Today was the day the truth would come to light.
I had invested a lot to find the answer, an answer that would only cure my curiosity.
Well in advance, I prepared myself. I braved the cold tropical forest, intertwined with its rainy Character, before you expect it, it dropped.
I had identified 75 irumbis spread across the Luhya nation.
Informed by the articles, 'the first boy out of the Irumbi gets the first chance to the mask.'
Where is the mask? What does it look like? Who holds on to it? What does it do? Who gets the first chance to the mask?
This questions rang over and over in my head. I needed answers, I really needed answers.
To all identified irumbis I mounted a camera, by the closest tree at the entrance.
Wait, could the ritual of the mask still exist or did the white man manage to eradicate it? Let's find out.
The month of the mutiti was here, boys allover the Luhya community were going to the forest, for their initiations.
I moved back to my improvised lair after mounting my last camera.
My lair comprised of three television set keeping track of the unfolding events at the irumbis with a laptop for its memory, set just outside the Kakamega Forest.
With a juice in a light armless plastic cup. The events unfolded.
The door to one of the irumbis opened, a boy's head popes out he investigates then steps out, a man comes to him talks to him then hands him something, he places it on his face nothing happened he threw it back.
Another irumbi's door opened, a boy came out, the same man presented something again nothing happened.
Thirteen minutes afterwards another door opened.
The man was there again. How did he manage to be in the irumbis at the right time. The distance across the forest yet he effortlessly arrived in the right time.
Another door opened. A boy came out following a bat from the irumbi, the same man was there, they spoke. The man went to his knee and presented the mask, for the first time I saw the man's face.
The boy took the thing with two hands. He seemed to understand. He raised it towards his face.
I edged closer to the television, recording. Is this the moment?
The thing leaped to the boys face, he tried to pull it off he could not. He was visibly in pain.
Hair started to grow rapidly on his skin. His skin visible forming large spots on the hairy skin.
This Irumbi was hardly a kilometer away from where I was. I had to see this.
I took my Xray darubini rushed out, took out my dirt bike keys, kick started it and off. I left the bike about 100 meters to the spot and ran to the spot cautious.
I hid behind a huge fallen tree trunk. I looked, the boy was not there but the man was, he looked me straight in the eye, had he seen me?
The boy came back running, what a magnificent creature he was like a leopard cub that stood on two, a tail beautifully stood alongside the back. I was so engrossed that I found myself standing. I had found it, the mask, it was right in front of me. Not told, not heard, not read, I saw it, the mask.
Incredible.
I looked again, he looked me straight in the face, is he seeing me?
I ducked under my hiding spot.
I looked.
He wore the mask, a magnificent leopard formed around him.
What a sight.
The boy touched his face. He hugged him.
The man/leopard ran off.
I had seen it but had my curiosity cured?
I stood to head back to my layer, to review what I had seen.
I turned.
There he was, the man/leopard, right behind me he stood, I don't know how long he was there, but he was.
I didn't hear him come nor walk but he was, in full glow, the magnificent creature spoke.
"My blood, what you seek you have found."
"How do you know what I seek?"
"129 years ago, a boy curious was chosen an Ingwe mulindi was there, just like my fore, Ingwe Mukhongo, his Mulindi saw him.
You are Bola's mulindi."
"What?"
"No man stands in isolation, so does the Ingwe, Ingwe trusts one, mulindi, chosen among those with the most interest in the mask. Look around you do you see anyone competing you in the quest for the mask?"
"No."
"You are the mulindi, musambwa will bring you together, it already did."
"What am I to do?"
"What you do will determine how the earth will respond."
"What is my job description?"
"Help the mask grow but hold confidentiality at heart."
"My job description, as a mulindi I won't do much, but I will do the mask one better."
"Being?"
"The mask will have a lawyer in its corner."
"Do you but confidentiality."
With that he took off. One would pass that for disappearing.
Tonight I came full of unanswered questions, some were answered but I started my dirt bike with more questions ringing over and over.
The next day I lazily watched my televisions at the irumbis, focusing at the Webuye waterfalls Irumbi hoping that something interesting would happen. It did.
At around 9pm.
I saw the man I presumed was the circurmciser pay his occasional visits, he held the thing, the mask in his hand.
I edged to my seat.
Moments latter the cub/boy, Bola as referred to by the man/leopard came running out of the irumbi. Definitely faster than I have see a boy his age run. I saw him running deeper into the forest.
This meant one thing, a layer. There must be one.
I took my jacket, flashlight then starched my dagger in place, my bag pack on the back then followed the direction Bola went.
I walked through the thicket, stinging nettles, crickets doing their thing, frogs relentless in there calls, fireflies with their glow, imitating the full moon overhead that denied my flashlight its intended purpose, moving dark shadows all around in the background.
I felt like I was giving up, is this how I would find the layer, at night?
When suddenly a huge animal stood in front of me, it looked like a huge black dog.I stepped back and pulled out my dagger aiming for the eyes.
Another huge black dog emerged from the side another from behind, by the time I thought what to do I was face to face with a pack of 5 huge dogs, they backed me to a stone beneath a hill, to my surprise I fell right into the stone.
A man in a grey suit with a red tie stood on the other side.
"Welcome to the Ingwe's den,call me mulindi wa Ngaira. He sent them to bring you here."
He said looking at the huge dogs as they walked past us.
"Mulindi you say?"
"Yes, the one and only trusted by the earth to stand beside the Ingwe, Ingwe Ngaira."
"I have a million questions."
"They will be answered." He said assuring me in.
I entered a fully furnished flat, with a huge African map at the center, huge windows running all around the room, the room brightly lite, I found a man and a boy sited on a brown couch, the boy bit jumpy.
Without looking at me the man took the boy in his lap and said to him loud.
"Every Ingwe has a Mulindi, here is your Mulindi. Go have a meal with him."
The boy came to me and took my hand pulling it towards the kitchen, I followed him, after all I was his mulindi, so they say.
The round table was set for two.
We sat looking at each other.
"How much do you know." I asked.
"Thought you would tell me."
"How long have you been the cub/boy."
"Cub/boy! How much do you know?" He asked concerned.
"The Leopard man..."
"Ingwe." He corrected.
"What's your name."
"I'm Bola Achesa."
"I'm Dave Likono."
"How will you be my Mulindi if you know nothing about the Ingwe?" He asked demandingly.
"That's why I asked what you know for me to keep up my work."
"You mean this is the first time both of us are doing this?"
"It definitely is." I defended myself.
"Wow!
So what do you know?"
"I just asked you that?
You are my Ingwe, please inform me" I said.
"What do you wish to know?" He asked, a small boy asked.
"The Ingwe."
"He is the man that holds on to the mask, the Luhya mask, a mask among the 75 existing masks in the universe held for the African communities, privilege held more for those with the Ingwe than not. A Leopard in a man we are." He answered, a small boy answered.
"What can you do?"
"I don't know yet."
"We will learn that together.
On my side I am a student, just cleared my LLB program, about to graduate, about to be called a Lawyer."
"Yeah. Whatever.
Come let's tell him we have known each other." He said pulling at my hand again from the kitchen, pulling me straight to the the man.
"Hey Ingwe we are done." The boy declared.
"You will never be done with your Mulindi but I know your curiosity is boiling. Come." The man said to the boy, we followed him.
He took us to an empty room, he called it his training room but it looked more like a Japanese meditation room nothing signifying training left for a huge propeller a fixed on the furthest wall.
He led us to the propeller, handed Bola the spotted mask. The boy wore it. He was then instructed to hold on to the propeller's blades.
It hit me, the training just began.
I found a spot, sat and watched with intend.
He turned on the propeller, the boy held on then walked towards me.
"Dave."
"I don't remember telling you my name."
"I heard you telling Bola, so before any formalities I would advice for you to find and visit Bola's home. Introduce yourself. ." He said.
I looked at Bola, he was spinning so fast one could hardly make his face, the motion making him perfectly parallel to the stone floor, suspended a meter and a half high, momentum still growing.
I moved closer.
It grew, the boy was invisible, only a white tail tip extended to the furthest end from the propeller.
"Is he in pain?" I muttered out moving closer.
He spun on.
Eventually the man above my head said, "let go."
He did.
He flew spinning across the room.
The first step he took was the last, like nothing had happened, standing, legs crossed, tail almost rapped around the left leg, arms 45° from the body, fingers extended, body facing forward but the face to the ground. Quite.
The man walked to him so did I.
"What an Ingwe you will be." He said nodding.
I looked into the Stone floor.
It had paw print.
A pair of two small paws and one huge pair.
And when Bola quietly moved another imprint of small paws was left.
He took off the mask. The boy was back.
"I did it. I did it.
Did you see that, wow, I didn't even think that was humanly possibly."
"Its not." The man said.
"Its humanly impossible." I added.
"But I did it, I beat Mukhongo's paw." He defended himself.
"What?" I asked.
He looked past me to the man.
"Didn't I Ngaira?" He inquired.
"You did, congratulations.
You are the Ingwe, legacy chip, I give you two years of my time, to teach and you learn."
"Ingwe." He said with a clinched right hand fist across his chest. In turn the man clenched his and laid it across his chest. So did I.