The sun was at its zenith, the morning dew that had hardly lasted the time of a candle had already evaporated without leaving any trace.
One could hear the sounds of roosters and hens, from the dogs of the houses to the birds of the mountain.
Malamu, which means 'good' in the language of the gods, the liNgala, stood as if invested with a divine authority over the small audience facing him. Although they were hardly pre-pubescent, their naive and expressive eyes seemed to be waiting for the next syllable he was going to pronounce. Malamu only took more pleasure in leaving his audience in suspense. One could see his darkskin bringing up the contrast with his clothing
"Long ago our Creator blessed us with his left and right hands. These are the sources of our power, children."
Malamu paused. He could already see in the eyes of these children that their souls were immersed in the circle of the imagination, and he appreciated this because his master had taught him that imagination encircled the world. And if there was one thing, only one thing his master had told him that he had to pass on to him, it was this.
Below the baobab, this little crowd of people was well protected by the summer foliage. From time to time a gecko or a lizard could be seen nearby, which seemed to be participating in the class.
Malamu continued, "By using the principle of the left hand, which is called Kamata "to take", one can appropriate for himself the gifts of the spirit or the states of the body. Watch."
With a quick movement a stone ricocheted off the head of a lizard, no one had seen the blow go off, except Malamu's hand with a smooth and effortless movement which returned to its usual position. The stone had seemed to graze the animal, which was knocked out without leaving a slightest scar.
"Ngando bring me that lizard," said malamu in a gentle but authoritative tone.
"I don't like touching these things!!!" Even though the boy was disgusted by this act he complied.
The lizard was already in malamu's hand. When a mist emanating from the latter took the shape of a hand and tried to grab the animal not without effort. When it withdrew from the animal it seemed to contain another mist of a different colour, unnoticeable to the untrained eye. The lizard, which had been stunned for a moment, struggled to escape from the palm of malamu's hand. Once on the ground it ran as fast as a (Usain) 'Bolt' for its life.
The children were laughing themselves to death. Such innocence :) (should be crushed).
"The Kamata allows us to take gifts of the mind or states of the body. Through your training you can see that mist that the uninitiated cannot. The pure coloured mist you see is the manifestation of my Onzonto or astral body and the other mist that t it contains is the "stunned" state the lizard was in a moment ago. So by removing this state the lizard regained its strength, was no longer dizzy and went away. Now the other mist I am holding within my mist cannot remain in the tangible world. Can anyone tell me why?"
Me, me, me, me, each child raised his hand to be the one to answer.
"Fololo" Malamu said.
The little one boiling with joy of life burst out in her girlish voice "The elders told us it will get bigger. puff puff puff and burst pow" (No funny joke about lolis please)
At the same time the other mist was expanding as the girl continued her explanation.
"You are right, that's why to maintain the balance, what is taken must be given, that's the Kaba." When he had finished his sentence the mist that had embraced the other one returned to his body. When the two had completely disappeared, he pitched a little as if dizzy.
"What is taken must be given, what is given must be taken."
'Fuck, for these kids I risked collapse, I hope they understood the demonstration. The longer the fog stays in the neutral space outside my body, the stronger the state I've removed. Basically, that little rock that knocked out that lizard and would have only ticked a toddler could have knocked out an elephant if I had left it out a little longer...'
From a distance a figure that had been watching them for a while was approaching at a leisurely pace. He wore the man's loincloth that went across the chest and the ornament of the village warriors. With many wrinkles on his face, he always wore a sly smile that never seemed to leave him.
"Come on children, this is the end for today."
"I see that you still know how to captivate your audience petit na ngayi."
When the voice came out and Malamu realised who was speaking, he lowered his head as a sign of respect
"Aba (father), what are you doing here? "In the culture all young women at the age of giving birth were called mama, and this was the same for men who on the other hand were judged on an arbitrary criterion of maturity or feats in combat.
"The ceremony is approaching, it will be an opportunity for us to strike a big blow at the competition…" - continuing