Tuesday, 17 August, 2021
After reading “Americanah” by Chimamanda Adichie, my mind and head have been like a world stage.
Now, I’m at a saloon, trying to relock my hair. Here’s is a woman, we think is from another part of Africa definitely not Nigeria. We think though. She’s called “Black Bold Beauty”, and truly, she is BLACK. BOLD. BEAUTY.
But she speaks igbo too well, so perfect you’d doubt she isn’t Nigerian. Although we haven’t concluded on that.
There’s a boy, a mysterious one, some igbo would call him an “ogbanje”. A child who is believed to have died in his or her past life and have been reincarnated into a new family, especially to couples looking for a child.
Early this year, the boy was at an udara tree – an African fruit, usually referred to as “English Apple”, blessed with just five seeds inside, a very beautiful fruit, that’s as full as a young woman. That’s actually what men call some women whom they want to flatter or call sweet names “my udara”, and usually, the lady would smile, sheepishly.
He was seen picking up the fruit from the ground, under the tree, but no leaf was on the ground. One would wonder in mystery where those fruits came from. If you’d think he climbed the tree perhaps, then probably you should see the picture of an Udara tree: they’re all mostly ancient trees, that have outlived the generation of the early 1900. So tall, with strong thick truck that is so wide, even an adult’s arms can’t fully go through it. How on earth could we say a child of seven years climbed the tree?
But mystery would still remain a mystery if not uncovered, especially when there’s no open mind for doubt or second thought. They’ve all sealed their belief that the child is mysterious, and that’s final!
You wouldn’t still win the argument defending him over their assumption of being a mysterious being, when some days you’d find the boy sleeping in the bush, just laying down there. How can?
But that’s the story she’s telling. Telling in such a way like she’s a close relative, staying in the same compound with the family, but she talked like so – “I told her mother, did you see your son picking up udara from the ground, and there’s no udara leaf on the ground?” The mother replied in no surprised way. Like she truly know her son.
Most children according to her get this “mysterious” spirit or character from community primary schools, where children of all kinds gather for “education” but at last get corrupted and misled. Becoming an “ogbanje” to their parents or an ” evil-possessed” child, whom when you discover should be sent to a powerful man of God, filled with the holy spirit for strong deliverance.
One would then ask, could little children be truly possessed by an evil spirit?
But if adults could be possessed by same spirit, behaving mysteriously and so strange why would children be exempted?
But another question, what’s an evil spirit? How does it exist?
Then, what’s its opposite, the Good spirit or God’s spirit, or what religion would call the “holy spirit”?
. . .
Have a beautiful day 💙
The THiNKER 