The Choose One

chapter 3: Choosen Bride

The 'Tamar'kumeh' is a time when one of our ancestors, especially our ancient king travels to the mortal realm to pick for himself a vírgin wife.

This occurs only once after 47 years.

This means that some of our parents who were at the occasion that day had never witnessed the coronation. While some had the experience only once. And as for me, it was going to be my first experience. although I haven't fully understood what I was putting up with.

As the chosen bride, according to tradition immediately after the chosen bride seats in the epic center of the event, a gloomy cloud of darkness is supposed to engulf the whole sky of the land leaving no ray of light for about 3-5 minutes as a sign of the arrival of the ancestral Groom and his entourage. After which, a wind that has no human origin will blow across the center of the event where the bride is seated. As that happened, the bride would disappear with the wind.

As the wind takes the bride, the darkness hovering over the land will also diminish. To connote that the ancestors have taken their human bride onto themselves.

If everything happens accordingly, it orders a great celebration all over the land as an expression of gratitude for the successful Tamar'kumeh reunion between the ancestral and the human realms.

..........

Alright, let me explain something for you to understand.

At the 'Tamar'kumeh' reunion, the only person whose heart will be troubled is the bride-to-be because she does not know what would be her fate after the wedding. But our people are careless about the bride as excitement would never let them think about the fate of the chosen bride. Especially because to them the 'Tamar'kumeh' reunion was a sign that the ancestors were still in favor of the human realm. It proves that the ancestors have not abandoned them.

Becoming the chosen bride was an honor every Virgin in the land would love to be bestowed with. But it didn't feel like that to me. I wasn't into the thing, it wasn't into me.

I didn't desire to be the chosen bride, I didn't want it. I wanted my freedom. I wanted the liberty to marry the person of my choice, by my will. But this looked like some sort of slàvery to me.

Why should I get married to someone I can't see?

Why should I get married to someone who's probably a hundred years older than I am?

Why get married, to someone that's is more a spirit than he's human?

Why get married, to an ancestor?

That's slàvery.

History had it that our ladies jumped on the privilege of being the chosen bride for 'Tamar'kumeh' because of the benefits that accompany the marriage.

Some of them spend their entire lives praying for it. It was something ladies were jumping at, but when it got to my turn, there I was, first of all, a novice. I didn't even know what the meaning of 'Tamar'kumeh' was, talk more of contesting or praying to be the chosen one.

I was on my own when the ancestors chose me. And I have no power to say 'No'

...........

According to tradition, on the day of the event. immediately as the chosen bride took her seat, the darkness was supposed to engulf the land followed by the wild wind. But my case was different, I sat on that seat, and for over an hour and 30 minutes under the scorching sun, there was no darkness no wild wind, and no disappearance.

The elders became troubled, wondering if the Ancestors had changed their mind concerning its people.

They went on a rampage to

cross-checked all the marital rituals that had been performed on me earlier on and they found everything was intact. Since everything was intact, why had the ancestors not come to claim the bride of their choice? Something must be wrong somewhere.

I looked at my father and his countenance was radiating with emotions of depressions and emitting some skeptical feeling of disappointment.

Our elders couldn't hold their peace, so they began to interrogate my father.

"Are you sure your daughter is a virgin? Are you sure?"

They interrogated my father with questions.

My father couldn't say a word, he was twice as confused as they were.

His silence was also an answer.

"But if she wasn't a vírgin, the ancestors wouldn't have chosen her,"

they answered themselves.

I was seated where I was also wondering what must have happened to have intruded on the advent of the ancestors.

The great event became a nightmare, everywhere became as silent as a gràve yards.

Soft music was still playing in the background. Just to quiet the tension and increase the voltage of the anticipation of the coming of the ancestors.

As that was going on, our elders called for an emergency meeting.

As they were still discussing, in one of the houses beside the event Center where they congregated.

Suddenly, the wild wind was heard from a distance blowing unusually across the land to where we were.

Before the elders abandoned the meeting they were having and ran back to where we were. The wind had taken the yield of myself and three (3) other Vírgíns.

Boom! We vanished into thin air without a trace.

Fear gripped the entire village, everyone was paníckíng simultaneously with the fear of the unexpected.

First time in history,

Each 'Tamar'kumeh' was supposed to be for a single bride.

Why three virgins?

Why include three Virgins who have not been ritually made ready for the 'Tamar'kumeh' reunion?

Rhetorical Questions ran through the minds of my confused compatriots. But on the flip side, the anticipation of our return soon comforted them a little insufficiently.

............

The essence of the wind taking the chosen bride was to take her to the ancestral realms ordain her with special wisdom and ability and give her the power to legislate as a mediator between both kingdoms. The human and the ancestral realm.

The ordination rituals are supposed to take place for three days after which the wind will return the bride to her people where she would be given a special place in the land.

It was because of this that our elders were hoping for our return after three days, but three days came and passed but we didn't return.

A complete week came and passed, but we were yet to return.

Our elders called for another meeting