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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Jun 2009 : 01:41:19
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Once upon a time , there lived a clan of people in a kingdom ruled by a very kind king. He lived with his subjects under a very peaceful atmosphere and they were so happy to have him as their king. The king had a council of advisers and a group of griots; traditional musicians who served as announcers or speakers for the kingdom and as the guardians of cultural history which they memorise and recount at functions like weddings and naming ceremonies. They are the repositories of the kingdoms oral history.Now this king is called Suleiman and he was a very wise ruler , who had the services of the genie too. He was regularly consulted by all and sundry about all manner of problems by his subjects. His reign was a happy period of time for the people of that kingdom. One day he fell sick and called his advisers to his bedside , there he informed them that he knew he was about to die and asked them to make sure that his youngest son gets crowned to replace him as king.The elders listened and all accepted his decision . What they did not cater for was the response of the other sons who were all older than Ibrahima the young prince. They ; the elder sons plotted and got him kidnapped and sold as a slave to traders who took him away.They then imposed the eldest son on the kingdom as king.His name was Saloum Sulieman . He was a brute who was not only wicked but had a wicked wife Nyaling. Nyaling had a bad name ;to wit ,dabbling in witch craft and sorcery which made her very much feared by people. The reign of Saloum Suleiman was terrible. People kept disappearing whenever they go into the forest ,hunting or to their farms.The elders decided to hold a meeting to discuss matters and at that meeting Saloum met them and told them that the reason why people disappear is that they were being eaten by a huge python that lives in the big forest. That he was advised by the oracles that unless a maiden is sacrificed to the snake on given days, they will continue having these problems.The elders consulted on this for a long while and agreed to comply. So once every month a maiden is tied and taken to the forest and left there to be consumed by the snake. this went on for several months until one day it was the turn of a very beautiful maiden already betrothed to a brave hunter ,to be so sacrificed. Her parents pleaded with the elders but they insisted that the sacrifice must go on as planned.The young hunter seeing that his lover would be given away decided to secretly go against the planned sacrifice. On the day of the said sacrifice he went into the forest fully prepared and well armed with a hunting gun , amulets , a bow and arrows and a very sharp cutlass. He left his house during the early hours of the morning not telling any one where he was going . He entered the forest and climbed a huge tree waiting for night fall when the maiden would be brought to the snake's lair. As he sat in the branches of the tree ,he saw a man quickly walk in and creep into the huge hole. It was the king Sulieman himself. After a while the maiden was brought into the forest and left tied up as prescribed. The escorts then left her there crying helplessly. She called out to her parents and her husband to be but no one came to her aid. Out of the hole crept a huge python and approached her at midnight. The hunter quietly climbed down the tree and attacked the snake ,using all his weapons. There was a bitter struggle between them but the hunter with a heart full of love and desire to defend his lover ,prevailed and finally killed the snake.He cut off the snake's head and rescued the young maiden. They went back to the village and when people saw them together they were amazed. The hunter recounted all that he saw and asked the elders to follow him into the forest. When they got there they saw the body of the snake with its head cut off. It was dragged back into the village and a griot was sent to call the king to come and see what they brought from the forest. The griot went to the palace and returned without the king. Another griot was sent , he too returned without the king. When a third one failed to get the king to come , the elders went to the king's palace and found the queen crying . She was questioned as to why she was crying and she confessed that the snake that was killed by the hunter was her husband . That she had cast a spell on him which made him transform into a snake and devour his subjects. She was caught by the youth and tied up. They dragged her by the hair and dumped her in the forest with dead snake's body. From that time on, the people lived in peace crowning the young prince;Ibrahima, who incidentally was brought back to the kingdom by a man who bought him from the traders. The man happened to have recognise him as a prince and decided to rescue him. The man who bought the prince kept him away from the kingdom till he was sure that it was safe to bring him back. This young prince became Mansa Ibrahima and he ruled his people with such kindness that they soon forgot their suffering. His rescuer became his chief adviser and they lived happily ever after.
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Edited by - kaanibaa on 29 Jun 2009 01:57:11 |
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Dalton1
3485 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2009 : 02:01:45
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"Another griot was sent , he too returned with the king."
Pal,
this is a nice story to share...on the line above, you meant to say "Another griot was sent , he too returned without the king."
In African traditions, normally when a big snake is killed...they will look at the tail to see if there is any nail; if there is one, they attribute it , just like the beliefs among gypsies,"werewolves"
I owe you one in repay upon time convenience.
D.. |
"There is no god but Allah (SWT); and Muhammad (SAW)is His last messenger." shahadah. Fear & Worship Allah (SWT) Alone! (:
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Edited by - Dalton1 on 29 Jun 2009 02:03:44 |
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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2009 : 10:55:58
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| Thanks brother , I always try to go over my postings and do some editing , as you can see I did adjust the error . Thanks for your input and surely as always I wait to read your stories which I enjoy so much. Variety makes the palate get the rich taste of food , as they say benechin every day is not advisable at times one needs to blend in other dishes like mbahal butilimm as Mathew Jallow likes it, bless that fulaman with a lion's heart. |
Edited by - kaanibaa on 29 Jun 2009 11:24:57 |
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Dalton1
3485 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2009 : 17:56:56
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Thanks!
It is nice to be traditionally inclined to a rich culture; if not for its beauty, traditional values help champion day to day wisdom of our daily lives.
If these stories are not far within hands' reach, you and others in possession must bring them forward; remember the history that is not written is soon lost.
keep them coming..............(1)
Keep them resounding..........(2)
D... |
"There is no god but Allah (SWT); and Muhammad (SAW)is His last messenger." shahadah. Fear & Worship Allah (SWT) Alone! (:
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