| (Messengers
walk off-stage. Six beings roam through the bushes with lighted touches.
They hoot as they walk along) |
| (The Palace in Gboho. The
king talks to the chiefs. As usual, the Asipa holds in his palm the tin of
snuff, which he continuously shakes, but never inhale the contents. The
Bashorun keeps on clearing his shortened tobacco-pipe. The Ologbo stands
at the back). |
| KING
ABIPA: |
My chiefs, I salute you all. I sent for you to brief you
about the trip to Oyo. The messengers have now gone to Oyo to appease our
gods before we migrate back to where we belonged. |
|
Within the next few
days, our subjects should start moving… |
| (Bisa
enters) |
| BISA: |
(prostrates) My lord, your orders have
been carried out. It worked. |
| KING
AYIBI: |
That’s all right. |
| (Bisa
stands up, tries to leave) |
| KING
ABIPA: |
Stay here. Don’t leave. My chiefs, when things work out,
we shall celebrate and rejoice in togetherness. |
| (Bisa
goes to stand beside the King). |
| BASHORUN: |
My Lord, well said. We’ve even picked our essentials
ready for the take off. |
| ASIPA; |
(demonstrates, the snuff tin falls
down, he picks it) I … I’ve even sent for
all my family from our farmlands. |
| ALAPINI: |
An announced war doesn’t kill a lame man. |
| AKINIKU: |
Never. It never kills |
| KING ABIPA: |
You can all depart and continue to mobilize. |
| (The chiefs greet the
king and depart). |
| OLOGBO: |
I wish the messengers performed as expected. |
| BISA: |
And I wish the gods received the offerings. |
| (Noise outside the
palace) |
| KING ABIPA: |
What’s that? |
| OLOGBO: |
Moves swiftly towards the entrance)
Let’s see. |
| (Enter the messengers,
they knock the Ologbo down, he gets up, nurses the pain in bewilderment.) |
| KING
ABIPA: |
(gets up furiously)
what’s the… the… |
| MESSENGERS: |
(puzzling)
King, my lord (prostrate)
we… we |
| KING
ABIPA: |
What’s…come over…or…say something. |
| BABALAWO: |
We don’t know… (Stammering)
probably ghosts, they chased us (stresses) |
| KING
ABIPA; |
Where? |
| MESSENGER I: |
At the foot of Ajaka hill. The spirits forbade us… |
| BABALAWO: |
Indeed, I forgot my incantation…I could have… |
| KING
ABIPA; |
What exactly are the things? |
| MESSENGER
II: |
(eagerly)
spirits…spirits… |
| BABALAWO: |
Unseen…they even rebuked us saying no room for
habitation. |
| MESSENGER
I: |
Probably they’ve spread their wings. |
| KING
ABIPA: |
so… no one knows what they look like? |
|
(Pointing)
you with your muscles… |
| MESSENGER
III: |
My lord, I was ready for a total onslaught. I looked round
and found I was the only one around. I quickly said few incantations and
disappeared with ebge. |
| MESSENGER
I: |
That’s a red-lie my lord. He ran first. |
| KING
ABIPA: |
Everything looks awful to me. I still think ‘am
sleepwalking. |
| BABALAWO: |
(really emphasizing)
As we were about performing my lord, we saw some light from afar.
Afterwards we heard strange voices saying. No room… no room… |
| KING ABIPA: |
bows head in deep thought)
But my father wanted us back there…what…the hell. |
| (Silence) |
| BABALAWO: |
Left to me, I’ll simply give up. |
| KING
ABIPA: |
Give up? So you…mean that? We’ve been praising and
hailing him, you still tell us you don’t know who’s dead. Go…go…
out of sight. Give me time to think…go… |
| (They
all leave the palace like sacked fowls leaving the Ologbo and Bisa – the
head slave.) |
| OLOGBO: |
My lord, this is a serious affair. |
| BISA: |
Really unimaginable. Very incredible. The greatest mystery. |
| KING
ABIPA: |
It hasn’t occurred before, Never, has spirits or whatever
disrupted rites. |
| OLOGBO: |
This tremor is wonderful. Shouldn’t be taken lightly. |
| BISA: |
(bows respectfully)
My lord… when one cries, he sees. Lets apply caution. Think about risks.
Supposing we send another batch of messenger to Oyo and are not traceable.
How do we relate it to the families back here? They’ll blame you. I’ll
advice we discard the notion of going to Oyo. Gboko is not biting us. |
| OLOGBO: |
This has happened my lord. It should be faced squarely with
all available resources. Without a cogent reason, a woman rarely bears the
name Kumolu. Let’s send
another batch of people to Oyo. This time our six famous hunters to find
out whether those things were ghosts or may be our fathers are vexing…
if so we can appease somehow for forgiveness. |
| KING ABIPA: |
(The king still thinking critically) |
|
(He
concludes) Ologbo… I think I’ll do that.
Our famous hunters should be able to meet force with force. If it’s
spirits they’ll detect. Now Bisa (moves energetically and stands before
the King)…pull your ears and run to Boni, Igisubu, Alegbati…em…Loko,
Gbandan and Olomo. They should report here at once. |
| (Bisa
pulls his ears and runs off-stage. Almost immediately after his exit,
someone runs into the palace, another man follows with a cutlass. The
palace becomes noisy, the Ologbo quickly intervene and cautions them). |
| IST
MAN: |
(prostrates in fear)
King. |
| 2ND
MAN: |
(prostrates angrily)
My lord… This ninny snatched my beloved Asake. |
| 1ST
MAN: |
My lord… I didn’t… |
| KING
ABIPA: |
(angrily)
Shurruup. Or else the ground will be taller than you. Is that why my
palace thus became a racetrack? Haven’t got time for idiots like you. (Bellows)
Who snatched whose wife? |
| 2ND
MAN: |
Bariba country my Lord. |
| 1ST
MA: |
I didn’t. |
| KING
ABIPA: |
I shall be ruthless if you dare lie. |
| 2ND
MAN: |
My lord. Please let me ask him some questions. Bariba,
didn’t I catch both of you in the same hut embracing few days before the
harvest? |
| 1ST
MAN: |
(pauses and speaks confidently) It was
only that period. |
| 2ND
MAN: |
Alright Bariba, what about the other day during the Ogun
festival. Didn’t you both sneak from the crowd? And I later caught you. |
| 1ST
MAN: |
Just that… |
| KING
ABIPA: |
(interrupts furiously)
you are damn useless. You woman snatcher… you came from Bariba country
to rob another man of his wife. He caught you, you denied..afi iyen, afi
iyen… so the husband should watch you until you have her under his nose.
If caution is not taken, I shall banish you. In the meantime, you’ve
been found guilty. Your punishment goes to his farm and makes five hundred
ridges. Bariba, you should desist from this silly act. Now vanish from my
sight. |
| 2ND
MAN: |
(prostrates) Thanks my lord. |
| 1ST
MAN: |
(Prostrates simultaneously feeling
unsatisfied) Thanks my lord. (They
depart). |
| OLOGBO: |
(Chuckles seriously) These people are
either funny or crazy. |
| KING
ABIPA: |
Can’t you see? Bariba was luckily the man didn’t catch
up with him. Probably his heard could have been dropped. (Giggles) |
| (Ologbo
laughs funnily) |
| (The laughter seems
infectious. The King laughs until…) |
| Fadeout |
