The Feather of Glory ( a Novella )
5 min readBy David Aoloch Bion
Chapter Fourteen
As Madut had been away from the village for ten days in his death swearing judgment, many cases had been waiting for him. He was admired by his clan because of his talent and competence in dealing with social issues. One of the cases was between his cousin Majier and his wife. Majier had married. He had borne children with his wife Panjok.
Majier was a notorious man and Madut supported him very much. Majier said “my father, my mother, my brother and my sister. If your bull, your he-goat, your he-sheep gets lost, do not look for it. It is meaningless. It belongs to the travelers.” When some people told madut this statement, he said that in every clan home there are good and bad people.
Five days passed and Majier was caught slaughtering someone’s bull. He was beaten thoroughly and the bull was compensated with six cows. Madut himself gave one cow.
Majier stole a child and went to sell him to a neighboring tribe for twenty-five cattle. People wondered where he had got the cattle from. The owner of the child went to the neighbouring tribe and found his child. He came and opened a case. All cattle were taken from Majier. When the clan complained to Madut about majier, he said every clan has thieves. Majiers wife opened a divorce case “I’m tired of Majier. Majier is poor, he does not dig in the farm, he beats me when he is drunk” the wife complained.
“Have you heard Majier what your wife is saying?” asked Madut.
“I have married this wife with thirty-six cattle” Majier said.
“I am going away whether you have married with a hundred cattle or thirty …what! We are going to divide the children” the wife said.
“Our law does not allow the division of children” Madut explained. However, madut with his chief power stopped the case that afternoon and in the evening went to Majier’s home. He persuaded Majier’s wife until she dropped her divorce case. This prompted one man to say “if there was no Madut in this clan many issues could have been going wrong. Thank god for Madut to be our chief”.
After Majier’s wife’s case, came the Deng wife cousin to madut with Ringdit. It was the rainy season and cattle were released from the Pabiec enshrined cattle camp. The cattle moved into the farm of Nyang., Deng’s wife. Nyang took a horn and blew it. The cattle ran away from eating the sorghum in the farm. This action of the woman provoked Ringdit, the god of the clan. Ringdit called it Madut.
“Whose wife chased my cattle away from her farm” Ringdit it asked.
“Why has she done that?” Ringdit asked.
“You know our father (Ringdit), women are always foolish” Madut said
“She doesn’t know that I am the one who brings rain that they may sow the seed?” Ringdit revealed.
“Forgive, my father” Madut prayed.
“You know, my other gods in the village are loved, respected and feared because of their harshness and evilness to their ants (people)” Ringdit warned.
“Long live my father, forgive, my father” Madut prayed.
Madut the chief went to Deng and narrated to him what Ringdit was saying about his wife. The wife of Deng was a very stubborn woman.
She said “ I don’t have cattle, my cattle are the sorghum. If I go to Ringdit, ask me”
Madut advised Deng to go and apologies for what his wife had done. But Deng had failed to go and apologize. When the sorghum had been harvested and had been put in the granary, the granary burnt down from an unknown fire. After four days of the granaries burnt down, one of Deng’s children also died.
Madut came to Deng and ordered him to give a bull and sacrifice it at Ringdit’s shrine in order to stop his anger.
In the following year, cattle were released from pabiec and moved into the farm of another mancalled Chol. Chol’s wife when she saw cattle, she rushed into her hut and allowed the cattle to destroy her sorghum farm. She didn’t say anything. During the harvest Ringdit ordered Madut to collect sorghum in a basket from every hut in Akoi village. When the sorghum was stored at Ringdit’s shrine, he called Chol’s wife and told her that she was a good woman who knew that Ringdit was a good god and provider of everything.
At a celebration at the end of the same year at Ringdit’s shrine, a bull was slaughtered. The dirty bull was skinned in the evening. It was put inside after some of it had been cut in parts prior to distribution in the next morning. One of the skinners called Mac cut a piece of meat in the darkness and put it somewhere near the door of the shrine hut while they put the meat in the shrine hut of Ringdit. After they had finished putting the meat, he picked a piece of meat. While on his way home, the meat twisted in his hand. When he scrutinized it, he found it was a fatty snake, because he missed the meat and picked the snake. He rushed back to the shrine praying “long live my grand father, forgive me. I will never repeat” and put the snake back where he picked it.
In the morning Ringdit summoned Madut and Mac.
“What did you do last night, mac?” Ringdit asked.
“Long live my grandfather. I will never repeat” Mac prayed.
“Tell Madut and these people what you have done last night” Ringdit ordered Mac to tell the incident.
“People when we were putting the meat inside, I stole a piece of meat and I placed it at the door. When I was leaving I picked. When I was on the way home, I found it was a snake” Mac told them.
“ When you stole you thought Ringdit our father was not looking at you?” Madut asked.
“ He thought I don’t look at what they do.” Ringdit mocked him.
“ You Mac, bring a bull to sooth our grandfather Ringdit” Madut ordered.
“ Mac, Mac, Mac, you people I will finish, I will finish you if you don’t change your gluttonous heart and stop your thieving behavior” Ringdit warned.
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