Ravi the Unknown Prince (19 page)

We dismounted where there was a row of thatched roof huts and went into one of them.

It had one bedroom at the back with a single bed and a large sitting area with sheep skin rugs on the floor and a small kitchen with a wood burning stove.

We all sat on a long wooden bench with our backs to the wall and drank tea which Habib had brewed.

Afterwards Alam and I left with Condor and Red Eagle to take a much closer look at the cattle grazing in the pasture.

At about ten minutes into our journey I saw the landscape littered with thousands of cattle of different colours ages and sizes.

We dismounted when we saw a group of men next to a ridge sitting together, some were playing a card game while the others were looking on.

They greeted us and Red Eagle told them who I was and they shook hands with me.

While Alam was talking to one man I noticed an unusual tree and I asked Condor what that tree was.

And he told me it was a walnut plant and that there were many such plants on the other side of the ridge.

We sat with the men for a short period and they offered us some fruit juice before we left.

We got back on our horses and followed a path which led us to another group of workers.

They were resting underneath a thatched roof tent to protect them from the sun and rain.

Their tent were opened on three sides and held upright with six strong poles, they told us that sometimes they would sleep there when it was their turn to do the night shift.

They offered us food and drink but we were in a hurry. Condor and Red Eagle wanted to take me to where Manaos Palace once stood.

We left that group of men and rode on. I felt like a cowboy sitting in the saddle of a brown stallion; he trotted and moved like the wind.

We rode for nearly an hour across the wild country to Lake Amuku and then into a deserted Island where cactus plants and brown moss covered the ground.

When we dismounted Condor told us that this place was Manaos the golden city; it is known to the outside world as El Dorado until it disappeared.

I asked Condor whether it was true or just a folk legend; he said that his grand-father had told them that there was once a rich civilization of the Muisca Tribe living here.

The King had a Palace partly made from gold and he drove in a golden carriage.

He ate from golden plates and drank from golden goblets and he powered himself in gold dust.

I began to laugh because it did not sound real, Condor continued and he said that the earth shook and buried them.

I said to Condor, if what he had just told us was true then this must be El Dorado, the City of gold we read about in many books.

And that river must be the mighty Potaro which the Spanish Conquistadors in 1541 sailed through, in search of the city of gold.

Then Red Eagle showed us what took place here; he began to flap his arm and rolled on the ground.

I thought that he was having an epileptic seizure or fit and then he got up and stood on his head.

I said, “An earthquake took place and buried everything,” he nodded his head.

We could not travel any further; there was quick-sand in many places with a sort of brown moss growing on the surface.

It was difficult to detect where the actual quick-sand lay. Many bounty hunters got caught up in this sand and were buried alive.

The Muisca men who were out fishing and hunting at the time of the mighty quake moved to Bogota to live, and that tribe still remain there.

I said to Alam that we were standing on a burial site; if what we had just heard was true.

He said, “Cousin Hasan, these people was a cursed nation they worshipped their ancestors instead of God the Almighty, we should leave here and never return.”

I was engrossed in the story but saw no gold pieces around where I was standing, but I kept an open mind.

We got back on our horses and left the first Manaos Kingdom and Condor and Red Eagle took us on another route on our return journey.

We met another group of men and two Veterinary surgeons. They were busy treating a few calves; we greeted them and rode on.

I asked Alam how this Kingdom of my uncle came into existence, he told me that his mother Shereen’s great grand-father came to these shores and settled here.

He was an Egyptian Merchant, his name was Mohamed El Saeed and their ship was caught up in a storm and then sank. He with a few others managed to survive.

He married a local Muslim girl and they bought some of this land for farming, after their son was born they began to rear cattle, and then they bought more land and so on.

Salman their son named this territory Manaos and later on his son Mohamed the second father of my mum added Kingdom to it.

Mohamed invited people from outside to come and live and work here he was easy going and people took advantage of him.

When my mother Shereen took over she expelled all the criminals and banned certain types of people from entering the Kingdom.

Her rules were strict and no one would marry her, until she met dad and both of them continued their rule.

Dad rebuilt the Palace and she named it Sunset Palace, on all her headed paper Manaos Kingdom is printed in bold letters.

Now it is in the hands of Prince Hanif Latchman and later on his nephew Prince Hasan Latchman and their future generations.

He giggled as he said, “I hope their reign will be of great success and please my cousin, when you take your place do not be like Mohamed the second.

Be more like mum and dad; remember that you are the head of a Kingdom and its people,” he reiterated “and I am proud to be a member of this family.”

“Thank you for your advice, cousin Alam.” I answered.

I was beginning to panic a little that if I did not treat these people with kindness and respect, on the day or Judgement I would have to answer for it.

I had studied the laws of the Quran and I would implement it into the Kingdom and be fair to my people when that time came.

We continued our journey to the ranch house where we were going to spend the night.

When we arrived a group of men were roasting two animals by the side of the house on an open fire.

Habib had slaughtered two bulls and the men took over and were engaged in doing the roast.

One man was playing a flute which was made from the bamboo tree and another had a string instrument which he made himself.

The music was soothing and relaxing to the mind as well as the body after that long and difficult ride on a hard saddle through the vast expanse of a beautiful and panoramic landscape.

Alam interrupted my thoughts when he said, that there was going to be some entertainment for me tonight and that his dad would do this when ever a special guest arrived.

“But you are family he said, “And this is a welcoming home party for you tonight,” he remarked.

Then we all went for a cold dip in the river that ran at the back of the ranch house, and changed into something more comfortable.

While the men were busy cooking and singing in their native language I counted thirty five people and then I asked uncle if there were any more men to come.

He answered, “This is only half the amount.”

He had on his books twenty ranchers, twelve vets, and twelve rangers. The vets were English speaking and local.

When I sat down he called everyone together and told them that he was retiring and handing over his job to me, his nephew.

I would be here in about six month’s time and he hoped that they would continue to work with me in peace, like they have done with him.

Their jobs were safe but if anyone became difficult to manage that person would be fired.

“Now go and enjoy yourselves,” he told them.

Afterwards we all began to enjoy ourselves eating roast beef, cassava bread, roasted sweet potatoes, and corn on the cob and drank pure fruit juices as no alcohol was permitted in the Kingdom.

It was a moon-lit night and the big round moon was out in its full glory, the Arawak men were singing and dancing in the moon-light.

Alam and I joined in the chorus of their songs and then we danced along with them to blend in together.

After a while the men on night shift left and another group arrived and we continued partying until dawn was breaking and then they all left and took the remaining food with them.

We went to bed after sun-rise; then suddenly we were woken with a heavy down pour of rain, thunder and lighting. That storm lasted for a few hours and then we saw the sun again.

In that region the weather can change at any time, sometimes four seasons in one day.

We quickly loaded our bags into the Land Rover and I drove back to Sunset Palace.

Uncle and I spent the day together looking at his books; the income and expenditure of the estate.

In the evening I told him that I would like to go around at night to see what was going on in the streets.

He told me to take Habib with me and he informed Habib that he and I would be going out on night patrol.

We were leaving the following day for the West Coast and Habib and Alam were coming with us. Uncle wanted to visit his dead ancestors and to mark his burial spot.

I rang Muna and told her how many of us were coming and to get Imran to pick us up at the air base.

That night I took the Jeep and Habib, and went out at 2.30am. The village streets were deserted and I had noticed that some doors and windows were left opened while the people slept.

It surprised me I have never seen that before in other parts of the world during my travels, and where I was born, people would steal from under your nose.

When I told Habib he was laughing which he rarely did since I had met him.

I stopped by the Mosque and we went inside and prayed, after we finished praying we sat together and I asked Habib how often he came to pray here.

He told me that every Friday he and Master Hanif would either go to the Mosque in town or come here to pray.

Then we heard footsteps and two men appeared and greeted us and introduced themselves. One was the Imam [Priest] and the other was the care-taker.

The Imam told us that he heard a car pull up and when he looked out he thought that the Master had come to pray so they came out to meet him.

Habib introduced us and I shook hands with both men and then we left. I drove into the city which was calm and peaceful with all the street-lights on and working.

Then we saw a man and a woman walking quickly on the side walk. I stopped and told Habib to find out what they were doing out so late.

The man said that their daughter had just given birth and they were with her and now they were going home to get some sleep to start work in the morning.

I told them to get in and I drove them back to the village where they lived and then drove back to the palace.

Next morning we left after breakfast, our journey would take us four hours, from the South by plane and then by road to the West Coast.

On arrival we were tired and exhausted. After I introduced Muna to every one we all went upstairs to have a few hours rest.

In the evening all the Baccus’s family came to meet uncle, they were all saying that we have some resemblance and what took him so long to find me.

He told Maymun that it was better late than never, but he did not disclose anything else to them.

While everyone was chatting and laughing I noticed that there was some tension between Muna and Asma.

I later found out that Asma had said to Muna that she should not trust her husband; that he was out having a good time with other women.

Muna got upset and took Husain and left Cotton Tree crying. She went to her mother and was staying there every night.

The next morning, I hired a local taxi to take us to the cemetery, which was nearly half a mile to walk.

The mud dam was full of cracks and pot holes and it would be a hard struggle for uncle with his poor health.

We went first to the second reef where his parents and mine were laid to rest.

He became overwhelmed and was shedding tears as he looked at the markings on each grave with the names and years our people had passed away.

Uncle then sat beneath the shade of a wild berry bush while Alam, Habib, and I were removing the weeds from the top of the graves.

And then he told us the exact spot where we should put his body next to his mother, Alam and I marked that place with some large stones until that time came.

Then we left and went to the first reef and Alam noticed the cinnamon tree and he asked me whether he could pick some of its bark for making tea and to flavour cakes and puddings.

I told him to take as much as he wanted and then uncle said to me, “These two people have changed our lives, yours and mine, Hasan.

Grand-father came here to work and to better himself; and grand-mother was running away from being taken as a prisoner of war and here is where their journey ended.”

He brushed away the tears from his eyes as he looked around at the other plots of land that had graves on them.

A few graves had fences around them, while others were left bare with only the grass holding the sand together from eroding away.

In the evening I took them to the beach at the back of my house, the tide was out and we all sat on the log of wood where I used to sit and day dream of going to far away places.

I told them that I would talk to my two friends the Manatees while swimming with them.

I would tell them what I like to do and where I would like to go, but I would always come back and swim with them.

I kept my promise each time I came back home, but I heard from a local fisherman that there was a small calf and the mother gets aggressive if anyone comes close to her young.

As the tide was slowly come in uncle got up and dipped his feet into the sea water and then he started walking along the white sandy beach.

He was deep in his own thoughts but he would not confide in any one of us.

His life was ebbing away slowly and there was nothing that anyone could do to prolong it.

All the wealth he possessed could not buy him time and his medical team had given up on him.