The Death Of A Hero Essay Examples

It was harvest time in the only African village in America of Attah- the only village in the world where both whites (though few) and blacks share a common ancestry and have the same culture and only place in the world where people used a language that was somewhere between English and African (scholars would refer to it as Engaf). All the villagers were excited because Henry, the god of harvest had blessed them with a bountiful harvest. Every family was beaming with joy as they prepared to begin harvesting. This activity would take place for seven days and nights, after which the village would organize a thanks giving ceremony to praise Henry. The chief of the village, Chief Ichile was particularly grateful because he had not only had a bountiful harvest, but was also blessed with a son, born of his fifth and youngest wife, Amanda. At last his throne got an heir and he would be respected far and beyond. He went to the local medicine man and gave his thanks. Further, he was accompanied by the local elders to the village shrine in which he performed his thanks giving ritual that was meant to appease the gods and spirits to protect his son.
This was the fourth day after the young boy’s birth and he was still in his den. According to the traditional customs, he was not supposed to leave the den before the naming ceremony that was set to take place on the eighth day. Preparations in the Chief’s palace were underway, and workers labored relentlessly to ensure that there was enough to feast on that day as well as on the village thanks giving day that would follow. The women instructed their daughters to make duties in assisting with housework at the Chief’s palace.
On the material day, all activities were suspended, and everybody in the village was expected to attend the ceremony. Usually, the newborn baby was supposed to be given two names, the first one was locally known as the “surname” and was entirely determined by the week day of birth of the baby. This was influenced by the belief that god of culture had placed his seven sons over the days of the week. Each of the god’s sons had unique spiritual qualities that they derived from the father (the god). As such, the day of the week that the child is born often indicated the divinity that was expected to govern the respective day and was an indication of the specific relative spiritual qualities of the given god. It was believed that the given divinities were spiritually transferred to the soul of the baby and would reign in the same for the rest of his life.
Since the boy was born on the third day of the week, he would be given the name Adwo that was carried by the spirit Dwado. The second name is considered formal and was called den pa. The ceremony was supposed to be overseen by the chief and would last for the entire day. Thus, early in the morning, Chief Ichile woke up and headed to the den where the mother and child lay. He was accompanied by the eldest male members of his family. After entering the den, the elders began by pouring the libation to appease the god of earth and the strong ancestral spirits. These were believed to be imperative in guiding the ceremony and ensuring that the child was named properly. After the first name was determined, an elder from the father’s side was given the baby and allowed to pronounce the second formal name. He called the child Smith.
The two liquids, water and another strong liquid prepared from local herbs were given to the elder who proceeded with the ceremony by dipping a finger in the water and placing it on the mouth of the child saying, “When you say something is water, it will surely be water”. He then dipped his index finger in the water and muttered, “When you say it s this strong liquid, it will surely be”. The ritual was repeated three times, and was meant to inculcate morality in the child so that he would live within the moral expectations of the society and ensure that he existed in harmony with all the aspects of nature. In particular the value of truthfulness was emphasized, and the child was reminded that regardless of the activities he engaged in, truth would always hold and would play an imperative role in enhancing his welfare.
After the elder had performed this, the two liquids were mixed, and the parents of the child participated in the ritual as a form of confirmation of what had been said by the elder. This was also an important way of involving the parents his life. After this, the Chief and the mother were expected to sip the liquid as a way of demonstrating respect to the child. The ceremony took two hours and on leaving the den, the village dancers had already lined up in front of the house. They broke into dance and song in praise of the new born. This led to the dais, and the celebration continued all day long.
The chief had five wives and almost twenty children but had never been blessed with a baby boy. After the villagers left the compound, the spiritual leader asked to talk to the chief. He informed him that there was tragedy ahead. Although he was unable to specify the problem that the villagers and the chief would encounter, he maintained that the warriors needed to be on the lookout. The chief was devastated by this news and alerted all the warriors as well as villagers to be on the lookout for any unusual occurrence.
In the morning, the chief took unusually long to wake up, and since it was a taboo to go to his hut, his wives believed he was resting. At noon, the eldest of the wives accompanied the elders to his hut. They broke in. They were shocked to find the chiefs body lying numb on the bed. The local medicine man was hurriedly called, in a bid to help save his life. However, this came late as the chief had passed on in the wee hours of the day. The cause of the death could not be determined immediately. Wailing broke up in the chief's compound, and women wept uncontrollably. The guests that had been invited were devastated as the three days feasting had not ended. Indeed, this was a bad omen that left the entire village wondering what had gone wrong with the gods.
The chief’s political rivals, wives and siblings pointed accusing fingers at each other. They tried hard to find out what had caused the sudden and untimely death of the chief. However, it was difficult to arrive at any one because the Chief was a friendly and a kind hearted man. In the long run, it was conveniently agreed that the gods were not happy with the village. Since he was a very important person, it was agreed that the funeral would take place on the third day after his death at the village cemetery. This would give the villagers sufficient time to prepare for his funeral and mourn his demise. His body was preserved in the village morgue by the medicine man.
On the third day, the chief’s compound received a mammoth crowd. After around an hour, the ceremony began. A traditional prayer and libation were offered to the gods. Before the spiritual leader did this, a small wind blew strongly and raised dust and sand in the eyes of the crowd. Some villagers laughed this off as they tried to remove the sand particles from their eyes. The spiritual leader waited for the wind to calm, but it became stronger. The chief’s grave was engulfed with sand and a mad man who was foraging the half eaten meals shouted “You killed me! You killed me!” The present guests immediately scrambled for their safety, and there was confusion everywhere.
The spiritual leader hesitated and was not moved by the commotion. After it became calm, the madman shouted again “you killed me!” and left the compound merrily. The burial ceremony continued a planned although there were whispers and gossip that the spirits and gods were speaking through the madman. The mourning period after the burial took fourteen days and as such, the harvest ceremony was postponed until the period was over. Nevertheless the villagers continued with harvesting and thanked the gods for the new born boy who could take over the chiefdom when he became of age. Meanwhile, the responsibility was accorded the deceased younger brother after the two weeks of mourning.
The village was headed by the council of elders for a period of eighteen years, until the chief’s son, Adwo became old enough to take the throne. The villagers believed that Chief Ichile was killed by persons that were close to him because no amount of sacrifice would please the gods the gods and his spirits. He was a true hero who was loved by not only the living but also the spirits of the dead and the ancestors.