Tuuva and Ndonge: It is not Tuuva alone who causes the sky to thunder; Tuuva in fact works in concert with Ndonge to produce thunder and rainfall.
Bakweri folklore.
Tuuva and Ndonge are the twin brothers who control rainfall and thundering of the sky Their father decided not to bestow on any of them the full mystic powers that cause rainfall and thundering of the sky to occur.
He instead anointed each of them separately with partial powers only. He explained that rainfall and thundering of the sky can only occur when Tuuva and Ndonge combine their respective powers.
He warned that any one of them who alone attempts to produce rainfall and thunder without working in concert with his brother is doomed to failure and affliction by mystery illness.
He warned firmly that each of them must keep his partial powers a secret and not to disclose or surrender the secret to his brother. He warned further that the twin brothers should not despise each other.
Tuuva is arrogant, talkative, flamboyant, while Ndonge is reserved. For these reasons Wolinyama held the wrong view for several decades that it is Tuuva alone who produce thunder. Whenever the sky belched, Wolinyama used to exclaim:
"Tuuva ama tongole fe" ! (“Tuuva has done it again”).
Responding, Tuuva would say: "Oh yes, I have done it again".
Tuuva’s waywardness caused conflicts between him and Ndonge. Attempts to reconcile them failed. On no occasion did Tuuva ever mention to Wolinyama that rainfall and thundering of the sky is the joint action of his twin brother Ndonge and he Tuuva.
Tuuva was thus receiving all the credits for a job that he and his twin brother Ndonge perform. That was not all. On one occasion Tuuva completely ignored Ndonge's role in the production of thunder, then using his own partial concoctions only, Tuuva made an attempt to cause the sky to thunder.
He failed awfully. The sky did not thunder. Some of the breeze that explode to cause thunder immediately entered Tuuva's stomach, and caused Tuuva to instantly develop a very big stomach. Tuuva was uncomfortable. He belched continuously.
Tuuva then consulted the renowned sorcerer Mosongi Inoni for assistance. Mosongo explained that Tuuva was suffering as a consequence of his being disobedient, foolhardy, proud and arrogant. Mosongo said it was possible to pull out the breeze in Tuuva's stomach, and that for medication to be effective Tuuva must first of all:
• Talk over the grave of his father and ask for pardon from his father for disobeying his father’s warnings.
• Apologize to Ndonge for ignoring Ndonge's role in the production of rainfall and thunder.
• Make a public declaration to Wolinyama stating clearly that it is not he Tuuva alone who produce thunder; that it is indeed the combined concoctions of his twin brother Ndonge and he Tuuva that cause the sky to belch.
Tuuva accordingly apologized to his deceased father and to Ndonge in the presence of Sorcerer Mosongi Inoni, and thereafter made a public declaration in which he said that rainfall and thundering of the sky occurs as a consequence of the combination of the concoctions of his twin brother Ndonge and his (Tuuva) own concoctions.
Credits for the rumblings of the sky and rainfall should henceforth therefore go equally to his brother Ndonge and to him Tuuva.
Through a mystic performance Doctor Mosongi Inoni extracted the air in Tuuva’s stomach and cured Tuuva’s illness. At that point Tuuva and Ndonge conceded that each of them had to allow reason and good judgement to supersede vanity otherwise they would continue to play the roles of lame ducks and toothless bulldogs.
They reconciled immediately and recommenced to work in concert peacefully to produce thunder and rain fall. Since then Wolinyam refer to Tuuva and Ndonge as a perfect example of brothers who have acted wisely by patching up their differences and by deciding to return to work in concert peacefully.
Hence the household saying:
“It is not Tuuva alone who cause the sky to belch; it is in fact the combined concoctions of Tuuva and his twin brother Ndonge that cause the sky to thunder”.
(“Loova li-ke-va nau,
ka seke te Tuuva momwiti meene mondi a li-ke-vise;
Ndonge mofe au-keli o-teni")
Lessons.
(i). Reason and good judgement should be allowed to supersede vanity as a step forward towards facilitating the process of peace and reconciliation
(ii). While the contributions made by individual members of a winning team should be welcomed, acknowledged with appreciation, and not ignored, credit for success aught not to be personalized since it is a team that wins, not an individual member, or some members of a team.
Loova/Loove/Taata Iwonda Loove = The Creator;
loova = the sky.
mokeva = belch; plural, mekeva; li-ke-va = belch.
Woli-nyama = The Animal World.
Oma nanu.
Imba
Mola Mbua Ndoko
P.o Box 38 Buea, South West Province
Cameroon, West/Africa.
Email:[email protected]
Website: http://www.mbuandoko.com
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