, monga the son decided to learn about the art of healing young children, The most innocent and fragile to his eyes, hoping that one day he could also take care of his own children. And so the man he becomes, well educated and with the clear intention of helping others follow his path to greatness.

Chapter 1: Moving to Sasa

Once he was done with university, monga of Christian name Valentin decided to move to Sasa. The greatest village in the land of the middle. Thus giving up on his life at the Bumba village. Where he had returned after his studies at Sasa village, to see if he could make a living with his talent at his home tribe. The lack of infrastructure and basic needs for him to be really helpful is what motivated him to move back to Sasa with the hope of one day returning to Bumba, once he would have gathered enough momentum, and means to be able to truly help.

In that morning all the village assembled to say goodbye and good luck to the young monga Valentin. There was the chief of the village, valentine's father mother, aunt, grandmother and all the other members of the tribe. Most of the people regarded the young Valentin as if he had been too westernized, and considered that he already looked too much like the people of the north, he dressed like them, talked and behave like them.

“Why are you leaving us, my son?” Asked monga the father. “I have to leave to pursue my career in Sasa, he replied. There I will be able to gain experience and enough resources to one day are able to help my people here in Bumba village”.

The father looked to the chief of the village and nodded. There was a great sadness in his heart at the thought of seeing his favorite son leave once again after so many years spent away on studies. The chief of the village said :

“We have to throw a great ceremony to honor the ancestors. Only then will you be successful in Sasa”

They called upon all the elders of the village and the ceremonies which were to last seven full days begun. It began with a traditional hunt in the forest to gather the food for the feast. On the first day, male members of the tribe went into the forest to hunt for, a leopard of which the skin would be used to make a hat and coat as a gift to monga that he could wear as a sign of power. Ten okapis of which the meat would be used to feed the entire village during the feast. Female members of the tribe also went into the forest to capture large boa snakes for their delicious meat. The boa snakes lived in the trees and could not be easily captured. The snake had taken the habit of biting down the heads of hunters while they were walking into the forest. So the woman used a trick to capture the snake, they carried on their head boiling hot water and walked around trees where the snakes had been spotted and once the snake attacked from the trees the would dive head first into the water and die. Then she would chop off its head and there was some good fishy meat for the whole family.

Another group of men went into the great river that flowed all through the land of the middle. A majestuous grandiose uniting stream of water filled with life was a great blessing for the people of the land of the middle. The ancients say that this river was a gift of life and death from mokele-mbembe, the traditional god of the forest for the people of Bumba village. It was a gift of life because it brought fish and all sort of seafood to the people and a gift of death because it was also filled with all sort of deadly creatures one can only imagine. One deadly tradition, for example, consisted of throwing children as young as five years old into the great river to see if they would be able to swim and survive. For the people of Bumba, most of the children did survive, because of the spirit of Mokele-mbembe, that would bring them back safely to the shore and back into the loving hands of their parents. Once the fish, foods, and other traditional items were all collected from the great river and the forest the celebrations in honor of monga Valentin could finally begin. All the elders dressed in leopard skin and hats gathered in the home of monga.

During the day there were mainly preparations for the feast, the captured leopard was skinned and it’s skin dried up and prepared, warriors painted their faces red with its blood, but no one would dare eat the animal’s flesh which was buried back deep in the forest by the warrior who had killed it, the exact location of where the leopard body was buried must remain a great secret. the woman was busy cooking all the okapi, fish and snake meat for the feast, traditional dancers also dressed up in leopard skins and rehearsed with drum music, a great pile of wood was assembled in the middle of the village that would be used as fire when the night comes. In that afternoon as opposed to other afternoons, it did not pour a single drop of rain. In fact, the great forest of the land of the middle where the Bumba village is located attracts a lot of rainwater almost every afternoon of the year, and this would poor for about ten to fifteen minutes followed by great sun and heat. But that time it was only Sun.

“The night will be cold” - said the great sorcerer of the village. He was also busy staring directly into the blinding sun summoning the spirits of the ancestors to attend the great feast. His eyes were only made of white, as he used them to look in the past, present, and future of the universe. Most of the time he spent in the forest. The great sorcerer could take shape and form of many animals during the night, from the smallest to the largest, but most of the time he would be spotted transformed into a black panther or a leopard; When he needed to fly he could turn himself into a bat. When he needed to enter an enemy’s house unseen he could also turn himself into bees or mice.

The great sorcerer had seen the future, and when something bad crossed his sight his eyes would turn red like blood. This time there were red. No one could tell though since everyone was too busy preparing for the feast. In the Monga house, the mood was all different, monga’s father was at the same time sad and happy for his son. Monga’s mother was sad and crying at the idea of seeing his son leave once again, and this time for much longer than he did when he left for university.

“Make sure to make me prouder than I am, my son. I have spent the greatest part of my life working to make sure you and your brothers here present, receive the best of education from the sciences of the north. “ Said monga father.

I understand, answered monga son, father, I will work my entire life trying to make you proud, he added. And when the time is right, come back to Bumba, said monga mother, and we will find you a good woman for you to marry.

Valentin smiled at his mother as if to say, that marrying was not one of his most important priorities for the moment. His heart was full of sorrow when he saw the great misery in which the children of Bumba had to endure, the unhealthy lifestyle, the malnutrition. And he knew deep within himself that he had to do something to help out. All of his education had trained him for this, but still, yet there was something missing, and he knew that the answer to what is missing was to be found in Sasa. He needed to go, fast; for in Sasa laid more answers that would help him reach the point where he could make a difference for his people.

The night started falling on Bumba. The creatures of the night from the great forest started awakening scary noises for those who did not understand them. Chants from the spirits to those who had the ears to listen. As darkness fell upon the village, the great fire was ignited and dancers started performing around the fire as the elders gathered to commence the necessary rituals. The purpose was to invite all the spirits of the ancestors to attend; for there would be no connection to the other world if all could not feel their presence. Drums, music, moonlight, dust and all the energies of the forest started slowly gathering around the fire, and it was finally time to begin the feast. All the village was gathered, the chief of the village stood up to welcome everyone at the ceremony. Then, before the feast could begin he asked the great sorcerer to stand up and name the lineage of the mongas since the days of creation to this day. He named them all, with every name he shouted into the dark night a spirit shooted out of the forest and into the great fire igniting it more. And finally, the name of the living mongas was spoken. The fire was so bright, the night almost turned into day, and they could not feel the cold of the forest anymore.

The great sorcerer began reciting spiritual chants, that foretold the future. He wished upon the son of monga, the young leopard, to find fulfillment in the new journey that he was about to begin. Here is the chant that he made :

“ Go by the roads and walk the path of the man of the north, although his magic is powerful, the magic of the monga is far more ancient and meaningful, so that whenever you lose your way remember where you came from, and the path ahead shall be cleared once more, there is only but one truth, and it is only corrupted when man seeks not to serve it but be served by it. Remember the names of the great evils that plague this world, greed, disease, laziness, ignorance, loneliness, deceit, craziness, inhumanity, poisons, and death. Remember them in that order, and everytime you encounter one you may know how to fight back, Fight greed by believing in God, fight disease by cleansing yourself always, fight laziness by being hard and passionate about the work you do, fight ignorance by always learning, fight loneliness by taking care of your family, fight deceit by surrounding yourself with friends that you trust, fight craziness by remembering your culture, fight inhumanity by being empathic to your fellow men, fight poisons by taking care of and respecting nature, fight death by creating life”

Once he was done reciting the chant, the whole village cheered and drummers began playing their instruments, so loud it could almost shake the ground beneath and the air and trees around. The dancers dressed in leopard skin begun circling the fire to the sound of the music, while all the rest of the village around sung ancient songs, to the glory of the ancestors. The night was now completely dark and the woman began serving the catch of the day, first to the elders than to the rest of the village members. Monga the son was seated with his family and his eyes was hypnotized by the ceremony as he stared into the fire, blinded almost deep within his own thoughts, not hearing a single note of the loud music around, almost as if like the great sorcerer he could see into the future, and that the sight he saw was a tragic one.

Wake up my son - asked his mother as she served his meal. Why are you so sad at this great day of your celebration? Shouldn’t you be happy with the rest of us? This was all made in your honor and here you are deep in your own thoughts not being able to speak one word?

He is sad to be leaving his family said his father.

Thank you mother, said monga. I was thinking about how lucky I am to have such a loving family, and you are right father, my heart is filled with sadness on this happiest day. But I should not ruin this party for the rest of my brothers, let us dance and be happy.

Upon saying that the young monga and his brother stood up from their seating places and joined the rest of the village youth around the fire. Soon enough woman dressed in leopard skin joined into the dance and from that point forward the night was filled with joyous songs and dances, like no one had ever seen in the Bumba village before. When the sun started rising the spirits started living the fire and returned into the forest, the fire died out and all tribes men and women returned to their homes with a strong sense of gratitude to have been in touch with the entirety of the cosmos into that one magical night. Although he was very tired, the young monga woke up before noon had arrived. He needed to catch a boat from ngani town that would sail him to Sasa. After preparing he left his room and went into his father's hut, to say goodbye; surprisingly he also found them awaken, and so was his four brothers.

It is time, he said. I need to go. Farewell my son, replied his father. Monga’s mother was in tears, he hugged her, picked up his bag and left the hut accompanied by his siblings. On the road to the river where the boat was awaiting, monga and his brothers were making plans for when they will be able to visit him in Sasa, and all the great thing they will do together once there; overall there was good brotherly love among them.

When you reach Sasa, focus on your job, right little brother? Forget the woman. Said his elder brother. Monga laughed and nodded. It was never in his habit to be more interested in a woman rather than his work and passion for medicine.

You know me, he replied. I will be so busy I won’t even notice their presence. But you, on the other hand, I am not sure how well behaved you can be whether it is in Sasa or here.

They all laughed. It was almost an hour march between the village of Bumba and the great river of the land of the middle so they had plenty of time to say goodbye to each other. On the road to the river, they encountered many friends and neighbors. The woman who came from the river fetching water, and they thought to themselves about how strong the woman of the mongas was. The mokele-mbembe had granted them with amazing physical strength that some said matched that of men, or even were superior to it. Many rumors circulated in the land of the middle about the Monga women; like the one about how they could easily defeat any man in one on one combat and that if a monga woman grasped a person with her hands it was impossible to free oneself. Monga the mother was also a strong woman, but it did not show because of her gentle nature, she had always raised her children with immense love and care, never had she laid a hand on any of them. She was hard working and she taught her children about the importance of family and how it was the only true source of love in the world. Finally, they reached the river, the boat was already packed with people and everyone was trying to find a good place to seat. Monga said one last goodbye to his brothers and jumped in. He managed to find a seat and since he knew that the journey to Sasa was going to be long he pulled out a book from his bag and started reading it, hoping that it would distract his mind from the long trip. The book helped, achieve that purpose, but so did the amazing fauna and flora around the great river. Rich wildlife from both shores provided more than enough distractions to the passengers of the boat. Every hour or so it would poor heavy rain for about 10 minutes followed by great sun and heat. This was not the first time monga had traveled to Sasa, as he went there several times for his studies and back, the journey on the great river was familiar to him. He liked to think that maybe one day he would go and never come back or come back and never leave again. It would all depend on the new life he was going to have in Sasa.

The journey from Bumba to Sasa was a long and slow one, it would take them almost two days and night riding the boat to reach their destination. From time to time the boat stopped at a nearby village and the passengers would use this opportunity to take a walk around eat, drink and after a twenty minutes pause resume their journey. The old boat could also sometimes have mechanical problems that would cause it to stop until the crew was able to fix it; this of course was not to the taste of the passengers. But finally, after three days on board, they could see in the distance lights from the great city of Sasa. Finally, Monga’s new life could begin.