Witch-Doctors

by Charles Beadle

Chapter 21

In the village of Bakahenzie was discontent.

The desertion of Sakamata, Yabolo, and three chiefs, had corroborated his suspicions of the unfrocked priest. That Sakamata had been preaching open sedition he had known, yet Bakahenzie was in the situation of many a president or prime minister; he had feared to put his own position in jeopardy by having the offender removed expeditiously. This treachery, which synchronised with the time when MYalu should have either returned or sent a messenger, implied another grave error. All the information he could gather was that MYalu had returned through the village by the river with the girl Bakuma, some prisoners and some of the white man’s equipment, on his way to the north-east; but no one apparently had seen Zalu Zako, Marufa nor the white man.

Bakahenzie was at a loss to discover a plausible theory to account for MYalu having kidnapped Bakuma, who could not be of any political importance to him in going over to Eyes-in-the-hands, but would rather prejudice him seriously with the rest of the tribe for the sin of sacrilege in taking the Bride of the Banana. Shrewd judge of his compatriots though he was, the possibility of a love motive never occurred to Bakahenzie. A dominating passion in an individual for any particular female was rare in the native world; attractive wives or concubines were chosen and [pg 225] bought as one buys a goat or an ox. Bakuma, in her capacity as a sacrificial victim, was to him merely a good-looking girl, well selected by Marufa for the orgy of the Harvest Festival.

Bakahenzie was distraught. He feared that he had not the authority to prevent further desertions; he did not know how far Sakamata’s propaganda had permeated; he could not guess what Zalu Zako, Marufa and the white man were going to do. As many a wise statesman before and after him he adopted a policy of “wait and see.” To provide an exciting distraction to keep his constituents amused and from thinking too much, he borrowed another political tactic of abusing some one vigorously. He called a meeting of the faculty and the warriors. There he solemnly denounced MYalu as a traitor and accused him of the crime of having abducted the Bride of the Banana, and consequently as the cause of the continuance of the misfortunes of the tribe.

The move was successful, inasmuch that it afforded discussion and absorbed wrath for two whole days. Various chiefs proposed as many plans. But none was taken. Everybody was discontented and quarrelsome, as fearful of Eyes-in-the-hands as he was of his tribal god; many were impressed by the propaganda of Sakamata and Yabolo and the impunity with which Yabolo and Sakamata and company had quietly gone over to the enemy. Meanwhile Bakahenzie squatted in oracular silence, murmuring incantations that were prayers to the Unmentionable One interlarded with promises of the things he would accomplish for the said Deity, with solemnity and sincerity, for he felt that the result of Marufa’s [pg 226] intrigue with the magician Moonspirit would mature very shortly. What that would be he had no notion; only he strained every nerve to be alert when the crisis came to snatch from Marufa the advantage that wily old man had gained.

On the third day two more chiefs followed in the wake of Yabolo. Bakahenzie made no comment, but he realised that before long, unless the unknown happened, he would be unable to retain any of his followers; realised that his one chance lay in procrastination. In his despair he began to contemplate an alliance with Marufa, even if he had to take a subordinate rôle—which would at any rate give him his only ally, time, to help checkmate his colleague.

On the next day yet another chief and his men departed. Bakahenzie knew that they were like a herd of goats and that to stop the stampede he must adopt desperate measures. To quell the restlessness which murmured ominously throughout the camp he called another meeting as soon as the news had come of the last desertion. While the drum tapped out the summons Bakahenzie sat muttering his most impressive spells alone, endeavouring to discover a plausible excuse for some sort of excitement to distract the public mind.

Slowly and sulkily the remainder of the brethren of the craft and those lay chiefs that were left, assembled within the circle of fires. Squatted in the prescribed order they eyed the figure of Bakahenzie in his red and green feathers mumbling incantations with doubt and disfavour. Indeed Bakahenzie seemed to them the symbol of the fallen god and a past régime; impotent and as mistaken as they were. In each and every [pg 227] one of them were suspicions and fears growing like weeds in tropic rain that he had made an error in not propitiating the new god in time, an impulse which required but a few hours’ growth to propel them out to the north-east after Sakamata and the others.

As they watched in silence Bakahenzie was aware of the state of their minds towards him and grew the more perplexed in his search for an entertainment sufficiently stimulating to postpone the effects of their discontent. Sapiently he decided that any more messages from Tarum would be unwise in the present atmosphere. An idea of a revelation by divination to appoint a substitute for Bakuma as the Bride of the Banana and thus thrust forward a reason for a feast, as there was now no Yabolo to object, was abandoned because such an orgy was exclusive to the craft and would serve to exasperate the lay chiefs.