Daring the gods – Part 1

Woman, I swear, I won’t make love to you, because of what you have gone through!” Bodija snapped.

“I am Bodija, the only son of Janmodu Ayedogbon, the great hunter that even lions are afraid of. I have bathed with the supernatural sponge in the awesome Orisa River! Nothing scares me.

“I have warned you never to go eating or bathing with fetish preparations, just to be pregnant. I am a full-blooded son of Janmodu. I told you that my destiny is divine and has been sanctioned by the Almighty God. You don’t have to drink or swallow fetish concoctions from a lesser herbalist.

“Woman, I repeat, I won’t make love to you now. You can cry and shed tears flowing like the Orisun Waterfall. You will be pregnant at the appointed time, as He wishes…”

The wife pleaded: “But Bodija, my dear husband, this is the 12th year of our marriage and I am yet to bear the fruit of the womb. How long am I going to wait? I am tired of hearing bad gossips about us.”

Bodija cuts in, while adjusting his Sokoto “Ayinke, you won’t bear me a child of the devil. A forced pregnancy always develops into a child of the devil, not a good child. You don’t have to go through all these magical processes, just to get pregnant for me… Patience, just be patient, Ayinke. I am different… I, the son of Janmodu, is a different being… You just wait and see.”

Strange things always happen in the lives of people. That exactly was the case of Bodija Ayedogbon, a tall and dark-skinned man. Despite being very tall, he was big and robust, with a towering physique that singled him out in a crowd.

He was a no-nonsense man and hated lies and liars. He was a man who could lay down his life for truth and what he believed in.

Sometime in the early 1960s when Bodija was in his 40s, some spectacular things happened. He had a habit of proudly calling the name of his late dad, Janmodu Ayedogbon, when he was in the heat of an argument. And if he were very angry, he would stammer repeatedly, bawling orders at everyone.

His late dad, whom he was very fond of, bequeathed about three houses and two plots of land to him in Osun State. He had no fond memories of his mother, who lived to the age of 95, like his dad. She traded in beads and trinkets and was also very successful.

Bodija was a farmer in the town and very popular, being the son of a great father.

Ever heard of some powerful men in the days of yore, who killed elephants with just their caps? This was real and no fluke or a figment of the imagination. Such were the supernatural powers of Janmodu Ayedogbon, and this left an indelible mark on the sands of time, as indigenes of old Osun State would never forget him in a hurry.

Bodija was always proud of this great father of his, who wrestled and fought with tigers, killing them and riding back home at the back of lions.

Those were the days when juju and voodoo were no child’s play…

(To be continued next Saturday)