Preserved For The Future
About 1,500 years ago lived a man called Sàsẹ́rẹ́. Sàsẹ́rẹ́ was born by the first wife of a man who later married five wives including Sàsẹ́rẹ́'s mother.
Many of those who lived during those days in the island of Tọbalasẹ practice what is called polygamy.
Sàsẹ́rẹ́'s father married Sasẹrẹ's mother but the woman did not take in until about 25 years after the marriage. In fact, Sàsẹrẹ's mother was not thinking of breast-feeding a child again, because all her mates had stopped giving birth, she was also not seeing her monthly flow regularly again. The flow may come this month and would not come till another 4 or 5 moon's time. She has given in to fate saying that was what she chose while coming to the earth and no one could circumvent what she or he has chosen while embarking on the trip to the earth.
Her hubby because of the unparallel love he had for her was trying his best to make her happy despite being childless. As such he was trying to get things for her.
However, despite what her hubby was doing for her, she was also hard working and laying her hands on so many things, keeping herself busy in the land.
When the time of her visitation ticked before the Lord, the woman could not see her inconsistent flow of blood again, this would not weighed her down because she has been expecting it, she said within her, “well, at last a final stop has come to me, and my ambition of having issues has finally been laid to rest by nature”, but unknown to her that God had answered her.
When she started feeling sick repeatedly, feeling irritations in her systems, she consulted some people and they felt what she described fits in to pregnancy, but she brushed it aside because of the erstwhile irregular monthly visitations.
Later, she started noticing some movements in her tummy, because of this she started giving what people are saying a consideration that she may after all have taken in.
The body started to change. The woman is one of those whose pregnancy would not show until it has gotten to 7 months. Therefore, she did not let her hubby know about this early because she did not want to give him false hope. At the end of 9th month, she started to labour and she delivered a baby boy who was named Sàsẹ́rẹ́.
Sàsẹrẹ started growing with other children in the ancient town called Tọbalasẹ.
In Tọbalàsẹ town, every male child used to attend a local school. This local school was where those children would learn about the culture of the town, learn about the histories of the town, some neighbouring towns, the norms and other important things in the land.
Children who are of the same age group are those born 3 years earlier and three years after. Mathematically it can be expressed as this: 3< x < 3. This was the age group that belongs to each set or class. Any age group higher than this is an aberration and ought to be in another set.
When the schooling for Sasẹrẹ's age group starts, she started with them, but he could not finish with them because he took ill.
His kind of sickness was mysterious because it defied all proffer medications of their days.
They appease the gods, but those who were true custodian of the gods said the gods were not angry with Sasẹrẹ. However, some liars exploit Sasẹrẹ's mother and father having known their history.
After all efforts failed, Sasẹrẹ’s parents had to leave everything, because they did not know what else to do after giving it all it takes to make sure that the child is saved. What they started doing was pitying the child hoping and praying that he would die quickly because they see that his suffering was too much and they do not like seeing him in that kind of suffering what has he done or what has anyone in the family done to necessitate this on the child of their old age?
Interestingly, despite their heart desires and internal prayers that the child should be visited by the angels of death, the deity assigned to death neither come across the family nor visited their child, Sasere.
At an instance, the father of Sasere has to ask his wife if she has visited any place during the course of her seeking for a child because in instances like this people are usually desperate, they could do anything to ensure that they will have issue on earth.
The woman replied her husband that she did not go to anywhere without his consent.
The man let the case rest when the woman sworn with the deities of their island that she never went to a place without his acquiescence.
Sasẹrẹ was in this position for 20 sessions of their cocoa harvests, which is 20 years, being in regular pains, and a small room was carved out for him where he was being attended to by those who will treat him. His mother bewailed her son’s plight day and night such that the underlying fat of her skin gave way and she became thin, frail and fragile. She blamed herself for looking for child at her age, and wished she die than being alive for bring a child with abnormality into the world.
At the expiration of these years, Sasẹrẹ woke up one day only to discover that the pain he used to have on the left side of his brain was not there again.
Well, maybe it would come back in the afternoon, he reasoned within himself and would not pretend as if all is well with him yet only that the people noticed that he was neither groaning nor expressing anguish of soul as he used to experience before that day. Some thought maybe the time he will die is getting near, after all they had all been praying and expectant of when his soul will depart his body.
He waited for the emergence of the pain on that side of his brain, but it did not recur that day. That was how the day passed with neither groaning nor expression of pain as he used to do for years.
Siblings and parents noticed that there was a change in his health status, but they were yet skeptical of what it was that was going on with Sasere. All of them held their thoughts to themselves and keep watching for what the likely outcome would be. As they were watching so was Sasere too, he was expecting what would happen. Inside of him though he knew he was far better than it was with him years before.
"Well, one should not expect much in life", Sasẹrẹ said to himself still thinking it would come back, but instead of experiencing a relapse of any of those, he discovered that on a gradual process too, other parts of his body associated with the pain he has been experiencing were gradually relieving him, until they all disappeared.
As he was looking surprised so were his siblings and other family members. The news of this development soon got to the people of the island and they started asking themselves what it was that happened unto him, who visited him, what was the person who visited him gave him to use? No substantial answer was received from anyone. They surprise grew beyond limit and his case was the talk of the town for days.
Some people started conjecturing that maybe it is every 20 years that some form of spiritual beings do visit the land and when they visited the land they will look at someone who is in great and grave anguish of soul and mind to heal the person or turn the fate of the person around.
The Hypothesis
They started putting some pieces together to back what has happened to Sasere. The elders say what happened to him was not kind of a strange thing as such happened to a widow who used to borrow things from people for years before and after she had been in this position for 2 decades, her life witnessed a dramatic turn around after 20 years just as we all are noticing in the health status of Sasere they opined.
Some other people remembered what the fore-parents of their land told them of the worrisome development that they experienced during their days, how shortage of salt ravaged the land year in year-out for two decades. After the expiration of these years, they started seeing salt in the island again. Twenty years have passed now and Sasere has regained his health they said it is in synchronicity with what has happened before.
As from then it has been a belief in their island that when something bad happens to anyone or even the entire island and such thing defies all known human solution of their day, after twenty years of being in that position some unseen forces used to visit their island to bring relief and healing.
That is how this has come to be the belief of the island up till today.
He Was Given A New Name
When Sasẹrẹ started going out, people of the island started calling him "Ayọrunbọ" (translation, someone who has visited the heaven and return).
According to the custom of the land, Sasẹrẹ decided to return to the school to learn like others to be accustomed to the lay down standard and rules of the land, for this is what they used to teach them in the school.
Considering the length of years, he had been on the sick bed without going to school, we know so many things have happened. When he started the school those whom he joined their class were those he can give birth to. In fact, his teachers and instructors are his juniors before he took ill.
People were thinking maybe Sasẹrẹ would not cope and were offering him alternatives which he could explore, for his case is a different one that needs to be viewed from a different perspective, but Sasere would not bulge, he insisted on passing through that channel since it is the requirement in the island to set good example for the people coming after him for who knows who such will happen to again in the future? It may not be directly like what happened to him he said but a near one that would incapacitate the person for years before the person is free. “The world is changing you know, we never can tell what the future holds”, he reasoned “let us not lay bad foundation for future generations”, he concluded.
Since that was how he wanted it, his ageing parents, siblings and the people of the town indulged him, and he returned to school to learn with other children.
After the expiration of the studies, Sasẹrẹ became integrated into the society, as the custom of the land was.
However, before he graduated from that Cultural Institution, a widow relocated to Tọbalàsẹ town with her only daughter, Ìrùkẹ̀rẹ̀.
The town from which Ìrukẹrẹ and her mother came from Tọbalasẹ was known as Ìwájọ̀wà.
Conquered Through Deception
Ìwajọwa was not as big as Tọbalasẹ but she was located at a central region which made her a commercial town in the neighborhood. There are different people in the town from different parts of the neighborhood. In fact, people from other continents were assumed to be coming to the town with their products. Everyone who enters the town usually makes it. You cannot be idle in Ìwajọwa town except if the person has the genome of laziness in him or her. In the recent times, it has been rumored that the biggest and most powerful town in the area are planning to attack Ìwajọwa. The kings and chiefs met on the issue, sent representatives to the king of the biggest town to appease him. After discussing with the King and his council of chiefs, it was resolved that they should increase the tax they were paying to them and those people agreed but unknown to them that the king and the chiefs just said that to send them off because they have not changed their plan to wage war against the Ìwàjọwa town. The chiefs sent from Iwajọwa delivered their resolutions to the king of the town and everyone accepted it, and the warriors, armies, of the town relaxed, thinking a consensus has been reached. Unexpectedly did they see the armies in their land, and because of their unpreparedness, they were easily captured by the invading armies. There were people who do not want to surrender themselves like that, such people were killed during the attack among those who died were the siblings of Ìrukẹrẹ and her father. It was by sheer luck that Irukẹrẹ and her mother got out of the town. After days of travelling they got to Tọbalasẹ town.
Casual Relationship Begins Sasẹrẹ and Irukẹrẹ got to know each other when Sasẹrẹ was about to finish from the school and they were getting on well with each other. Sasẹrẹ however had it in mind to marry someone from Tobalasẹ because he loves the culture of his land and having been to the school again, the learnt things in the school did not allow him to think of any other person except someone from Tọbalasẹ town. But despite this strong desire in him, finding woman among his people to be married to become difficult for Sasẹrẹ. After frantic efforts of getting someone to marry within his town failed, he made attempt at Irukẹrẹ and because they have been sharing their times together, Irukẹrẹ does not have problems with Sasẹrẹ except that she feared what her mother would say. Sasẹrẹ had problems getting someone to be married to because often times the ladies would have been paired with the person she would marry when she comes of age. Rarely do those ladies reject those pairings. The person paired with Sasẹrẹ has long been married to someone else when his travails began. Apart from pairings, some parents also will hand over their daughters to responsible men within the town based on their personal interactions. All these did not work for Sasẹrẹ. In other to move forward, Sasẹrẹ had to attempt the non-indigene Ìrukẹrẹ. Irukẹrẹ briefed her mother of the development. After all she has no one else outside her and having lost her siblings and her father to the cold hands of death, Irukẹrẹ's firm resolution was to always make her mother happy and whatsoever would not make her mum happy she has said to herself that such a thing would be forgone. Irukẹrẹ's mother on hearing what has happened started paying attention, closer attention to Sasẹrẹ more than before. Her ears were always on the ground to hear things about Sasẹrẹ...his pasts, why has he not get married till now as he claimed that he has never been married before and according to their culture he ought to have been. All network "providers" providing information to Irukẹrẹ's mother about Sasẹrẹ did a good job, feeding her with all the minutest details about his pasts, and present. Having satisfied her conscience, Irukẹrẹ's mother gave the relationship a full blown nod.
They were married according to the culture of the island and the family was blessed with 7 children.
His Role Because of what he has learnt in life, Sasẹrẹ was always on hand to assist the young ones who had difficulties. As he was assisting the young one's those who were his contemporaries were also asking him for his views about some troubling situations and he was found not to be wanting in proffering solutions to their problems. He was a man who could join the past with the future.
There was a worrisome development of boundary dispute between Tobalase island and Amure island. Amure island covered the western side of the Tobalase island. As a sign of demarcation between the two islands, “Betula pendula” trees were planted to cover about one and half miles of the boundary between the two islands. Those trees were planted where the boundaries of the two islands was, so that whenever the indigenes of the two towns got to the place, they will know they were at the boundary between the two islands and immediately they walked past the trees they will know they have entered another island. This plantation guided them from arguments and misconstruing.
Things have been harmoniously going on between the two islands for centuries until unknown hunters during the dry season set the bush on fire, to hunt down some forest animals.
The bush that was set on fire was dry ones therefore it did not take long before the fire became a conflagration such that it started expanding until it reaches the boundary between the two islands where those “Betula pendula” trees have been planted. Little did they know that this ignited fire that the igniter started from a very small confine will become a wild one when it started they were thinking they would be able to manage the fire and control it when it started but that was not the case as it became big and grew beyond their imagination in a short while.
The beginning of a fire could be known but the extent to which the fire would reach no one can say. This was the case of this fire that day as it keeps growing until it got to where the Betula petula trees were planted which was the boundary between the two islands and burnt the trees. When those hunters saw what has happened, they fled the scene of the incident.
When leaderships of the two islands heard of what happened they summoned together the groups of hunters in their islands to ask from them who among them has done the unthinkable. It was pathetic to discover that none of the group of hunters within the two islands lay claim to be the culprit behind the incident of the bush burning.
The leadership of the two islands decided that they need to plant another Betula tree to show the boundaries so that there won’t be conflict.
They have been on this for long but they did not plant the tree at the supposed place. And since the elders and leaders know the boundary between the two towns they least consider it that it will become a problem in the future as they continued to live in harmony with each other.
As time passed by only limited numbers of people from both sides could recognize where the boundary between the two islands is. This was the position of things before Sasere’s birth.
Decades after this incident, the people who passed by the way discovered some strange earthen materials at the area where they considered to be the boundary between the two islands. People who know about earthen materials examined it and they discovered that the area is well laden with earthen mineral substances that could turn the fortune of the islands around when used as trade by barter with other islands.
The news of this got to the two islands and trouble broke out between the two islands as per the ownership of the area because each island leaders started laying claim to the section that it belongs to them.
Hunters were mounted at the area and fighting broke out with killing of people. Several meetings were called but they did not arrive at a consensus.
Sasere has finished from the school during this time and he was invited to part of the negotiating team that will discuss with the people of the Amure island on how to amicably resolve the issue so that there won’t be loss of lives and properties again.
During the meeting the reports showed that the suggestion Sasere gave during the meeting was the one implemented by the islands. They decided to make the place a joint ownership whereby the income from the place will be share equally among the islands. When they resolved to doing this that was when end comes to the problem the two islands were facing on the area.
Consideration For Award
It was therefore neither shocking nor surprising to see that the king of Tọbalasẹ considered him for a title in the town. The title he was given him was a special one, an exalted office in the land of Tọbalasẹ. Sasẹrẹ had large farmland, several servants, wrote so many articles to guide the upcoming generations and to put his town in the limelight of educationists even though their kind of education then were mainly cultural. He and his wife co-authored a book, historical book on the rise, fall and the new Iwajọwa town. They make notable suggestions to people in the book. Sasẹrẹ was full of age, enjoyed his later years on earth he saw his children's children till the fifth generation. When his in-law gave up the ghost, she requested that her body be taken back to Iwajọwa town for burial. This was done by Sasẹrẹ because Iwajọwa had been coming together again then. The king that captured the land has relaxed his laws on the land, allowing the indigenes of the town to choose their own leaders as before. When the corpse of Irukẹrẹ's mother was taken to the town, the people knew that an illustrious daughter of the town had left the world because of the entourage including influential people from Tọbalasẹ who accompanied Sasẹrẹ to bury his in-law. The ceremony was one of its kind in Ìwajọwa town.
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