Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer
Page 16
But when the crowd of people who were in front of the Aafin or palace saw that there was a scuffle in the Aafin, and as they knew well that ‘it is forbidden to throw the “Oluwo” upon the ground’, and that also ‘it is forbidden to flog the “Apena” with the whip’, and as the people were certain that ‘it is entirely forbidden for the Oba of the town to wrestle with his chiefs’, then, having seen all these unusual incidents, the whole of them scattered suddenly in fear. This matter became now ‘if you cannot run, leave the way for me’. The people disappeared at the same time, and soon the town was in disorder.
Just as the scuffle was going on in the Aafin and in the town. Slanderer who was the accused person and who caused this chaos, with his usual wicked cunnings, bolted away from the Aafin. He ran back to his room in the Mansion of Sojourners. Without hesitation, he started to pack his belongings and then to escape from the town.
But when Pauper and Brawler saw that Slanderer who was the offender but he put his offence on Chief Ogundabede, was preparing to escape for his life, they too bolted away from the Aafin and they ran back to their room in the same Mansion of Sojourners.
28
PAUPER,
THE FATHER OF WRETCHEDNESS,
BRAWLER AND
SLANDERER VANISH
Slanderer was packing his belongings together as hastily as possible and then planning to leave the town immediately. But Brawler put her own and her husband’s belongings on her head, and ‘in a wink of monkey’. Pauper and Brawler left their room for the outside. Then they ran away from Agbe-o-gbin’yp town. But it was not so long before Slanderer too put the bundle of his clothes on head and he followed them. But he could not overtake them till when the couple ran to one crossroads. Several confusing feeder-roads met at this crossroads.
But without stopping their feet there. Pauper and Brawler took one of these feeder-roads which was at the left. Then they continued their journey on it.
But when Slanderer chased them to these crossroads unexpectedly, and he stopped there. Because he did not know the exact one of the roads which Pauper and Brawler took.
As he stood at the centre of the crossroads in confusion and annoyance, he began to shout: ‘This or that!’ Thus he was poinhng a hand to each of the roads. He wanted to know which one of the roads Pauper and Brawler took so that he might take it and continue to chase them along, because he was not willing to part with them.
But as this confusing crossroads confused Slanderer much, after a while he began to strike his chest with his hand and was talking aloud to himself in earnest: ‘Haa, I, Slanderer myself? I, the man of men who is favoured by Creator with the whole evil characters of this earth! I, who have the art with which I put the houses of people into disorder! I myself who cause confusions in
the ways of people! I, who put also the Oba and his chiefs in chaos! But I, Slanderer, who have put Pauper’s destiny in disorder. I who have changed Brawler’s prediction into hot brawls!’
Slanderer went on, he said: ‘I, for that matter! I am not in the same rank with Pauper and while I am not the same companion with Brawler! Haa! But “the land will be barren instead of dying!” All right! But if I can overtake Pauper and Brawler on the road today, I will torture them severely!’
But as Slanderer, in great earnest and anger was boasting loudly like that, he took the road which was on the right and then he went away. He thought that was the right road which Pauper and Brawler took.
It was like that Slanderer put the Oba and chiefs and the people of Agbe-o-gbin’yp (farmers do not plant salt) town in great scuffles, chaos and in confusions.
But as Pauper and his wife. Brawler, were travelling along on that road. Pauper confessed heartily now to his wife that he just admitted that destiny existed and that it was the poverty and wretchedness he had chosen from Creator when he was coming to earth. So Pauper said sorrowfully to his wife.
It was not so long before the two of them arrived at the area where the sky and land met each other, which is called the horizon. But here Creator called the Land of Judgment. And it was on this Land of Judgment that Pauper and Brawler met Peace and Joy. But it was not so long before Slanderer arrived and met all of them there.
It was on this Land of Judgment that Pauper, the Father of Wretchedness, Brawler, Slanderer, Peace and Joy stood for precisely seven days. Because there was no more road on which to continue their journey further. But of course Peace and Joy kept themselves a bit away from Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer. They did so because they never go near where there is poverty, brawls, slander, rebellion or where there is no peace and joy.
‘But is Creator so cruel to certain people to cause their lives to be as bitter as bitter leaf? And moreover He is so kind to cause the lives of certain other people to be as sweet as the honey? ‘
It was like that Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer, having shook their heads sorrowfully, asked from one another as they stood on the Land of Judgment. But this question was far more than their knowledge so that there was none of the three of them who was able to solve it.
They were still in confusion at this question when the Judge of Creator came unexpectedly. Without hesitation and without seeing him, he covered them, together with Peace and Joy, with a sort of strange darkness suddenly.
Then as soon as the Judge of Creator came, he started to tell Pauper, Brawler, Slanderer, Peace and Joy that Creator sent him to them to judge their cases according to their behaviours. But he told them that before he would judge their cases he would explain to them as Creator told him to do the question which Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer asked.
But then he explained the whole of it to them that: ‘Creator said that it is true that I created certain people whose livings are as bitter as bitter leaf, which we can call poverty, wretchedness and hardships. But that I created certain other people whose livings are as sweet as the honey and which we can call riches and many other kinds of the earthly wealths!’
The Judge of Creator continued to explain the question, he said: ‘All those riches and wealths which I, Creator, have granted to the wealthy or rich people on earth, those wealthy or rich people will not bring anything with them when they are returning to my residence. And so for the miserable people, they will not bring to my residence their poverty, wretchedness and hardships. But they will leave all behind them on earth!’
The Judge of Creator advanced in Creator’s message to Pauper, Brawler, Slanderer, Peace and Joy, he said: ‘But the wealths and riches which I have granted to the wealthy and rich people are extremely risky for them. And their wealths and riches are temptation and the trap of law which I Creator have given them.
‘But it is only a bit of risk for the miserable people on earth.’ The Judge of Creator went further, he said: ‘Because I, Creator have bestowed the wealths and riches upon the wealthy and rich people but not for themselves alone. However it may be, they must give to the miserable people their share out of their wealths and riches. But if they fail to do so, they fall into the temptation which I put before them and this will debar them from coming to my residence above, except the miserable people who endure the poverty, wretchedness and hardships without being despaired will come direct to me!
‘On the other hand,’ the Judge of Creator concluded Creator’s message, he said: ‘your question which you have asked from one another is beyond the knowledge of mankind on earth. Before, I, Creator, put the people in joy and peace which had no end. But later, the people ignored me. This is the cause of their sufferings. But those who do my wish, peace and joy will be living with them forever!’
It was so the Judge of Creator explained the question to Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer and also for Peace and Joy that morning.
But then according to the instruction that Creator gave to His Judge to give judgment to Pauper, Brawler, Slanderer, Peace and Joy according to the behaviour of each of them, the Judge of Creator first covered the whole of them with the strange darkness before he explained the question to them. After not so
long, he covered Pauper and Brawler with a sort of strange smoke. But then all at a sudden, both of them changed to that strange smoke. Without hesitation the smoke scattered all over the earth. But this was not the end of Pauper and Brawler.
As soon as Pauper and Brawler, his wife, had changed to the smoke, a sort of strange, very powerful whirlwind started to blow with full force. Then it began to bend both small and big trees here and there so much that many of them fell down. Because of the force of this whirlwind, the cloud of dust and litter of dry leaves scattered in the sky. But then the thunder began to roar greatly and the lightning began to flash here and there in the sky like arrows.
It was in these terrible confusions that Slanderer changed to this whirlwind and then scattered to every part of the earth at once. But this was not the end of Slanderer.
But as Peace and Joy stood on the same spot on this Land of Judgment, with the peace and joy that which could not be described, the Judge of Creator blew a sort of peaceful and joyful air on to them and then both of them changed to that air suddenly in peace and joy. Then the air blew away all over the earth at once.
But to these days, in the house or town in which there is poverty and wretchedness, brawls will be there, and in the house or town in which there are brawls, poverty and wretchedness will be there. Therefore, there will be no happiness.
Just the same, in the town to which the whirlwind of Slanderer blows, there will be confusions, scuffles, raiders, traitors, wars, rebellions, etc., etc.
Furthermore, in the house or town in which there is peace, joy, happiness, etc., that means the air to which Peace and Joy had changed, blows into it. Because all evil things are enemies of Peace and Joy. For this. Peace and Joy are never in the place where there is poverty, brawls, fight, scuffles, confusions, wars, slander, etc.
But now, as Slanderer was just like ‘the most senior mas-querader who comes out last from the shrine to show himself to the people’, so he made Pauper suffer severely on their journey. It was so he put all the towns which they reached into confusions, chaos, scuffles, etc.
‘Haaa! Before we can find an elephant we will go into the forest, before we can find a buffalo we will go into the grassland and before we can find a bird like the egret it will be an unknown time. But before we can find such an evil man like Slanderer we will be where the dead go and do not return.’
But as the Oba of Laketu town had cursed upon Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer in the name of Creator, the day that they were expelled from the town that ‘only the going of the dragon-flies is seen but not their return’, although Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer did not return to their Laketu town, being as they had been changed to immortals, to these days they are still roaming about invisibly on earth and yet they continue to trouble the people.
By the same Author
MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS
THE PALM-WINE DRINKARD
THE WITCH-HERBALIST OF THE REMOTE TOWN
Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer
Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer
Table of Contents
Title Page
By the same Author
Table of Contents
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer 1 THE PRIMITIVE CUSTOM OF LAKETU TOWN
2 THE OBA EXPELS HIS PRINCE, ADEGUN, AWAY FROM HIS AAFIN
3 THE DAUGHTER OF THE QTUN OBA IS A BRAWLER
4 PAUPER MARRIES BRAWLER
5 THE OSI OBA DRIVES HIS SON AWAY FROM HIS HOUSE
6 SLANDERER BECOMES A CLOSE FRIEND OF PAUPER
7 PAUPER AND SLANDERER DEBATE ON DESTINY
8 CREATOR SENDS HIS IKQ TO PAUPER AND BRAWLER
9 DEATH ARRIVES TO SLAY PAUPER FOR HIS WIFE
10 THE EXPULSION OF PAUPER, BRAWLER AND SLANDERER FROM THE TOWN
11 PAUPER AND SLANDERER GO TO ABALABI TOWN
12 PAUPER AND SLANDERER COMPETE FOR A WIFE IN ABALABI TOWN
13 THE DAY OF THE WIFE COMPETITION ARRIVES
14 BRAWLER MEETS PAUPER AT THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY OF HIS NEW WIFE
15 PAUPER AND BRAWLER ARRIVE AT MQKQLQKI TOWN
16 PAUPER, BRAWLER AND SLANDERER IN QFADAFA'JURO TOWN
17 PAUPER AND SLANDERER GO AND FARM IN ARAROMI TOWN
18 PAUPER AND SLANDERER RETURN TO OFADAFA'JURO TOWN
19 PAUPER TAKES REVENGE ON SLANDERER ON THE DAY OF HIS MARRIAGE
20 PAUPER, BRAWLER AND SLANDERER FLEE FROM OFADAFA'JURO TOWN
21 PAUPER, BRAWLER AND SLANDERER BECOME SLAVES IN AIKU TOWN
22 PAUPER BECOMES A TRADER IN OWODE TOWN
23 PAUPER IS INSTALLED THE OBA OF THE TOWN OF WOMEN
24 THE GROVE OF ENTHRONEMENT
25 THE SENIOR OBA-MAKER REJECTS PAUPER'S AND SLANDERER'S ORAL PETITION
26 PAUPER AND SLANDERER BEGIN TO FIGHT
27 PAUPER, BRAWLER AND SLANDERER IN AGBE-O-GBIN'YQ TOWN
28 PAUPER, THE FATHER OF WRETCHEDNESS, BRAWLER AND SLANDERER VANISH