The Feather Of Glory (5) “You are taking us back again.” Madut “I will not argue too much. Your son was the one who went and spoilt my daughter. I will take my daughter.” Anyang said. “Okay. That is good. Your daughter has been to our home, and our custom allows two cows to be give to the father even if she is not married. The cows are given for closing her thigh, Arook marriage.” Madut’s brother said. “No. I don’t want your cows.” Anyang said. When Anyang was leaving with his daughter and his clan members, Anyang said “you Madut , we are not related. But if you want a marriage with a relative you will get it.” After six months, it had emerged that Madut’s son Ajieng had slept with his own sister and had impregnated her. “What a story. I have no words to express my thoughts, emotions and decision.” Madut cried. Madut had kept quiet for one week. He had refused to eat or drink. His son Ajieng was tightened down with lassos for fear that he might commit suicide, and Ajieng was taken to his maternal parent home and his sister he impregnated was taken to her aunt’s home in another village. Madut also went from Abuk’s home to Amou, but he was not talking to anyone. He stayed with Amou for nine days and he quarreled with Amou. Amon threatened that she would reveal the secret. Madut beat Amou and she cried as usual that she was going to reveal the secret. Madut said that “you said it”. foolish woman am already dead “Children of Mareng Lual, Madut was the one who cut the testicles of your father at the elephant carcass.” Amou said. The children of Mareng Lual heard that and left for cattle camp and killed Dut, the first born son of Amou. They said they could not kill Madut because he was very old. After days, news just reached Amou that her son had been killed by Mareng Lual’s sons. Amou howled like a dog “what shall the daughter of man do?” she asked crying. “What shall we do? You just celebrate, because you have been saying that ‘I will tell, I will reveal the secret’ everyday. Now you have told. It is good for you.” Madut said. After these two incidences, Madut was disheartened. He went to the magician. The magician told him that the man whom his son you claim to be your son was responsible for the death of your son. And the man you refused his daughter was responsible for the incest between your daughter and your son. Invite the two men to perform the sorry ritual. Madut invited both men Anyang came and put the two twins of he-goat and she-goat over one another and removed them and said “no more incest, no more humiliation again. Evil go away.” The child of Madut’s son and daughter was taken and sold to a distant tribe with fifteen cattle. After Madut recovered from incest evil and started his chief duties. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN By the time Chief Madut Kuol resumed his duties at his clan court tree, one of his eldest friends Wel Mac whom they had been dancing and wrestling with came to him at midnight. The two men discussed many issues. They talked until the day was about to break. So Wel said that he wanted to leave. Madut escorted him to the path of his clan. On the path, Wel said they were eyes of the clan. “What shall we do now? Our cattle are rustled. Our people are killed, and our children are abducted.” Wel asked. “Nothing we can do. There are just thugs” Madut replied “We must attack them. We must raid their cattle. We must revenge our people they must be killed” Wel urged. “Okay. Give me time to talk to my people about it” Madut requested. “No. Don’t talk of time. You mention days” Wel said. “One month” Madut said. “No. One month is too long.” Wel said. “Come back after seven days,” madut said. Wel left and Madut returned to his home. After seven days Madut realized that Wel was coming back. He went to the pond, picked mud, put it on his feet, and covered himself with a piece of goat skin. Madut told his wife Abuk that when Wel comes tell him that I am sick of guinea worm. In the morning, Wel came and stood outside. “Where is Madut?” Wel asked. “He is inside.” Abuk answered. “Why is he sleeping up to this time?” Wel asked “He is sick of guinea worm.” Abuk answered. “Really? When did the guinea worm affect him because I left him well seven days ago.” Wel said doubtfully. Wel entered the Luak and he found Madut moaning in pain. He called out “ Madut, Madut, Madut,” but Madut could not answer. He had covered his head. Wel called out loudly. Madut raised his head painfully. “How are you? How do you feel now?” Wel asked “It is just as you have seen” Madut answered. “ Make your heart strong. The guinea worm will come out” Wel said. Wel tried to remove the goat skin but Madut refused. Wel was trying to spit saliva on the wound as a spiritual medicine to cure the wound. Wel had just put saliva on the skin. Wel stayed with Madut and Abuk prepared food for them. They ate and when Wel was leaving he asked Madut the time he would come back. Madut told him to come within fifteen days. After he had left, Madut removed the mud and washed his legs “ don’t agree to go to the war” Abuk advised her husband Madut. After fifteen days, Abuk reminded her husband “Wel is coming tomorrow. Put on the mud” Madut put the mud on his foot. When Wel came, he found Madut was still suffering from guinea worm. Wel was bitterly disappointed and left without spending any day with his friend. On his way to home, Maduts cousin asked him “why do you come here?” “I have something I want to do with Madut , but he is infected with guinea worm” Wel answered. “Which Madut? Madut Kuol, my cousin?” the cousin asked. “Yes” Wel replied “He is not. Why can’t I know?” his cousin urged. Wel had realized that Madut was deceiving him about his health, but he didn’t talk too much. He continued going to his home. That night he returned and climbed a willow tree in Madut’s farm. That morning, Madut brought his cows out of Luak, he groomed them, and took them out for pastures. As he was coming to his Luak, the sun was not so hot and Madut walked speedily. Wel climbed down and said “I just graze the thief and I catch them. Why do you deceive me Madut that you are sick of guinea worm?” “No, I am not deceiving you. But I am not interested in that war.” Madut answered. “If you are afraid, just tell me” Wel requested. “I have never been afraid of any enemy in this land of my people. Nothing I fear-nothing I couldn’t look into whether it is blood, wound, unless other wise it is my mother’s thigh” Madut explained. “If your are not afraid, tell your clan about the war” Wel said “I can’t tell them about the war” Madut refused. “What I am telling you is not shameful of disgraceful thing. It is pride, it will be a pride of your clan. If they go and fight in this great battle, it will be an honour for them to shed blood” Wel revealed. “No, I am not a foolish man like the neibouring tribes men who put several marks on their arms according to the number of people they have been killing. I don’t take pride in killing human beings.” Madut confessed. “Why did you kill the raiders at Aceer cattle camp?” Wel asked. “That is self defense. I can kill at the cattle camp when an enemy attacks me and I can’t go and kill an enemy in his home”. Madut said. “You just remain, you’re a coward. A coward has no clan”. Wel said “I am not a coward. Cattle rustlers are poor men not rich men like me.” Madut said CHARPTER NINTEEN It was the beginning of dry season. The harvest of sorghum had just ended. It was a time of producing a lot of wine in the village. Madut and his four friend chiefs-the chiefs were Anei Atem, Kuol Athian, Alier Atem, Mabior Ateny. The four chiefs drank three pots of sorghum wine and became drunk. They began a talk, an idle talk of teasing and bullying one another using the foolish acts, decisions, claver and funny behaviour of each clan. “Look Anei, a man from your village had borrowed his friend’s spear to go for an engagement with it because he had no spear or cattle. When he reached the forest, he ate some wild fruits. At his girl friend’s home, his stomach was boiling with wild fruits and was making disturbing sounds.” He had been telling the girls that he had many cattle “I have a lot of cattle. I told the boy not to mix milk with colostrums but he didn’t listen. That is why my stomach is boiling now” the young man explained. After he had finished his words with his girl friend, the girls escorted him out and the girls returned. They didn’t go back home but instead hid. When he was alone, the young man put the spear under a tree and climbed back up to eat more wild fruits. The girls came and took the spear and returned into hiding. After the young man finished eating, he climbed down and never found the spear. The man started crying. “Mou,mou, mooooou! What shall the son of man do now? The spear that I begged from a friend is stolen and I have no cattle, even a hen is not in our home. What shall I pay the spear with?” The man cried. The girls came out with the spear laughing. “Here is your spear.” the girl said, Madut narrated. Anei had fired back by saying “a man from your clan Madut, went to my brother’s cattle camp tracing his lost cow. He reached in the evening and sat as a guest he was given milk but refused saying that he had no blood relation. He was young and unmarried and he didn’t know where he would marry. He was persuaded by many young men of his age but he refused completely. So all young men left and drunk their milk. At night, he woke up when hunger was biting his stomach. He called my brother’s son “Bring my milk, there is a small relation I have remembered.” The man requested. “We have drunk the milk, there is no milk.” My brother answered. The crowd that was around didn’t leave and they laughed at Madut’s clan. “Don’t laugh people” Madut stopped them and they listened. “A man from Anei used to eat in the neighbour’s home before he came to his home when he arrived. He would tell his wife to remove the upper dry layer of food. This became a custom for his wife. Every he came his wife removed the dry upper layer of the food. One day he failed to eat from the neighbour where he used to eat. While his wife was busy removing the dry upper layer of the food “What are you doing you woman?’ the man asked. “I am removing the dry upper layer of the food” his wife said. The man jeered at the woman and said “put the food back into the food. Does food have a skin? Is it a cow?” the man questioned the woman. “You’re the one who told me.” The woman replied. The crowed laughed as Madut narrated. “What about the man from your village who went to hunt? He found buffaloes sleeping and he ran back to his home. He burnt his granary and when his wife asked him, he told her that they would have more meat than the granary would contain. When he returned, he found the buffaloes had awoken and gone.” Anei narrated and the crowed laughed. “What about the man from your village Madut who was sleeping in the hut with his wife? The hyena attacked the cattle in Luak. His wife awoke him “the hyena is eating the cows.” The wife said. He raised his hand struck the wall of the hut and went back to sleep. “You man, hyenas are finishing the cows.” The woman urged him. “Why don’t you go and protect the cows?” the man told his wife. “Am I a man?” the woman asked. “Okay you go and chase the female hyenas and leave the male hyenas.” The man said. “What a coward?” the woman wondered. Anei narrated and the crowed laughed. “What about a man” Madut said “who came as a guest who was from your village Anei. The mother who hosted him told her children that my children you would sleep with head and neck and your milk would be given to the guest. The guest said he would be the one to sleep with the head and neck and the milk be given to the children. The mother gave the milk to the children. The guest waited almost to midnight and he was dosing he said “bring my head and neck so that I eat I want to go and sleep.” The guest from your village said. “Sorry, there is no head and neck,” the mother said “it is just an ironic way of sleeping without food.” “I thought it was a goat’s head and neck.” The guest said. “What about the man from your village Anei.” Madut said “who was heard by his friend that he had food. His friend took some sorghum to him. His friend first went to his home and gave him the sorghum and went to the Luak where his friend was and his friend saw him angry because there was no food and there was one cow that was milked. He knew that his friend guest would share the milk with him. “How are you?” His guest greeted him. “What is it?” His host replied. “How are your things here?” The guest asked again. “I don’t know things.” The host replied. “There was no rain here.” The guest said. “Has it rained in your village and it is this village that it hasn’t rained in? Let it rain.” The host said. His friend guest was not happy with such words from his friend and he left. The host’s wife prepared a meal from the sorghum the guest brought and the wife thought that the guest was with her husband. In the evening she brought food. “Where did you get the food?” the host who had chased the guest away asked “Your friend brought the sorghum. Hasn’t come here? He told me he was coming to you.” The man ate the food and he invited his friend back to apologize. Madut narrated and crowed laughed so much. “What about the man from your village Madut” Anei said “Who slaughtered a bull he cut open the stomach of the bull, he removed the liver, the pancreas, the heart and the kidneys and gave them to his wife to cook for him. He said that he was hungry. His wife cooked for him. He ate them and told his wife that he would rest for some minutes and then skin the bull. The man fell asleep until the sun was about to set. “Come and skin the bull.” The wife said. “No I can’t do that.” The man said. “What shall I do?” his wife asked “If you want to throw the bull in the forest, throw it to the forest. If you want to call the community to take it, call the community to take it. When I am satisfied I don’t want any with the hair on it.” The man said. The crowed laughed very much and dispersed from the wine drinking tree. CHARPTER TWENTY There had been many young men in Madut’s village and cattle camps. Maker Magal had been one of these young men. Maker was big and strong. He was an elephant of a man. It happened that he had impregnated a girl from the next clan. The girl Ameer Nyok came to their home. Maker refused to marry her. Madut the chief said that child should be exchanged by five cattle but Maker and his father rejected that suggestion. “Please Maker and your father, you will dangerous problems over this issue.” Madut warned. “You ask the owner (his son) of the wife.” Magar the father said. “You are his father, you must force him.” Madut said. “How can I force him when he (son) says that child is not his.” Magar explained. The father of the girl Nyok Biar said that if the family of Maker Agou has refused my daughter with her child, there was no problem. He was taking his daughter with her child. He took his daughter. When Nyok Biar had arrived at his home, he told his son Biar that at the time they were growing with their sisters, there were no men joking with them. If a man touched their skin on the dance ground his head would bleed. Our sisters were much feared and respected because of our toughness. Now your sisters were just played with like prostitutes and you just look on in cowardice. Biar, his son and the brother to Ameer had been keeping quite when his father was abusing. After two days, Biar left for his aunt’s home. When Biar was at his aunt’s home, some one came to Nyok that your daughter was an evil-eyed. “Really? Where has that evil-eyed-ness come from? In our family, there is no evil eyed person” Nyok revealed. At his aunt’s home, Biar got up one night and said “Why is Maker refusing my sister? Is it some thing in our family? Is it a vice from my father? A vice from my mother? Or what is it exactly?” he pondered and puzzles. “What a humiliation.” Biar added. The dance was danced at three O’clock in the after noon. Biar went the dance to relieve himself of the great distress of humiliation. He found Maker dancing with his friends. His eyes grew dark, and he speared Maker in the stomach. Maker fell down dead. The dancers and spectators ran away in shock. The news reached Akoi village that Maker Magar had been killed by Biar Nyok his in-law. His father started crying. “Nyok son of my father.” Madut said “What did I tell you?” Madut ironically said and chanted “I bought it with ten cows until the poor looked with cold,cold and cold eyes.”
Copyright © 2013 David Aoloch Bion |