Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle

by Amos Tutuola

  Thus Simbi, Rali, Sala, Kadara, Bako who was the cockish lady and the rest of the nameless refugees who were not killed, left the town of the multi-coloured people, but Bako was still in the form of a cock, and Simbi was unable to take her sword along with her. It was that sword with which she had beheaded the king of the Sinners’ town.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Simbi fought with the Satyr of the Dark Jungle

  Then they continued their journey from one forest to another. And it was so Bako, the cockish lady, was crowing continuously and following them. When the troubles which she was giving them were unbearable, they scattered into the forest, just to safe themselves from her. At last Simbi and Rali escaped to one place, Sala, Kadara and the rest nameless refugees escaped to another direction, but after a while Bako traced them out and she was chasing them along at the same time.

  When Simbi and Rali had travelled for two days with great fear for not being killed by unmentionable harmful living creatures of the forest, they came to the Path of Death, and having travelled on this fearful path for some hours they came to a jungle at one o’clock of the day, and without hesitation they started to travel along in this jungle.

  After a while they travelled to a part of this jungle which was entirely dark. And having travelled further they were swallowed by the darkness. They could not even see each other at all. In respect of this, Simbi who was at the front held Rali’s left hand so that they might not lose each other. It was like that they were dragging themselves along with fear until they saw a dreadful creature at a short distance from them. This creature stood firmly at the centre of this Path of Death.

  This fearful creature was the Satyr of this Dark Jungle.

  But Simbi and Rali stopped immediately they saw him in the darkness, and he saw them as well through his eyes which illuminated to every part of that spot immediately he goggled both eyes.

  This Satyr was looking at them with these eyes that which showed he was nearly to die of hunger and then saw what he could eat unexpectedly.

  “We are perished today,” Rali said softly with her heart which was throbbing with fear.

  “Of course,” Simbi replied quietly with fear. “Are we to be going along or to return to where we are coming from?” Rali asked. “You know, Rali, it is impossible for us to go back or if we do so, the multi-coloured people will kill us,” Simbi explained calmly. “What is to be done next then?” Rali asked.

  But as they were still suggesting of what to do the Satyr shouted greatly with his horrible voice “Come along, my meat, I am ready to eat both of you now! Come along, and don’t waste my time!”

  At that moment their bodies were withered for fear, they could not move to either front or back and they were unable to talk out at all. When he had tired of waiting for them to come to him he was coming to them. When he approached them, they noticed that he did not wear neither coat nor trousers but he wore only an apron which was soaked with blood. Plenty of the soft feathers were stuck onto this apron. More than one thousand heads of birds were stuck to all over it. He was about ten feet tall and very strong, bold and vigorous. His head was full of dirty long hairs and the hairs were full up with refuses and dried leaves. The mouth was so large and wide that it almost covered the nose. The eyes were so fearful that a person could not be able to look at them for two times, especially the powerful illumination they were bringing out always. He wore plenty of juju-beads round his neck. The spider’s webs were spread over his mouth and this showed that he had not eaten for a long time. This Satyr was a pessimist, he was impatient and ill-tempered, impenitent and noxious creature. His beard was so long and bushy that it was touching the ground and he was using it for sweeping his house as if it was a broom. In respect of all these things, the king of this Dark Jungle appointed him as the guard of the jungle, and this Dark Jungle itself was the home of imps, gnomes, goblins and all other kinds of the evil spirits and there was a bold phoenix which was always flying to everywhere in this jungle, it was swallowing all kinds of other creatures which were coming there. And it was also appointed by the king to be an assistance for the Satyr.

  This Satyr was always with a bunch of cudgels on head and one club of bone in hand. He was all the time carrying all these things about in the jungle.

  When he was at a distance of about ten feet from Simbi and Rali, he stopped, he put the bunch of that cudgels down but he held the club of bone high and ready to beat them, to death.

  Then he started to ask with his powerful voice, “Who are you? What are you? where are you coming from? Where are going? or don’t you know where you are? Answer me! I say answer me now!”

  But Simbi and Rali could not answer at all, they were even hardly breathing at this critical moment. Their teeth were striking each other hastily with fear. Their eyes had already grown glassy and they could not say whether they were in heaven or on earth at that moment.

  When they were unable to reply to all his questions, then he started to explain to them his terrible deeds. “Certainly, you have put yourselves into the mouth of ‘death’! You have climbed the tree above its leaves! you see me coming and you too are coming to me instead to run away for your lives!

  “By the way, have you not been told of my terrible deeds? And that I have killed and eaten so many persons, etc. who were even bold more than you do?

  “My house is near this Path of Death and it is in this Dark Jungle this Path of Death is ended. And the poverties, punishments, difficulties, cruelties, etc. etc. are the rulers of this Jungle. Anybody who travels on Path of Death shall end his or her life in this jungle. I am the Satyr who is guiding this jungle since from two thousand years!

  “But this day that you bring yourselves to me! Hah! having killed both of you, I shall enjoy your meat for a few days!

  “Eh! are you going to sink into the ground or are you going to fly away? Although, you can safe yourselves from me if you have the power to do either one of the two things! Answer me now!”

  When the Satyr had roared on them like that and before he could come nearer to beat them to death, Simbi started to flatter him, just to set herself and Rali free from this difficulty. Because as he was roaring on them he was gobbling the spit of his mouth as if he had already started to eat them. And they were greatly feared when heard all his sayings that they did not know what to say or do except to be flattering him and ask for pardon.

  “Please, the Satyr, pardon us for all our mistakes to come here, and I believe all your sayings even before you explained yourself to us and I believe that there is no any person who will see you will not believe that you are a noxious Satyr,” Simbi flattered him.

  “You, ladies, believe me that the words ‘beg’ ‘pardon’ ‘mercy’ ‘forgiveness’ ‘pity’ etc. have been deleted from our language from a long time and I am the very one who had forced the king to do that and I forced the king as well to substitute the words ‘sorrow’ ‘sufferance’ etc. instead. And all these things had done by the king in respect of me for he knows that I cannot remain in any place that the words ‘pity’ ‘beg’ ‘pardon’ ‘mercy’ ‘forgiveness’ are ineffective!”

  Having heard all of these again, Simbi and Rali were shrivelled with fear at the same time. Within that moment, Simbi had thought in mind “If a person is really going to die, he or she must struggle to the extreme end and I will do that, because I cannot remain quietly in one place till this Satyr will beat me to death.”

  Then she looked at him as if he was an ant and then she began to roar on him “Though I believe that you are the Satyr of this Dark Jungle and I do believe that you have killed and eaten several wayfarers or refugees like us!

  “But to make it clear to you is that, refugees are quite different from refugees! Therefore I tell you now that if you insult us as well as you have done to others! Believe me! you will be one of the inhabitants of heaven today! And doubtless, you will dine with them today!” (All these sayings meant the Satyr would lose his life) “Let me explain in short to you now the
Satyr, the noxious guard of the Dark Jungle. I am the daughter of the most wealthy woman in my village! I am the most beautiful girl in my village as well! I was a wonderful singer during the time that I was in my village. I have woken several deads with my song and I have killed many persons with my song as well! My song is a harmful charm which can kill a harmful and powerful Satyr like you within a few seconds.

  “I proudly tell you now, that I left all my mother’s wealths, I started to find about the poverties, punishments, sufferings, all kinds of sorrows, death, etc. Therefore, I am very glad to meet here what I am looking for and it is you. I am not afraid of your harmful deeds at all!

  “I confess to you now that I have beheaded the king and some of the chiefs of the Sinners’ town and I have once been put in the coffin alive and the coffin was thrown in the river but my wonderful song saved me!

  “Although, I believe that a powerful man but senseless is the father of sluggard, and a sluggard but sensible is a powerful man.

  “I believe that you are a powerful Satyr but you are senseless, therefore all your powers are useless!

  “I can change my song into any powerful creature now who can beat you to death at once. And I can change myself into ‘Iro …’” (Iromi—a water insect.)

  “Hah, don’t leak out all what you can do to this Satyr, or don’t you know that a lady never leaks out all her powers to her enemy as this Satyr,” Rali cautioned Simbi not to leak out all she could do to the Satyr. And Simbi stopped at “Iro …” instead to mention the whole word “Iromi” which was the full word, immediately she heard the caution from Rali. And the Satyr was entirely confused about this word. He did not understand that it was abbreviated like that unexpectedly when Rali cautioned Simbi. Although the Satyr understood the meaning of “Iromi” as a water insect but he did not understand “Iro …” as “Iromi.”

  Having confused the Satyr about this word, Simbi started to say “Woe unto you, the Satyr, the noxious guard of the Dark Jungle! Woe unto you! I am ready now to fight with you!”

  The Satyr was greatly feared when he heard all Simbi’s boasts. He did not aware that Simbi was a braggart and that her boasts were not effective. Although the boasts had rendered his power absolutely useless, but still, Simbi hardly finished her boasts when he gnashed and dashed to Simbi so heavily that she staggered to a few feet. And it was a scrimmage indeed.

  In the first instance, the Satyr attempted to lift Simbi up and then to knock her onto a rock that was nearby, but she did not give him the chance to do that. And thus she attempted to do but all her efforts were failed. Because as she was struggling hardly it was so the Satyr himself was fighting her fiercely. His feet were shaking the trees that were near by as if they were going to fall down.

  They held each other tightly and their eyes were opened so widely that they (eyes) nearly to tear like a cloth, and both were perspiring as if they were drenched by rain. After a while the Satyr jumped on Simbi’s nape unexpectedly and he was pulling out the hairs of her head in large quantity. At this stage, Simbi felt much pain, she gnashed and she did not care for any consequences. She took him near to a very deep pond which was full up with water. While she was trying to throw him into that pond, Rali was beating him severely on the head with a heavy stone. But as he was trying to bend Simbi’s head and then press it into the water of the pond so that she might drink the water to death, Rali gave him an extra heavy blow at the back suddenly. And in trying to come down from Simbi and then to revenge from Rali, unfortunately he fell headlong into the pond and he drowned at the same time.

  Without hesitation Simbi and Rali were running away as fast as they could so that they might travel far off before he would come out from the pond.

  “It was only the God almighty helped me to conquer this Satyr. Because I am not bold, strong and brave enough in any way to face him,” Simbi told Rali with weak voice.

  Having struggled for about thirty minutes the Satyr came out of the pond and he chased them at once, he wanted to kill them for his food. For it was a great disappointment to him to loose them. But all his efforts were failed, he could not trace them out any more. The ladies had travelled as far as to such a long distance that he could not see them.

  “I believe, the two ladies shall come back to this jungle and I shall kill both of them at all costs at any day I meet them. It is certain, they are my meat! … By the way, what is the meaning of ‘Iro …’? of course, I know the meaning of ‘Iromi’ that is an insect of water, but what of ‘Iro …’ into which that lady [Simbi] said she could change? Anyhow we shall meet again and then continue our fight!” the Satyr was saying like that when he was returning having failed to trace them out. And he was greatly feared and powerless especially when Simbi boasted that she had killed many persons with her song and the song could change into any harmful creature.

  When they travelled very far in this Dark Jungle, they came to a flat rock. It was in an open place and it exposed to the sun. They stopped there. Hardly climbed it to the top when Simbi fell down and Rali sat closely to her. Simbi was so weak that she lay down helplessly as if she had dead. Because she had fought the Satyr beyond her power.

  When it was about twenty minutes that Simbi had laid helplessly on that rock, and when Rali noticed that her condition did not improve well, she was puzzled. She thought perhaps Simbi was going to die. “How do you feel now?” Rali asked quietly. “There is no better improvement at all. Even I am feeling cold as well,” Simbi muttered. “Feeling cold again?” Rali was greatly embarrassed when she heard like that from her. And she explained “Here is no fire with which to warm your body?”

  “Of course, let us leave the matter of fire first. But how can we get something to eat, for I am feeling to eat badly?” Simbi asked seriously.

  “I wonder, I don’t know where to get food, and there is no any edible thing near this place,” Rali explained.

  “You may go round here, probably you may get some of edible fruits,” Simbi advised calmly with sick voice.

  Then Rali left her on that rock, she was going from one tree and then to another, she was looking for the edible fruits. Thus she was going on and on and no until she had travelled about one mile from the rock.

  But a few minutes after she had left Simbi, a strange eagle was flying about. It was searching for the food which to be given to its nestlings. Its nestlings were on top of a high mighty tree. To top of this tree had been cut off by the strong wind from a long time. And its remaining stump was still about five hundred feet tall. It had a very huge hole which went zigzag from the top to the last tap root of it.

  When this eagle discovered Simbi had noticed how she lay down helplessly on the rock, it thought she was a dead animal. At the same time it pounced to her. It held her cloth and then flew up with her.

  As it was flying away with her, Rali saw her with the eagle when she was just returning with the fruits she could find.

  “Please Rali! please Rali! please Rali! come and take me back from this eagle! Please don’t let this eagle take me away! Please snatch me back from it!” Simbi exclaimed hurriedly.

  “Ah Simbi! ah Simbi! don’t let the eagle take you away! Try to take yourself from it! Don’t leave me alone in this jungle and go away!” Rali was greatly shocked.

  Thus Simbi and Rali were crying loudly to each other until the eagle had carried her away. After the eagle vanished among trees and hills, Rali bursted into a great tear. Because there was nobody with whom to be discussing and to be travelling with. And she started to wander about in this Dark Jungle and she was weeping repeatedly for the loss of her friend, Simbi.

  “If it were you or I how in deep grief you or I would be?”

  Having wandered for about four months she discovered Kadara, Sala, the other nameless refugees and Bako, the Siamese twin who was still in the form of a cock, and then she was wandering about with them.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Simbi became the wife of the Woodcutter

  When the eagle flew for a
few minutes, it came to the tree on top of which its nestlings were in the nest. Then it threw Simbi down on the centre of the nest for its nestlings to eat her. But as she was heavier than what the nest could hold or stop, therefore she simply rolled from there down to the bottom of the hole, and luckily she had no any wound at all, for the smooth refuses prevented her from that.

  Now, Simbi was at the bottom of the hole helplessly. She cried out for help till her voice had become entirely hoarse, but there was nobody who could drag her out.

  After a while, she became conscious when the fresh air rushed to her from the top of that tree. Then she gathered all the refuses to one part of the hole. She sorted out all the fluffy ones. She spread them onto one place and it was just like a mattress. All these refuses were falling into the hole from the eagles, hawks, parrots, etc. which were living on top of the tree.

  Then she lay flatly on this mattress of refuses, she faced up and she was looking at the sky far off through the top of the tree. Her intention was that she would see something which would take her out. But she did not understand all what she was seeing, because the sky was cloudy.

  Having thought in mind for a few minutes about her wealthy mother, she simpered at herself and then said loudly “Hoh! this is the end of my life and I am already in my grave while I am still alive! Hah! when I was with my wealthy mother, she never failed to provide me my breakfast or lunch or refreshment. But I have not tasted even a drop of water now over three days! If I were not a silly person I should have obeyed my mother’s and other persons’ warning—not to attempt to know the ‘punishment’ and the ‘poverty’. But I am now in the great punishment and in gravy poverty as well! A few hours later, Rali and I were lost ourselves and I have nobody here now with whom to be discussing! Yesterday, I fought the Satyr of the Dark Jungle and I conquered him!