Hi everyone, I’m happy to be among the selected winner @klarakopi, @becopro and @thephilosopher we all appreciate what you doing for the community.
Here is my main story, and I hope you all enjoy it at the campfire.
TITLE: THE ENGINEER AND THE WATER GODDESS
Within the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn lies a village in the western part of Africa, Nigeria precisely is located a village called ilu Iya Alaro translated as Iya Alaro village. Alaro village is known for her tie and dye cultural heritage.
The wonderful Alaro villager are known for their practice of tie and dye translated in our local dilet as (Palaro) by all the indigens, only few villagers are engaged in other occupation.
Alaro villagers are known for their beautiful tie and dye fabric practices by other neighbouring villagers. When it comes to tie and dye, the Alaro villagers immerges first in all competitions and this made their king believe all the accolades should be given to the only river goddess where the industrial function of tying and dying activities is been carried out.
The Alaro river, waters the entire village and this promote the cultural heritage of the village. Before civilization, the villagers goes to the river to do their day to day tying and dying of fabrics, other businesses also are situated along the river bank since 70% of the villagers are engaged in the tie and dye business. The Alaro river became an industrial area because it get busy all the day with tying and dying and activities increased greatly within the Alaro river area.
Like I said, no other villages can compete with the villagers of iya Alaro when it comes to tie and die Adire fabrics. The villagers believed the river goddess must have been the one using her spiritual power to promote their culture and business. The great Alaro festival is held once a year to celebrate the goddess for her immense provision.
The villagers of Alaro were so blessed in all ramifications, because the fabric business also promote other businesses. They were rich and famous, thier land also was fertile and rich with bountiful harvest, infact Alaro kingdom became so great that they lend money to other villages because the goddes endowed them with all the riches they could ever imagine.
The Alaro village misery began, when civilization became the other of the day. The Alaro river and it’s bank, that is known to be the centre of commerce, started depreciating in activities due to civilization. Civilization made the villagers believe it was their hard work that eventually payed off and not any unseen river goddess as believed by their ancestors. Majority of the villagers had dug wells in their various houses and this made them carry out their tie and dye fabrics activities at home rather than the river as usual and this instill great anger and wroth on the side of the river goddess. Due to the goddess displeasure she vowed she would not have anything to do with the people of Alaro again.
The only mode of transportation of the Alaro villagers is via water. Villagers gets to other villages via canoe, plying that same river. But due to anger of the river goddess any one that gets to the river befalls one calamity or the other. At that time, any canoe that tries to ply the river would capsize and all its passengers would drown and die. Some villagers body would not even be found and the king decreed that no one should visit the river again as it has been tagged dangerous.
The villagers of Alaro had been trapped in this ordeal, because they are unable to sell their fabric to surrounding villages due to calamity that befalls anyone that goes close to the river.
Productivity reduced drastically as majority of the villager are engaged in the same business. And getting to other villages is via Alaro river. The king summoned all the villagers and told them that the problem of navigation would be over. He further explained that a foreign construction company said with the aid of an over head bridge their ordeal will come to an end. After the king’s announcement, the villagers were filled with joy and excitement. Wow! The villager were happy because they knew the moment the bridge is completed, navigation would be easy and they will get back into business as usual and would also be rich again.
The construction company started their construction, and in no time they finished the construction of the over head bridge. The day they commissioned the bridge and try to navigate on it, every person and moving vessel on the bridge fell into the mighty Alaro river because the bridge collapsed for no reason and so many lives were lost.
This made the owner of the construction company to go into consultation. The king told the engineer the whole story behind Iya Alaro river and how they stop the yearly festival that they do. The king told the engineer to go and meet the priest. The priest also narrated the story of how the river had been the centre of commerce to the Alaro people, but due to civilization the people abandoned the river and refuse to carry out the usual yearly festival and this got the goddess angry that she would not have anything to do with the people of Alaro.
The Owner of the construction company then asked what can be done, then the priest made consultation and told him the only solution to having an over head bridge is if the engineer would be willing to sacrifices his life for the river goddess then she would permit the construction. The engineer agreed to this, and told the king and the villagers, what the priest said and he was ready to do anything for them. On the sad day, after the bridge was completed before commissioning, he waved good bye to all his friends and family. All the villagers heard was a great splash of water. The engineer was in and the moment he jumped into the Alaro river, it was fore told that they saw a mermaid dragged him down the river and was not to be seen again.
The villagers honour him by giving him a befitting burial and his grave was beside the Alaro river and the bridge was named after the engineer. The story is still told untill this day any time travellers ply the bridge and see the grave of the engineer that layed down his life for the purpose of constructing a bride that would stand for generations to come for the Alaro people.
Wallet: adebanjo.near