My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

by Amos Tutuola

  Within six months that he was born he had grown up to the height of four feet and some inches. He could do everything in the house. But the worst part of it is that whenever I talked to him to do something, he would do it in the half method that ghosts are doing all their things and then in the half method that the earthly persons are doing everything. So I hated him for this habit, because I wanted him to do everything completely in the method that the earthly persons are doing everything and also his mother hated him for the half method that he was doing everything, because she wanted him to do everything in the full way that ghosts are doing their own things. She wanted him to be acting as a full ghost as herself and I myself wanted him to be acting as a full earthly person as I am. So by this reason the love which was between ourselves was vanishing away gradually until when I completed the period of four years with her.

  One night I was joking with her that—“earthly people are superior to the ghosts and ghostesses or all other creatures.” But when she heard this from me she was extremely annoyed. Without asking me the reason about what I said, she simply went to an unknown place that she kept the animal skin which was on my body when she met me. But as she had taken it from me and hid it in an unknown place at the time I followed her from the bush to her house on the day she met me in the bush, so she brought it and took away all the clothes that she gave me from my body and then gave me my animal skin to wear. But when I saw her rude attitude I was greatly annoyed as well, then I took it from her and wore it as before I met her. After that she drove me away from that town. Which means I come back to my former condition. So I left there at two o’clock in the midnight to an unknown place, because I did not know any part of that area or to hear any news about any town which is near there to go direct and shelter myself throughout that night from any dangerous ghost or creature.

  Having left her and travelled in the bush to a short distance then I remembered to continue to be looking for the way to my home town as I had forgotten that for a while, because of love. So this is how I left the “Super-lady” who was my wife because of our son. After the fifth month that I had left her and roamed about in the bush both day and night, and nobody could identify me again that I am not a ghost, because I was then nearly become a full ghost and was doing everything that ghosts are doing and also speaking the language of ghosts fluently as if I was born in the Bush of Ghosts, so through this language that I could speak and understand I was always protected from uncountable merciless ghosts as it was hard for some of them to believe that I am an earthly person.

  One night, at about eleven o’clock there I entered a town unnoticed. All the inhabitants of this town had slept very early, because it was in the rainy season, again it was raining from morning of that day till the evening, as this is always happening in the Bush of Ghosts. But when I went as far as to the centre of this town perhaps I might discover the fire in which to roast a very small yam which a ghost gave me after he slapped my ear warmly ten times before giving it to me, because yams were very scarce to get in some parts of the Bush of Ghosts. Having given me this yam he mounted me and rode me about for three days and nights before he released me.

  So as I was roaming up and down in this town to get the fire I was easily arrested as a burglar. Because many of their houses had been burgled a week previously before I entered there, so the guard-ghosts who arrested me thought that I was one of the burglars or coming to burgle another house again and furthermore, when they saw the small yam which I wanted to roast in the fire some of them held me tightly for the rest who were beating me repeatedly with clubs in respect of this yam alone. After that they took me to their guard-room to keep me safely till the morning before they would put the case in the court. I was very surprised to see that I was totally covered by mosquitoes in this guard-room so that nobody could see many parts of my body and it was in this town I saw that mosquitoes are worshipped, kept or tamed and regarded as their god, they are respecting them as their doctors and none of them could live in any town where there are no mosquitoes as they are recognising them purifying their blood to the good state. There I noticed as well that they have several special shrines in which they are worshipping them and scheduled the term of festival two times in a year. But if they discover in any year that mosquitoes are less than previous years it would be bad luck for them and at once they would make a special sacrifice in these shrines to increase mosquitoes in abundance so that they would fill everywhere in the town.

  So it was not yet eight o’clock in the morning before I was taken to the court which was specially arranged for my case and the judge did not ask me any question before he judged it and then sentenced me to sixteen years’ imprisonment with hard labour. Then I was taken to their prison yard in which all kinds of severe punishments are always awaiting offenders. Immediately I was taken there and handed to one of the chief warders who are in charge of the yard, then two junior warders were preparing fire inside a big oven in which I would spend the sentence passed on me. I would be entering inside this oven from five o’clock every morning and coming out at seven o’clock every evening till the term would be expired. But as it was hard labour, so instead of resting for some time till I would enter it again at five o’clock in the morning I would be collecting charcoal into this oven again with which to make another fire. So by that I would have no rest for a minute until the term would be expired. I was very surprised that all ghosts are thinking that earthly persons could not die as they themselves could not die. Because to imprison themselves and other creatures in the fire are very common in the Bush of Ghosts.

  Immediately these two warders had prepared the fire and told me to be getting ready to enter inside it and when I was preparing to enter it, luckily, it was that day their king should come to visit the yard and he entered it at that time without noticing all the warders, so he saw me stand closely before the oven or fire with my eyes which were as wild as a wild animal’s eyes when chasing his prey with hunger and much difficulty. So he approached me at the same moment he saw me and asked whether I knew him. But I replied—“I did not.” Then he said—“I am your son and your wife who is ‘Superlady’ is my mother.” Then I knew him very well after he had explained himself to me. After that, he ordered some of the warders to lead me to his palace and they did so. So I was very glad that this king is my son and also saved me entering the fire. Having inspected the prison yard all round, then he came back to the palace, he told his attendants to give me food with all kinds of drinks.

  Having spent some years with him, then I told him to tell me the right way to my home town. But as none of the ghosts is too young to persuade he told me—“Yes, I know the right way to your town, but to tell you such a thing is against our rule in this Bush of Ghosts.” When he said so, I explained that if he tells me the way and if I go, I will be spending only a few days in my town before I will be coming back to visit him regularly, but yet he insisted on the first point that he raised. When it was a week later after he refused to tell me the way, then I told him that I want to continue to find out the way. Of course, when heard so, he begged me not to leave him, but I myself refused totally to stay with him as he refused to tell me the way. So I left him and started to find the way.

  After the eighth month that I had left him there I reached the 4th town of ghosts at about twelve o’clock midnight. But I did not enter it at that time so that the guard ghosts might not catch me there as a thief as in the town in which my son is the king. When it was eight o’clock in the morning then I entered the town and went direct to the king, I reported that I am a foreigner in his town, because at that time I could explain myself fully before any ghost as I said that before I left my wife or the “Superlady” she taught me the language of the ghosts. So by that I explained before this king that:—it is disgraceful to hear that the earthly people are always abusing all the ghosts and now I volunteer myself to go to their towns to warn them of this abuse and I shall be glad if he will tell me the right way to any of the nearest eart
hly towns. After I explained to him like this, he waited for half an hour, of course, he could not identify me that I am not a ghost and he did not understand my trick that I am only to find out the right way from him. Before he started to reply my request he told a ghost to give me food with drinks as he noticed that I was feeling hunger at that time. As I was eating the food, then he was telling me—“I will tell you the right way to the earth to go and warn them if you can volunteer your left arm to me. Because one arm of the most beautiful of all my wives had been cut away before I married her, so that I will fit your own there, because it is our rule in this town that any king who is on the throne must not marry any armless or amputy as wife. And one of the rest of the wives had told this secret to all the chiefs, kingmakers and the prominent ghosts of this town that I married an armless ghostess as wife. The reason why she leaked out the secret is only because I love this armless wife more than the rest of them. All the chiefs, and kingmakers, with the prominent ghosts had come and asked me about the matter in secret whether it is true, but I told them that it is not true, because if I tell them frankly that it is true they will kill me. But when I told them that it is not the truth, then they told me that in five days to come they will come to the palace, then all my wives will come out and sit in a row, after that every one of them will be grinding corn on the stone with two hands in the presence of the chiefs, kingmakers and the prominent ghosts, but if any one of the wives cannot produce two hands or arms to grind the corn, then they will kill me on the same spot, as I am against the rule and now it remains only two days to come for the test.” But as he said that if I could volunteer one of my arms to fit on his wife’s arm which was cut off, then he would tell me the right way to the earthly towns, so I was very glad to hear that.

  Then I told him to call the armless wife to show me the arm which had been cut off, when she came and showed me the arm, so I measured it with a kind of ghosts’ rope in such a way that the measurement was equal with the one which was not cut. After this, I went to a bush which is near that palace with this rope, and moulded another arm with mud which was the same size with the rope, then I brought it and told this armless wife to stretch the other half which remained with her, so I let the artificial arm touch the part that remained with her, after that I performed a kind of juju which was given to me by a “triplet ghost”. Immediately I performed the juju the artificial arm joined together with the rest and at the same time it became exactly the natural arm, even nobody could believe that it was cut off before, and none of the wives who hated her knew that she had got complete arms until the day of the inspection was reached and all of them were still proud that they have complete arms and were also telling this armless wife in the proverbial way that she is near to be killed with the king who loved her only.

  When the day of this inspection was reached, all the chiefs, kingmakers, with all the prominent ghosts of this town came to the palace, all of them sat in the same row, then they put a flat grinding stone with corn on the front, after that they called all the king’s wives out and told them to sit down in a row at a little distance from them and also told the king to sit in the middle. After that they asked the king again—“Is it true that you married an armless ghostess as a wife?” But he replied as usual that he did not marry an armless ghostess as wife at all. Having spoken one of the inspectors started to command every one of these wives to be grinding that corn on the stone with two hands so that the wife who has an arm might be detected. But after all the rest who had complete hands ground the corn with their complete hands successfully, they told the one who was suspected to be armless that it is her turn to grind the corn. But as she was all the while hiding the hand under her cloth till the time she was called, so she got up and approached the stone, but the other wives were still thinking that she would not be able to grind it. So she knelt down and ground the corn successfully with two hands as the other wives. When the rest of the wives with the chiefs, kingmakers and prominent ghosts who were inspectors saw her with two complete hands all were greatly surprised. Then these chiefs, kingmakers and prominent ghosts or inspectors asked the rest of the wives—“Why did all of you tell a lie against the king that he married an armless ghostess as wife?” But when none of them could answer this question, and only looked as dummies, then the inspectors killed all of them, except the one who was supposed to be armless, because it is their rule as well in this town not to tell lies against the king. After all have been killed, then the inspectors went back to their houses. So the beauty of a woman or a lady among ugly women or many ugly ladies is always resulting in extreme hatred, and the hatred sometimes brings good luck to one who is abhorred or hated. Because it was only this beautiful ghostess was then the ruler of the palace with the king after the rest of the wives who hated her greatly for her beauty had been killed.

  After a week that I had done this wonderful work to this king and also saved his wife, then I asked him to tell me the right way to the earthly towns as he promised before. But instead of telling me the way he said—“I like you to stay here with me for the period of fifteen years, perhaps the arm may be cut unexpectedly, so that you may rejoin it again.” Of course, I did not blame him as he told me to wait for fifteen years, because he did not know that I am not a ghost. Although I believed that my trick would not succeed, then I left there at night without his knowledge and continued my journey as usual, until I entered a very clean town which resembled an earthly town, even at first I thought that it is my town.

  I meet my Dead Cousin in the 10th Town of Ghosts

  Having entered this 10th town of ghosts all the inhabitants of this town rushed out from their houses to see what happens. Immediately I saw them then I ran directly to one of them who resembled an earthly person among them, but when I approached him he was my dead cousin who had died in my town since I was six and an half years old. Immediately I saw him clearly that he is my dead cousin I ran to his back and held him. After that he told all the inhabitants of this town who came to the scene that I am his junior brother. But when they heard so from him all of them shouted with gladness at a time. After this, I followed him to his house with some of the ghosts to greet him at home. Because all of the inhabitants of this town were respecting him as he is the one who brought Christianity to their town. Having reached home, he told one of his servants to give me food and drinks at once, again many of the prominent ghosts of this town were sending a variety of food and drinks through him to me for “well come”. Furthermore, when it was about eight o’clock in the night all the chiefs and king, with famous and prominent ghosts of this town gathered together at the front house of my cousin, then the whole of us started to drink all kinds of ghosts’ drinks, we were also dancing, drumming and singing the song of ghosts until daybreak, and this was the “Well come Function”. It was that day I saw that some of these ghosts were dancing in such a way until they cut into halves and again both these halves were also dancing until they joined together as usual.

  After this “Well come Merriment” ended and when the day broke all of them went back to their houses, but still my cousin was receiving uncountable letters of congratulation, with presents from various towns and villages which were under this 10th town of ghosts, who were unable to come personally. Having gone back to their houses, I told my cousin that I want to sleep as all of us did not sleep throughout that night, so he opened a reserved room, then I slept on a bed which was specially decorated with expensive clothes. Of course, it is only in the Bush of Ghosts such a bed could be found. I woke up at two o’clock p.m., because I had not slept on such a bed since I left my wife the “Superlady” in the Nameless-town. After that I took my bath, then I ate and drank to my satifaction, because in the Bush of Ghosts whenever you eat drinks must follow. Then my cousin started his story after he died before he came and was established in this 10th town as follows:—

  “Immediately I died in our town I went to several towns which perhaps would be suitable to establish the Christianity works, but
I could not get such a suitable town until I reached here which is suitable. As you know that before I died I was one of the staunch members of the Methodist Church in our earthly town and I am still praying to God that I shall carry on the services until the last day, which is the ‘judgement-day’ because I could not die again for the second time until that day. At the same time that I came to live in this town, first of all, I went direct to H.M. the King of the Bush of Ghosts and informed him that I want to establish the Christianity works in this 10th town, so he agreed after several meetings to consider this request with himself and his councillors. After this request was approved, the second thing I did, I went round this town, then I found a suitable ground on which I built the first church and it was 90 × 70 ft., the roof was covered with flat bark of the big trees, because there were no iron sheets or other things to use at that time, and then was written on the upper entrance of the main door as follows—‘THE METHODIST CHURCH OF THE BUSH OF GHOSTS’. It was written in bold letters with the white juice of a tree, because there was no paint at that time and also the wall which is mud was painted inside and out with a kind of leaves which yielded the grey colour when ground and mixed with water. Of course, as I was all the while sub-letting a house with a ghost during the time that I was in activity in building the church, so also after it was been completed, although some ghosts helped me. Then I found another suitable ground again and built this house in which we are at present, but it was three months before it was completed with the help of some young ghosts of this town. After that I went round the town on a Saturday evening with a flat hard wood as a bell and told them what is to be doing in that house.

  “On Sunday, which was the 1st Sunday to attend or to hold the 1st service there, I noticed that only two young ghosts attended with me out of about four million ghosts and ghostesses who are living here. Because all of them did not know anything about God or believe that there is God who created them or believe that no other creature is above them. Though, I preached and encouraged those two who attended with me, after that the service closed at 11 a.m. But I did not attempt to hold the evening service on that Sunday. It was a short dead stump of a big tree which has a large hole inside which was beaten as the toll-bell or church-bell whenever it is time for service, because this dead stump is near the church. On Monday, I formed a campaign, I was preaching from house to house, encouraging and explaining what is God to these ghosts until the second Saturday. On Sunday which was the second Sunday, the attendance showed fifty old, thirty-eight young and forty-five child ghosts respectively who attended and all totalled = 133. So, I was exceedingly glad on that day. After the service closed at 11 a.m. I told them that all the young with children should come for Sunday-school at 2 o’clock or if any of the old who like may come as well. Again, the attendance for the Sunday-school showed fifty-seven. Of course the attendance in the evening service was very poor and was only forty-eight in all, because all ghosts like to go to the farms for their food every evening.