The Riddle of Snow Mountain

It is summer in old Tanzania. And while people in their neighboring cities and towns are headed for the beaches the natives of Tanzania converge to Snow Mountain to witness a son's, a nephew's, a cousin's, a neighbor's, friend's or an enemy's Coming of Age or Rite of Passage.

On the eve of the initiation, candidates should have been registered duly with the screening committee. The candidates should at least be twelve years old on the eve of the actual Rite or exactly thirteen years old at the stroke of midnight the following day. All qualified candidates would assemble in two large tents at a dedicated area of the camp. Only the mothers and nannies of candidates are allowed inside the tent. There, they rub oil on their boy's body to keep them from frost and insect bites. Mama Fadhila, whose name means beautiful, is busy instructing the nanny to rub more oil on her son, Elimu's (whose name means education; has been trained only by the best teachers in town) body. He had never left the palace grounds to hunt rabbits or swim in the rivers. He learned all the musical instruments and the martial arts.

Meanwhile, inside the other tent, Mama Adla, (which stands for justice; the la ending of this name will make her stand out from the rest.) gently reminds Adil ( whose name means just, righteous, honest) her son to just concentrate on the task at hand and to fight fair, whatever happened.

Memories soon begin marching in her mind. She remembers the first time she and her infant son arrive in the village. Her folks fell in love with Adil at first sight. The boy's grandmother took care of him while Adla worked at the governor's office to earn a living for her and her son. In the morning before she left for work, she would breastfeed little Adil and pump two bottles from her breasts for the boy's lunch and afternoon beverage. Grandmother fed, bathed, told him bedtime stories and tucked him to bed. She nursed the boy when he was sick. Adla's brother trained the little boy in the ways of the forest as a hunter. He would bring him along to hunt wild animals for food. He taught him how to climb mountains safely during the wet and dry seasons and when there were flurries and snow. He taught Adil how to swim fierce rivers and fight the cold winter months in the Afican deserts. And the boy grew up strong and sturdy as an oak. And Adla was glad and thankful for all the help and everything her family had blessed her with.

.........

At the foot of Snow Mountain two huge tents were likewise erected on either side of the camp. One housed the medical team and the medical equipments; stretchers, oxygen flasks and tanks, and all necessary tools and kits. The other housed the judges from a neighboring country, (not from Tanzania to avoid suspicion and specultation about biases and unfairness.) The judges while the time away trying to solve the riddle of Snow Mountain: What secret does the snow hide that is carried by the wind and the water is soon to reveal?

A minute before midnight, the doors of the tents are thrown open and the candidates emerge, looking good and stripped naked. There were only two of them.

The master of ceremonies faces the candidates. He is startled at what he sees. He cannot believe his eyes. He shakes his head.

"Am I dreaming? I vow I have not drank one drop of whiskey or any intoxicating alcohol. Why am I seeing double?" he mutters to himself. "There are only two candidates and they look very much alike."

The boys take a hint from the emcee and look at each other. They are astonished to discover that they looked alike. Dopelganger?

The mbira is sounded and the master of ceremonies raises his right hand holding the gun high up in the air. He fires one blank bullet and the boys start to run the Rongai Route which is the prefered route because it is the easiest route to Snow Mountain.. Adla runs in the sidelines with them.

All of a sudden people run to cover themselves from what they think is snow. But it is only flurry. Flurries are everywhere. The racetrack is all wet now.

Adil is way ahead of his opponent. But halfway through the race to the Snow Mountain, he stops, looks back and realizes that Elimu had stumbled and had fallen. Adil retraces his step and helps him back to his feet. Then he continues to run until he reaches the foot of the mountain.

People start cajoling the weaker candidate. But some good-natured ones, try to encourage him. "Come on, it is only a few meters away. You can do it! Come on! " And "Consider the prize!" The prize would be a full scholarship to the best schools abroad and the privilege to live in the Emperor's palace..

But Elimu could hardly run. He walks the rest of the stretch and collapses flat on his face at the foot of the mountain.

Adla reaches the foot of the mountain and rushes to her son's side. The judges raise Adil's right hand even though he had not ascended the mountain, This is called victory by default.

Doctors frantically try to resucitate Elimu. At that exact moment, Adla sees through the corner of her eye the birthmark on the back of the boy's left thigh.

"My son! My son!" she shrieks. "If this boy is my son, who then is the boy that I have raised and nurtured so lovingly these past twelve years?"she asks nobody in particular. but herslf.

The crowds gasp in surprise. They are puzzled.

The palace nanny who has been sworn to secrecy for the past twelve years could not help but step up and blurt out the truth. "I am sorry, Adla, I truly am so sorry. But my mistress Fadhila had forced me to switch your son for hers while you were drugged."

"Drugged! Who drugged me?" Adla demanded.

"I did," the nanny admitted ruefully. "My mistress Fadhila had ordered a concoction from Cairo to put in your cup of tea."

"Why would she do that?"

"She was desperate. She had no milk and .because she couldn't nurse her baby she took desperate measures to cope with her deficiency. She did not want her baby to die."

"She could have given her baby formula milk. Why didn't she? What else did she do that I should know?"

"She also let me put her ring in your bag to make it appear that you stole it. That way the Emperor had a valid reason to banish you. She was jealous of you. Oh, I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

"Forgive you? You scoundtel! I can never forgive you and your mistress. Get out of my face!" Adla shouts at her. "And tell your mistress I am suing her for kidnapping my son!"

And while Adla and her family gather at the foot of Snow Mountain to mourn the passing of their true kin, the god of Snow Mountain suddenly weeps voluminous tears of sorrow in the form of snow. And all the Tanzanians wept with the family.

Word reaches the Emperor at the palace. He is overcome with rage for the death of the boy he had grown to love and groomed to be his heir. He orders the arrest of Fadhila, who at that point had fled to Cairo to hide and avoid prosecution.

After the funeral, the Emperor orders his staff to prepare the Empress Suites for the homecoming of Adla, the new Empress of Tanzania.

A month later, Fadhila is arrested in Cairo by the Egyptian police. She is brought back to Tanzania to be executed.

After the days of mourning and restoration are over, we can find the judges still speculating and trying to solve the riddle of Snow Mountain at a watering hole in Tanzania.

"I give up! I swear this riddle is a hard nut to crack!" one judge complains.

Then, out of the blue one of the bar tenders volunteers, "Now we know the secret that the god of Snow Mountain had tried to conceal from us."

"Yes," confirms another, "Now we also know why the candidates looked alike. They are in fact both sons of the Emperor. One from his wife, the other from his concubine." That solves the Riddle of The Snow Mountain