章 4: The depressed man Asweda
The day passed and now evening was approaching. The family was to get ready to start the journey. They had a dinner of the parts of roasted goat before they left. They took their arrows and machetes and left. It was the second day of their journey. The sky was very clear, and the moon was adequately illuminating. They were determined to reach their desired destination. They passed through the thick hilly part of the country.
"I am sensing danger; it seems people with bad intentions are approaching us. Let us take position and be ready for anything that may arise" said Asweda in a low tone. They hurriedly facilitated the women and children to hide in a nearby bush. They then took position. Their guess was right, as the perceived bad people were thieves on a mission. The war began as they aimed arrows at their enemies. It took them about four hours to overcome the enemies. The burglars were very disappointed at realizing their efforts were fruitless. The burglars ran away through the thick forest. Davido, one of the gardeners, followed them at a pace to catch and hit them. Davido aimed his arrow and injured one of his enemies. The enemy took revenge, and, by bad luck, the arrow pierced through his chest. Davido fell down crying with agony. Asweda with his team rushed there only to find Davido, struggling for his dear life. The blood was oozing at a frightening rate, and, by just a look, the chance of the victim surviving was minimal. Asweda saw the injured enemy struggling to hide in a nearby bush. His leg was badly injured, hindering him from further movement. Asweda hurriedly attacked him and chopped off his head with a machete. By the time Asweda returned to attend to Davido, his lifeless body was lying as the other gardeners were in deep sorrow. There was tension and all the family members came from the hideout to take orders from Asweda. They were to move a few miles away where they would hide till the following morning. But they had one big challenge. The challenge was to move with Davido's lifeless body to avoid it being eaten by wild animals. They wrapped it well in an animal skin and left. They reached a place where they had a rest till the following day.
The following day, they had to make a very hard decision concerning the situation at hand. Having no other option, they collectively agreed to bury him before they could think of continuing with the journey. They made arrangements to send off their fallen soldier in a respected way. The arrangement entailed slaughtering a bull in honor of the deceased. The available resources were utilized to accomplish the task, although it was a strainer. They dug a grave using their arrows and finally laid their loved one to rest.
They now had to stay there for four days to mourn the deceased as required by the community customs. It was really a sorrowful moment for them as this was perceived as a bad indicator. Four days passed and then they took off. Their determination was really amazing. They passed through the bushes, rocks and sometimes swampy areas to their destined place.
On the 30th day of their journey, Thishida Nasimalwa fell sick. The child's condition worsened. Asweda, in the company of one of his gardeners, went through the bushes searching for traditional medicine. They came across the plant of interest. They took the leaves and then returned. On arriving, they crushed the leaves, added in water and then gave the son to drink forcefully. The medicine was very bitter, and they had to struggle with him to take it. The health situation of the child worsened contrary to expectations. Asweda went down to consult his ancestors to intervene with Be. It was now becoming too hard for Asweda to bear. At midnight, the child was crying loudly. Any attempts to comfort him were fruitless. This was another hard test for the family to accept.
After serious intervention, a revelation came. Although it was also hard, it just had to be done as instructed. It was revealed that the ancestors were very disappointed by Asweda's decision to bury his gardener in a foreign land. It was also revealed that the founders of that particular community were disappointed by his decision to move away from the Ancestral land. Asweda was directed to find the body of the gardener and bury it at the right place (Ancestral land).
Asweda ignored him as directed and went on with his journey. After three days, all his livestock was stolen in a fight, in a fight that left him with a broken arm. Things turned upside down as the well-established man lost his wealth to burglars. Asweda sat down regretting assuming the instructions earlier given by the founder of the community. The disappointed man instructed him as he led everyone back to their ancestral home. They were to look for the remains of the already laid gardener and take it with them. It was the worst experience for Asweda.
They arrived home with the bad news. The news shocked the community at large. They could not believe a man who was once hardworking was no more. Asweda and his family also had nowhere to shelter. Asweda, two grass-thatched muddy houses had been demolished by my sister-in-law who used the woods as a source of energy for cooking. Asweda, who was now red-eyed, sat next to his two wives. Asweda was given a small grass-thatched muddy hut (which was initially used as a kitchen) to accommodate his family. The family of eleven people squeezed themselves into that small round hut.
Asweda was now to be advised by the council of elders as he behaved totally differently from the community expectation. He had ignored a cleansing ritual after misconduct that saw his second wife failing to face the council of elders. There was no option but to perform the cleansing ritual and appease the founder's community.
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