Ajaiyi and His Inherited Poverty (19 page)

However, as I could not lift up my feet to go forward, willing or not, I turned my face to the Devil-doctor’s town and I continued to carry this pot to his shrine. But to my surprise was that as soon as I continued to carry it along to his town, the pot then became as light as a
feather. Now I was sure that there was no alternative unless I carried the pot to the shrine of the Devil-doctor. And as I was carrying it along on the road, it was so I was blaming myself that: “I was so stupid to believe the youngest wife of the Devil-doctor who had told me to go and carry pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits. Although when I saw the pot it was full of pure corals but these corals have now turned to an evil spirit. This means the youngest wife had deceived me so that I might be killed by the evil spirits. I am sorry, she has now put me in another punishment!” Not knowing that this youngest wife did not deceive me at all but it was myself who had wanted to take another man’s (
Devil-doctor
) luck to my village.

However, I carried it to the shrine. But as soon as I entered the shrine, I heard another warning suddenly which came out of the pot: “Yes, you have carried me to the shrine! But put me down and then run out of this shrine at once otherwise you will lose your life! Put me down and run away!” So I hardly heard like that when I hastily put the pot down gently with fear and then I ran into my room which was in the other house, far away from there. But the Devil-doctor was not in the shrine when I carried it there, he was in his house together with his youngest wife.

When I entered my room, I sat down and dropped my head and then I began to think of the punishments which I received in respect of this pot of the corals.

After a while, the Devil-doctor went to his shrine but he was greatly wondered to meet this pot of the corals in his shrine. “Oh yes, this is the pot of the corals which I had seen at the foot of the mighty tree in the grove of the
evil spirits when I went there yesterday! My evil spirit has brought the pot into my shrine as he had promised me that one day he would bring my good luck to my shrine by himself! I thank thee!” This Devil-doctor was so happy that he called his youngest wife loudly to come and see the wealth which his evil spirit had brought to him, for he did not know that I was the one who had brought it there although I was forced by the evil spirit which was in the pot to bring it there.

When the youngest wife came, he showed it to her, he threw the whole corals on the floor and as he began to examine them, he was telling her: “You see now! I had told you several times that my evil spirit would one day bring my good luck to me by himself! I told you yesterday that I saw one pot of the corals in the grove of the evil spirits but you grew annoyed that I did not bring it to the house! You see it here now! And I have become a wealthy man as from today!” When he showed this pot of the corals to his youngest wife with happiness. He began to look at her eyes whether she would be equally happy too. But instead, she scowled at him and then she left the shrine at once.

When she left the shrine she came to my room with the altercation. As I heard her altercation, I lifted my head up, I stood and with great anger, but she did not allow me to say anything when she shouted greatly with anger that: “You hopeless man who will really die in poverty! Our arrangement was to hide the pot of the corals on the side of the road and then to come back to me so that both of us might escape to your village with the pot of the corals! But why did you bring the pot to the shrine for the Devil-doctor? Oh, you have broken our covenant
now. Hah, it is certain now that you will die in your inherited poverty! You hopeless man!” But she hardly said like that when I jumped up with anger as well and shouted on her: “But you are the one who is entirely hopeless! You are a cruel and merciless woman! If you are not so, you should have not told me to go and carry the pot from the grove of the evil spirits! Knowingly that evil spirit lives in it (pot) and that it will punish me! But you have just deceived me that the pot contained the corals! But you are the one who have broken our covenant! Go away, you are a deceiver!”

Having scolded her like that, she jumped up and slapped me on the face suddenly and I too slapped her on the face at the same time. Thus we continued to slap ourselves as she was blaming me loudly and I was blaming her loudly as well about this pot of the corals. Because both of us were confused. She thought that I wilfully carried the pot to the shrine instead to hide it somewhere on the road as she had told me to do. And I too thought that she had just deceived me to tell me that it were pure corals were in the pot. We were still slapping ourselves with great shout and exchange of words when the families of the Devil-doctor heard our angry shouts. They then rushed into my room but when they met us
slapping
each other, they parted us and asked us what had caused the fight.

She first explained to them that I had broken the covenant. They asked her to tell them the kind of the covenant which was between her and I. But of course when she did not tell them, I explained to them with
earnestness
that she told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits, but later on I found
that it is the evil spirit that lives in the pot. But I hardly confessed to them when she explained to them as well that I was pressing her everyday that I wanted her to escape with me to my village and she denied that she had told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits.

But once the families of this Devil-doctor had heard from her when she shouted that “I had broken our covenant” they had understood that there was a secret plan between her and I and that she had agreed to escape with me to my village. So without hesitation, the whole of them pushed both of us roughly to the shrine. They hastily surrounded us as both of us stood before the Devil-doctor. When the families told the Devil-doctor that his wife and I had planned to escape to my village. He jumped up with great anger, he roared greatly like the thunder. After that, he asked from me: “You and my youngest wife have planned to escape to your village?” I hastily explained to him with fear that: “It is your wife who had told me to go and carry the pot of the corals from the grove of the evil spirits. But as soon as I had put the pot on my head the corals turned to an evil spirit!” When I explained to him briefly like that, he turned eyes to his wife and asked: “Is it true that you have told him to go and carry the pot from the grove?” But she denied. She explained that I had planned to escape to my village with the pot of the corals and herself.

Then as soon as she had explained to him like that, he bent down, he threw the corals on the floor and then told me that I did not carry any evil spirit to his shrine but the pure corals which he was going to sell
for more than four thousand pounds. But to my surprise, when he threw these corals on the floor from the pot, I saw that in fact they were pure corals and not evil spirit as I had thought they were. Then he said loudly that if his wife had not agreed with me to escape to my village she should not have told me the secret of the corals. Then he with the help of his families pulled off the dresses of my body and then they wore my old dirty rags for me. After that they pushed me to the tree under which my lump of the iron was.

Then he bent down and began to incantate. Within a few minutes, the evil spirit of this lump of the iron came out from unknown place in form of a thick smoke and it entered the lump of the iron. To my fear, as soon as it had entered it back, this lump of the iron became alive. It started to make its usual terrible noises. Then without hesitation, he and his families put it on my head. And then they pushed me out of the shrine together with his wife. He told me that I should carry my burden which he had taken from me away from his town.

As I was carrying this talking terrible lump of the iron away from this town it was so I was cursing this youngest wife and it was so she too was cursing me loudly as she was going to her father’s town. Thus both of us were driven away from this Devil-doctor’s town with great shame. And it was like that I left this town with my poverty, with my usual burdens of the talking lump of the iron, with my usual dirty rags, with my old matchet and bag but without half a penny in hand.

Having travelled far away from the Devil-doctor’s town, I put my talking lump of the iron down, I sat before it and then I began to think where to go again.
But when I did not know where to go again.
Furthermore
, I had now fed up to go to another town or village for money. Therefore, I put in mind to go back to my village which I had left several years ago in respect of my inherited poverty.

Having put my talking lump of the iron back on my head, I continued to travel along on the road. But with much difficulties, I came back to Ojo’s and Alabi’s village. When I came there, I asked for them with the hope to spend some days with them as the three of us were friends before. But I was greatly shocked when the people of their village told me that both of them had died a few weeks ago. They told me further that both died in the same midnight. When they told me so I remembered that six years ago, the Devil had
shortened
their lives from sixty-six to six years before he gave them uncountable bags of money in the midnight that they became his followers, but I refused to be his follower that midnight.

But I was not allowed to stay and rest for some days in this village when the people saw this talking lump of the iron on my head. However, I left there the same day. Thus I was carrying this lump of the iron to my village but with much difficulties. And within a few days that I had left Ojo’s and Alabi’s village, I reached my own village at about nine o’clock in the morning. As I was carrying it along in the village, and when the people saw me. They thought that I had become mad because of the dirty rags which I wore and also the talking lump of the iron which I carried instead to carry good thing. However, with great shame, I carried it to the house and I put it in one of the rooms.

After that I swept the whole house and compound as well. Having done so, I sat in my father’s sitting room. After a while, many people came in to greet me for my safety return because many of them thought that I had been killed or died.

Although I came back to my village safely but I came back with my usual poverty which I had inherited from my father and mother before they died. I came back with dirty rags on my body, with my long sharp matchet, with another burden which was the terrible talking lump of the iron which the god of the Iron gave me when Ojo, Alabi and I visited his town when the three of us were returning from the town of the Creator. But I came back without half a penny although Ojo and Alabi were successful to get the money from Devil but both of them had died after they had enjoyed the money for only six years.

As the people of my village were coming to greet me it was so some of them were bringing food and drinks to me. I asked for my junior sister, A
INA
, from the people but they told me that she and her husband had left the village for the next one some years ago.
Having
heard so, I sent for her and she and her husband came and greeted me. Having spent two days with me they returned to their village.

But one day, when the people who came to greet me
were leaving for their houses, according to our custom, I led them to a short distance. I had forgotten that I must not be too far from the talking lump of the iron. To my fear and the people’s, it shouted horribly and
within
a second it rolled heavily on the ground to the
outside
. As it began to warn me loudly that I must come back and put him on head before leading these people. Having seen this talking lump of the iron and as it was too fearful and strange to them. They fled away to their houses at the same time. So since this day the people of the village stopped to come to my house. But as I could not go and visit people without
carrying
it along with me, I stayed at home always. But I could not continue to do so for a long time because there was nothing for me to eat. Furthermore it did not allow me to go and work in the farm.

One morning, I sat down and began to think how I could be free from this talking lump of the iron for I was then nearly to die of hunger. After a while it came to my mind to carry it to Aina, my junior sister, in the next village, perhaps she and her husband would be able to feed me. Although I had the power to work for my living but this lump of the iron would not allow me to go out. Then in the following morning I put it on my head, I went to Aina and her husband with it. Luckily, I met both of them at home, they had not gone to the farm yet. As they saw me perspiring as if I had bathed they hastily helped me to put it down in one corner of their house. Having given me some minutes to rest, Aina gave me food.

But as I started to eat the food, she and her husband began to look at me with confusion. They were not sure
whether or not I was mad. In fact, they were not to be blamed if they thought that I was mad because a person who was normal would never attempt to put such an ugly heavy lump of the iron as this on his head. But they did not know that it was not an ordinary lump of the iron. However, after I ate the food to my
satisfaction
, I told them what it was and also all the burdens which it was giving me. I told them further that the god of the Iron had given it to me to be worshipping it as my god.

Having told them the story of this talking lump of the iron, Aina’s husband told me that he would take me to the great god of the Iron worshipper of that village. Without hesitation he and his wife, Aina, helped me to put it on my head. After that he took me to the great god of the Iron worshipper. He begged him to take it from me so that I might be free from the burdens that which it was giving me. Luckily, this great god of the Iron worshipper agreed to take it from me. But he told me to pay eight pounds to be spent for the sacrifice which he would make after the evil spirit of the lump of the iron had been driven back to the god of the Iron by his incantations.

But when he told me to pay eight pounds, I told him that I had no even half a penny in hand unless he would allow me to pawn myself to him for the money. I promised him that I would be working for him until when I would refund the eight pounds. He agreed when Aina’s husband persuaded him but he told me that I should be
working
on his farm for one-third of the day everyday until I would pay him the eight pounds. When he said so I told him that I agreed to do so. Then on our presence,
he sent for some dogs, cocks, etc. When all these things were brought, he incantated on this talking lump of the iron for many minutes before the thick smoke rushed out of it. As soon as the smoke disappeared he killed the dogs, etc. But the thick smoke was just like the figure of a human being, it was very ugly and its shape was not clear at all. It was like that I was free from this terrible talking lump of the iron although I pawned myself for money for my freedom.

Having thanked him greatly, we came back to the house and when I spent some days with Aina and her husband, I returned to my village. Now as I was free from the terrible talking lump of the iron, it was so I was free to go and work on the farm of the god of the Iron worshipper for one-third of the day everyday. And it was so I was free to go and work on my own farm for the rest two-third of the day for my leaving. Now I was happy although I was still in my poverty.

After some years, the people of the village advised me to find one lady to marry. I agreed but there was no money to pay for the dowry. Having explained to them like that they advised me again to pawn myself for money which was to be paid for the dowry. And I agreed to this advice as well. So after a few days, I went to another village, I contacted one wealthy pawnbroker who lived there. I pawned myself for the sum of twenty pounds. He told me that I should be working on his farm
everyday
for one-third of the day and I agreed. Now I had already pawned myself to two pawnbrokers for money and I was working on their farms everyday for two-thirds of the day and I was working on my own farm for the rest one-third of the day.

After a few weeks that I had got the twenty pounds, I found one beautiful and sensible lady. The twenty pounds was paid to her parents as her dowry and then she came to my house. Thus I married at last. But as I had already pawned myself to two pawnbrokers. I was
working
on the farm of the first one who had taken the talking iron from me, from seven o’clock to eleven o’clock in the morning. And I was working on the farm of the other who had given me the twenty pounds, from twelve o’clock to three o’clock in the afternoon. After that I was working on my own farm from four o’clock till the sunset. Thus I was doing everyday. Of course I had no sufficient food to eat although she was assisting me to do some work in the farm as she was not a lazy woman.

As I got no sufficient time to do plenty of work in my farm, within a few months, my poverty had become so much that we began to suffer for clothes, food, etc. But as everything was still growing from bad to worse everyday in respect of the insufficient time to work in my farm for our living. So having seen this, my wife advised me one day:

“Ajaiyi, better you go to the Witch Doctor of the village to find out from him the causes of this our fast growing poverty and to find out from him as well what can stop it!”

“But my poverty has been inherited from my father and mother before both of them died! And for this reason, I don’t think there is no any witch doctor who can set me free from it! You see, I had been to the town of the Creator, the town of the god of Iron, the town of the fire creatures, the town under the river, the town of Devil-doctor, etc. in order to get money so that I might
be free from the poverty. But at last, all my efforts were failed!” I explained to my wife like that with great sorrow.

“But of course you might have been to almost all the towns and villages in order to get money and you had failed in all of your efforts. You should not be
discouraged
at all. But you must be still struggling until when your poverty is conquered. Although you have inherited it but I want you to realize that everything is possible if one can endure the punishments of this world!” It was like this my wife convinced me to consult the Witch Doctor of my village about my poverty.

So at eight o’clock in the night, I went to the village Witch Doctor. I explained my difficulties to him with sorrow. But with a sharp and merciless voice the Witch Doctor replied:

“Yes, your case is quite simple. If you want to be free from your inherited poverty, you will buy nine rams and nine empty sacks. Having bought them and brought them to your house. You will put each of the rams alive inside of each of the nine empty sacks. Having done so, then in the midnight or when you are quite sure that the rest people in the village have slept. You will carry all to the grave of your father and put all on top of the grave. Having done so you must come and tell me that you have put them on top of the grave. But to be sure whether your dead father has taken the whole rams into his grave, you must go back to his grave in the following morning. And I am quite sure, you will meet only the empty sacks on top of the grave and that means your dead father has taken all the nine rams. But you should not forget to take that empty sacks back to your house and put them in your room and you will see that in a
few days time, all will be filled up with money by your dead father and then you will be free from your poverty! But I shall remind you, you must come and tell me as soon as you have put the rams on top of the grave! Do not forget that!”

When the village Witch Doctor had explained to me what I should give to my dead father before I could be free from the poverty which I had inherited from him (father) before he died and he (Witch Doctor) warned me seriously that I must come and tell him as soon as I had put the rams on top of the grave. I stood up and thanked him before I left. But as I was returning to the house in the darkness, I started to think within myself:

“The Witch Doctor had said that unless I sacrifice nine rams to my dead father before he (father) would set me free from the poverty which I had inherited from him. But I believe, I will never free from this poverty because I have no money to buy even one cock how much more for nine rams and nine empty sacks.” It was like that I was thinking in mind until I entered the house confusedly.

“What did the Witch Doctor tell you about your poverty, Ajaiyi?” my wife who was unable to sleep until I returned, hastily asked from me as I entered the house and I explained to her what he told me to do for my dead father. But when I told her that I had no money to buy the nine rams and nine empty sacks she said loudly: “Ah, you said you have no money to buy the nine rams and nine empty sacks! Are we going to die in this poverty or do you want your sons to inherit the poverty from you as well as you have inherited it from your own father? Better you go and pawn yourself to another
pawnbroker who will give you the money to buy the rams and the empty sacks!”

“Ah! To pawn myself to the third pawnbroker again! But I am afraid, if I do that again, it means I have pawned myself to three pawnbrokers. But how can I work for the three of them satisfactorily and who will be working for our living then?” I asked from my wife with sorrow.

“Never mind about our living, Ajaiyi. I believe, if you work hard, you will satisfy the three pawnbrokers!” my wife advised me strongly, and I agreed to go and pawn myself to the third pawnbroker who would give me the money to buy the nine rams and nine empty sacks.

In the following day, I went to the third pawnbroker who gave me ten pounds. Having given me the money he told me that I should be working on his farm for
one-third
of the day everyday and I agreed to do so. Now I would be working for the three pawnbrokers for the whole day and there would be no time for me to work on my own farm for our living any more.

However my wife and I went to the market with the ten pounds. But unfortunately, the ten pounds were not sufficient to buy the whole nine rams and nine empty sacks. Having seen this, I was so embarrassed that I told my wife to let us return to the house with the money.

“Oh, my husband, don’t let us go home with this money without buying the rams and the empty sacks, otherwise we shall spend it for another thing and yet your poverty will still remain as worse as ever. But let us buy now as many rams and empty sacks as it can buy. Then in the midnight, you will carry them to the grave of your father. Having put them on top of the grave,
you will then explain to the grave that you will bring the rest rams as soon as you have money to buy them. And I believe, your dead father will not refuse to accept them because he knew that he had left you in great poverty before he died!” Without argument I agreed when my wife advised me like that.

Then we bought six rams and six empty sacks that which the ten pounds could buy and we took them to the house. When it was midnight, I put each of the rams inside each of the empty sacks. All were alive when I put them in the sacks. Then I carried them one by one to the grave of my father which was half a mile to the village. Having put them on top of the grave, according to my wife’s advice, I explained to the grave with a sorrowful voice: “My father, please accept these six rams from me as the first instalment and I shall not fail to bring the rest three for you as soon as you help me to get money to buy them!”

When I had done so, I went direct to the Witch Doctor. I told him that I had carried six rams to the grave.
Having
heard so, he thanked me with great laughter. After he had advised me strongly that I must not keep long before taking the rest three to the grave, and he chatted with me for some minutes, I came back to the house. But not knowing that I hardly left when this Witch Doctor and his servants went to the grave. They carried the whole six rams to his house and killed them for his food and without hesitation he gave the six empty sacks to one of his servants to return them to the grave before daybreak.

Hardly in the morning when my wife and I ran
earnestly
to the grave and both of us were very happy when
we met only the six empty sacks on top of the grave. Without hesitation, we collected them and then returned to the house with gladness. I hastily put them in one of the rooms and then my wife and I were expecting that all would soon be filled up with money. But having waited and waited and waited for months but my dead father did not fill these empty sacks with the money as the Witch Doctor had told me. And this time my poverty had become extremely worse and again the three
pawnbrokers
were dragging me here and there because I could not work satisfactorily for each of them. I blamed my wife with sorrow: