My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

by Amos Tutuola

  As the fire which had been prepared before these ghosts appeared to him was insufficient to roast me and luckily as the dried sticks were very scarce to get near there, so he sent two of these ghosts to go for the dried sticks, but these two selected ghosts refused totally to go, unless the whole of them would go, because they were thinking that it was a trick, so the rest would eat me before they would come back when fetching the dried sticks. When these two selected ghosts refused to go unless the whole of them would go together, then he told them to go together, but the whole of them said again unless he would follow them as well before they would go. After they argued for some minutes then all of them together with the one who brought me there went to fetch the dried sticks. But after they went away and left me there and as this fire was yet half quenched, so I tried my best and laid my body on it. After some minutes the web became half-dried and caught the fire which was slowly burning the web, then I found my way out by force from the web, of course, it burnt some parts of my body slightly. Without any ado I took to my heels and before they could return from the place that they went for the sticks I had gone very far into another bush which did not belong to them. This is how I was saved from the spider-eating ghosts who buried me alive. Immediately I escaped then I travelled to the south-east of this bush perhaps I would see the way to my town and perhaps I might see something to eat as I was feeling hunger.

  At that moment a heavy rain with a very strong wind came. This wind was blowing here and there so that many trees were falling down unexpectedly, so I stopped and looked for a safe place to shelter myself from the rain and to save my life from all the trees which were falling down here and there by the strong wind. But as I was looking for such a place there I discovered a place which was close to a big tree with props and I thought that the place was refuse of dried leaves which were heaped together closely to this tree, because it was so dark at that time so that I could not see everything clearly, even I could not see myself as well. So I laid down and crept into it, not knowing that it was inside the pouch of a kind of the animal who has a big pouch or bag under his belly, I entered as he had already sheltered himself there before me. So I simply entered it. But as it was warm slightly like a room I fell asleep in it within a minute. But when the rain with the strong wind were too heavy or too much for him to bear and remain there, he left that place and looked about for another place to shelter himself, and did not discover such a place until he reached a bush which belongs to the 13th town, which only belongs to short ghosts, but I did not wake at all in his pouch as he was carrying me about until he reached this bush.

  The Short Ghosts and their Flash-eyed Mother

  As all the short ghosts of this 13th town were not doing other work more than to go to bush to hunt for bush animals, to kill them and to bring them to the “flash-eyed mother” who is their ruler, so this animal fell into their hands at about nine o’clock in the morning. They shot him to death at once with guns, after that all of them started to drag him to their town as he was too heavy for them to carry on their heads. But I did not wake as they were doing all these things. Having reached the town, all the rest of the short ghosts of this town gathered together round this curious animal. All were looking at him with much surprise as this kind of animal was so scarce to get or see frequently in their bush. But as the hair on his body should be first scraped off carefully and kept in a safe place, as it is very precious to all of them, so at first they scraped the hair on the first part of his body and when they were scraping the hair inside the pouch in which I slept, so the scrapers or knives which they were using mistakenly touched one of my feet suddenly, then I woke inside the pouch, but as I shook my body to left and right to come out as I did not know that it was inside the pouch of an animal I slept, I thought I was inside a room. So as I shook, the pouch shook as well in their view and immediately all of them took their guns ready to shoot the pouch; they thought that the animal became alive again. But as one of them was wiser, he noticed carefully that only the inside or a part of the pouch was shaking, then he expanded it and saw me there. Having discovered me he held both my feet and dragged me out unexpectedly and I simply found myself in the centre of them.

  The first thing I did immediately I got out was to run away to save my life, but I was not allowed. All of them were looking at me with their terrible eyes for about half an hour. They did not talk or shake their bodies as a dummy. As they were too terrible for me to look at or to stand with, then I was running away for the second time, perhaps I would be safe from them. But all of them gripped me violently and took me before an old woman who is the “flash-eyed mother” the ruler of that 13th town and she was the only woman in this town. As I stood before her on this critical day and when I saw her clearly, I closed my eyes tightly at the same moment, I could not open it till I was forced to open it by these short ghosts who escorted me before her and still I was unable to open it in full, because of her fearful, dreadful, terrible, curious, wonderful and dirty appearance.

  This “flash-eyed mother” sat on the ground in the centre of the town permanently. She did not stand up or move to anywhere at all, she was all the time beaten there by both rain and sun, both day and night. There was no single house built in this town as she alone filled the town as a round vast hill, it was hard for the rest inhabitants to move about or to sleep in the town. This town is about six miles in circumference, it was as clean as a football field. All these short ghosts were just exactly a year and an half old babies, but very strong as iron and clever while doing everything, all of them had no other work more than to be killing the bush animals with short guns like pistols which were given to them by the “flash-eyed mother” and whenever an animal is killed they would bring it to her in the same place that she sat. Millions of heads which were just like a baby’s head appeared on her body, all circulated set by set. Each of these heads had two very short hands which were used to hold their food or anything that they want to take, each of them had two eyes which were shining both day and night like fire-flies, one small mouth with numerous sharp teeth, the head was full of long dirty hair, two small ears like a rat’s ears appeared on each side of the head. If they are talking, their voices would be sounding as if somebody strikes an iron or the church bell which sound would last more than ten minutes before stopping. If all of them are talking together at a time it would be as a big market’s noises, they were arguing, flogging and reporting themselves to their mother. They could not move about or from the body of their mother to another place. Their mother had a special long and huge head which she was using to talk and to feed herself, it was above everything in the town and it showed her out from a distance of about four miles from this town. She had a large mouth which could swallow an elephant uncut. The two fearful large eyes which were on the front of her head were always flashing or bringing out fire whenever she was opening them, and this is why all the rest ghosts and ghostesses with all other creatures gave her the name of “flash-eyed mother”. There were over a thousand thick teeth in this mouth, each was about two feet long and brown in colour, both upper and lower lips were unable to cover the teeth. The hair on her head was just as bush, all could weigh more than a ton if cut and put on a scale, each was thicker than a quarter of an inch and almost covered her head, except the face. All these hairs were giving shelter to her whenever it was raining and whenever the sun was scorching her as she was not walking to anywhere. Both her hands were used in stirring soup on the fire like spoons as she did not feel the pain of fire or heat, her finger nails were just like shovels and she had two very short feet under her body, she sat on them as a stool, these feet were as thick as a pillar. She never bathed at all.

  It was these eyes which were bringing out splashes of fire all the time and were used to bring out fire on the firewood whenever she wanted to cook food and the flash of fire of these eyes was so strong that it would catch the firewood at the same moment like petrol or other inflammable spirit or gunpowder, and also use it at night as a
flood of light in lighting the whole town as electricity lights, so by that, they were not using other lights except the flash fire of her eyes. Whenever one or more of the short ghosts who were serving her as their mother offended her, both eyes would be flashing out fire on to the body who offends her, and the fire would be burning the body at the same moment as fluffy things or rags. She was using it as a whip to flog any other of her offenders as it could be flashed to a long distance. For this reason she was very fearful to other creatures coming to her town without special reason, even H.M. the King of the Bush of Ghosts could not say—“Who is she?” She was using all kinds of animal skins as clothes which made her more fearful, ugly and dreadful to see or look at. As she was not standing up or moving about so all the short ghosts of this town who were under her flag were killing the bush animals and bringing them to her, although all of them were feeding on these animals as well.

  I was escorted before her on this day and stood before her as if I had been dissolved into vapour or no more alive and also dreaming of her terrible, dreadful, ugly, dirty appearance without sleeping. She asked the short ghosts whether I am the son of the animal from whose pouch they took me out, all of them replied that they could not say definitely. After she heard so from them, then she flashed the fire of both her eyes on to my body and it burnt the animal skin which I wore as a cloth and also burnt some part of my body as well at the same time, because she wanted to know whether I could talk or not, but as my body caught fire and I cried suddenly with a loud voice, so when they heard my sorrowful voice the whole of them burst into a great laugh at a time as if uncountable cannons fired together, and her own laugh among the rest was just as if a bomb explodes, and as her own voice was louder in a very queer way, terrible and dreadful, so some of the big trees on hills around this town fell down, and I myself nearly sank into the ground to half of my body before some of these short ghosts pulled me out of the ground. But after she heard my voice she believed that I am an earthly person, but she did not know how I managed to be in the Bush of Ghosts.

  Having believed that I am an earthly person then she asked me whether I would live with her, so I replied—“Yes”. But she did not ask whether I escaped from somewhere or offended somebody before I reached there. After I agreed to her request she ordered the short ghosts to give me a short gun to be hunting with them. These short ghost hunters taught me how to kill the bush animals. Having qualified as a hunter, then I followed them to the bush. Whenever we were killing an animal we would bring it to “flash-eyed mother” who was supposed to be our mother or guardian, so she would take it from us and cook it at the same time in the same place that she sat permanently like a stump. Having cooked it, the first thing she was doing was to serve the fleshy part of the animal to all the heads that surrounded her body, after that she would serve the rest fleshy part to herself and then the bony part to all the short ghosts. If all the heads and herself were eating at the same time their mouths would be making noises as if one hundred winches are working together. Within a minute all the heads would finish their own, then would be asking for more immediately as they were not satisfied with small food, so for this reason the mother was not serving us with enough food so that it might be sufficient for them. All of them would be fighting, arguing and flogging themselves while eating the food greedily and also the biggest head which belongs to their mother would be settling their misunderstandings for them several times before they would finish the food. As she added the dirt as her beauty, so she was not checking all the heads from passing urine, excreta and spitting on her body which would wet all over her body.

  One day when we went to the bush since morning it was hard for us before we killed a very small animal at about 4.30 p.m., then we brought it to her. Having cooked it, she served very little to every one of the heads in such a way that the remainder would reach every one of us, but all these heads protested because the “flash-eyed mother” served us out of it, they wanted to eat all, of course when their mother noticed that they protested she took all that she served to every one of us back from us and then shared it for them, because she did not want them to be hungry at any time, so all of us slept that night with empty stomachs. But when it was early in the morning all of us struck going to the bush to hunt. When she noticed that we struck she called the whole of us before her, she asked us to bring the animal which we killed for food that morning, but we said none, we told her further that we did not go to bush at all that day. Immediately she heard so from us, she was exceedingly annoyed and started to flash the fire of her eyes on to us with all her power, so that the skins of the animals that every one of us wore caught fire at once as by petrol and this means she was flogging us. As she was flogging us with the fire all the heads on her body were also abusing, scorning and cursing us badly.

  After that she ordered us to go to bush at once and we must not come back without an animal, otherwise all of us would be burnt to ashes willing or not, she concluded. Then all of us went to the bush at the same time. Having reached the bush God is so good, within an hour we killed a kind of ghosts’ animal which had plenty of fat like a pig, then we brought it to her. Having cooked it she served all the heads to their entire satisfaction, after that she served herself to her satisfaction and then served us last according to the rule and regulation given to her by the heads. So the whole of us ate this animal to our entire satisfaction, because this animal was as big as an elephant and also fatty.

  She had a kind of a terrible alarm which was in a hidden part of her body, but it was not visible to us, except those heads and herself. It was this alarm she was blowing every early in the morning to wake us up, but it would be after she had cooked a kind of short ghosts’ pap before it would be blowing repeatedly with a terrible sound. Whenever we heard it, every one of us would be in a single line before her as soldiers and as every one of us had his own small basin or cup which were made by them, then she would be serving us one by one with the pap which would be poured into the cups; it would reach the half. It was like this we were receiving it as when soldiers are receiving their rations before an officer and all the heads had their own cups as well, but all the times that their mother was serving us all of them would be telling her seriously and repeatedly that she was serving us with much food. These heads were always making noises and all of them were not sleeping at the same time at night, because if some of them sleep, the rest would be talking until those who were sleeping would wake. Some times they would be abusing their mother whenever she was sleeping and also snoring or snorting as if a sea is roaring with great power as follows:—“Hear our ‘flash-eyed mother’ who is snoring like strong wind.” But if she woke at that moment they would tell her with louder voice—“Take away your flash eyes from us.”

  Barbing Day in the Town of Short Ghosts

  As all the heads which were on the body of “flash-eyed mother” and also all short ghosts’ heads were full of much thick and dirty hair like weeds, so they were only barbing once in a century when the “Secret Society of Ghosts” festival is near.

  So that a special full day is reserved for barbing their heads and their barber is one of the “fire creatures” who was qualified for barbing heads with the clippers and knife of fire. But when it was announced by the “flash-eyed mother” that the barbing day would be tomorrow I thought our heads would be barbed with the ordinary clippers, scissors and knives as in my home town, so I was jumping up with gladness because I was never barbed once since about fourteen years that I entered the Bush of Ghosts. So when the day was reached all of us were bound to be in one spot. After a few minutes there I saw a creature who was fire and held the clippers of fire which were blazing with the flame of fire. First, he started to barb for those heads as everything must first start from them. But I was very surprised to see that all of these heads were shouting with joy as these clippers of fire were touching their heads instead of crying. Again it was this day I noticed carefully that uncountable beetles, bees, wasps and many other kinds
of biting insects were living inside the hair of these heads as their homes and also their mother’s head was full up with numerous small birds which built their nests inside the hair of her head as on the trees. Having barbed all the heads and their mother then he started barbing for the short ghosts. But after he barbed half of them all the heads reported to their mother that they were feeling hungry, then she ordered those half who had been already barbed to go and kill an animal from the bush, so at this stage I had a chance and mixed with those who had been already barbed as if I had barbed my own too. So it was this way I saved myself from barbing my head with the clippers of fire.

  One day, when I was seriously sick, I was detailed to be at home by the short ghosts to be serving the mother with anything that she wanted to do. I was greatly surprised to say that it was that day I knew that she was selling the flash fire of her eyes to other kinds of ghosts who were coming from the various towns to buy it, and a flash was worth a heavy amount of ghosts’ money.

  I Become an Aggressor for Ghosts