The Feather of Glory ( a Novella )
4 min readBy David Aoloch Bion
”True love strictly takes a long time to grow, longer time to ripe , and longest time to taste, harvest and enjoys’’
“ .He has married me with cattle, and I have married him with this feather, The Feather of Glory. And this feather is the only prestigious thing I must honour him on earth … he will always wear it wherever and whenever he goes for occasion – occasions like dancing, wrestling, singing, judging, hunting and fighting”.
“Outside the bed, it had been taken the man whom I love six hundred and seventy five days to kiss me . Inside the bed, the man whom I loved had been giving me a non breathing, non-stop kiss for two thousand four hundred and thirty days ”
Chapter Two
It was the beginning of the rainy season. Kuol was sitting with his son Madut on the hearth. They were discussing a wide range of issues. He realized that his son Madut was now matured and he said that he was no longer a boy but rather a man in his heart. He judged him according to the way he responded to some of the issues.
Before he went to sleep that evening, he had told him in the coming season when the sorghum, beans, simsim, and groundnuts will have yielded, you would be initiated. Four months had just passed-by and the season came. Madut went and informed his age mates about his eminent initiation. After two days, the boy had assembled in Luak of the oldest man in Akoi village. The boys lined up the next day before the oldest woman to shave except Madut.
On the same day, Madut was taken by his father to Ringdit’s shrine in order to be given permission for shaving his hair. Ringdit gave him a go ahead. He returned shaved lastly shaved with his generation of youth.
The boy stayed in Luak for three months. Their food was supplied to them. They were not allowed to have contact with nursing mothers and girls for fear that they may contract thethiang sickness. At the end of three months, Madut brought a bull that was slaughtered for the boys released from Luak. The bull was Mabior. They were named Mabior after the bull’s color. Some of the poor boys brought goats and chickens that were slaughtered. Girls beat to death goats to show they were also initiated alongside the boys into womanhood.
All the fathers, the mothers, uncles, aunties, brothers and sisters had assembled for the releasing ceremony. One of the elders rose up. He cleared his throat and began giving the laws, the rules and regulations that govern an adult in the community.
You have been initiated into adulthood, manhood or womanhood. You young men, the first thing you must obey and observe is crying and waving of tears like a woman whether it is tears of joy or pain. You must not cry whether you are burning on fire, whether you are hacked by spear. When your father, mother, brother and sister die, you must not cry like a woman. If you hear a war drums being beaten, take your spear and join the men. Some clans initiate their boys into manhood by cutting their faces with knives to see whether they can endure pain or not. But for us we do not do that. We have much confidence in our boy. This elder sat down.
Another elder stood up, and put a song, and the song was sung. And he began talking.
“Children, children. During our time, our village was feared, our cattle camp was feared. We used to say if a man does not respect, he must fear you. We were well known for three things that included war, dance, and wisdom. If war came, we fought bravely. If dance came, we danced gloriously. If law came, we judged wisely” and the elder sat down.
One woman came forward and said
“Please, my son, you do not look after your sisters. A man without a sister is like a village without seashore. The villagers of such a village without water are always thirsty. The same to a man without sisters is always a poor man. Your sisters are now impregnated by poor men. This happened because of your carelessness. You must know who engaged your sister. Is he a poor man, if he is a poor man, stop him from your sister.
Madut stood up. He told his parent that they would not say that we should do this or that. He said they had understood their parents’ advice and their grievances. He returned to his place on the mat they were sitting on, and the meat of their bull and more beer was brought. They ate the meat. Before they were dispersed, they were presented with a big stick and a wooden log that they must use to intercept a stick for a man who may intend to beat their head. They were also given a spear and a shield for fighting tribal enemies. They were dispersed. After the initiation Madut went to the cattle camp.
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