20-Nov-13
The Final Redemption
The Final Redemption
Once upon on time there was a small village in the countryside located in Angola. It was one of the most blessed villages. Ages ago a group of fisher man found a mask in the countryside, which was later treated as their lucky charm. The mask was very colorful and every hue stood for a particular meaning. Red symbolized power and energy, green was for the natural beauty of the village, and white for peace. The concept behind the black color was that the mask was a savior of all anticipated torments and problems that could possibly hit the village and its people.
The beholding of mask was believed to bring prosperity to the villagers. The fields were greener and cattle healthier. The river produced a lot of fish and boosted the economy. The old people seemed contented and thanked the Lord for brining the charm to them.
The other villagers also felt pride and gratitude for the souvenir, so they started to celebrate a festival every year to honor the Mama Muxima and thank it for bringing the mask to the villagers. They used to light up fire in the beautiful open fields, sing their folk songs and arrange a huge feast. The poor and needy who could not afford good food were treated especially. They also used to give money to such people and help them financially. There was happiness and satisfaction all around.
Gradually the older people passed away changing the customs and priorities in the mass. Many norms and ancient traditions faded away. The cultural knowledge was transformed, gradually weakening the importance and impact of the original culture of the village. People now. were greedy and wanted to reserve their fortune. They did not want to spend anything over any sort of celebration or the performance of the ritual. The thought to give anything to poor became obsolete and hoarding became the norm.
Time flew in the blink of eye. 10 years passed and the conditions got worst from worse.
Time flew in the blink of eye. 10 years passed and the conditions got worst from worse.
Slowly, the blessing begun to faint..bit by bit, e river stopped producing fish which was their main source of income and food. Natural disasters took the pace and the village was stuck with a number of calamities. Old and seniors pondered over the situation and realized that because of their greed, Mama Muxima have left with a curse.
One day, it started to rain heavily. The rain damaged a number of houses and left people moaning. A little girl got swept downstream until the floor of the river. Nobody could save her, everyone was so grieved and upset. The next morning, when the rain stopped some people went to the courtyard. They were amazed and surprised to see that the little was lying there with the mask around her as if it was protecting her. She was a daughter of a poor farmer and very pious and down to earth. Her father died of poverty and none of the villagers helped him. She was swept because her house was made of mud and dried grass. The villagers were very ashamed and realized their mistake. They called a meeting and decided to give a big feast and huge party especially for the poor. They were looking for redemption.
The next day, they performed the same ritual again after years as an apology to Mama Muxima. They and decided to perform the ritual every year and made the young girl the only councilor of the village. Mama Muxima forgave them eventuallyas they had realized their mistake and were guilty of their actions and greed. Soon after, the village started to prosper again. The river produced plenty of fish and there was ample food for the villagers. They learnt a lesson that every old tradition has a meaning and importance for the wellbeing of the people. They are not useless and must be valued. Hence, they were reborn and people started to live happily again in peace, love and harmony with the lesson that the greed is a curse and love should must prevail across habitats.
