KISHANA

The birth and glory of Kishana

The sun was at its peak when Kala a successful hunter, brave and strong, skillful in bows and arrows and sword in the land of Onak was called by a woman from the market where he went to sell the animals which he had caught the previous night, to hurriedly come back home as quickly as he could.

Leaving his animals in the hands of a good friend of his at the market place, he rushed home to see what the matter was. On reaching home, he discovered his wife had given birth to a baby boy. She had been pregnant for the past eight months and they have been expecting the new born baby. Married for four years without a child have been a big concern to the couple which attracted disturbances from Kala family members. But finally their expectations were met. A gallant looking child full of life and promising arrived wiping away the tears of barrenness. The child was named Kishana after the name of Kala’s great grandfather who was a warrior. He was always by his father’s side learning the ways of life and the appropriate skills to face it.

Kishana was a left hander, a fast learner and well skilled in handling weapons. He also was good in swimming and always came among the first three winners in the village’s swimming contests. His parents were happy to have him and their family name spread across Onak and neighboring villages. His mother gave birth to three more children which were girls. They were beautiful and were the talk of the village. Many men came to ask for their hands in marriage even at their teenage age. Kishana’s father always refused them and tells them to wait until they were of age.

On a particular day, the elders called on the hunters of the village together. Kishana requested to join but was rejected because he was considered too young. He was seven years younger than the youngest among the hunters but had the mind of an elder due to his training. His father’s involvement was also requested by the elders. The needed hunters were to be men of strong minds and tenacious. This was to select a leader for the village military force. The criterion for selection as the leader of this force was to catch a matured python from the village’s forest. Whoever catches the python would be made the leader of the force. Other criteria were good interpersonal relationship and a caring heart.

The hunters gallantly set out for the hunting game with vigor and vitality. Chanting and loud humming were echoed by the men with vibrant sounds making the village lively as they marched from the village’s head’s house straight into the dark thick forest the same night. A wave of hope began to fill the village as the gallant hunters marched forward.

Fathers, mothers, wives, children, siblings and friends of each hunter stood speechless as they gazed at the group of men going into the dark night.

What will be the hunters’ fate?

What will be the outcome of their exercise?

Only the days ahead can tell.

Prior to this day, Kishana’s mum had vehemently refused her husband’s involvement in the exercise pointing to the possibility of being attacked by a negative unknown. She had sobbed and pleaded with her husband to agree to her request but Kala, he disagreed wanting to show what he was made of. To this, Kishana was encouraged to be like his father in courage.

It took the hunters the whole night to walk into the heart of the forest, combating all kinds of animals and insects. On reaching the middle of the forest, they all looked for trees to sleep for few hours before commencing the hunt.

The hunters swung into the dangerous search of the python as the early morning sun began to express its rays across the forest. But despite the arrival of the sun, the forest still maintained some level of darkness. It only allowed the rays of the sun to pass through spaces where leaves hadn’t covered. The sun was more scourging in the forest than in the village square where the Onakians lived. But the hunters were lucky considering the solace the forest provided them, her thick bushes, giant leaves and branches from trees.

Among the fifty hunters sent by the village elders for the catch of a matured python as a criterion for selection as the force leader, only Kala had come across the python before but that was a very long time ago when his grandfather took him for a night hunt in the forest during his early teenage years. Though the python didn’t attack them, few days after the encounter his grandfather fell ill and died. That made Kala suspicious of the snake. The python was the only remaining specie of its kind. It was a female and fierce looking. It had through tough times in the hands of hunters during Kala’s young teenage years. Its living place was in a cave in a particular rock in the forest. But unknown to the present day hunters, the python was also a dangerous hunter. For years the python has wisely hidden itself and had not been seen by anyone despite it was still alive in the forest. As a result of possession of many years of age, the pythons had become very wise. It lived in the cave during the day but stayed behind the cave during the night. This it does to avoid disturbances from people coming to look for it. Kala had been hinted by his grandfather about the python’s life style and how old it has been. A good or bad heart can be sensed by it which makes it to either strike the person or let go.

Unknown to the hunters, the snake had sensed their coming two kilometers away to its abode and was prepared for attack. As the hunters quietly walked in the forest in search of it, two of the hunters at once were stroke by the python. It caught one by the neck and cut off his head immediately while it curled around the other hunter by the waist with its body and hit him hard against a tree and swiftly disappeared into the forest in order to stage for another attack. The hunters were confused. This was not what they expected. Could this be a mysterious snake?

The night came and all hunters hid on different trees in the forest. Remembering what his grandfather told him about the snake’s best attraction, Kala quietly went down the tree he was and made some fire allowing its flames to glow against the darkness of the devastating night. He crawled back and waited for the creature to emerge. After some minutes of waiting, behold the creature emerged quietly and smoothly. Kala was astonished when he saw the totality of the python. What a creature this is! He exclaimed in his mind. The python had grown beyond what he had seen some years ago. It had a little diamond crown glued to the middle of its head. The snake was black in color, with bright flam-like eyes having a fierce looking face. Its skin was dark and strong, difficult to be penetrated by a sword or spear. The hunters began to shut at it with arrows and spears but all efforts to penetrate its skin were in vain. Bravely, Kala went down the tree and came face to face with the snake. All hunters were scared for him, but boldly, he went to the snake without attacking it and took a wood containing some flames. He held the wood above his head and stood in front of the creature. The snake came close to him, investigated him to see if he had a weapon in hand. The snake feeling no sign of danger here, bowed its head before the brave hunter. With the aid of a jack knife which was wisely hidden under his shorts, he plucked off the diamond crown which was glued to the head of the python. Alas! The snake quietly lied down without making any further move and died. The hunters were baffled beyond measure as they stare at the killer with great surprise. The python’s weight and length was that which a normal matured python would have. Some of the hunters carried the snake on the shoulders while others lifted Kala and sang victory songs as they marched joyfully back to the village.

The Onakians swung into a huge celebration in respect to Kala’s coronation as the leader of the village’s force. The celebration took four days as the villages brought out their possessions and lighted the village with great feasts. But when the feasts and celebrations came to an end it was time to return to the reality of the moment. Some refugees from other villages started coming to Onak and appropriate stationing of the village’s force was now in place. All hunters were chosen as the village force including some young and strong men who weren’t hunters.

With the help of his fellow hunters and the village elders’ wisdoms, Kala tactically arranged the village force to have a formidable defense.