KORR YANDEH BOUNCES BACK By Baba Galleh Jallow Five days to the great event, Korr Yandeh caught the flu. He coughed and spluttered and complained of pricking pains in his chest and limbs. Deep within himself, he thought his pushing and shoving of the trees was taking its toll. Outwardly however, he made it known that a potential contestant was ‘working’ him. ‘I see him in my dreams,’ he says to visitors. He’s small as a rat. But hey, let me tell you this, the blood of the head cannot miss the neck! Hernia or no hernia, let’s drop the pants!’ His visitors would shower him with praises and marvel at his valour. Lion! They would exclaim, even if he is dying he is prepared to fight! And so the great Korr Yandeh coughed and spluttered and occasionally groaned, but told everybody not to worry, it was OK, he would break the neck of any potential challenger. Three days to the event, Korr Yandeh announced that he was now as healthy as a coin. To convince the skeptics, he asked that a mock wrestling trial be held in his large yard that very evening. There would be no actual contests, but wrestlers could jump into the ring and to the accompaniment of drumming and clapping, practice their lagga dance and do some somersaults. Korr Yandeh himself was going to perform his unique lagga dance, which earned him his cobra fame and sent many a maiden rushing blindly into the ring to wrap him with scarfs and lappas. Shortly after sunset, when dinner had been served and the drums adequately heated, the whole village was drowned in the mad crescendo of the first drumbeats of the wrestling season, which sent the blood rushing in the veins of young men, brought tears to their eyes and elicited occasional shrill shouts. No longer able to contain his excitement, Korr Yandeh rushed from his hut amid loud cries of Nyangorr! Nyangorr! and burst into the middle of the ring. Immediately, the drummers struck up his special rhythm, the rhythm of the feared cobra. With a leaf-shaking shout, Korr Yandeh flew into the air and landed, feet astride, arms akimbo. He looked this way and that, this way and that, wriggled his body and slithered and twisted and hissed. He rushed fast forward and stopped and fiercely glanced around, and shook his open arms and shouted out aloud. The shouting and clapping and drumming seemed to shake the skies, as Korr Yandeh expertly rattled ang hurtled round and round the ring, before making his exit to give way to other wrestlers. Finally, the great day arrived. The arrangement was that Korr Yandeh would stay at home until a challenger comes forward. At that point, word was to be sent to him so he could come. Korr Yandeh did not have long to wait. Soon, ear-splitting shouts came from the direction of the arena, signaling that someone had come forward to accept the great cobra’s challenge. In another moment, a messenger came running to Korr Yandeh and declared that someone had accepted his challenge. ‘Who is he?’ Korr Yandeh asked. ‘He is Nyai,’ the messenger said. ‘Nyai the elephant, son of Tega the blacksmith.’ ‘Nyai? Nyai who?’ Korr Yandeh appeared incredulous. ‘Did you say the son of Tega the blacksmith?’ ‘Yes,’ the messenger said. ‘No it cannot be,’ Korr Yandeh said. ‘We don’t touch blacksmiths; they are taboo to us.’ He angrily turned and stomped into his hut, slamming the door shut behind him. He had asked to wrestle with yound men, not elephant blacksmiths! In fact, he was no longer interested in any so-called wrestling contests! _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------