Chapter Two: Ndokula

The evening sun cast its long shadow over Ndokula, a quiet settlement of the semi-nomadic Bororo tribe, fewer than than five hundred inhabitants situated 150 km west of Maroua in the lush savannah grassland of Fombina.

Wide angle view of a serene landscape in Fantah

The Bororo were a very close-knit clan and were usually related by blood or by marriage. They were sometimes hunters, but mainly cattle herders who moved from place to place once every three years in search of greener pastures for their livestock, in order to survive and thrive. Whenever they moved, they took everything with them and completely re-adapted to their new environment. They hardly ever spent more than three years in a particular place and almost never went back to any place they had left. They were believed to have originated from North Africa and from there, they kept going westward until they found themselves in the land of Fombina.

A typical Bororo village consisted of groups of thatched huts made of grass, sticks and mud, and shaped like domes. Each Ruga is a cluster of domes surrounded by a fence made up of tree branches beautifully woven together to provide privacy and protection from wild animals. There was usually one very large dome for the head of the house and a semi-large one for the wife and daughters. There might be one more for the boys in the family and finally a small round one made of mud called rumbu, for storing of grains.

The typical Bororo family tree was made up of a father, mother and children. Even though they practiced polygamy, it was very rare except in special situations. Also, marriage between cousins was common amongst them, as it was believed to foster family ties and to retain their wealth within the family. They also hardly ever intermarried with other tribes. For that reason, every Bororo resembled the other as they shared a common gene.

They had a very loose system of government. Although they had a Chief referred to as Ardo who was selected by the elders of the village, decisions on matters affecting the village were usually made by the elders. The Ardo was just a ceremonial head.

***

Malam Buba was standing in front of his house just before sunset, waiting for his wife to serve him supper, when his cows appeared from nowhere and headed towards their barn without anybody directing them. To his surprise, his daughter Fantah was not with them. Just as he began to wonder where she could be, a middle-aged man who appeared to be nudging the cows walked towards him and greeted him.

“Are these your cows?” the man asked.

“They look like my cows.” he answered him.

“They led me here, can you believe it? Smart animals!”

“You can say that again.”

“Well… the girl that was with them left ….so I brought them back”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You mean my daughter left my cows unattended?” he retorted angrily.

“Yes…no.” he stammered. She was frightened. There was a lion. Do you know that these parts are dangerous? There are wild beasts everywhere. You shouldn’t have allowed your daughter to be in that area alone with the cows.”

Malam Buba gave him a quizzical look before yelling, “Fantah!”

“Na’am Baba,” a female voice answered from inside the compound. She came out and stopped at the doorway, surprised to see Hayah - she was the same girl that left him with the cows – and then she went and knelt down before her father.

“Did you leave my cows in the forest by themselves and wander off?” she didn’t answer.

“Go inside, I will deal with you later.”

“It’s not really her fault. She was frightened… There was a lion…” Hayah tried to defend her.

“A lion?” Malam Buba feigned surprise, as if he didn’t hear him the first time.

“Yes, a man-eater.”

“That is serious.”

“Yes. But I … “you know, sir, you should not allow a young girl to go out into the forest by all by herself to rear cows. It is very dangerous out there. The place is crawling with wild animals.”

“Don’t worry about that. We have hunters roaming about and they will take care of any beast around. Besides, rearing of cows is a task for children and girls.”

At that moment, another girl - much younger- but equally beautiful came out with several small calabash containing food stacked on each other. She knelt, greeted them, and then started to arrange the calabashes on a mat.

“Okay,” Hayah said. He knew there was no point in trying to convince him anymore. “Now that your cows are safe, I will take my leave.”

“No, my friend, food is ready. Please stay and eat with me.” Malam Buba offered.

“Oh no, I have to go. Thank you for your time.”

“No, my good sir. In our culture, it is considered unfriendly for a visitor to leave a man’s house at sunset without having supper with him first.”

“Okay.” he said, not wanting to offend him. “In that case, I will stay for supper, then.”

“Thank you.”

Hayah advised Buba again about the danger of wild animals out there, as they ate nyiri marori be hako mbokko from the same bowl. There was also chobbal by the side.

“Rearing cows is for children and women, young man. Our men are hunters and warriors. Believe me, we can take care of our women. No wild animal would dare harm any of them.”

“Very well, then.” Hayah said seeing that it was pointless to try to convince him. He didn’t want to tell him about the earlier incident for fear of upsetting him.

While they were still eating, Buba called out for more water and to Hayah’s surprise, it was Fantah that brought it to them. As she knelt down to serve them the water, she stole a glance at him, smiled, and then shyly looked away. Malam Buba saw what happened and said something in Fulfulde that made her cringe, and she got up and went into the house in a hurry. She didn’t look very happy.

“So, my stranger, what brought you to these parts? You don’t look like you are from around here.” Malam Buba asked.

“My name is Hayah ibn Sa’id ibn Abdullah Ibn Usman. I am the great grandson of Sheik Usman the Great. I migrated from Sokoto to Fombina on my way to Macca for pilgrimage, but along the way I was appointed the Chief Imam of Balda by Lamdo Gerei where I currently reside. I only go into the wilds once in a while to be alone for some soul-searching and to hunt for game-it is a sport that I really love.”

“Hunting is not a royal sport.”

“I know.”

“What am I doing?” it suddenly dawned on him that Hayah was a very important man. “Allah rene Barkama.” Malam Buba said.

“Oh no, Malam, please don’t bother. I am a guest in your house and you have treated me very kindly. I appreciate that and I will never forget it.”

“Thank you.”

“No. Thank you and I shall be leaving now.”

“No, Allah rene, it is already dark and if I know Balda, it is almost a full day’s journey from here. Why don’t you spend the night here and then leave in the light of day?”

“I do not want to inconvenience you.”

“No, you won’t. I will be honoured to host you. “After much persuasion, he finally convinced him to spend the night. Malam Buba showed him to his own hut and instructed his wife to prepare their best delicacy for breakfast.

***

At first light, the next day, Malam Buba killed two fowl and gave them to his wife to prepare a meal for their guest to take along with him on his journey back to Balda. In the meantime, Hayah was outside getting ready behind her father’s hut when Fantah went to meet him.

“Good morning, stranger.” she squatted and greeted him while avoiding eye contact.

“Good morning, Fantah.” he replied.

“You know my name?” she asked

“Yes.”

“I believe you slept well.” she said, without looking at him.

“Yes, I did. Your father is very kind.” she didn’t say anything. “I shall soon be on my way.”

“To where?” she seemed curious.

“Home.”

“Home?”

“Yes home, Balda. That is where I live.”

“What do you do?”

“I am a soldier, and I live in the palace.” She glanced at him as if in disbelief, and he continued. “I occasionally go out hunting for fun too.”

“Oh.” she said.

“Well, I shall be on my way now.”

“Will you come back again?”

“Do you want me to?” he asked, but she said nothing. Instead, she got up and ran into her mother’s hut and at that very moment, Malam Buba came into the hut.

“Allah rene, everything is ready.”

“Yes, Malam Buba and you don’t have to address me so formally.” Hayah replied, smiling.

“If you’ll permit me, I will arrange an escort for you to ensure your safety.”

“My safety is in the hands of Allah and I am glad He made me a warrior. Thank you for your concern, but that is not necessary.”

“Good! Please do come to visit us again.”

“Insha Allah.” With that, he left. Fantah peeked through an opening in the wall of her mother’s hut with her sister giggling beside her.

[End of Chapter Two]                         

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