The covenant - James A. Michener [175]
Indeed, one had to pay the witch doctor for almost every act of life, but when the fire-bird wept, that was powerful proof that someone had transgressed. In certain storms, when the bird's fat burned too swiftly, the pain became unendurable, and the wild-flying bird began to cry, just like a baby, and as its tears fell they turned to hail, each grain bigger than a bird's egg, and this peppered the valley unmercifully.
In this storm the fire-bird wept so pitifully that vast sheets of hail came thundering down, breaking thatch and hurting cows until their cries penetrated the hut where Sotopo and his family huddled. One flurry of especially heavy stones struck Makubele as he stood outside endeavoring to protect his family, and he fell to the ground. Sotopo, seeing this, realized that if the witch doctor heard of it, he would take it as proof that it was Mandiso who had sinned in some way, causing the fire-bird to torment the valley. So although it was forbidden, Sotopo jumped from the safety of the hut, ran to his father, raised him to his feet, and then assisted him in fighting off the bird.
When the fire-bird left the valley to dive into the earth behind the hills, and the lightning ceased, Sotopo quietly gathered the three assegais he had laboriously made and his one calf, harbinger of the herds he would one day own, and walked purposefully to the witch doctor's hut.
'I come seeking aid,' he said twice at the low entrance. From the dark interior a heavy voice said, 'Enter.'
Since the boy had never before visited a diviner, he had little concept of the mysterious world he was entering: the owl on the dead branch; the stuffed hornbill in the corner, red-wattled and forlorn; the sacs of dead animals; lizards and herbs; and above all, the brooding presence of the old man who wrestled with evil spirits, preventing them from overwhelming the community.
'I hear your father was knocked down by the fire-bird,' the witch doctor said.
'No,' Sotopo lied. 'He slipped when rain made the slope muddy.'
'I hear you left your hut.'
'I went to help fight off the fire-bird.'
'Why do you come to me? What other great wrong have you done?' 'I come to plead for my brother.'
'Mandiso? In the circumcision lodge? What great wrong has he done?'
'Nothing. Oh, nothing. But I want you to intercede for him, that he conduct himself bravely during these weeks.'
The diviner coughed. This was a bright boy, this Sotopo son of Makubele, grandson of Old Grandmother. He knew that it was all-important how a young manhood-boy behaved himself during the initiation; two years ago one applicant fainted with pain, and although it was discovered that his wound had festered, that was no excuse for fainting, and he was consequently given second status, which would mar him for the rest of his life. That Sotopo should be enough concerned about his brother to offer three assegais and a cow . . .
'You bring me the assegais?' the witch doctor asked.
'Yes, and my cow.'
'You're a strong boy. You'll be a wise man one day. Leave them with me.'
'And you will protect my brother?' 'He will do well.'
'And you'll forget that my father slipped in the mud?' 'I will forget.'
'Diviner, we thank you. All of us thank you.' Sotopo told no one of his clandestine visit to the witch doctor, and he was much relieved when he heard rumors from the ritual lodge that Mandiso was conducting himself especially well.
In the days that followed, Sotopo became aware that another resident of the valley was taking an unusual interest in his brother's progress; it was Xuma, the attractive girl who lived in the kraal at the far end of the valley. She was fifteen, a year older than Sotopo, with a smiling face, supple lips, and an accumulation of ear bangles, beads and ankle charms that made her approach a musical interlude. Sotopo had known Xuma all his life and liked her better than any other girl, even though she was older than he