Sacrifice for Life

I peeped out through the roughly carved window of my grandma’s hut and I watched as the marked men of Ezewara with palm fronds in between their lips and brandishing burning torches led 2 girls who have lived through 15 moons, to the shrine of Ezewara for Isa ani. The girls’ faces had this serenity and they were not looking scared of the fate that would befall them soon. It was as if they knew they were some kind of saviours of our village. The marked men of Ezewara were the only people permitted to carry out the sacrifice as they were direct descendants of the primordial custodians of our land. Ezewara was the deity for fertility, my grandma told me it usually took the form of a python with a diamond like stone embedded in it’s head. It was said that in times past, whenever a woman put to bed it will pay the family a visit, to give its blessings to the child. Once it enters the household, the parents of the baby will place the baby before it and it will gently play with the child before taking its leave.

My grandma had warned me to go to sleep and keep my curiosity at bay. Yet whatever killed the cat kept pushing me to go and peep. My grandma had told me that the Ikwa ani festival was around the corner and the land had to be cleansed prior to the preparations of the festivals. I have lived just 12 moons myself and I always wondered if at my 15th moon I would be selected for cleansing. The thought of being used for the Isa ani made me feel like a superhuman. I was curious to know what will happen to the girls. As they rounded the corner, I carefully tiptoed out of my grandma’s hut and went down the path they took. I walked through the bushes to avoid being seen, I could see their burning torches ahead and I followed.

We finally got to the shrine which was on the banks of the river of Ezewara. I could see the river of Ezewara flowing gently and the soft light of the moon glistening on the surface of the river. I imagined the gentle python lying beneath, I always wondered what Ezewara really looked like as I hadn’t seen a python since I was born. According to my grandma, the pythons of Ezewara stopped making a public appearance after an ugly incident that occurred. It went to pay a visit to a mother that had just put to bed and the woman’s brother who had come from another land to visit his sister was present. When the parents had placed the child in front of Ezewara the python had placed its coils around the child, then the brother of the new mother who wasn’t an indigene of our land and was ignorant of the tradition rushed out and grabbed a stick and struck the python with it thinking it was trying to stifle the poor child. The python released the child and tried to attack the man, the father of the child tried to hold back his in law who repeatedly beat the python till it was killed. This act had angered Ezewara, that same night the man who had killed the python was bitten by a snake and he died. His body was returned to his village as he couldn’t be buried in the land he had desecrated. Afterwards snakes began to bite people in the village which was unheard of. The people became scared and started killing the pythons in turn. The custodians of the land had to commune with the deity and the need for a sacrifice was made known. They selected 2 girls who had just lived to their 15th moon for the sacrifice, when they died the plague stopped and Ezewara was no longer seen. Whenever the time for the famous Ikwa ani festival came, which was an annual celebration to celebrate the fertility of the land, the cleansing sacrifice would be made first.

As I looked on from my hiding place, I saw the chief priest of Ezewara carrying two burning pots in his hands and the marked men of Ezewara holding the burning torches formed a circle around the girls. The girls were kneeling in the middle of this circle, the two burning pots were placed on their heads, they didn’t even flinch when it was placed and to my surprise, it didn’t hurt them. The men started making some incantations and dancing round the girls, they continued this ritual for some minutes. Suddenly I felt goosebumps run down my skin, the atmosphere was charged and there was this sudden chill in the air. I looked at the river and I saw a shining light breaking through the surface, something was coming up to the surface and whatever it was, was of great magnitude. My mouth fell open as I beheld a sight which ages hadn’t had the honour to be blessed with. My grandma couldn’t have described it any better, the python gently slithered out of the river with the sparkling light emanating from its head. It stopped short from the circle, the marked men with their backs turned to it moved away, it moved towards the girls and wrapped its coils around them then dragged them back to the river. As they went down, I could still see the fire from the pots.

The marked men dispersed and took one form with the night. A gentle breeze blew and caressed the surface of the river. I got up from my hiding spot and dazedly returned home, I didn’t bother to tiptoe in, my body felt too heavy. I knew if my grandma caught me, she would be really angry and she would punish me but I didn’t really mind. As my head hit the bamboo bed in my corner of my grandma’s hut, I thought of Ezewara.