Trifter

I happen to visit Agulu on the 26th December 2006. This is a small town located in the western part of Africa. The occasion of the day was called “mmuo”, meaning spirit in English language. This celebration is done once a year, and it has lots of process attached to it. I will like to provide a comprehensive details of my experience on this day because my observations on that day was so thrilling that it left me traumatized for weeks. This is because; things that I usually saw on movies and believed there never exist, happened there on that fateful day. I thought of ways to satisfy my trauma. But I couldn’t because I wasn’t with my cam. This left me sad but the fact still remains that black magic of the highest order does and really exist in Africa. But I think writing it down for the rest of the world to read will be a better way of easing my mind of this thriller that’s like a burden on me.

I joined my pen pal called Emeka here in Africa, just to satisfy various curiosities on the information about countries in Africa that I have been seeing in the media. So on this faithful day, Emeka woke me up from this small wooden bed at about 6.00 am in the morning. He told me to get prepared that today was a special day. I was going to see thing I’ve never seen in my life before. When he told me this, I thought he was just going to take me around and show me historic sites and creations. But I was wrong. Not knowing I was in for an experience of a lifetime.

I got up and by 8.00 am we were ready. We got a bike rider whom my friend tagged an “okada man”. The man transported us to this location for some fare, which Emeka took care of.

On our way to this location, my mind was going round, wondering on thing I’m going to see. I created pictures, sounds and movies in my mind. Just to match it with what I am going to see. By the time we got close to the location of the event; I heard sounds of music coordinated my by African local instruments. As we got closer, the sounds increased, till we got down from the bike. The music played by some group of people on strange attires. Their instrument sounded strange to me but it did produce some good sounds that I couldn’t even know how to dance to. The case was different for Emeka who seem to be moving his body to and fro; matching with the tempo of the song played. I tried to copy the steps but for Christ sake this was not part of my background. So I stopped, off course earning some laughter from him. But it didn’t’ border me cause my mind was engulfed with the sight of these strange tradition and people, both young and old savoring the pleasure of their rich tradition.

I began a visual study on the group playing the musical instrument. I soon took notice of a man amongst them. He did not play any instrument but seemed to be displaying some acrobatic-like movement. I called to the attention of my friend and asked who the man was. He told me that the man was the spiritual head of the clan. He was also the leader of the group and the sole controller of the Great Spirit called “mmuo”.

We soon sat down, and Emeka ordered for some local wine that is whitish in colour. Never tested anything like it but man I tell you it was so delicious that I drank most part of it and Emeka ordered for more. After some minutes I began to feel funny. The wine was telling on my body system. Just like every other wine toxicating but not dangerous because African natural wine is known to be a natural source of yeast. Good for the eyes.

We stayed for about thirty minutes and I was getting used to the environment and enjoying the music played. But something happened. All of a sudden there was this run. Everybody standing began to run, seeking cover everywhere safe. But I noticed that they were all running for safety but not out of the field. After getting a safe place they would turn to look. I wanted to run too but Emeka told me not to move cause we were sitting among the elders of the community. And we were safe there. I now turned to see what the people were running from. To my greatest surprise, it was a masquerade of large size. Having a clean cutlass on the right hand and a staff on the left. It seemed to be going out of control but is being brought under control by the member of the group I asked about. I needed no one to tell me that the cutlass it was have on was very sharp cause it was glittering, I think it was made of silver and this was the mmuo I was told about and reason why the occasion was held. At this point the main movie started.

The spiritual leader controlled the “mmuo” entity into sitting down. Then he brought his hands took it up; seem to be showing every body that there was nothing with him. The next thing he did was to put his hands somewhere in the air and he brought out a clean dagger. Every body around screamed. To me it was like a movie or a dream and still I was trying to wake up because I know this act is impossible. While I was still trying to comport myself another striking one happened. He let out his tongue and started cutting it into pieces by himself. I felt like running away but Emeka held me down. He told me that I haven’t seen anything yet, that the show was just beginning.

The spiritual leader, after cutting out his tongue into pieces, took them and swallowed it again, did some signs and he was given water and he drank it swallowing his pieces of tongue. After about fifteen second of incantation, he opened his mouth and to my greatest awe, was a bleeding free new tongue. As if it has never been hurt. He walked around showing every body in other to prove his magical powers. And that was not all. He took the same dagger and pierced it into his right chick and coming out through the left chick. And at this point people began to spray their money on him as a sign to show their appreciation to his black powers. To me, I nearly went mad on my part.

While all these power display was going on, another masquerade of the same size came in to the open field. And at this point the “mmuo” entity cooled by the spiritual leader sprang up into its feet and comforted the new entity that came into the picture. I noticed that the two entities were of equal but opposite spiritual hierarchy but not of the same level of power and so they were of course a power tussle to show superiority. At this happening the crowd increased by 100% and was uncontrollable in their feeling.

The power tussle by these two entities was not a physical one but a metaphysical one. At first, their display of power seemed like Childs play because the signs they were displaying where meaningless to me. I got the shocker of my life when the strangest thing happened in my presence. The mmuo entity gave an order-like sign, which made the other intruding entity to begin to float into thin air, at the center of the field and without any aid to take it up. It got to a position in the air and the mmuo entity gave another sign like order that made the floating entity to hang on the air.

My mouth was left wide open and my tongue rolled out. At this point, the mmuo entity brought out a thin thread and threw it into space leading into a thick bush part. But for Christ sake this thread was also hanging on the air. The mmuo entity climbed unto this thread in the air and walked on it leading into the bush part until it got into the bush at a point where no one could see it again, of course with it instrument group and spiritual leader following it into the bush. Leaving the other entity hanging. I guessed at this point my imaginations could not take it anymore,
so I fainted!
.

I was later revived back at Emeka’s home by some traditional means. I asked after what happened to the other entity, I was told that it had to take the presence of another powerful spiritualist to get it down from the air.

I guess Emeka fulfilled his promise of filling me with memories whenever I come to Africa. I don’t know if I will ever get this kind of experience again but for this one shot, will remain a cherished memory all the days of my life.

I will be traveling to another town soon and I hope to get more thrilling stories for you all. But get to know this. That while you are at home watching movies on cinemas on TV screens, I will be watching mine for real, here in Africa. At least for the time that I get to spend here. So ever wonder why I called these actors
SMALL GODS IN AFRICA.