From Boy... to Man

 

They were hanging high. High above the village, in the centre, near the shrine of Rythcorr. Two big drums. And two familiar young faces were drumming. The rhythm started slowly and steady, but got louder and louder. Louder and louder. And then I saw endless lines of young girls and young men streaming in from the four corners of the village, with colourful faces and lot of jingles on their feet. They danced and sang to the beat of the drums as they approached the centre.

It was a dance. And they were all so entwined in a dance that I was part of. I knew the beats. And my heart danced to them with a free abandon I’d never felt before, and an exuberance in my veins that could flood all the seas and oceans of the world. My waist was covered with all sorts of beads, as was everyone else’s. Below the beads rested a piece of well-tanned leather from a young calf, with spots of black and white. My feet were covered with jingles. A long and beautiful white ostrich feather reached up high from the top of my head. Half my face was painted black (a symbol that dignifies the spirit of a warrior), and the other half bore all colours of the world (an act of communing with the world beyond).

Ma sat along the far edge of what looked like an endless circle of human companionship, around the village centre. By her side sat Jalldong Kiirr. They were holding hands and smiling proudly at me. Two young girls of my age guided me into the dance. They both held my hands, and walked me slowly and tenderly.

Jalldong Kiirr crossed from the other side of the circle and walked over to me. He carried, in his right hand, a long white tail of a cow (the tail is mostly used for purification, during the initiation ceremony). The girls stood on each side of me to allow him a path to pour the libation. He first poured it on my feet, then on my forehead, my shoulders and finally on my lips. He then poured water on the tail and cleansed me with it.

The four dimensions of the ritual mean: May you walk into the world now as a man to join the circle of men of wisdom. May you carry the burden of humanity proudly on your shoulders. May you seek and speak the truth and only the truth, in all your endeavours. And the water of the Nile shall purify you from all evils, until the end of time.

Jalldong Kiirr, having finished performing the ritual, looked at me, smiled and nodded his head as if to say, “Go now son, it’s over. You’re a man. You can walk into the world, now.” And he walked away, without looking back, and disappeared into the crowd.

My feet started to dance to the sounds of drums, and my heart to the jingles on my feet. I felt taller and beautiful. And every man and every woman looked extremely stunning. The two young girls, stood side by side facing me, held hands together and started to dance backwards.

We were all swept together in a single song of life. We danced and danced and danced and danced and danced.

And the sun went down far in the west, behind the hills. And the valleys, far beyond, shook with joy under our feet. And we danced to the beats of our hearts, as we sang our souls into the night.

I woke to the sound of drums. My back was sore, as if I had carried the whole world, and my neck was stiff, as if I had slept my entire life on one side for eternity.

“Here, he told me that you should have this.” It was Ma. I was trying to compose my thoughts. I opened my eyes slowly and looked up at her. She stood there, without a word. And then, suddenly, every bit of the previous evening came floating back to me. I closed my eyes. Did I kiss him goodbye?

I opened my eyes and sat up. I reached over to Ma and she handed me his stick. I took it with both hands and sat in silence, my head bowed.

Silently and solemnly, she left the room.