by Amos Tutuola
Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle
Amos Tutuola
Table of Contents
Title Page
The Life of Simbi, the most beautiful girl in the Village
CHAPTER ONE: Mother! I like to know the Poverties and Punishments
CHAPTER TWO: Simbi and Dogo on the Path of Death
CHAPTER THREE: Simbi in the town where nobody sings
CHAPTER FOUR: The Life of Simbi in the Sinners’ Town
CHAPTER FIVE: On the Path of Death
CHAPTER SIX: The Town of the Multi-Coloured People
CHAPTER SEVEN: Simbi fought with the Satyr of the Dark Jungle
CHAPTER EIGHT: Simbi became the wife of the Woodcutter
CHAPTER NINE: For me and for my Gods
CHAPTER TEN: Simbi back to the Dark Jungle
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle
CHAPTER TWELVE: Simbi and Rali returned to their village safely
About the Author
By the Same Author
Copyright
The Life of Simbi, the most beautiful girl in the Village
Simbi was the daughter of a wealthy woman, and she was an only issue of her mother.
She was not working at all, except to eat and after that to bathe and then to wear several kinds of the costliest garments. Although she was a wonderful singer whose beautiful voice could wake deads and she was only the most beautiful girl in the village.
Having eaten the nice food, bathed and dressed in the morning, the next thing that which she was doing was to be singing about in the village.
Simbi was the most merry making girl in the village and in respect of that almost the whole people of her village liked to see her every time. Especially for her singing and amusing sayings, and she was pleased with her mother’s wealths.
Simbi had two friends named Rali and Sala. Both were accompanying her to wherever she was going to sing. They could not be happy without seeing each other in a moment.
One morning, Simbi went to visit these her two friends. But she was greatly terrified when she did not meet both at home, because such a thing had never happened between them before. And she was nearly to faint when she heard the information from the reliable source that Rali and Sala were kidnapped from the path by an unknown man. Then she came back to her mother’s house with grief.
For several days, Simbi was unable to eat, she did not drink water and did not sing as well and did not happy, except to see her two friends.
Of course, a few weeks after, the love of her friends was fading gradually from her heart, and then she started to eat a little food, but she stopped singing entirely.
A few months after that her friends had been kidnapped or had left the village, Simbi became tired of her mother’s wealths and became entirely tired to be in happiness, etc. that which her mother’s wealths were giving to her.
“I am now entirely fed up with my mother’s wealths. I can no longer bear to remain in the happiness, etc., giving me by my mother’s wealths. And merriments are now too much for me than what I can bear longer than this time. But the only things that I prefer most to know and experience their difficulties now are the ‘Poverty’ and the ‘Punishment’.” It was like that Simbi thought within herself, because the had never experienced neither the difficulties of the poverty nor had experienced the difficulties of the punishment since when she was born.
CHAPTER ONE
Mother! I like to know the Poverties and Punishments
One afternoon, Simbi’s mother and with her friend who came to her house, were discussing on a matter which concerned the poverty and punishment. And in the discussions they were mentioning the words—“Poverty” and “Punishment” often and often. But Simbi who stood by them did not understand the meanings of the two words. A few minutes after, her mother’s friend went back to her house having finished their discussions.
But as Simbi had kept the two words in mind once she had heard them mentioned, she called her mother to a room and with great respect she asked “Please my mother I shall be very happy if you will allow me to go abroad from where I will experience the difficulties of the ‘Poverty’ and of the ‘Punishment’.”
“Will you shut up your mouth, Simbi, for asking me of what the whole people are praying of every minute not to know and experience until they shall die!” her mother warned her seriously and then drove her out of the room at once.
Throughout that day, Simbi was not happy at all and she did not take any food, because her intention was just to know the “Poverty” and “Punishment” at all costs. And a few days after, she asked the same question from her mother. But she drove her out of the room as the first time.
When Simbi was quite sure that her mother had refused to approve her request, she went to an old man, she asked for the meanings of the “Poverty” and of the “Punishment”.
“Hah! Simbi, don’t try to know the meanings of the ‘Poverty’ and ‘Punishment’. The ‘Poverty’ and ‘Punishment’ are far beyond of what a young girl like you shall try to know or to experience. Go back to your wealthy mother! She is wealthy enough in everything and she can satisfy you in all of your needs. Simbi, go back to your wealthy mother!” with astonishment the old man warned Simbi loudly.
“Never mind about my mother’s wealths, old Pa, but I like to be wealthy in ‘Poverty’ and in ‘Punishment’ as well as my mother is wealthy in money, etc.!”
“Simbi, don’t try to know the ‘Poverty’ and the ‘Punishment’ and that is the only useful advice which I can give you,” the old man added strongly.
“Old Pa! I say I like to know the ‘Poverty’ and the ‘Punishment’,” Simbi repeated it painfully to the old man. And when the old man’s advice as well as her mother’s was against her wish, she came back to the house. But she still kept the matter in mind.
Now, Simbi was always thinking seriously of the way she could know the two words and to experience their difficulties. And again she was not happy at all in respect of her two friends, Rali and Sala, who had been kidnapped by an unknown man.
Having thought about these two words for a few weeks without sleeping at night, she remembered to go to the soothsayer who could solve the words to her.
Then early in the morning, she stole one penny out of her mother’s money. She said to the penny, “What are the meanings of the ‘poverty’ and the ‘punishment’ and how to experience their difficulties?”
Having said like that to the penny, she threw it into her pocket and then kept going to the soothsayer’s house. When she reached there, she met him sat attentively before the tray of his Ifa, the god of oracle, and the tray contained sixteen cowries as well.
“Good morning, the soothsayer!” she saluted him. “Hallo! good morning to you, girl, and the Ifa answers you as well,” he delivered the Ifa’s message to her. Because Ifa was answering the salutation as well.
Having saluted him, she told him that she came to him just to find out some secret matter, she did not tell him frankly of what she came there for, and the soothsayer himself did not want any explanation before what she came for had been solved.
At the same time, he re-arranged the sixteen cowries in good order, for they had scattered all over the wooden tray in which they were always. And it were these sixteen cowries were going to explain to the soothsayer in the code words of what Simbi wanted to know, and after he had studied the code words, then he would explain it to Simbi in plain words.
Then Simbi put the penny on the cowries. Having cast the cowries on the tray several times and having studied the code words which the cowries said, then he explained to her as fol
lows:
“You see, Simbi, the Ifa, the god of oracle, says that at all costs you shall know what your intention likes to know and you shall experience its difficulties even farther than as you are expecting it to be.
“But before it can be so, you ought to make two kinds of sacrifices. Firstly, you will sacrifice one cock to your head. The cock must be of three years of age. And to sacrifice the cock to your head means to safe your life throughout your journey and to help you to return to your mother. Because you will travel for many years and it is in your travel you will know and experience of what you ask now from the Ifa, the god of oracle.
“And secondly, after you have sacrificed the cock to your head, you will buy one dog, one bottle of palm oil, plenty of bitter colas and the cola nuts, one broken pot and one pigeon. You will kill the dog and after you have cut it into two parts, you will put them inside the broken pot. Then you will behead the pigeon and put it inside the pot as well.
“Having done all that, you will split those cola nuts and put them together with the bitter colas inside the pot. And then you will pour the palm oil on top of all the preparations.
“After that, you will keep the sacrifice in a safe place where it will remain till five o’clock in the morning when you will carry it by head to the junction of three paths and you will put it down there, but you must not look at your back when you are carrying it along to the junction.
“After you have put it down, you will kneel down before it (sacrifice), then you will start to pray for what your intention likes to know and experience.
“And it will be a great surprise to you that before you shall say the prayer to the end one man will come unexpectedly from your back, believe that it is the sacrifice brings the man. At the same time he will hold your both arms and without hesitation he will be dragging you mercilessly along one of that paths to a foreign town in which he will sell you as a slave, and you must believe that that is the path of death.
“And it is from that junction you will start to know and experience of what your intention likes to know, etc.,” thus the soothsayer explained to Simbi.
“Good! you are a well qualified soothsayer in deed, for you have solved what I asked from the Ifa.” After these explanations Simbi lay down flatly and thanked the soothsayer greatly, and then she came back to her mother’s house with gladness.
Alas! Simbi did not believe that a young girl like herself must not attempt to force herself to know of what her parents had warned her for, not to attempt to know.
The very day that the soothsayer had explained to Simbi the right kinds of sacrifices which she would make, and her mother being wealthy, therefore she had the privilege, she stole a large sum of money from her mother’s money without any suspicion. With the money she bought the dog, pigeon, the broken pot and the rest things.
In the evening, she sacrificed the cock to her head, so that she might be able to return safely to her mother having vanished for several years, thus the soothsayer had explained to her.
And in the night she killed the dog, she cut it to two parts, and after, she beheaded the pigeon, she put it together with the dog inside the broken pot. Then she put the cola nuts, etc. inside the same pot, after, she poured the palm oil on top of all the preparations, and then she kept this sacrifice in a safe corner of the room, so that her mother might not see it.
By five o’clock in the morning, she woke by the cocks which were crowing loudly every where in the village. She got up from the mat, and she went to the corner where she had put the sacrifice, and she put it on the head.
After that, she opened the door, she got to the outside and then shut the door back so cautiously that her mother together with the rest family did not wake at all from sleep. And from there she carried the sacrifice without looking at her back, to the junction of three paths, and she put it down there. The junction was about two miles from the village.
CHAPTER TWO
Simbi and Dogo on the Path of Death
After Simbi had put down the sacrifice, she knelt down before it, and as she was praying “I make this sacrifice and bring it here, just to help me to know the ‘Poverty’ and the ‘Punishment’ and to experience their difficulties, and also …”
A very tall man came from her back and at the same time he held her arms and head backward. He drew the head toward himself so violently that Simbi stood up suddenly without her wish.
The name of this terrible man was Dogo. Dogo was an expert kidnapper of children and he was a native of a town called the “Sinners’ town”, the town in which only sinners and worshippers of gods were living. Dogo had no other work more than to be travelling on every path and kidnapping another people’s children and then selling them as slaves for the foreigners. But only this Path of Death led to his town and the town was too far and too fearful for other people to go there, hence it was among some towns which were the last to the end of the world, perhaps.
And it was from this junction Simbi started to receive the punishment, according to what her soothsayer had told her.
At the same moment, Dogo was pushing Simbi along one of that three paths, and that was the Path of Death. At the first instance she tried to snatch herself back from Dogo and then return to her village. But he did not give her the chance. Instead, he was just slapping both her ears and dragging her along. And she had lost all her senses within a few minutes.
“Who are you pushing me along mercilessly like this?” Simbi asked with the trembling voice when she became conscious.
“Dogo, the kidnapper, please,” he replied sharply. “To where are you pushing me now?” she asked painfully.
“I am pushing you to another town in which I shall sell you,” he replied simply.
But when Simbi heard so, she stopped firmly on both feet at the centre of the path.
“I want to go back to my mother now,” she told Dogo horribly.
“By the way what is your name?” Dogo asked wildly.
“My name? My name is Simbi,” she sneezed and then replied softly.
“Simbi?” he repeated the name. Simbi hesitated for a few seconds and then said “Yes!” disrespectfully.
“Huh o! is that so? all right, keep going, and that is the name with which your buyer will be calling you or if you are unlucky, he shall give you a different name which is suitable for a slave!”
“Keeping going to where, Mr. Dogo?” Simbi asked without being feared of any number of the heavy slaps that he might give her.
“To where I am going to sell you now,” he explained simply. “Sell me? No! you cannot do that,” she wondered.
Having said like that and still she insisted to keep going. Then Dogo struck both her eyes with his thick palm. And without mercy he pushed her so heavily that she dashed to a tree nearby, and at the same moment she fell flatly on the path as if she had already dead.
After a few minutes that she became conscious, she told Dogo loudly “Don’t be stupid, man! Let me go back to my mother!”
“To go back to your mother?” Dogo responded and laughed greatly. “Oh yes! don’t you know that my mother is the most wealthy woman in my village?” she explained boldly, perhaps Dogo would release her to go back.
“Of course, your mother may be a millionaire, that does not concern me in any way. But I am taking you to where I am going to sell you and then to spend the money that I sell you for all my needs, hence am not entitled to your mother’s wealths,” he replied to simply as if Simbi was a fowl that he was going to sell.
“Don’t you know that it is entirely wrong and shameful to sell the daughter of a wealthy woman like me, and furthermore my mother has no other issue except I alone?”
“Of course, I don’t know! and I don’t want to know whether you are the daughter of a wealthy woman, just keep going to where I am going to sell you,” he replied so horribly that Simbi thought she had already dead.
“But if you take me back to my mother now and sell me back to her, I am quite sure that she will pay you even a
larger amount of money than a foreigner who will buy me can pay for you.” she suggested calmly.
“Of course, that is a useful advice which you are quite right to give, and that is useful only for you, but it is entirely useless to me. For it will cause a serious trouble to me if I take you back to your mother, hence it is impossible for a mother to see the captor of her daughter without arresting him for the police,” Dogo explained and he rejected her advice.
When Simbi believed that everything had come to the climax, she confessed painfully, “If that is so, Dogo, I shall confess to you now that the reason why you met me at the junction and then caught me, was that I had wanted to know the ‘Poverty’ and the ‘Punishment’ and to experience also their difficulties. But I have now declined from my wish in respect of the severe punishments which you are giving me continuously since when you have caught me about one hour ago.
“And it is this day, I believe that it is entirely bad for a young girl like me to determine to know the ‘Poverty’ and the ‘Punishment’. Hence those who are now in poverty and punishment are praying every minute to free from them. But I admit that I have made a great mistake.
“Although, my wealthy mother and with several old people of my village, had already warned me seriously for not attempting to know them (Poverty and Punishment), but I did not pay heed to their warning, my ears rejected the warning as a ‘nonsense’.
“I beg you, Dogo, my captor, to have mercy on me and set me free and let me go back now to my mother, otherwise she will be puzzled probably to death in a few days’ time, if she does not see me to return home.”
“Is that so, Simbi? You are lucky then as I kidnapped you this very day that you brought the sacrifice to the junction, which was to help you to know the ‘Poverty’ etc. And I congratulate you highly that you are a brave girl indeed who determines not to face the freedom but the difficulties of the ‘Poverty’ and of the ‘Punishment’ etc.
