Ramitu (A Short Story)

The loud clap of thunder shook the huts of Baba Bouba’s compound making the goats to bleat frantically. In one of the huts, a young girl aged between twelve and fourteen, sat up on her hand-woven mat and listened attentively. At the corner of the hut she could see the eyes of the sheep that had escaped the rain and moved in to share her bedroom. With another flash of lightning, she noticed that she hadn’t closed the door. Although it didn’t matter since the cracks in the mud wall were nearly as big as the semi-circular structure that was used as a door, her father had told her that a door had to be shut at night to wad off evil spirits.

Ramitu, cast her eyes around unaware of the scent of animal urine and dung that hung in the air. That was part of her world. She didn’t know any other. She was born in their midst and shared a kind of bond with them. She knew without turning that Yasmiina (the she-goat that was given to her when she was three), lay either outside the hut or somewhere inside. As she lay back and slowly closed her eyes, the activities of the previous day slowly passed through her mind in circles.

Before dawn the previous day, she had tried to shout for help when she got an eerie feeling that there was something else in the room. Years of sleeping on the floor had developed her senses. She knew the different smells of their animals, loved the rich cold smell of the earth and could tell from the smell whether it was a dog, cat, ass, cow or goat that was behind her hut or not. But this time she could not place the smell. Her body went stiff as she felt the danger coming close. Something was moving towards her. With her ear pressed to ground she could detect tiny vibrations being released but there were not footsteps. She shut her eyes tightly. Felt tiny strands of sweat break off her brow and run into her eyes. Then something very cold started crossing her left leg that lay exposed out of the torn loin she was covering. The movement stopped when her body stiffened the more. Then a mouth seemed to close around her big toe. Her mouth opened wide to scream but nothing came out.

Not far away, to the left of her hut, was Mama Saley’s hut. She was the 4th wife of Baba and looked like the age mate of Ramatu’s eldest sister. The only noise outside apart from the sounds of crickets, an occasional hooting of an owl or a bitch barking far of in the distance to invite a lover for a sex deal, came only from her utensils. It was her turn to prepare breakfast for the family that morning. This breakfast had to be sumptuous because it was the period of fasting in preparation for the Ramadan and also had to be eaten early. In the half darkness, she chopped some wood, lit her fire and quickly put out the bush lamp. She had to save her oil since she didn’t know when Baba would issue the next ration.

A pot for the preparation of fufu (a meal made from corn flour) was set on the now blazing fire. Picking up a scarf, Mama Saley got ready to trek to the more than half a mile distance to get water.

Passing by Ramitu’s hut, an idea struck her to invite her for company. She stopped to call but before she could do that, a muffled sound came from within the hut. It sounded like someone was in pain.

“Ramitu”, she shouted rushing in.

“Allah!” Ramitu swore under breath. “Mame Saley”, she whispered, “something has bitten off my toe”.

Mame Saley rushed out to get her bush lamp and calling out at the same time for help. She was very scared. Ramitu was a nice, hard working girl and was growing into a woman. She had not ostracized her when she moved in as one of her father’s wives like the other women and children and had helped her so much when Saley was born. She had to get help to her fast. What greatly troubled her was the fact that Ramitu seemed transfixed in her hut. Couldn’t she run out and so get away from … whatever that was?

Nobody seemed to have heard her. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll soon get to her”, she thought as she fumbled with the lamp trying to reach the wink with a twig she’d lighted from her hearth.

In the distance she could hear early risers start to pray. The Imam’s voice came distinctly to her as he intoned his “ Allah huk a kibar” and his brethren repeated after him.

The shrill cry from Ramitu’s hut shocked her out of her reverie. It cut the air like a dagger and brought the rest of the family rushing out of the huts they shared. She stopped short at the door and stared in disbelief as the circle of light from the lamp fell on the huge black snake that had curled around Ramitu’s leg. It was gracefully making its departure after biting and leaving its venom in this poor girl.

She was afraid of going in let’s the curse came on her. It was believed that this black snake known as yobam, didn’t bite anyone for nothing. Must often it was sent.

Ramitu’s brother damned the consequencies and rushed in to help his sister. First things first! He got a log of wood and beat the snake to an unrecognizable pulp.

Some one was quickly dispatched to call the native doctor who lived at the outskirts of the village. To stop the spread of the poison up her leg, Baba rushed behind the hut and got elephant grass, which he tied on her leg.

Ramitu continued to sweat profusely. The shock of being bitten by the evil snake had stunned her. She didn’t feel anything anymore. Stories had been told of those who had died of snakebites to her by her grandmother. She wondered how it felt to die. She could hear her mother weeping and cursing her enemies in the courtyard.

Then a thought crossed her mind and she sobbed even more as a kind of darkness was enveloping her. She had a hut all to herself as favor from her father because she was going to become the fifth wife of her father’s friend. The marriage would take place during the dry season. Alhaji Danpullo had done so much for her family. He had provided the money that had been used to pay the bride price of Oumarou’s wife; her stepbrother. “How was her father going to repay his past kindnesses?” The answer to this didn’t come as the darkness closed in.

When she opened her eyes, there was no one in the hut. She tried to get up but her leg was very heavy. She sat up and called out for her mother who came running. She explained to her that the doctor had rescued her from the snakebite and from their enemies who were jealous of her impending marriage. Her mother then begged her never to disappoint her family and gave her some food and set out for the farm.

News of her accident spread in the community like wild fire. At midday some children wearing uniforms came along with one old man carrying books under his arms. They said they had heard of her problem and had come to see how she was doing. In the village, the joy and sorrow of everyone was shared. This group from the Tadze Catholic School, wished her well, talked to her about her health and better treatment found five miles away in the Health Center run by missionaries. Besides, they asked her whether she didn’t like to go to school. Well, what was she to gained from going to school? She already had a husband but something in them attracted her. The smell they left behind was unlike any smell Ramitu had had before. She was sad when they left to avoid meeting her father.

As dawn slowly approached, these thoughts went through her head. She wondered whether she was going to be happy after getting married. She had asked her mother what it meant to get married and she had simply said that she was going to find out. It was generally known in the village that Alhaji beat his wives when they made errors as trivial as coming late from the stream or serving his food without enough hot pepper. Ramitu wondered whether she was going to be beaten too. The thought of running away from home and going to school as the old man with books had suggested looked appealing, but how was she going to do that with her swollen leg. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard footsteps outside her hut. She could smell her mother out there. That reminded her of the promise she had made never to disappoint her family. The promise now stood in front of her like a wall as she fell into a fitful sleep.


10/31/06