Nana
He reached into the top drawer of the desk and pulled out an old picture. It was a picture of an ancient woman looking suspiciously into the camera, obviously restraining herself from snatching the camera. Beside her, smiling very broadly, was a boy. He must have been seven or eight years old at the time. In the background was green shrubbery and a mud hut. He remembered that ancient place, and it seemed like a lifetime away. He could not help but remember the wonderful times he had and the stories Nana told him.
Timothy tiptoed out of the house. The air was so refreshing that he could almost taste it. It was an early rainy season, and it rained just a couple of hours before. The sweet mud-dust mixture scent that heralds the first rain hung heavy in the night air ushering in the planting season. In the distance, he could make out the flickering oil lamps held by other kids who were heading out on a hunting trip. He longed to join them, but Nana Bima, his grandmother, would hear nothing of it and would have him flayed if he dared disobey her to join the crowd in their quest for the fresh snails in the forests.
He tiptoed back to see if she was fast asleep, but her bed was empty. As he turned around, there she was standing with her legs apart, staring down at him.
"Timothy Onyema Okoye! Are you trying to sneak out?" He shrunk physically. Her voice nearly made him jump out of his skin. She was supposed to be asleep. Does she ever sleep? He wondered.
"Are you deaf, young man?"
"No Nana. I only stepped out to urinate." The lie came quickly, and that was his first time of lying to the grandmother.
"Oh, I thought you were stupid enough to go on that useless snail hunting trip. I have enough fish in the iron basket over the fire in the kitchen. Your mother sends me things. And I know you hate snails so, why do you want to go and gather snails no one is going to use?"
"Nana, Emeka and..."
"Shhhhhhh, I do not want to hear that name again. He is a bad influence. Now go on to sleep before I change my mind. You have school tomorrow."
"Yes Nana," he shuffled inside, his head down with shoulders slumped as he moved into the hut and curled up on the mat. He blew out the hurricane lamp in one corner of the room and lay sleepless in the dark. His eight-year-old mind filled with rage. He could picture the fun that Emeka and others were having at that moment. His last thought as he drifted off to sleep was of himself running in the bush with the others while picking loads of snails. Or perhaps that was his last dream because the sound of the snails as they hit his plastic bucket soon turned out to be the sound of the famous Ikoro. He jumped to his feet.
The noise outside grew. The last time he heard Ikoro was when the King died. No one would beat the mysterious slit drum unless something important or urgent happened.
He made to go out of the room and felt himself forcefully yanked back inside the room.
"Where do you think you are going, young man? Are you out of your mind? Did you not hear the Ikoro being beaten? Are you now a man? When did they start summoning you with the Ikoro? Sit down there, let us wait for more information."
His thoughts appeared to be slow, and the barrage of questions from his grandmother did not help it either. He needed to go outside to urinate.
"Go into the second room; you will see that empty tomato tin. You can pee in it."
He stared at her with disbelief. Most times he had often wondered if the grandmother read minds, or was simply crazy (as Emeka suggested). He thought she might be both. He rubbed his eyes as he went looking for the tomato tin. He was hard pressed. He knew that Ikoro was used to summon only young adult men, warriors, and old men. No women or children ever come out when the Ikoro is beaten. The matter involved was usually of a serious nature or an emergency.
Two hours later it was daylight. People left behind, mainly some old men, old women, young children and girls all started congregating in groups. The grandmother took Timothy to one of the rendezvous spots. She moved away to converse with other elderly women. That was how Timothy got to know the reason for the sound of Ikoro. Three boys that went snail hunting did not return. There were fears that the head-hunters took them. Emeka was one of them.
Timothy's young mind filled with questions, and he could not wait until they returned home to get more answers from his grandmother. Immediately they stepped inside he asked, "Why did the head-hunters take the boys?"
"Timothy. Timothy! How many times did I call you?"
"Three, Ma" he replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Three? Your curiosity will not kill you. I heard the King of Naha is resting, but that's just another word for dead. They just don't say he is dead because a king is supposed to live forever. Anyway, that was why I forbade you going off at night for any reason."
"But Nana, what has the King of Naha being dead got to do with Emeka or me or even the head-hunters?"
"You are the brilliant one, and that's how I know that you are a reincarnation of my late husband, Okoye the great warrior."
This statement never got old for Timothy no matter how many times she said it. Plus it was an indication that she was in a good mood.
"Ok, I will tell you. When a King dies, the tradition requires that he would be buried with seven heads. We can't leave the king without servants in the afterlife now, can we? Naha and our community had always been on bad terms. Most of the palm trees at Okino were once in dispute. We won after killing a lot of their warriors. Since then they were not on good terms with us. Which makes an easy target when they are looking for the heads to use for their King's burial."
Timothy could never tell when the old woman was serious or yanking his chains. He considered what she had said with furrowed brows. This image made his grandmother laugh. Timothy concluded that the grandmother was genuinely crazy but in a good way.
"But they would be dead if their heads were taken?" Timothy said.
"Yes, that's the general idea. They cannot be alive while serving a dead king, now can they?"
"So, does it mean that Emeka is dead?"
"Timothy, you ask a lot of questions. The Ikoro summoned those men to find out what happened to the missing boys. They've sent some spies to Naha to check if their heads are there."
The thought of Emeka's head at Naha frightened Timothy. Even though Emeka bullied him every chance he got, he sincerely wished that his head was on his neck.
"Now, go and prepare for school," Nana barked, bringing him back to reality.
The local community school only had four teachers and the headmaster who taught all the classes, and that meant combining two classes and teaching them as one sometimes. That day, the teachers seemed to be having an endless meeting in the Staff Room. The Staff Room was not a room; instead, it was an open space at the back of the only classroom they have where the teachers met.
Pupils were huddled together, discussing the missing boys.
An hour later, the teachers came and announced that there would be no school for the day. The announcement was greeted with glee and scramble for the door as the pupils happily started the trek back home. Every off school day was a fun day.
Three days later, the men had searched all the bushes and came up empty. The spies sent to Naha returned with a similar unsuccessful story; they were no boys or heads found at Naha. Where did the boys go? People do not just vanish into thin air. The King of Naha was dead; his burial was said to be in the next two months. That gave them enough time and place to get the seven unfortunate fellow's head that would grace his grave. Legend had it that failure to provide the heads, seven important people from the community would die within one day after the funeral.
The fear could be felt in the way life in the community had changed. Parents warned their children about any movement after dusk. No more going to the bush alone to fetch firewood or water from the nearby river. There were reports of the boys being seen now and again, but it always turned out to be a false alarm.
Five weeks after the incident, a hunter that was tracking a deer deep inside the bush came across an unusual sight. He saw what appeared to be dirty clothes packed in a corner deep inside the forest. He readied his gun and approached with caution. The cloth moved as he was some twenty feet away from it. He nearly fired, but waited. He looked deeper and could make out the rag was a human in a fetal position. He slowed down the more, adrenaline pumping. He approached. He was now ten feet away when he saw it was a boy.
He coughed, and the boy woke but was too weak to do any other thing but point to something in the bush by his right. He followed his finger and saw the other two boys. They were starved and too weak to walk. He carried one and made the arduous eight-hour journey back to the village. There was wild jubilation, and young men volunteered and followed the hunter back to the bush for the other two.
The others were brought back home too. It took two days before they could talk sensibly. Everyone was curious as to how they got to be so far away from the village and in the forest for so long.
When they were strong enough to talk, they could not answer the question. They could only remember the night of the snail hunt. Then the endless walking around the forest looking for their way home. They were surprised when they heard how many days they've been missing. No one knew what happened to them that made them lose their sense of direction.
But Nana Bima said she knew what happened. And she told only Timothy. According to her, the children were unfortunate enough to come into contact with a mysterious plant in the bush. The plant was used by the elders in the ancient days to safeguard the children of the village from invasion. Anyone it touched, lost the sense of direction and time.
Timothy tried to find out if she was joking or serious, but her deadpan expression made it difficult to decide which it was. He also remembered a story she once told her about an insect that was most feared by hunters because of the insect to change a man into a woman with a single bite. Timothy was smiling, thinking about these things.
Own Image
"Sir, you have a visitor in the waiting room," the young intern informed the man sitting behind the big desk.
Timothy nodded as he walked towards the waiting room to receive the visitor sent from the village to update him on the preparation of his grandmother's ten-year memorial service.
In his hand was the only portrait of the woman that raised him like a son amidst scarce resources even though his parents were wealthy. He looked at it again and smiled. He still missed Nana, crazy or not.
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What a fantastic story.
Let me quickly share some of the lessons I learnt from it:
First, children are always curious. Rather than shut them off or out, we need to mentored them, we need to explain things to then rather than letting them figure things out on their own.
*Imagine if Timothy's grandmother had simply waved him off, she would have lost an important moment to reach Timothy about his people culture and about safety".
Second, our grandnies may seem overbearing, still, their love for us is undeniable. Like Timothy's grandmother, not a moment go by without them watching our back.
Third, inimical customs such as burying people alive when Kings die should be done away with! While we must do our utmost to preserve our culture, we must also be courageous enough to jettison harmful ones. Imagine if the killing of twins was still the norm today?
Lastly, this is a very good story. Thanks @adsactly.
The customs are gradually dying a slow death due to civilisation. The killing of twins are one of those dark history, similar to slavery, that we are super glad is over. Thank you for the pretty comprehensive reply.
So you see, civilisation isn't necessarily a bad thing nor do we mean ill when we say some cultural practices must give way to new ways of thinking.
Thanks your reply too.
I agree it has its good and bad sides but the good far outweigh the bad.
It's nice mehn
Truly the story make sense.
The story turned out magnificent. I read it "in one go." The main thing is that from this story we can learn several important life lessons. This allows the reader to receive useful information and to receive the benefit of reading.
I liked how the dialogs are spelled out. You did it in an interesting way. Thanks to the dialogues we learn a lot about the relationship of the grandmother and Timothy. Some (judging by the comments) interpreted this as a communication between parents and children. With this, he is inclined to agree. Moreover, the main lesson to be learned from reading is parental love, which can manifest itself in various forms. Even if they shout at you, they do it because they want to protect you or warn you. Also, children are really inquisitive and this is normal. Moreover, we must help children to seek answers to their questions. Any parents should contribute to the development of the child.
The story impressed me. It makes you think and this is important. I had a pleasant experience. Thank you
This story has raised a very important topic about how to treat our children properly ..
It seems to me that an important consideration related to the ways in which we treat our children involves the inexplicable notion held by many parents that without punitive discipline, kids will become those dreaded 'spoiled brats'. And there it is, the term that serves to strike fear in the hearts of so many parents.
Probably the most common definition associated with spoiling children involves an idea that sees 'parents giving their kids whatever they want'. Unfortunately, many parents are under the impression that this parents-giving-them-whatever-they-want concept refers to the physical needs and desires of children. On the other hand, some of these same parents tend to become very unclear when it comes to defining the emotional criteria for spoiling kids.
I recently heard a prominent basketball coach in an interview on TV say that although he was sitting on a pile of money, he wasn't going to leave any of it to his children because it would just spoil them and ruin their lives. I know I'm citing an extreme example here to make my point, but this misguided man is a victim of society's myth about spoiling children. To this coach, cutting his kids out of his will is an act of love, strange as that may seem.
The spare the rod spoil the child method is prevalent some decade back but not so much nowadays.
First thing that popped in my mind at that moment was his grandmother just saved him. He wanted to sneak out, but she had her instincts. They say “the King is resting”. They don’t say “He past away”, because they believe he lives forever. That’s a nice phrase for someone who passed away. Sometimes that could be misinterpreted if someone is really resting 😆. She also thinks Timothy is reincarnation of her husband. That’s what they believe in. I do believe in eternal life of our “soul”. However, I don’t believe in reincarnation. It’s really disturbing when King dies he has to be buried along with other seven heads, especially the chosen once😱. Where his friends disappearance the reason of seven heads? Fortunately, that was not the case. After five weeks unbelievably hunter searching the woods found those three boys barely alive. Of course grandma had a great explanation what happened to these three boys. It was mysterious plant in the bush making them disoriented when they touched it.
Nice story of Timothy and very well written @greenrun.
Kings never truly die, they rest until some heir takes over. Some people believe in the reincarnation, and it is not unusual to see someone to refer to a child as the reincarnate of an older member of a family that had passed on. Thanks for reading.
What an amazing story .. this story is providing alot of lesson of the life if someone understand them.
First this story is showing the love and affection of the parents for there children in the form of the granny and Timothy.
Second this story is pointing about how to guide the children and how to stop them from doing something that is not good for them. we must take in measure that our parents always want to see good future for us and they don,t want to lose us in any condition. they yell on us they become angry when we do some thing wrong but that was there hidden love.
Third thing about the story is "that child are to much possessive and they have alot of questions in there mind they want to find out. child are to much impatient to know something that,s why they do some think that can cause them alot of danger."
This story explain one more thing that no one can kill you in any condition you are in your have to face every trouble by your own and fight for your life . If you fight and never lose hope you can spend your life like a king.
Thanks for sharing this amazing story with us @adsactly
Thank you for the great takeaways/lessons that you picked from the story.
yes my friend it was an amazing story
Wow thia is simply amazing. I know that I could never do a fantastic story like this. I am simply stunned how it flows well and how it is well written. Applause!!!
While reading I was introduced to another culture so nicely. I enjoyed that I could see through your work some of the feelings behind the scene. Your style of writing just soothed my imagination perfectly. Grandma seems like a grumpy person, but if I am not worong, there is enormous love behind her words. She is wise! It's hard to listen to your grandma when you're young, but sometimes they have great leassoms from which we can learn...
Thanks for this great story. It was a perfect one before the bed time! Have a great day and night!
Lovely
Truly childhood memories remain beautiful on their simplicity
Well done . good for you
Thank you for sharing this with us..
Such an interesting post. Excellent writing, thanks for sharing sir.
This story is an ideal case of how African guardians and grandparents cherish their kids regardless of how insane their affection or standards more likely than not been...
they generally need the best for you.
Actually this time african children's deprive of many facility..
But that a common problem..
We want to that this problem remove this society..
Thanks for your beautiful input.
kids are constantly inquisitive. As opposed to stop them or out, we have to guided them, we have to disclose things to then instead of giving them a chance to make sense of things all alone.
Imagine if Timothy's grandma had basically waved him off, she would have lost a critical minute to achieve Timothy about his kin culture and about security".
our grandnies may appear to be domineering, still, their adoration for us is unquestionable. Like Timothy's grandma, not a minute pass by without them watching our back.antagonistic traditions, for example, covering individuals alive when Kings kick the bucket ought to be discarded! While we should do our most extreme to safeguard our way of life, we should likewise be sufficiently gallant to cast off unsafe ones. Envision if the killing of twins...
The old tradition of twin killing is something no one practices again. It is one of the advantages of civilisation.
This was a fun read. I was almost caught reading this during working hours. I hope that one day I'll have the skills just like yours—to make people see, feel and be in the exact place just by reading. More of this.
Just start sharing. Thank you.
Thank you. I'll definitely give it a try. until my writing makes sense. :)
Ok. That will be a step in the right direction.
Such a interesting story , amazing writing .
Your post is always different i follow your blog everytime , your post is so helpful . I always inspire of your post on my steem work . Thank you for sharing @adsactly
Follow my blog @powerupme
The account of Nana This is an extremely recounting story of the truth that most African kids live in ...
Enduring and enduring
Tolerance to the remorselessness of nature and the brutality of society make Nana and his likes a man who is exceptionally persistent and does not express his torment since he is certain nobody will hear him and regardless of whether he hears you won't answer you
Much obliged to you for your article in which you have essential aptitudes about adolescence and enduring in Africa and Asia also..
Just all and I will wait for your next post..
I would be waiting to see your post. Thank you.
This story is a perfect example of how African parents and grandparents love their children no matter how crazy their love or rules must have been, they always want the best for you.
I can entirely agree with you on that one.
I have read many stories here in steemit, but really have i read such a nice educative story. Thank you for this piece. Just brilliant.
Thank you for that great compliment.
The traditions are bit by bit dying in some horrible, nightmarish way because of civilisation. The murdering of twins are one of those dim history, like servitude, that we are super happy is finished. Much obliged to you for the entirely extensive answer.
Thanks a lot.
This writing was good and story was very interesting
Thank you.
How sad what life is in Africa is. But that the pain that they are experiencing today will become their strength for tomorrow sir. This is a motivational not only for African but for all people in the world.
Well sad @adsactly. May you please appreciate my compliment to you.
Life is not really sad in Africa.
Quite an interesting story about kids experiences in Africa. It was an enjoyable read, log but captivating.
Thanks a lot.
The story was really nice although I feel the end was rushed and also you should spell check next time... In all good job
I'd be glad to see where I made the spelling error. Thank you.
The narrative of Nana This is an exceptionally recounting story of the truth that most African youngsters live in
Enduring and enduring
Persistence to the brutality of nature and the cruelty of society make Nana and his likes a man who is extremely persistent and does not express his anguish since he is certain nobody will hear him and regardless of whether he hears you won't answer you
Much obliged to you for your article in which you have vital abilities about youth and enduring in Africa and Asia too.
The story of Nana This is a very telling story of the reality that most African children live in
Suffering and suffering
Patience to the cruelty of nature and the harshness of society make Nana and his likes a man who is very patient and does not express his suffering because he is sure no one will hear him and even if he hears you will not answer you
Thank you for your article in which you have important skills about childhood and suffering in Africa and Asia as well
An interesting story @adsactly
Whether you are experiencing yourself or you are included in this story ..
Hello and sorry for posting here my concern because this is the only way I know that my fellow steemir can see me! I just wanted to ask only I know your an expert now here because im only new here..regarding to my estimated account value is not splitting to steem dollars but only to steem power only can have because i know I start with 100% power up when I post any not the 50/50..so my ask how can I split now this? this is my screenshot. Thank you!!!
I hope anybody can help me for this thank you!!!!!
This probably isn't the appropriate venue for this query. I'm going to invite you to our Discord server where you can find lots of help: https://discord.gg/Sq2DMn
Thank you very much!
An interesting story full with mystery ...
dramatic end
Very good short story...
I like this type most
This is good story bro i love this story super you are good writer good example of African and sry i am very weark for English
Okumaya değer ve çok beğendim
thanks for story. I really like it
Very well explain the story about a nana. ..
This is a great written story that should be published. It is timeless and has potention to be a new fairytale. Everything is in it!
A Serita That Gives A Life View is a very useful thing for a life, An honor can read this whole story @adsaktly
How is our life story today?
Maybe we can tell everyone that we are so perfect in our lives right now, but this is a life journey that is not the same thing from a short story - Nana
This becomes a very meaningful lesson of a view to mankind which is an important note in life. One's personality in his life is not an aspiration but an opportunity has not yet been addressed to him but he realizes the rainy season will give him a coolness and promise prosperity and the night air delivering the message of love for life
Will the Life Stories back in the past?
The story of life is a journey that will reveal to us how it can be written to be a very valuable material that can perfection member in seeking self-heart for a better life
Does life have to be regretted?
Life is a gift from the creator to the human race and how it has become a record to live with a challenge, to defeat it must be with a keyakina to change this life
Conclusion
The turn of the wheel of life is something that never stops but how life is used as a benchmark of success,
Thank you @adsactly. Has given me an incredible view
See You on The top
This actually reminds me of early nineties...night fun after meal. Thanks for sharing sir.
It was a emotional one
que bella historia,siempre digo que los niños con su inocencia son mas astutos que los adultos por eso hay que estar pendientes de ellos,me encantó esa historia
So good
let's vote together @zuhrafriska
Snail Hunting
@adsactly, interesting story, I finished reading it.
Wow! A wonderful post
I have one too, not so long but you could do well to visit, read and up vote via
https://steemit.com/colorchallenge/@vhikilicious-sc/motivation-wednesday
Hi, I enjoyed this well-written story. It is a journey into a world I do not know.
Excelente post, muy buenas tus reflexiones..gracias por compartirlas!!
awesome story and good photography,,i like this post,,
your skill on writing is so good,,
Africa is a big continent ,,so there have more story all over this,,
Nice concept,,
@upvoted
🙌🙌hello friend steemit @adsactly(75) very good post, I liked it a lot but I could not see the image for the reason that my internet bam does not allow me to open them, but in the same way I will give my vote, without anything else to say I say goodbye, your friend @manduto
Great story!
Merci pour le partage ;) Cheers from Belgium !
What a fantastic story.
Awesome...i really im interested in joining you guys
I like this kid and good pic