THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

Inside Nomposuro:

Edua and his company stumbled over a couple of dead bodies. These bodies had been torn apart. One of the four men whom followed Edua threw up after seeing this. Another man asked, “What kind of beast did this?” Meanwhile, the one who threw up shook like a leaf and continued to repeat, “We are going to die…we going to die.”

One of the five shouted, “Stop praying for death!” But the first man’s prayers had been heard and answered. Death came in the form and appearance of shinkos – two of them to be exact behind these five men. They turned to meet the blood red eyes and sharp teeth of these two shinkos who were Kaki and her counterpart, the thirteenth shinko. They both roared, frightening the five men.

7:33pm at the Bureau of Investigations into crimes:

Special Agent Sitso asked, “Vudu...what?” Naa Aku answered, “You don’t have to know the details. We must do something to stop them.” Special Agent Sitso said, “Slow down Naa. If you need my help then you have to tell me everything — from the very beginning.” Naa Aku said, “There is no time for that.” Agent Sitso said nothing. He just stared into her eyes. She said, “Fine, I will tell you.”

A long time ago, in Vuduman (Vudu’s village; the village no longer exists or its name has been changed) in Odopafie (Eastern Empire) lived the great priest and founder of that village, Vudu. It was a time when priests were very important in the east. Many villages were founded by priests who doubled as chiefs and used magic to protect their people. Vudu was the most powerful of them all. It is said that entering and exiting Gbeleshie (Afterlife) came as natural to Vudu as entering and leaving a room on earth. He defeated many priests and their warriors who will attack and try to steal his village from him. He was loved, respected and very wealthy. As a priest, he was expected to live a chaste life and even marriage was out of the question. Unfortunately, Vudu had a weakness for pretty young women. He impregnated a young girl. The girl wanted to keep the baby but Vudu feared he might lose his hard-earned respect and reputation.

He could neither kill the girl nor force her to abort her baby. The gods would abandon him if he should harm the girl in anyway and would strip him of his powers. Besides, the teachings of the priests insisted that there was no forgiveness for taking human life. It was a sin punishable by condemnation to an eternity in hell and he was not ready for an eternity of torture.

Vudu spent about a day in silent meditation and left the confines of this physical realm and entered Gbeleshie (Afterlife). He entered Vuiti (the beautiful city of the gods and goddesses) and stole the wadun zifa (the cube of time) from Rakiambe (The Creator).  This solid cube about the size of a monopoly dice glows blue, white and green and it is the gateway to the present, past and future of all things living.

According to the scrolls of priesthood, one who possesses the wadun zifa can travel through time. He can travel to the past and even to the future using the faibaba (time travel ritual). All that was needed besides the wadun zifa was blood from the one who desires to travel through time, the blood of a tortoise or an elephant and parts of the stem of an old tree. The blood of the applicant and animal are poured on the stem of the tree and burnt to ashes and the ashes are used to make a circle on the ground. The wadun zifa is placed at the center of the circle and while standing outside the circle, the incantations “ek la baa sa Ishfa… ek la baa sa Ishfa” meaning “open the gates of time… open the gates of time” must be repeated over and over again until the cube disappears and the circle is divided into three distinct sectors; blue, white and green. The White sector is known as the revelation sector. By choosing where and when you want to go with your mind, you will see whatever happened or is about to happen during that time. The green sector is the gateway to the past and the blue sector is the gateway to the future. The greatest challenge with the faibaba is the destination. The time traveller must have a very strong mind. The traveller chooses his/her destination with his/her mind and even the slightest lack of concentration on this time will lead to lost in time forever.

Vudu was successful. Future Vudu appeared inside his own house on the same day he slept with the girl and got her pregnant. Present Vudu had finished taking a bath. His bathroom was outside of his house. His towel was strapped around his waist.  He entered and was shocked to see his mirror image. Future Vudu warned present Vudu, “A girl will come and give you food. She is very attractive but do not sleep with her. It will end badly.” Present Vudu asked, “So how do I prevent this from happening?” But before future Vudu could deliver his answer, they heard a knock on the door.

Future Vudu hid in the bedroom and present Vudu welcomed the girl. She was beautiful and innocent; two things that drive Vudu mad with sexual desire. He opened the door and while the beautiful girl walked past him with a basket in hand, he couldn’t stop watching her back. She moved seductively cat walking like Tyra Banks on the runway. Present Vudu shook his head and thought, ‘I am sorry future me. This is one test I am sure to fail.’

Present Vudu, after enjoying the view of the girl’s behind, walked quickly past her and instructed her to follow him. She followed and they took a right turn into a large living room. There was a table in the right corner with two chairs around it. Present Vudu asked the girl to place the basket on the table. He commented on how beautiful the girl looked. Innocent girl blushed to have been praised by their village’s great leader. He asked, “Do you currently have a man in the village?” The girl shook her head while she answered, “No,” to this question. Present Vudu nodded and commended, “That is good. You are too young and too beautiful. Young men of today do not appreciate youth and beauty.” He walked towards the girl and placed his rough right palm on her left cheek. The girl smiled and said, “Yes, great one. I understand.” Vudu slowly rubbed her cheeks and turned his back to her. He said, “While touching your face I had a premonition about you.” His back was still turned to her. The girl asked excitedly, “What did you see, great one?”

Suddenly, they heard noises coming from Vudu’s bedroom. Present Vudu stopped. He said, “Just a minute. I have to deal with something.” He walked away and entered his own bedroom. Future Vudu asked, “What are you doing? This is exactly what I did and got her pregnant.” Present Vudu said, “Relax; I will prepare some herbs for her before I do it. She will not get pregnant this time. Don’t disturb me anymore.” Present Vudu walked out. The noises started again the second he walked out. He returned looking very angry. He opened his right palm and shouted, “kadin kaban da la” meaning “disappear you ghost.” Future Vudu also swung his left palm and the spell failed to work. He moved his right and a vase in the corner of Present Vudu’s room moved and struck the back of his head. He fell flat on his face. Future Vudu said, “I am sorry present Vudu but I remember giving her those herbs and they did not work.” He went out to send the girl away.

The poor girl asked, “So what exactly did you see?” Future Vudu said, “You must hurry and go back home before something terrible happens.” The girl bowed before Future Vudu and requested to leave. He nodded and she ran out.

But altering the past altered not only Vudu’s future but also his present. He woke up the next day lying on the floor not exactly sure what had happened the previous night. He opened his eyes and realized his vision was blurry. He could not see clearly. He waved his right palm around his face and repeated some incantations but his eyesight was not restored. He visited an herbal healer. The herbal practitioner told Vudu that he had sustained a blow to the back of his head that has affected his vision. Such accidents are irreversible and Vudu was told he will go blind soon. Vudu thought, ‘No, that cannot happen.’ He had the same idea as before. To correct his past, he must go and steal the Wadun zifa (The cube of time). So once again, he entered Vuiti and stole Ishfa’s (Time’s) precious cube.

Vudu was a powerful man but he had enemies; people who envied him. They dreamt about having his wealth, his power and his success. One of his enemies was the herbal practitioner he visited. The herbal healer quickly gathered some more of Vudu’s enemies — about seven of them — and told them his discovery. One of them questioned, “But he is so powerful. How do we kill him?” The herbal healer responded saying, “It seems he has not lost only his sight but also his powers. Think about it. Why will almighty Vudu seek my opinion if he had his powers? I think he is powerless now.” A third enemy said, “Then we must attack tonight.”

And that’s when they attacked. Vudu was making preparations to time travel again when he heard noises. He asked, “Who is there?” and no one responded. He turned and turned and kept on asking, “Who is there?” and no one answered. Suddenly, someone attacked him from behind with a club or stick or something very hard on the back of his head. Vudu was murdered by his own people; beaten to death by people whom envied him.

After his death, terrible things started happening to Vuduman; strange disappearances, pests attacked and destroyed their crops; nearby villages attacked, killed, and enslaved the people of Vuduman. Apparently, these things would have happened but the one who was destined to save the people of Vuduman was his child; a powerful priestess. If Vudu had not erased that. Remember this: “There are no accidents and everything happens for a reason!”

Several years after the demise of Vudu and his village, during the first Peace Summit held in Nyansapofie, Quaazi Selasi lost his son. Quaazi Selasi could not bear the loss of his son. It was rumored that what he saw on the day Nomposuro was formed, made him a believer — a believer of the supernatural. He set up a taskforce to investigate a supernatural means of bringing back the dead. Instead of a way of bringing back the dead, they submitted a report titled, “The Vuduwadu report”. That report was in safety deposit box 111 in Akuafo Bank inside Nitsuman (capital city of Jumapafie); the second bank to be hit by the Akati clan.

Agent Sitso asked, “And was it stolen?” “No!” answered Naa Aku. Agent Sitso said, “Wait a minute. I investigated the crime scene. There was no safety box 111.” “Yes, because the banks do not keep records of these boxes.” “These boxes… You mean there is more than one?” inquired Agent Sitso. “Yes, there are,” answered Naa Aku. According to Akuafo Bank records, only 110 safety deposit boxes exist. The 111th box is opened after first opening the 110th box. In other words, it is behind the 110th box.

Agent Sitso asked, “Vuduwadu report…?” Yes, the Vuduwadu report detailed the history, the power and the whereabouts of the Vuduwadu. You now know the history and its abilities but the whereabouts was tricky. The report claimed that Vudu swallowed the cube while his enemies were beating him up and his body was later discarded in a lake which later became known as Vudu baka (Vudu’s lake).

Quaazi Selasi secured the services of a priest who led six scientists to the lake. When they arrived at the bank of the lake, the priest told the scientist to stay behind him. He warned them not to move far away from his body. He was the shepherd and the sheep that strays will be caught and killed by wild beasts or thieves. The priest stood at the bank. He chanted “Vudu ka bala sa miya… sa miya” – a chant to summon Vudu. It worked. Some minutes later, Vudu’s body emerged out of the lake. It had not decomposed and looked like he just died. Four of the scientists gathered around the priest but two not so bright scientists quickly got close to Vudu’s body. They were fascinated by it. How come the body had not decomposed? They wondered.

Suddenly, Vudu’s eyes opened. He grabbed one of the scientists by the arm and blew air with his mouth into the eyes of the second. The second man screamed and his body slowly disappeared until only his bones remained. The first screamed but no one came to help him. Vudu blew air into his eyes also and he too was reduced to bones.

Three of the scientists were terrified and ran into the bushes. Vudu disappeared and after about a minute reappeared. He killed those three scientists the same way he killed the first two. He looked at the priest and shouted, “How dare you summon me!” The priest said, “Forgive me great priest, Vudu, but you are dead and the dead should remain dead.” Vudu appeared before the priest and blew air that was supposed to enter his eyes but this priest huffed and puffed it back into Vudu’s eyes. Vudu fell. The priest commanded the scientist to hurry and remove the cube before Vudu’s body decomposes. The scientist cut through Vudu’s stomach with a small sharp knife. He dipped his hands into Vudu’s gut and moved it around inside. Vudu’s feet started changing to dust.

The priest shouted, “Hurry!” The scientist was sweating and shaking. The priest shouted again, “If you do not remove your hand, your body will disappear with his. You must hurry!” Vudu’s legs and thighs were gone. His waist followed and still the scientist had not found it. Suddenly, he pulled out his arm. Vudu’s body disappeared and that was the last of the great priest.

The priest asked the scientist, “Did you get it?” The scientist opened his palm to show the cube; the size of a die glowing green, white and blue.

When the Vuduwadu reached Quaazu Selasi, he sought advice from a wise man whom lived in Nyansapofie. The wise man advised Quaazi Selasi on how dangerous it is to alter time’s events. Loss is painful but time finds a way to heal the pain. The Quaazi should be patient. He should give himself some time and if still he wants to bring his son back, then, no one will stand in his way.

About three months later, the Quaazi had another son. He had an affair with one his servants and she gave him a son. He was too busy and spent very little time with his first son. Now, he felt like he had been given a second chance.  Quaazi Selasi invoked the Nsabroatsi and the Vuduwadu was entrusted to the care of four elders and four historians. They formed a secret society known as the Vuduwadu Society.

The Society had untraceable safety deposit boxes created in some of the big banks with the best security across the four empires. These boxes were always hidden behind the last known box in the bank and no one except the bank managers, the historians and the four elders who headed the Vuduwadu society knew about these boxes. These boxes were also constructed in the Imperial palaces of the four great empires in their underground storage facilities where the Vuduwadu is safely kept. But the Vuduwadu does not stay in one place for long. Every year, the cube is moved from one empire to the next.

Agent Sitso asked, “I still don’t get it? Why do you think that the Akati clan is after this cube?” “They always stole something from the banks and underground storage facilities they hit. I remember that in Jumapafie, they stole a painting of South’s most revered ruler, Jaaziba (Empress) Ashanti.” “To answer your question, I will have to tell you about Kodua’s ring,” answered Naa Aku.