The Desecrated Altar by Rose Ntube Ngole

` The Desecrated Altar by Rose Ntube Ngole

(An excerpt from Rose Ntube Ngole's Book)

The Incantation: Clash of the Titans.

While Larry A. Benson was in Father Francis' room praying, a few miles away in the Akubai mangrove forest, men of the underworld were at work under an iroko tree. The men wore wrappers to cover their abdominal area. The rest of their bodies were bear and covered with cam wood. They were seven in number. The pot that was buried decades prior had been unearthed. Inside, a little calabash were the hair, nails and pictures of the late Patriarch-Ahlija Benson, his off springs and dolls representing the posterity of the Ahlija-Benson's family. The pot was set on the fire, seven live chickens were thrown inside-then, a sound like someone swallowed the contents in one big gulp was heard. Silence followed. Seven minutes later, a cobra lifted up its head from the pot and hissed. The cobra was the deity of the Akubai people. It controlled the spiritual lives of the people and most of the villagers worshipped it. Chief Benson Ekwe of Akubai village-the face of terror, traitor and recaltricant nephew of the patriarch,lifted up his scepter and his men bowed seven times paying allegiance to the cobra.

The men drank the blood of the chickens as they performed the incantations. As a sign of reverence, they knelt round the iroko tree holding hands and chanting. The chief then lifted up his scepter for the second time amidst a rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning. Dark clouds covered the forest as their heads move up and down in unison. The scepter was again pointed to the sky. There was another thunderous sound followed by a sudden down pour of rain that lasted seven minutes. The cobra then opened its mouth wide as Sam the chief’s son, poured the contents of the palm wine keg into its mouth and called the name, Larry Ahlija Benson, seven times. He performed the dance of the masquerades. In response, the cobra spat out fire and disappeared. The chief lifted the scepter seven more times as a sign of perfection and immediately the fire under the pot went out.
One after the other, the men turned and walked behind the chief in an Indian file. No man looked back. The ritual was done, the deal sealed. Within twenty-four hours, Larry, the grandson of their archenemy Mayor Ahlija Benson, will dIe. His death would be a sign to the mayor that the gods of Akubai were still in control: no power was above the powers of their god - mwankum.
In all of their doings, one detail was overlooked and minimized, the super natural power in which the young Larry who had challenged them earlier in the day, was operating under. Larry was operating under the influence of a super-power-and when two powers clash (black magic vs. the power of God), the lesser power must bow. The Chief of Akubai and his men were about to learn and unforgettable lesson.