HOME - THE WARRIORS OF ODUDUWA
The Bottomless Pit
A group of girls were busy fetching water from the local river before it became too dark for them to fulfil this daily responsibility; the small river flows close to the borders of the village. While some of the girls were playing carelessly, oblivious to the happenings of their surroundings, others were more alert for peeping toms like Ṣeyi and other shameless boys. Most of the girls, as innocent as they seemed, were Ẹṣọs; others were the daughters of the local farmers and chiefs, and even the local Oba’s daughter was present, who seemed more interested in playing with her friends than fetching water. They splashed water playfully at each other, lost in the excitement until a monstrous being emerged from the water. It was covered in murky river-green plants. Its face was so hideous that it would make a Lion flinch; as it moved towards the girls, it grew taller and more frightening in size. The girls screamed in terror and ran off to inform the Balogun, the Ẹṣọs among them were so scared out of their wits that they forgot to take charge of the situation.
“It is the river god! The river god!” They screamed as they fled,
Of course, the strange being was not a river god; it was Akin sitting on Ṣeyi’s shoulders, covered in green leaves and mud; they laughed as they removed the green plants that concealed their identities; Ṣeyi always had one mischievous plan or another to brighten up the moment.
“Akin! Look they brought us something to eat,” he said in triumph, pointing at items wrapped in banana leaves,
“Ṣeyi this is very good,” Akin said, eyeing the items that the girls had ignorantly left behind, “because I am very hungry”
“Akin you're always hungry” Ṣeyi pointed “I wonder when we will ever be able to find the cure to that stomach of yours”
They sat down to a healthy meal of female leftovers while aimlessly chatting about the social events of the village; this could have gone on indefinitely, but unfortunately for them, they did not savour the sweet taste of victory for long. The girls had reported the situation to the Osi-Balogun and he returned only moments later. Ṣeyi wasn’t ignorant of his immediate environment, and he knew the consequences of his actions, so he paid close attention to the surroundings. Just in case the Balogun, who happens to be the only person in the village who can keep him in his best behaviour, would make a sudden appearance, the moment Ṣeyi noticed the Osi-Balogun approaching, he quickly ran into a nearby bush to conceal his presence. Akin, who was too busy wolfing down the Akaras, failed to notice the arrival of the Osi-Balogun, accompanied by two other chiefs.
“Akin! So it was you,” Osi shouted angrily.
“Ha, it’s not…” Akin exclaimed in his confusion
“Be silent,” Osi shot
First, he had Akin beaten with the koboko (a short whip used to beat horses and stubborn boys) six lashes, and then he forced Akin to humbly apologise to the girls. Of course, the Osi knew that this action was fruitless. This was not the first time Ṣeyi got Akin in trouble and it would not be the last. After this, Akin was released with a strict warning not to repeat his prior crime.
“Ṣeyi”, Akin said the moment he found Ṣeyi 20 minutes later. “Why didn’t you tell me Osi was coming?”
“Akin, you must be fast,” Ṣeyi replied, “this world only favours those who are fast. Gbagbe!"
“I thought I was your friend; you could have warned me”
“We are friends, Akin, feel free to abandon me if I get into trouble” Ṣeyi mocked
“OK!” Akin replied, with a grin that knocked the smirk off Ṣeyi’s face in a heartbeat
A Sudden noise disrupted their conversation, the rumbling of Akin’s stomach. He looked at Ṣeyi and said the words Ṣeyi most dreaded. “Ṣeyi, I am hungry” Ṣeyi panicked at that very moment, those words always left a bitter taste in their friendship, feeding a hunch back like this one is no easy task.
“Ha! You and this bottomless pit you call a stomach. Do you mean all those Akaras did nothing to satisfy your hunger?” Ṣeyi inquired shocked by the ferocity of Akin’s hunger.
“Ṣeyi I’m hungry” is Akin’s only reply.
“Let’s go to Mama’s place. She’s always happy to cook for us”, Ṣeyi suggested.
Akin happily agreed to this suggestion,
Mama was popularly known by both boys as Iya-rice, an old widow who had no sons and four daughters; all her daughters were married off and are now living with their respective husbands; therefore, she was all alone. Ṣeyi and Akin were the only ones who visited her regularly; for her, they were the sons she never had. Even though the villagers did not approve, she loved them as though they were her own and in return, they always helped her with all the domestic household chores. These include fetching water and firewood, sweeping the house and regular cutting of the bush surrounding her house. She could have chased them away as the other villagers do, but the two boys had grown attached to her. They enjoy running her errands and eating her food; they give her the joy of being a mother again.
Ṣeyi and Akin soon found Mama close to the forest, struggling with a small bundle of firewood too heavy for her old limbs to bear. Despite all her efforts, she fell under the weight of the firewood, as she looked up in exertion towards her home, she noticed Ṣeyi and Akin looking down at her with a strong gaze of disappointment.
“My sons please forgive me,” she said
“Mama! Do you want to kill yourself?” Ṣeyi exclaimed, trying to mask the pain in his voice “That is not an excuse?”
“Please my sons I did not want to give you any trouble”
“Mama, you are not giving us any trouble,” Akin said honestly
“Mama, please don’t ever let us catch you working again. Do you want to kill yourself?” Ṣeyi scolded, “Who will take care of us when you're gone?” he added, trying to prove that he didn't care about her, but his actions proved otherwise.
“Who will be cooking our Eba, Amala, our rice, beans, pounded yam, mama please we need you don’t kill yourself and kill us,” Akin said
“Yes! I agree with Akin Mama if you kill yourself who will cook for us, we need you” Ṣeyi added “Akin take that bundle of firewood and I will help Mama walk that way we can get home on time”
So Ṣeyi helped Mama up, holding her hand and letting her lean on him, while Akin carried the firewood on his head. They slowly progressed towards Mama's house; even though Mama was old, she had the reputation of a very good cook. While Ṣeyi pounded the yams, Akin ran to the river to fetch water, and within an hour, the food was ready. Mama had a big farm, which she inherited from her deceased husband, rich in yams, cassavas, etc. The Balogun usually sent lower-ranking Ẹṣọs to help on the farm. In exchange, 20% of the farm’s produce belonged to the Balogun, and 10% belonged to those who had worked on the farm; the remaining 70% belonged to Mama, who used it or traded it as she pleased.
Ṣeyi was given a calabash filled with pounded yam, Akin was given about eight mountain heaps of pounded yam, which he gobbled down within the twinkle of an eye. Proving how much of a heavy eater he was. Since the first day Ṣeyi had known him, his eating habits had complemented his ugliness. Ṣeyi had once called him a pig, but the word pig does not qualify. Akin made the pigs look like they were in a religious fast. He could eat a bucket filled with fufu and still ask for more.
“Ọbatala was truly and extremely drunk when he moulded Akin and accidentally gave you a bottomless pit for a stomach,” Ṣeyi commented, which comes close to the truth because Akin never grows in mass; even though his eating habits spoke otherwise, he only grows hungrier with time.
“Ṣeyi,” Mama said after they had finished eating their first bowl of pounded-yam
“Yes mama” Ṣeyi replied
“Help me to thank the Balogun for asking my first daughter to pay me a visit,” Mama said
“You mean your daughters are coming?” Ṣeyi said, excited by the prospect of meeting one of Mama's daughters
“Yes,” she replied “my daughter would be arriving tomorrow” Mama said in anticipation, “She told me that you would soon be sent on an errand and you would not be able to assist me when you are gone”
“Was that why you tried to carry the firewood on your own? “Akin asked, with the realisation that Mama was not too optimistic about her daughter’s arrival
“Mama don’t worry, God will keep you safe and bless you until my return”
Ṣeyi was still confused about the errand; the Balogun had told him nothing about it. He thought about Mama, who would take care of her if her daughter failed to arrive. Ṣeyi knew that the probability of Mama’s daughter arriving the next day was highly unlikely, but he believed the Balogun would care for her nevertheless. After all, an Ẹṣọ must protect those in need Ṣeyi wondered why the Balogun had said nothing about sending him on an errand.
“Akin, it’s time for evening practice. Come on,” Ṣeyi said, literally dragging Akin by his shirt, who at the moment was unwilling to leave his meal unfinished. But Ṣeyi’s voice was so firm that he had no choice but to follow his best friend out with his meat, his oily hands and a mouth full of pounded yams; he said his goodbyes to Mama and left.
Ṣeyi had made up his mind that in the evening after practice, he would ask the Balogun about the errand. To his shock, Akin interrupted his chain of thought again with the highly dreaded words.
“Ṣeyi I’m still hungry, please let’s go back to Mama’s house” Akin complained
“What! But! You consumed five calabashes filled with pounded yam and you are still hungry! Akin!”
Akin’s nature of gluttony can drive him to consume a whole house full of food and still beg for more. There was once a rumour spread throughout the village that stated, “Once you fed Akin, he would be your friend forever” Who would want such an ugly thing for a friend? Mystery knows why Ṣeyi was so close to him, Ṣeyi stopped so suddenly that Akin bumped into him.
He had seen someone, someone approaching from the opposite direction, closer scrutiny proved that she was a girl, a pretty girl, someone that Akin at first did not recognise. It was Nikẹ, and from the smile on Ṣeyi’s face, Akin could tell that his friend’s mind was ripe with mischief, and this frightened him.
“Ṣeyi leave her alone, please! And let’s go,” Akin said the moment he noticed Nike and the hungry smile on Ṣeyi’s face, but his plea came out too late; Ṣeyi had already started strutting towards his prey.
“Nikẹ” Ṣeyi said foolishly flashing his smile of mischief
“Ṣeyi!” She exclaimed in shock “Please leave me alone, I don’t want any trouble today” she snapped
“Nikẹ why are you talking like that, is that how to address me, I am Ẹṣọ Oluṣeyi”
“Ṣeyi if you don’t go away there will be trouble”
“I wonder which side of his face, she will slap.” Akin thought to himself
“Do you know what I heard, it was the Agba (elder) who told me something about promoting you (being an Ẹṣọ)”
“What! What did he say?” Nike said, obviously intrigued by Ṣeyi’s words, not being smart enough to see through his lies and too ambitious for her own good. Ṣeyi always found it very easy to fool her at his leisure to the point where it had grown into a kind of hobby.
“He said he was going to promote you to the honourable position of being his sixth wife and…”
Before Ṣeyi could finish his fabricated speech, she landed a big slap on his face, then she stormed away in a rage. Ṣeyi now had a bold handprint on his face a memoir of his experience with Nike,
“Ṣeyi why didn’t you leave her alone, she wouldn’t have slapped you,” Akin said
“Don’t mind her, she thinks she is the most beautiful girl in the village, but I will prove her wrong, she will be as ugly as you one day (of course he was lying, he had a crush on her and was too proud to acknowledge it)”
“Can we go now, evening practice? We are almost late” Akin said
“I thought you said you were hungry Akin?” Ṣeyi said, pointing towards a banana tree; Akin could not resist the urge to pick the bananas that someone else had planted, especially when Ṣeyi was the one doing the tempting.
To shorten the story, Ṣeyi and Akin ploughed the bananas and devoured as much as they desired for more than two hours; it would have lasted longer, but the farmer who owned the banana trees arrived suddenly. To his dismay, they had destroyed two of his prized trees, and he chased them away, promising to report the incident to the Balogun.
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