Dr Fixit (391 - 400)
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of the evil forest. Our folks were thinking
whatever structures they would be building
(that is, the orange army ants) shortly would crumble.
Instead, we're watching here and there the rubble
of our old customs while the institutions
left behind by the expatriates over zillions
of years are still thriving. Our primary school
was one of them. But a powerful tool
of warfare did evolve with the changing times
and arrived in my age with its trappings intact though signs
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were steadily showing it might not
outlive us. (Meanwhile, I banished the thought.)
The Ehkpo masquerade was revered in the past.
During its season, the masked men with vast
array of weapons - bows and arrows, machetes
and charms - would roam from the heart to fringes
of the clans singing and feasting from compound
to compound of the initiates and then around
the village squares. While they roamed the clans,
non-initiates and women were forced to dance
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in extreme fear deep in their closets,
ticking off the hours, days and dates
by listening to the caws, cackles and crows
of the birds, domestic and wild, as they told
the time mounting themselves up high on roofs
and trees. If it was hard to snooze,
the 'ahkpo' (non-initiates) peered the cracks
on their roof-mats at the sun's rays and marked
off the time if the day was that sunny.
It was forbidden to peek through any
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crack or vent at the masked men roaming
the pathways of the clan. Who did this was throwing
stones literally on the heads of their forbears
whose spirits, it was believed, were in the gear
of the masked men. The grass attached to the masks
(the name is mkpatat) was the same grass
used for making wreaths placed on graves
so no one dared play deaf
and pound a mortar for such mortar
and its contents in blood would be covered.
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And the culprits would be sanctioned
heavily by the entire clan. The days rationed
to the masked men were sacrosanct.
Who didn't like it could leave the land
to wherever it was safe for them till
the adult masquerade season did tilt
to an end. But in my childhood,
everyone (women and non-initiates) was free to look
at the masked men from a safe distance.
As they drew near, we ran for in their hands
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were the bows and arrows which they'd shoot
freely at the non-initiates around. The high mood
folks of all ages exhibited when in sight
were the masked men didn't seem right
if one was a stranger to our clans -
the grotesque masks and charcoal-painted arms
and legs and their weapons were a turn-off
but let it be known that you wouldn't scoff
the Ehkpo masquerade if you lived around
where they were feasted in an initiate's compound
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and when it was time for them to sing
which was done without accompaniment, their singing
was something else. When they had outing
in public like when they were dancing
in the market square which marked the end
of the adult Ehkpo masquerade season and the trend
was to go there without their arms
and only to dance to their drums, in trance
their display would leave the spectators.
Every masked man tried to outshine competitors.
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The Ehkpo masquerade counted their days
in the traditional week. In school, our days
were counted as the orange army ants did.
Very often, the school and masquerade days did
simply collide. It was the time I realized
our school uniform was power. Though in our eyes
you'd see fear as we trod past the masked men
but we'd been told 'no jupiter' could maim
any pupils on their way to and from school.
Who did otherwise was a massive mule.
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The law would find such and put in jail
till they'd regret they had woefully failed
to live responsibly. In the past across
all our clans, there was initiation for boys
at a partial level into the adult masquerade
to enable them run errands for the rest
of the household who couldn't put their feet
outside their doors. The entire new feat
was that the uniform allowed those who conquered
their fears, girls and boys, walked unhindered
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to and from school. Back home from school,
we were cautioned, not to act like a mule
and moved where we could be struck
by the arms of the masked men. If you blocked
your ears and got harmed in the process
you'd realize the law was in a long recess
for identifying an offender behind mask
was quite an herculean task,
especially if his fellows weren't forthcoming.
We were all taught to be law-abiding.
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