Sapi

Sapi

I sit around the fire with my companions, waiting for our leader to
arrive. I feel the sandy grit between my toes as I move them nervously.
I am dressed in the traditional attire for this occasion; a loin cloth,
made of wilder beast skin, which falls to my knees. I have the
elaborate tribal patterns painted across my face and bare chest, which
will cover my body until I return.
For the time being I ignore my companions, choosing to look at the
night sky instead. I trace the constellations with my eyes, the Great
Bear and the Plough. Then as I am returning my eyes to the fire I catch
site of the North Star. The star I am to rely on to help me through the
journey safely. It could all go so horribly wrong.
My eyes focus on the fire again for the millionth time that evening.
Although I have seen it so many times it is always different. The
flames never flicker in the same direction, the reds and yellows and
oranges along with all the other colours never find the same shade
twice. The movement is random and constant, never resting until the
fire runs out of fuel, or is deliberately extinguished. Fire has always
fascinated me, I don't know why. The fire spits hot ashes at me and the
other boys, as my thoughts become consumed by the raging inferno.
My name is Joshanti, I'm fifteen years old, but when I return I'll be
sixteen and a man. I am fortunate enough to share the birthday of our
leader, and he has always favoured me because of that. However, I fear
this favour will not be able to help me now. He has arrived.
Toshamo, my tribe's leader, is a man of great age. He is soon to
become eighty-five. They say that with age comes wisdom, and he is
certainly one of the wisest people I know. However, with his age,
arthritis also came, and it therefore takes Toshamo a long time to get
from one place to another. As he walks (hobble is probably a better
description) his bones creak, and he winces with pain from his swollen
joints. Eventually, for he never gives up, with the help from his
oldest friend, he sits before us. As he begins to talk the fire lights
his face dramatically.
"Boys," his voice wavers as he speaks, "we know why we are here this
evening. You are to set out upon one of life's great journeys tomorrow.
The 'Coming of Age' ritual has been carried out for hundreds of years,
and this year is to be no exception. Your journey will take you deep
into the heart of the African plains, and when you have encountered
such obstacles as wild animals, lack of water and the quarrels amongst
one another, hopefully you will find Sapi, the wise one. He sits
beneath a solitary tree, which is lush with vegetation all year round.
He wears a red cloak, even throughout the hottest months and holds a
wooden staff in his hands. He is older than I, and has been in the same
place since the beginning of time. How it has become so, nobody knows,
we don't question it, for it is what we believe." he raises a withered
hand to his heart to illustrate the point. "You will each be given one
basic piece of survival equipment. Without one of these pieces of
equipment the journey will become a lot harder, so I advise you to
stick together. Failure to do so could result in the death of one, if
not all of you. My dear friend here will sort you out with your own
piece of equipment. You leave at dawn tomorrow. Away with you to bed
now, for this could be the last decent nights sleep you have in a
while."

* * *

At dawn the next day we were all up and ready just as Toshamo had
wanted. Our families were with us to wish us luck, their high spirits
lifting ours. Then it was time. I grasped the spear tightly in my hands
as Toshamo spoke to us. The spear would be vital in our survival, for
without it we will not be able to catch our food.
"Be quick," he said, two simple words that would haunt us through the
entire journey. We individually say goodbye to our families, before
re-grouping and leaving the village.
Now we are trekking through the plains, the midday sun high in the sky
and the heat beating down upon our chocolaty brown skin, making us
sweat. Although the sun hinders us it is also a great help as our main
guide, for the shadows it casts tell us the time of day. As I trek I
search for the first milestone, a rock shaped like the head of a man.
Others include a watering hole, which appears regularly in the same
place at this time of year, and Mt Kilamanjaro.
I walk alongside Jinique, my best friend, and I find that, for once,
we have nothing to say to each other, as we were both concentrating on
the task ahead of us. We watch as a herd of wilder beast run by,
displacing the dry desert floor and causing a huge dust cloud to form.
After the dust has cleared one of the other boys, whose name I have not
yet learned, suddenly cries out. He is taller and leaner than the rest
of us, with muscle, and comes from a distinguished family. All the
girls love him.
"Look!" he says, breaking the silence. "The first milestone! The head!
We are here!"
Sure enough, up ahead of us is a large grey rock, which has been
formed in the shape of a head. A burst of energy fills us, and we run
towards it, collapsing under its shadowed side, so that we can feel
cool for a minute. Jinique passes around the pig's bladder, which
contains our vital water supply. We each take a mouthful and then pass
it back to him. We know that we have to save the rest until we reach
the watering hole.
We decide to carry on with our journey, and by nightfall we estimate
that we are about halfway to the second milestone. We make camp and
once we have eaten what little food we were given to last us this day,
fall asleep exhausted.

* * *

We arrive at the waterhole at midday, along with hundreds of other
animals. Water buffalo, giraffe, elephants, gazelles, antelope, zebra
and of course lions and tigers are all gathered at the edge of the
water, drinking until they quench their thirst. This is when the first
trouble starts.
As we drink thirstily from the waterhole the lions, unbeknown to us,
begin to surround us. When I realise I grab the spear and tell the
others to leave me on my own. As one stalks towards me I pounce onto it
and cut it, digging my spear deep into its back. The lion fell heavily
to the ground, and my companions cheer at the kill. The other lions
retreat and growl angrily as they go to find easier prey.
Jinique and the others run up to me and pat me on the back as they
jump on me excitedly. We will eat well tonight. We cut of the good
meat, which Jinique carries, and continue on. By this time we are
happily chatting to one another, talking about past events. I have now
become the hero, and it fells good.
I can see Mt Kilamanjaro now, so I suggest that we make camp for the
night.
"Why?" Questions Jamel, the tall, lean one.
"Well, it's getting dark, and we're making good time. We may as well
have a relaxing night," I reply.
"I agree." Says Jinique. I can always rely on him.
"I think we should carry on, we must almost be there by now." Said the
last boy.
"No! It's better to set up camp now and have a good nights rest. We'll
continue in the morning." I say firmly, standing my ground.
The argument continues, until eventually Jamel storms off, closely
followed by his friend. The group does stay, but they sleep away from
us, and allow us to use the flint that they have (so we can light a
fire) in exchange for some of the meat from the lion. That day ended
with a hostile feeling in the air.

* * *

The feeling is just as hostile the next morning and we are returned to
silence as we walk along. Mt Kilamanjaro looms ahead of us, the sun
causing a long shadow to be cast, almost reaching us, although no
matter how hard we try to touch it we never do, for in truth it is
miles from us.
Suddenly the sky clouds over and a single ray of light is let through.
Our eyes follow the ray and when they reach the ground, and the ray has
spread considerably, we see what we came for:
A single tree in full bloom stands before us, its green leaves
identical, a natural phenomenon. The braches all come together as a
twisted brown trunk. As we look down the trunk we see Sapi. He sits
cross-legged, his withered hands holding a staff, and a red cloak
draped around his shoulders, as Toshamo had said.
We approach him and kneel before him, bowing out of respect. I gaze
into his watery eyes, and he smiles a toothless grin. The skin around
his eyes wrinkles and I can see the wisdom within him.
He speaks to us of his life. He tells us how he used to be the most
distinguished of leaders, loved and respected by all, and had been
married to the most wonderful wife. She (with a little help from him!)
had provided her loving husband with countless strong sons and
beautiful daughters. Then, one day when he had become an old man, he
had been sent a vision, within which he saw a single tree, the very one
we were sitting under. He was told to leave his friends and family, and
to search for the tree, which was on the African plains. Sapi was then
to sit below the tree and wait, as year after year, boys on the verge
of manhood would come to him, and he would relate to them the
information, which the 'Powers that Be' (as he called them so as not to
give too much away) had entrusted to him. This would be his task until
his tribe died out. He would not age, nor would he see his children
again. He was not saddened by either fact, as he knew that for as long
as boys kept coming to him, his tribe lived on.
Sapi had all the knowledge in the Universe, and each of the boys was
allowed to extract some of it through a single question.
"Choose wisely." He had said. "For this is the question which will
help to guide you through life. You have the rest of today and the
night to decide. Tomorrow you will ask me, and I will reply quickly and
truthfully."
That night we were all restless in our sleep, each one of us fighting
with our conscience as we endlessly tossed and turned, trying to decide
what to ask.

I could not think of a question important enough until the next
morning, when it came to me as soon as I awoke.

* * *

We sit around Sapi, ready to ask our questions. We feel anxious as we
are hoping that our questions would not be considered stupid and
therefore rejected.
Jamel is first, his question as vain as his personality:
"How do we get girls to like us?"
"Love cannot be forced." Came the reply. "When the time is right, you
will find the right girl. You will fall in love, and although the path
to happiness may be long and twisted, you will eventually get through
it. Fate is how life has been ruled for thousands of years, and without
it there would be no life."
Jamel nods his head at this, but he is frustrated, the answer he
received was obviously not quite what he had hoped for.
Jinique was next: "How did the world begin?"
"Millions and millions of years ago," Sapi started, "The 'Powers that
Be', or God if you prefer, created the world in seven days. On the
first, the oceans and on the sixth came man. And from man came woman,
and eventually from them we came."
"Just as we have been told," Jinique said quietly as he bowed in
thanks.
Next I was to ask my question, unfortunately it had already been
answered in one of the earlier questions.
"You have already answered my original question, so instead I will ask
this: Where is fate from, and is everyone's lives depicted by it, all
the choices and decisions we make?"
"Everything is written in the stars, every last detail. If an unlikely
choice is made, which no one expected, it is still fate and forever
will be. Your life and all of your friends lives," he says, pointing at
us, "have already been decided."
A chill runs up and down my spine. This thought is so unbelievable, and
yet, I fear, so true.
"And finally?" asks Sapi, directing it at my last companion. "Your
question."
"Yes, I was wondering, what is the meaning of life?" The boy whose
name I had failed to learn obviously had no respect for Sapi, for this
was the one question that should not be asked.
"Son," Sapi answered, keeping his cool and breaking the awkward
silence. "That is the one question I can not answer. You will have to
wait until you meet your maker. Then that question will be
answered."
When he has finished I look at my companions and our earlier feud has
been forgotten. They are as enlightened as I am and we make our journey
back home, having thanked Sapi immensely.

* * *

We arrive home, several days later, to a huge celebration, with
singing, dancing, music and the biggest fire I had ever seen. My
sixteenth birthday has now passed, and as I see Toshamo again I realise
that I am now a man.