“Dear woman, you have called and I have come,” said the Spirit. “I will help you with your load, but first you must give me something in return.”
The woman, with nary a second thought, put her hand to her swollen stomach and said, “Mighty Spirit, if you help me, I will give you what I carry here. If it is a girl, she will marry you and you will have a fine queen. And if it is a boy, well, then, he will be a mighty warrior and will carry your name after your death.” Jinne Mayo agreed, lifted the bucket, and placed it gently on the woman’s head. That evening, the expecting mother gave birth to a healthy young boy. There was much celebration in the village: all were jubilant—all except the mother, whose foolish actions weighed heavy on her conscious. The Spirit, meanwhile, waited till everyone else had fallen asleep, then came to the compound cloaked in the skin of a human. “Foolish woman,” he called out, “I have come to collect what is mine.” But the mother, who had been nervously awaiting his arrival, was not ready to give up her one and only son and so replied, “Mighty Spirit, I promised you a warrior, but have only a helpless baby to offer now. Come back when he is older.” So the Jinne Mayo left the compound and returned to his home by the River, instructing the house fly to keep watch over the boy, who came to be known as Esa. The years passed, and Esa grew strong. Then one day, he was sitting at the bantaba when he witnessed an older boy stealing money from the local shop. “Put that back,” he said to the thief, who was several years older than him. But the older boy just laughed, then replied with his fist, knocking Esa to the ground—it looked as if the fight was over before it had even begun. But then something changed in the boy: it was as if there were a fire inside him, a burning, smoldering rage, and he needed to let it out. He gave a mighty yell, then rushed at the older boy with both fists flying. It was a savage beating—three boys had to drag the young Warrior Boy from his bloodied foe. Once calm, Esa picked up the money and walked to the shopkeeper. |
“Please keep it,” said the shopkeeper, “you’ve earned it.” Esa thanked him and walked out of the shop, dropping the money on the counter as he went. Then the house fly, who had been watching the events unfold from his perch on the wall, took flight and hurried to the river to report what had happened.
That evening, the Jinne Mayo returned to the village dressed as a human and again called on the mother. “Foolish woman,” he said, “I have come to collect what is mine.” “Mighty Spirit,” responded the mother, “I promised you a warrior, but my son is only a boy. Come back when he is older.” But Esa, who had been listening from inside the house, came out into the compound carrying a cutlass and said, “What is this, Mother? Who is this man?” “He is nobody,” said the mother. “Go back inside.” But it was too late. The Jinne Mayo, seeing the boy with a weapon in his hand, suddenly threw off his human disguise and stood in the center of the compound bathed in terrible light. “Come, Esa,” said the Spirit. “It’s time to go home.” “I am home,” cried the boy. “And you are no longer welcome here. Leave, or risk the bite of my blade!” The Spirit just laughed its terrible laugh, then fell on the boy with his weapons flashing. The cry of metal striking metal rang out into the night—the battle had begun! Ducking and swinging, stabbing and blocking, the two danced in deadly circles through the village and out into the bush. All through the night the two bitter foes fought till finally they came to the River, to the Spirit’s home. With a great ferocity, the Warrior Boy drove the Jinne Mayo to the water’s edge and, there, triumphantly delivered the fatal blow. Crumpling to the floor, the Spirit laughed softly and, with his last breath, said, “Welcome home, Son.” |