I was eight years old when my father retired from his hunting profession. After he had retired, he leaned his “shakabullah” gun on his god of iron. He hung his hunting bag, cutlass, his wearing super-natural powers and all his hunting dresses before his god of iron as well. Then he invited all the hunters and a big ceremony was performed. So since that day he became a farmer. He was planting his food as yam, cassava, corn, pepper, etc. But as he was the head of all the hunters who were always coming to his house for advices about the wild animals, dangerous creatures, etc. So whenever those hunters were coming to his house, they were coming there with many smoked small animals which they killed in the jungle and they would give them to him as presents and thus they were giving him the animals every day.
He loved me so much that he did not like me to go far from him at any moment because he had no other daughter or son.
As I was then eight years of age, so I could decide within myself anything that a person might tell me in the indirect way. For the help of this, so one day, as I was playing about in the town and when a woman who sat at the front of her house saw me, she did not know the time that she said loudly—“Oh, sorry, if Adebisi’s four brothers had not died in the Jungle of the Pigmies, one of them would inherit or take over now their father’s hunting profession which will soon die away from their generation!”
When I overheard like that from this woman, I stopped to play along with the other children but I ran back home with sorrow. Although before I overheard like that from this woman, I had seen several clothes in my father’s room which were blonged to young men. But whenever I asked from my father that who were the owners of these clothes, he would sighed greatly instead to tell me that the clothes were blonged to my brothers, his four sons, who had gone to the Jungle of the Pigmies and not returned.
When I overheard from this woman and when I ran back home, I sat closely to my father. Then I was thinking seriously in my mind whether my father had had another sons before I was born. But when my father and mother noticed that I sat down and became serious unexpectedly, they asked from me that what was wrong with me, but I replied that there was nothing wrong with me, I did not tell them the fact.
One day, when the fresh corn and yam were just out, I followed my father to his farm. When it was about twelve o’clock, when the half-day’s work was ended, he roasted plenty of fresh corn and yams. As we were eating them, I asked from him whether he had had four sons before I was born because a few days ago I overheard from a woman said so.
When my father heard like that from me he groaned for a few minutes and then he explained to me that he had had four sons before I was born but all of them had gone to the Jungle of the Pigmies and not returned since then. He said further that he could not say definitely whether they were killed by the wild animals of that jungle or they were in the custody of the pigmies.
After my father had explained to me like that and I confirmed that it was true I had had four senior brothers before. So I told him at the same time that when I grew old enough I would go to that jungle to fight the pigmies until I would see that I conquered them and then I would bring my four brothers back to you if they were still alive.
But when my father heard like that from me he laughed greatly for a few minutes. After that he said—“Even a brave huntsman could not travel as far as he wished in this jungle before the wild animals or a number of the pigmies would kill him how much more for a young lady like you (myself) who could not even reach the jungle before the wild animals will kill her without any trouble!” When my father explained to me like that with laugh, I told him again that I would first kill all of the wild animals before I would start to find where the pigmies were living in the jungle. I told him as well that before I would attempt to go to the jungle I would see that I had already become a good huntress, and I would inherit his hunting profession. But my father did not believe me when I promised to do so.
Instead he explained further that there was in this jungle, a kind of a wonderful animal which he had never come across since when he had been hunting. He told me that this wonderful animal had about sixteen horns on forehead. Each of the horns was about six feet long and very thick, and sharp at the end. All these horns were faced its front accurately. He said that this animal had a kind of two fearful eyes which had a kind of powerful light. The ray of the light was round and was moving along with this animal as it was going along. The light of the eyes never quenched at any time but it (light) could not travel far. He told me further that there was a kind of a boa constrictor which was so fearful and powerful that he never attempted once to shoot it till he stopped hunting. And he told me as well about several kinds of creatures which were made this jungle more dangerous.
As I had heard the full story of my four brothers from my father so I did not fear at all to go to this jungle. So after a few days, I started to practise hunting. I was setting ropes in the bush for small animals. When I was perfect in that, then I started to stone at birds and squirrels which were in a far distance or on high trees. After I became perfect in that again, I bought a very small gun. This gun was so light that I was easily carrying it about with me. In a few years time I became perfect in shooting. After that I started to learn all the characteristics of the wild animals and about other harmful creatures.
When I became perfect in all these things and when I became fifteen years old. One day, I told my father frankly that I wanted to go and hunt in the Jungle of the Pigmies. But he was first greatly shocked immediately he heard like that from me and at the same moment he said loudly—“Oh, no wonder that you have started to practise hunting since when you were eight years of age!” and he did not tell me whether to go or not. But a few days later, I told him again about this jungle but yet he rejected my request after he had explained to me that as I was a lady therefore I could not go and hunt in either bush or forest or jungle. He said further that the hunting profession blonged to men only.
But when I became eighteen years of age, and when he noticed that I was not as happy as before I began to tell him to allow me to go to the jungle, then he agreed. But he told me that before I would go, I must first inherit the hunting profession from him. He explained that the day I would inherit the profession there would be a great ceremony. All hunters and the people of the town would be invited to the ceremony. When he agreed to my request I was so happy that I told him at the same time that I would go to the jungle in five days’ time.