The Visitor

The Vodoo f3m3 (a shrine) served as a bank for the people of Kpordom3 - a tiny village close to the Ghana-Togo border. The natives of this town were typically merchants. They purchased goods from Togo and resold it in Ghana for profit. These merchants usually consulted the Vodoo f3m3 for financial services. They would visit the shrine, go through a few rituals, and swear oaths of refund after which the requested amount was handed them. One may wonder why these oaths were sworn as no right-thinking merchant would dare refuse to pay back the loan. No one dared to steal from the great Sea god also known as the god of thunder. This god was greatly feared.

A popular merchant commonly known as Efo was a well-known visitor to the Voodoo f3m3. Once again, he paid a visit to the shrine to lend money to finance his merchandise. Although a regular visitor, it was required of Efo to go through the requisite rituals and swearing of oaths before he was lent the amount of money that he needed. It was standard procedure. Thieves hardly robbed a merchant returning from the Voodoo f3m3. It was alleged that a thief who had attempted such was struck instantaneously by thunder.

Efo walked courageously back home. His only task the next day was to summon his agent at the border and make a request for the merchandise which would be delivered to him a day after.

When morning came, Efo took his stack of cash, recited a few words of appreciation to the Sea god and headed for the border to see his agent. The meeting was brief. Efo made his request and was due to return the following morning for his merchandise.

Evening passed and morning came. Efo trekked back to the border to retrieve his merchandise but was told by his agent that it had been seized by the Togolese police on duty at the border. This infuriated Efo. He marched to the border to verify this information. The policemen on duty however denied any such occurrence. Efo, who was well aware of the consequences of stealing from the Sea god pitied the agent for the misfortune that might befall him. “He deserves it!” Efo thought out loud. All attempts to get the agent to concur to the fact that merchandise was in his custody proved futile. Efo allowed the agent 3 days to return the merchandise alleged to be in his custody.

After 3 days, Efo reported the matter to the Voodoo f3m3. The priest in charge of the shrine required of Efo to present his eldest son before the Sea god as a form of collateral. Should Efo be found guilty of outsmarting the Sea god, his son would die by a thunder strike while he would forever be banished from Kpordom3. Efo did as instructed by the priest.  

Meanwhile, across the border in Togo, a man from beyond the seas had paid a visit to a village close to the border. He possessed extraordinary fishing skills and this won him much admiration. He was particularly found in the company of two friends, Forada and Segey. They chatted and dined together often.

Forada and Segey disclosed their profession to the visitor, enlightening him about their cunning ways of unlawfully intercepting merchandises at the border. They recounted a particularly incident of a merchant whose merchandise they had recently confiscated. According to them, the merchant asserted that the so called Sea god would punish them for their actions. Forada and Segey laughed vociferously at the torment the merchant might be going through across the border in Kpordom3. The visitor listened on and requested to take a look at the confiscated merchandise. Forada and Segey honoured his request.  

After a 3-day stay in the village, the visitor made-known his intention to return to the land he had come from. He communicated this intention first to Forada who was taken ill and could not be at work. Despite his illness, Forada insisted on accompanying the visitor to the seashore where the visitor’s boat had been docked. The visitor thanked Forada’s family for their hospitality. They headed for the seashore. Upon arrival at the shore, Forada undressed and followed the visitor into the heart of the sea. Forada could be seen drowning but for a strange reason didn’t seem to fight this peril. He had been hypnotized. The fishermen there present attempted a rescue but the angry waves in the sea discouraged them. They had no other choice than to look on in awe. “Perhaps the visitor had been a messenger from the Sea god.” “Why had he chosen to take the life of Forada?” they contemplated. It was truly a sign from the Sea god. The fishermen hurried back to the town to report this unusual phenomenon to the community.

Segey, who was not privy to Forada’s strange death returned from work to find the visitor seated on a stool awaiting his arrival. Segey discussed with the visitor his intention of paying their sick friend Forada a visit. The visitor however declined, insisting he had to return to his land immediately. The visitor added that the sea was calmest at night and this made navigation and travelling by boat less difficult. “I should be home by sunrise” he reassured a rather concerned Segey. Segey decided then, to pay Forada a visit after accompanying the visitor to the seashore. As usual, the visitor thanked Segey’s family for their reception and they bid him farewell. The visitor and Segey headed for the shore.

On their way to the seashore, they bumped into a group of fishermen who had witnessed the earlier happening at sea. The fishermen couldn’t believe their sight and took to their heels. However, a few curious ones hid behind the trees to witness what might transpire. Their curiosity got satisfied shortly after. At the exact spot where Forada had earlier undressed, Segey did same and followed the visitor right into the heart of the angry sea. Segey, like Forada drowned at will. The sea calmed. Forada and Segey were forever lost in the heart of the deep blue sea.

Back in Ghana, the impatient Efo was summoned by the priest to the Voodoo f3m3. He communicated to Efo that the stolen merchandise had been located and the perpetrators duly punished. Efo’s eldest son was released to him. His loan was also written off as bad debt. After a series of customary rituals, Efo was allowed another loan to finance a new merchandise under the supervision of the same agent.

News broke of Forada and Segey’s undesirable act. Their deaths served as a deterrent against theft and ensured sanity at the border. A poem was composed to mark this strange phenomenon and is recited by the people of Kpordom3 to this day.

When the fears of the day

Translates into nightmares at night

And greed looks for a cunning way

To exhibit all its skill and might

The only reason to stay awake

Is to await a knock at the door

Hard as it may sound but comforting

The door flies open and all courtesies observed

The warmth of the shared night now

Transforms into beams during the day

And the only reason to awake

Is to expect the knock of the visitor on your door

Like a serpent in the Garden of Eden

The visitor creeps in and confessions run out

As though it never really began

The door slams and lights go out

Now the only reason to remain asleep

Is never to awake at the sound of any knock

-          J.Kennedy Dogbey

    Story by:

    Atsu Dogbey

    (Member of TDL)