All In The Head And Mind

I was wondering who they were. The cheap okpoko packet shirt the one backing me wears from the little i can see from our first floor due to the tall fence and overgrown trees doesn't reveal his identity to me. He was talking and gesticulating indicating there is someone else out of my view with him in there. I strained to see better but without my long distance glasses, seeing that far is a battle to me. 

Then the second person came into view and I noticed he is one of those lost souls in the village parading around as a seer or more better Oracle tenders. "What's happening?" I enquired, eyeing him with annoyance. As he started explaining his mission, I beckoned to him to come up. I wanted to know their mission in my property without my consent. He was carrying folded small clothes with those tiny jugglers with clinkers some village dancers wear to elevate their performance. 

I was frowning already knowing his mission on my land without permission. I was wondering if he has any knowledge of trespassing laws of this entity we live in. From my little knowledge of him, I doubt that but since he deals with barristers, maybe he knows. I was about to figure that out for good. 

"I was tracing the exact spot the oracle that is on this land is" he began. But I guess the frown on my face must have warned him that I am not in the cultural, traditional or oracle mood. "There was oracle in this land that the kindred instituted and your cousin came for us to consult it for him and they seems to be disturbing him and he came to appease them"

"What cousin could that be that never entered the compound and you went into my property tracing what do you refer to them as without my consent?" I asked in a voice that I believed sent a clear message to this violator.

He had taken a short of a hot drink presented to him by my mother and then went into a lengthy history of the said oracle trying to impress me or something, but I wasn't in the mood for oracle, culture, tradition or disturbed cousin. I wanted to know why he went into my land, pointing here and there without consent. Did he think it's a public land?

When he realized that no one with him from my family is talking oracle,culture or their history with dates, he shuffled away to inform the said disturbed cousin waiting in the next compound belonging to my uncle.

Coincidentally, my two married sisters were in our house to attend one of those numerous meetings no one sees their impact on overall good of the village they arrange during each mass returns this yuletide provided in the village and they were there with me when the said disturbed cousin swaggered in waving his smartphone pretending ignorance of my presence in the house for not entering earlier to greet.

 "I never knew you are around. Our uncle told me that it's only your mum that is at home and i wanted to be through with what i came to do before entering to see her. I don't like entering to talk with settled mind only for the oracle tender to start calling and hurrying me" he ventured while eyeing everyone around. "You see, this thing i came to do, some of us are underrating its efficacy due to church and what they have taking over. But from personal experience, i have foundout that it's not chasing after the wind. You recalled i called to carry such ritual two years ago in this compound as tradition stipulated but your elder brother said No. So, i did it in our uncles compound and to be honest, it favoured me. It worked in the business i did  and it paid about ten millions afterwards. Now, there is this contract we got not far from here. Bank wants to buy the property, the talk was proceeding normal and all of a sudden, it started shaking and no one knows what our stand is anymore" he said eyeing us for encouragement.  "it's too shaky, no one is sure of anything anymore so, i went to enquire why it's so and was told it's the oracle here at work. According to them, i did not come to appease it last time and it's disturbing now and here i am to carryout the appeasement rituals. I came to do it as usual in our uncles compound but the tender said that the root of the oracle is in your land and went to trace it and that is how i heard you are around" after eyeing around looking for sign of encouragement.

"Last time you came for this, we told you we are not in that arena. We face church and  their ways. You are asked to do it in our uncle's compound, right?" I asked him.

"Of course. I can see you don't believe in it either. But wait till you see with your two eyes and you will believe. I was a doubter like you too till I saw and believed" he said, eyeing me. " I never told him to enter your land without informing anyone. To be honest with you, that one i did worked for me and I wanted to do it silently again before they said the root is in your land. This is not what needs opposition of any kind, it won't work that way. Since you people are against it on your land, I will do it in our uncle's compound. It worked last time. I have to go, they need me there"

He left. Maybe the said oracle tender and the uncle have their own interior motive or even having double mind on the after-effect or something like that and talked with the Oracle tender and the uncle left and went to the kindred meeting sitting not far from our compound. Later about ten or fifteen others followed him back. He had sent someone among them to go and find out if the cousin was still there and he pretended to be buying something from the store in our house. Then I went to peep at them. Before others came into the compound to engage in what was meant to be silent.

I should have known better from the manner the tender wants it by all means to be on my land without my consent that something else is happening but those kindreds and the zeal he is pursuing the issue sent a clear message across to me. 

I partially followed their talk. Waiting for them to come to start their own theory on the origin and place of the oracle for me to answer them in the tone and language they will not enter again to start theory let alone violate my land without my permission but none did.

I looked at the time, it's almost 5 pm when I saw the same oracle tender marching towards my uncle's house from the path that led from his house. We had talked to him around 10am and why it was too late for him to start sacrificing and appeasing the oracle is something else, an indicator even. 

They ended up killing the goat he came with and sharing it raw among themselves, killing the fowl and boiling it with the yam which they ate together there according to the story. I wasn't a witness. My disturbed cousin said the first worked at the tone of ten millions and this might double that number considering the multitude, the talk and the noise behind this one. 

       I still believe it's in the head and mind. Once you do away with fear and doubt, things work as nature wanted it to without inducement of any kind.