ALINA (Priestess of Zalwanga)

ALINA ? (Priestess of Zalwanga) ? Episode 1 * * **** Written by Testimony Amarachi Ndukwe * ? ZALWANGA? Hundreds of years back, the position and title of a priestess was handed down to Anoona after the death of the priestess Danai, her mother. The replacement process took place at the mouth of the sacred cave of Zalwanga where the spirits of dead priestesses were believed to reside in. Lightning flashed across the sky and the thunder roared as everywhere became even darker. Anoona knelt in front of the cave, barely clothed. The golden material she had on her left her stomach open and the golden skirt stopped short of her thighs. On her neck hung one piece of a green necklace. As soon as the heavens opened and the rain began to pour down in torrents on her, she began to take her oath: "I, Anoona, daughter of the priestess Danai, swear to serve our god,Chatunga...from this day onwards as his priestess and to perform my duties perfectly to our beloved kingdom, Zalwanga." Out of the darkness of the cave whose source of illumination came from the candles at scattered positions, an old woman walked out just then, right after the oath. She was clothed in a black robe and on her neck hung several necklaces that looked more like amulets. In her hands was a small calabash which she carried as she approached Anoona who still knelt under the heavy rain with thunder rumbling over the sky. The woman soon stepped out into the rain and as she approached, the thunder seemed to roar even louder. "Take, Anoona. Drink!" She raised her voice over the sound of the rain and stretched the calabash. Shutting her eyes, Anoona collected the calabash and took two sips of the purple liquid. It was the water found in the small well inside the cave of the past priestesses. Not at all like the ordinary water. This one was purple and slightly sticky. Anoona dropped the calabash on the floor while the woman picked up a neckpiece from the rock beside her. The neckpiece was made with a simple rope with something in the shape of a big black beetle in the middle, with outspread wings and with its two hind legs clutching an eye. It was a sacred amulet for priestesses of Zalwanga. Passed on from generation to generation. Its original name was retained—The Scarab. History had it that the very first priestess of Zalwanga who had existed years ago had gotten it directly from the temple of the god, 'Khepri' of Ancient Egypt as a gift. The scarab has the power of protection, immortality and also signifies rebirth. Rebirth of priestesses. No ordinary child became a priestess. From birth, the child had to bear the mark of the priestesses—The paw of a tiger. The old woman began to speak as she placed the scarab over Anoona's head. "I, Babalwa, on behalf of our god,Chatunga, pronounce you priestess of Zalwanga," she spoke, and then took two steps back as Anoona's body responded to the scarab on her neck. "Priestess Anoona!" Babalwa shouted into the sky as the rains began to seize. The new priestess stood and took her staff from Babalwa. This event had happened two hundred years ago and the priestess, Anoona, was the one who'd lost the sacred scarab. History had it that she'd found a lover from a strange place and had wanted to elope with him. Somehow, though, she'd lost the sacred scarab. Anoona had died right after and her body was found by the lake but the scarab was nowhere to be found. Things were never the same again in Zalwanga and through the seer, Babalwa, a prophecy came—A child with the mark of the priestesses would be born and she would be the one to retrieve the sacred amulet. Zalwanga had been full of hopes and every pregnant mother at that time was treated with special care. But a year passed, and another and yet another, till a decade was gone, then a century. No child born bore the mark of the priestesses. It took three long and unpleasant centuries before it happened. The night was chilly the day Melanie went into labour. The labour dragged on for three long nights and on the third night, the child finally began to make its entrance to earth. The rain had dragged on for those three long nights and was still descending. The mid-wives were in the room as the baby gradually started to come out. Melanie's screams rented the night air. Beside her was her husband, Rayan, soothing her. Outside, Babalwa marched through the rain with her staff, heading to the maternity as the baby came out. She'd gotten the signal— Up above the cloudless sky was the image of a tiger's paw. Babalwa has lived through all those years and centuries but still remained on earth. She was already 500 years old and many considered the seer, immortal. As she approached the maternity, Melanie's screams could still be heard and just as she got to the entrance,the baby came out completely and Melanie's head dropped to the side. She was dead. "Finally." Babalwa laughed heartily, kneeling as she picked the b****y child from the bed while the mid-wives checked on the mother in panic. "Melanie is dead," Babalwa spoke again, standing with the child "...for through her came the prophesied one," she finished and wrapped a blanket around the b****y child whose cries filled the room. She wiped the blood off the baby's face only, then moved out into the night with the child. The rain had stopped but the night was still cold. Babalwa stopped in front of the maternity house and raised the crying child up, laughing happily with her eyes fixed on the paw in the sky. "Finally! A descendant of the Priestess Anoona. The chosen one!" She yelled into the sky, then gently brought down the child and journeyed through the small country. Soon, she finally arrived at the cave of the spirits of past priestesses and entered with the child. The well was just at the entrance and she dropped her staff against a nearby wall. She scooped purple liquid from the well with a calabash and dipped her small finger in it before putting the finger smeared with the liquid into the baby's mouth. She dipped her finger into the liquid once more for the baby to suck on. Finally, she wiped the blood properly off the baby's face and then, shoulder, revealing the small black paw which slowly came into view. Babalwa's happy laughter sounded again through the cave. "Priestess Alina," She whispered, rubbing the purple liquid on the baby's forehead with her thumb. Meanwhile, un-noticed by the seer who was inside the cave, a second image appeared on the sky and this time,it was the image of half the head of a tiger. Back in another room in the same maternity where Alina had been delivered a while ago, another child was born from another mother and on the child's shoulder was a black imprint of half the head of a tiger. The child's mother was already dead as some of the mid-wives carried the baby and cleaned her up. One of the women was sent to get the seer because of the child's imprint. They all weren't aware of what had happened in the first room minutes ago. The mid-wife cleaning up the baby struggled to open the baby's tightly enclosed little fist. As soon as she did, a small black beetle fell off from the child's hand and crawled out of the room. The mid-wife gasped and gently dropped the child on the bed. A significance of the scarab! The main scarab amulet was a big moulded black beetle. The mid-wife went on one knee and bowed to the child immediately. The child must be a priestess! Soon, the seer arrived with the first child, Alina, in her arms. She handed little Alina over to the mid-wives who proceeded to clean her up properly while the other mid-wife handed the second baby to her. Babalwa stared at the child and the imprint of her shoulder as she listened to the mid-wife's story of the small beetle that the child had been born with, then she walked outside and glanced at the sky, directly at the image of half a tiger's head beside the image of a tiger's paw. She glanced down at the child again before dropping her staff on the floor in slight confusion. A second priestess? She raised the baby up to the sky for few minutes, then brought her down, picked her staff again and proceeded once more to the caves. This is a mystery but Chatunga is all-knowing and this baby too will partake in the initiation process. She, too, would suck from the liquid of the cave. She would be called Fiona.