The Elder Speaks
The Elder Speaks
It was a cool spring afternoon when I saw my chiki come out of the chief elder's wattle home. He came over to me and said, "The elders have prepared a gathering tonight and we must attend."
I knew that meant there would be a storytelling during the pow wow because it was important that kids would attend to learn the stories of our tribe. Our stories were important to our culture because they defined us as a tribe and were a way to share our beliefs to our younger generations. However, there was something different on the mind of my chiki and I could tell it was not good.
As the sun fell and the moon rose, some of the leaders prepared a fire as my friends and I sat on the ground beside it. On the other side of the fire we could see the elders sitting and smoking peyote. Two jingle dancers stomped and kicked up the dirt off to the sides as the tohlakia kept rhythm in the back. Our parents chanted tribal songs that we had not heard before until the chief elder raised his right hand. The tohlakia stopped and the chief elder spoke. "There are some evil spirits that are lingering in the dark. We must be aware of our surroundings and not be left in the dark."
The bone in my back shook and I could feel the hairs on my arms rise. "The Sintholo, Nalusa Falaya and Shampe have returned!" yelled the shaman as he threw some white sage into the fire. Gasps filled the air and I could feel the fear around me. The chief elder lifted his hand and uttered, "We must not show fear, for the evil shall not win. We must tell the stories of these spirits to keep our minds fixed." The fire rose high in the sky and I could see the embers float up. The chief elder spoke, "We begin with these dark legends..."