In Wa, the Upper West Region Of Ghana, dawn had arrived and the North East Trade Winds, known as the Harmattan, covered the land in mist. This land, not just the Upper West Region Of Ghana but I felt the country itself; there was a feeling to it I could not quite place. A feeling of distance and closeness at the same time; like the land was not showing us everything it actually was. In the Upper West Region, the Baobab trees carried a feeling of agelessness when you stared at their tremendous heights and the scarce trees created a forest of sorts you could gaze a long distance through; like something between a Savannah and a dry forest. The land made you want to explore it even when your mind told you, you may get lost.
I sat outside our house, staring at the thick mist that surrounded everything. At dawn though, you could barely see ahead of you. The mist was just like my current situation. Zanfar and so many unexpected influences had entered my life, trying to see my own future or plan towards it was beginning to feel like attempting to see through the mist. You could walk through mist and not trip or bump into anyone, but there were no guarantees, there was only the hope and faith that you would arrive at your destination safely.
Roughly five days had passed since the New Year. My countrymen were still in the mood for celebration though but this dawn, I sat alone; just hoping to ponder the land of my origins. And then he came and sat beside me, my father, the Nightmare King Sanziri, the Destroyer Of Lies.
"Dad, could you tell me a bit about our native land?" I asked him.
My father laughed.
"Funny that you, who grew on foreign soil wish to know more about your roots than the natives of the land" my father laughed. "I recall my days as a youth, when we would go out to hunt food for the family and clan celebrations. Around this time, it was very common to see so many young boys, each with a dog beside them. We would hunt as partners, each hunter and his dog. Sometimes, we would even compete to see who lands the first kill. These days, it appears most youth hunt for smaller kills. Back in my days, deer, even wildcats were all game" my dad said with a sinister laugh.
"You do realize, that would be considered poaching nowadays right?" I asked him.
"Worry about poaching when you've fed every hungry man. When you're at the brink of death, killing an animal for survival isn't a sin and it's not a crime. But killing indiscriminately, the creatures we've been placed in charge of, it's one of the many sins of the Gigas, that led to the Great Flood Of Old. When a person has to choose between survival and law, nature dictates placing survival first" the Nightmare king said.
"Hey, hey old man, you're saying a bunch of scary things suddenly!" I drew back in alarm.
"But it is because we'll always be inclined to choose survival first that it's a precious gift when someone chooses to die for our sakes. For life is the greatest of treasures. Possess life, and you can possess many more treasures. Lose life and you can possess nothing. And that was why King Solomon chose Wisdom above everything else. It's like someone telling you to ask for anything you want including money that could last a lifetime; Solomon chose to claim the bank instead of money; and with that, he became king, possessed riches, fame and glory. But all that came from Wisdom and Wisdom comes from smaller things; things we don't place much value on these days. Take for instance, the name Jirapa; that land was named after the reed locally called "Gyir" that grew at the banks of the river. "Par" means beneath. The land was built beside the river that flowed beneath the reeds hence "Gyirpar" now transliterated Jirapa. A mark that calls to mind the situations that led to the building of the town Jirapa. Take Nandom for instance as well; this land you sit upon; after a long journey, our ancestors said "Let us rest" and that was how the land derived its name for Nandom is the Dagara word for "Let me rest". The power of proverbial names is in their ability to call to mind situations, even history. My name "Sanziri" and your name "Zan" are also examples" My father explained.
"Tell me more about the Lion Clan we are affiliated to" I asked my dad.
"You keep saying Lion Clan as though the clan were some legendary group from history or an anime or martial arts movie. You may call it a clan but it is more than just a clan. You would be more accurate in referring to it as "a house". Our history isn't as glorious as the image you've created within your mind but it is one worthy of reflection. How interested have you been in studying Ghanaian history Zan?" my father asked me.
"Not…very interested I must admit but I really did want to know more about the Lion Clan since Wanye told me it was the clan to which we were affiliated though then, I felt more like it was a clan I was adopted into. So when I found that you, the Nightmare King were my dad, though I was angry, it made me a little happy to know I was affiliated to the Lion Clan by birth as well" I admitted.
"I'm sure Wanye in telling you about our history also informed you about the partitioning of Africa and the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade did he not?" my father asked.
"He did" I said and hung my head in shame.
It was an embarrassing point in our history and we both knew it.
"You've noticed that most tribes in Ghana revolve around a chieftaincy system which was even stronger in the past. Well, the Dagara clan in its origins was one exception. We weren't ruled so much as we were guided; by a group of people called the "Custodians Of The Land"; the Tindana. They were both spiritual and customary custodians of the land. But you could also infer that due to this leadership, we weren't a clan formed on the principle of "centralized states" so during the conflicts that plundered our lands, we had no strong standing armies for our defence. Ruthless slave raiders would infiltrate our camps and sell our people to the foreigners who shipped us overseas" my father narrated.
"You could also say, in hindsight, this created a miracle that led to the formation of the Houses. Many neighbouring clans resorted to scarring the faces of their clansmen for identification purposes and the scars for each clan was unique. They could not easily be copied because in some ways, they were also very similar. Only those who knew their significance would think to decipher them, assuming you were clever enough to determine that they had any significance at all. But our clan, the Dagara, hmmph, we were the exception. We would not resort to scarring so we were raided several times. Sounds pretty foolish huh? Well you're wrong. We were probably immature but this immaturity led to the miracle called the Houses for each time we were raided, we fled in different directions. We were scattered by our foes like the wind. But a few of us would eventually group together and settle down. Peace would last for decades until we were discovered and fled again in different directions. Then new groupings would be formed. It was like weaving a spider's nest; the more we were forced to flee, the more we grouped with different people from the same clan. During our many escapes, there were times, we were guided by certain animals or omens; who led us to new settlements. Hence, we took a vow never to harm those animals and those animals became totems. Our house was most likely guided by a lion; so the name of the animal or omen became the name of the "Yir" or house. So now, when we were forced to flee and we found one another anew, we would ask, "Where is the House To Which You Are Affiliated?" The reason for this question was, we knew we had a spiritual home, a land that was ours, given to us by God as our own possession but we were forced to flee that land. We knew we had a home but didn't know our way back home. So in new lands, our dwelling was repeatedly a temporary one as we were forced to flee repeatedly. To protect our identity, we each gave our groups a name whenever we were separated and as our cultures evolved separately, it became increasingly easier to distinguish one faction of our group from the other through the system of houses; and because our foes forced us into many temporary lands, our dwelling places increased making it easier for someone to point us back to a land we had formerly fled and if we've dwelt everywhere…who can hide our true home? And so we replied the question, "Where is the House To Which You Are Affiliated?" with the name of our familial House to point us back towards our home for in our hearts we know, though our past sins forced many crushing defeats on us throughout history; those many defeats are culminating in a pointer towards our true homeland. And that is to a great extent, our legend; a legend about a series of crushing defeats that led us to scour the entire face of the earth and by elimination, narrow down the road to our true home. Whether you choose to view this legend as a legend of defeat or triumph though is entirely left in your hands, but it will not change the fact that you are affiliated to the Dagara Clan's House Of Lions" the Nightmare king, my father narrated. "So if it ever comes to the point that your humanity is consumed by Zanfar and I'm sure that time will come, remember that you have a place to return to" he added with a smile.
"It's interesting to note that your faith in me runs that thin" I chuckled.
"Of course it does! Before you are anything, first you are a human being and I'm not particularly trusting of human beings. But I have faith in your love for those around you and your drive to protect your bonds but as a human…nah, I don't trust you one bit. There is still time before the main battle begins. Why don't you rest a bit more, son?" the Nightmare king asked.
"I'd rather stay up watching our land for a little while longer, dad" I said with a laugh.
The Nightmare King laughed.
"I must admit, you're a little; just a pinch more likeable now, than you were in Dream City" the Nightmare King said.
"You are too" I scoffed; "just a fraction of an electron more likeable; that is" I said.
"That makes you just about as likeable as a pair of homologous chromosomes divided lengthwise by a microblade" the Nightmare King laughed.
"This is never going to end until one of us concedes is it? In that case, I give up; I'm getting kinda tired of exchanging pleasantries with you this morning" I said.
"That's my little nightmare" the Nightmare king said with a thumbs up and turned away.
"Ariel, our son really grew up well; I feel no regrets now. I just wish he weren't as much like me as he is" the Nightmare King said.
Haha! You finally realize that you jinxed yourself twenty years earlier now do you? At least the audience can now see from whom I got the expression; "a pair of homologous chromosomes divided lengthwise by a microblade."