Son of the Sea

Origins

Nana loved stories. When he was younger, his mother and father would take turns every night to tell him stories. While his mother shamelessly brainwashed him with hopelessly-monotonous-but-somehow-always-interesting tales of chivalry, true love and beautiful, intelligent maidens, his father would often regale him with  humorous, well-spun and totally unbelievable stories that covered just about any subject but chivalry, true love and beautiful intelligent maidens.

It's a wonder I even grew up into a normal person, he mused with a smile.

Evidently, both parents had their own ideas on the kind of parental influence they wanted their son to have. Oftentimes, this led to frequent mock-angry interruptions during story-time and the inevitable good-natured pillow fight before bed.

Remembering those warm, cosy, fun-filled nights, the prince shook his head as his mouth curved into a small, sad smile, and he felt a pang of nostalgia for the family he had lost.

Nsuba, noticing the subtle mood change, nudged him in the ribs. "Everything okay?"

He forced a bright expression, and replied, "Yeah, sure. Let's pay attention."

Both boys turned their attention towards General Epowia, who had just begun speaking.

"A long, long time ago, when the earth was still new,  there was only one God. His name was Onyankopon, the One True God. He created the entire world and every living thing in it. He also created humankind to inhabit this world, and he ruled over them in peace. Everything and everyone on earth related among themselves in perfect harmony, and even Onyankopon himself was so taken with his creation that he often visited the world and interacted with human beings, living among them like he would his own kin."

"But nothing ever stays perfect for long," said Epowia in a darker tone. "Onyankopon had given the humans a special gift when he created them - the gift of free will. Of all his creation, very few others had this gift, because he treasured humankind as his greatest creation. But, with the advantage that this free will brought, many humans began to go astray. People began to steal from each other, and to offend their own kind, and to offend Onyankopon himself. As the years went by, the once perfect world became unbearable. Onyankopon watched in horror as his treasured world began to fall apart under the hand of the only creation which he had trusted with the gift of free will. The final straw which broke the camel's back was when the humans began to worship false gods, created from their own hands and believed into existence."

"Onyankopon, angered, and yet unwilling to destroy his creation, came to a decision. As a final effort to save his beloved earth without killing his beloved humans, he selected leaders.  Responsible human leaders who were still devoted to him and were not yet corrupted by the actions of their race. And to these, he gave gifts and powers to rule over his creation. He gave them immortality and eternal youth, and then he sent them, together with their families, to govern all the different parts of his world. And after that, he left this world in their care, vowing to return only after the earth became at peace once again."

"Those smaller gods, driven  by the inner gratitude and devotion for their God, did their best to rule over the land and sea. They ruled over the sky, and lakes and lagoons, and everything else in sight. There were gods for happiness, and love, and peace. There were gods to preside over food and hunger, gods for beauty and wisdom. They did their absolute best to bring humankind back to its former tranquil state. But their best  efforts were not enough. More than ever the human race descended into decadence, and this time, Onyankopon turned a blind eye. Filled with trepidation at the consequences of their incompetence, the gods all tried several ways to curb the growing violence, but all failed. Until one day.

Asaasiya, one of the first goddesses ever created, was the goddess of the earth. In effect, she was the one primarily in charge of the conduct of the humans. As the pressure mounted, the other gods looked up to her, their leader, for some form of plan, some form of hope.....

Just when everyone thought that all was lost, and when the fighting had reached its peak, Asaasiya made up her mind. With great courage, she did the only thing that no other god was willing to do. She sacrificed herself, and shed her own blood onto the earth which she had sworn to protect.

Immediately, there was a shift in the atmosphere. The divine essence of Onyankopon which he infused into her human soul when he made her a goddess leaked out together with her soul from her dying body into the earth. Every living thing felt her death, including the humans. It felt like the loss of a limb, like the loss of a voice, like the loss of hope itself. And the earth mourned the loss of her queen.

That death, however mysteriously, was what finally brought peace. Human beings, subdued by the air of grief and the torture which the earth inflicted upon them, finally stopped fighting and began to work together-"

"Um, excuse me, Sir," one student interrupted. "What torture? I don't understand."

Epowia smiled. It was a sad, sad smile. "The earth, Prince Nana, was in anguish at losing its queen. It was as if it had lost a piece of itself. And so it began to punish the humans, by causing earthquakes, and floods and other natural disasters. People had to flee from their homes, but each new place was even worse than the last. Thousands died each day. Before, it was humans against humans, and the earth suffered in silence. But when the earth started to fight back, the humans had no choice but to huddle together. They had no choice but to cower in fear at the wrath of the earth. And in this way, the earth was saved."

"To this day, nobody knows how Asaasiya guessed what her death would do to the earth. And to this day, anytime a god dies, the part of the world which they govern mourns the death violently, and must be appeased with a sacrifice in order to prevent chaos. But no violence has ever matched up to the violence of the earth at the death of Asaasiya.
"We honour the sacrifice of Asaasiya each day. Whenever we pour libation to the ground, we mention her name in reverence, and pray Almighty that wherever she is, may her sacrifice not have been in vain."

Nana had to admit, the old man was a great storyteller. His voice, facial expression and his entire body seemed to tell the story together, and he often illustrated what he was saying with wide arm-gestures.

His voice shook slightly as he ended his story, and he bowed his head ever so slightly. For a long time, there was deafening silence in the hall, but for the dull whirr of the swirling winds surrounding them. Finally, he looked up, a grim expression on his face, and said. "That's all for today. Class dismissed."

Whew. This chapter was a little hard to write. Pretty intense, huh? What do you guys make of Epowia's open show of grief for the Earth goddess? Don't worry, it's all gonna make sense soon. Don't forget to vote, comment, share to all your friends ^_^ ^_^

Libation: (lie-bay-shun) a customary practice of traditional worship where water or alcohol is poured into the ground during prayer to the gods. Practiced by many tribes in Ghana including the Gas, Akans and Ewes.

Picture of libation being performed on top of the chapter B-)

Ciao!