Asafo Safo: Chapter 2

Whenever one of the hunting party strolled off to take a leak or a drink, she stealthily followed them and attacked them from behind. When the injured hunter awoke, they would be missing supplies of food, water and worse weapons. However no matter how far, they extended their search, she was always ahead of them.

At night, she and the others set up traps for the asafo and waited in the trees till the next day when the roving wolves which hunted at night would go to sleep.

Takyiwaa was believed to be older than most of the elders in the village and as old as the chief himself, when they had journeyed from their home to the present location of the village. He had arrived as a young chief and she as his personal bodyguard.

In Safo’s eyes, she was a part of the village’s history and unlike most asafo there, she sought the interests of the villagers. ‘Of the 10 companies in the village, there are only three of them which have no )brafo) or priests, and actually protect the people from harm. We are not the most popular or the most well resourced, but by the time, you’ve completed your training, you will embrace our philosophy of restraint in battle and self-sacrifice.

They both stood in the 8th company’s compound. ‘Choose an akodze’ she said gesturing to an array of varying akodze on a mat and on the walls of the compound.

‘Is there anything you have that isn’t pointed?” Safo asked. ‘Because I promised my father I wouldn’t go around cutting people up like a bloodthirsty savage’

‘Excellent point of view’ she noted. ‘Choose an akodze and I will show you how to defeat any opponent without drawing blood’.

Safo picked up an afena (long sword), took in a deep breath and charged at her, intending to break the afena in her hands. She sidestepped the swing and was about to gently tap him on the shoulder with the tip of her afena, signaling the end of the spar, when he spun around quickly, blocking her blade.

She swung at his afena once, knocking the akodze out of his hands. He spun away from her outstretched foot, which shot out at his chest and snatched his afena in mid-air.

‘Tighten your grip on the afena, Safo. By the end of today, no-one should be able to knock it out of your hands.’

For five days and five nights, they trained until the time came when Safo immersed himself in the dance, between himself and the asafoakyer, so deeply that he manipulated each akodze, the same way he manipulated his fingers. She sensed this change when he began to bob and weave between her afena swings and parried all the attacks with her ndar (machete).

She drew out her spear and swung the wooden shaft towards him. Rather than dodge the attack, he shattered it with his palm. He leapt back as she drew out her bow and let off 6 arrows meant to pin him to the compound wall. He slashed three with his afena and snatched the rest in mid-air. He threw the at the bowstring, splitting it.

He dove to her right and drew out the scabbard that was slung at his back at the same time that she drew a dagger from the folds of her wardress. He caught the thrust of the blade between his fingers at the same moment that she blocked the scabbard aimed at her head.

‘Mo (Excellent), Safo of the asafo’

‘You have trained me well, Takyiwaa’

‘It’s late. Wear your battledress and meet me at the elder’s circle for patrols with the rest of the company’.

As they walked through the village, Safo could not shake the feeling that villagers hurriedly stepped aside out of fear of what they might do.

‘People have a reason to fear us, Safo. Last night, Asafo Boadu and his men were creating a ruckus at the market. One of the sellers began to complain and when Boadu was told that she was a gossip, he cut out part of her tongue.’

‘It wasn’t a large part, but the market queen will have a permanent lisp’

Safo was stunned into silence. ‘That’s terrible’.

She sighed. ‘The asafo have done worse things than that. You have to understand that most of the asafo are only interested in patrolling Anna’s part of the village, open to a few of his cronies. They occasionally come here to create a ruckus and then leave, causing most people to fend for themselves’

‘Most turn to a life of crime and sometimes, the victim of a crime later becomes the culprit of another crime.’

As they entered a thick forest at the edge of the village, five bandits sprung out from the bushes. Before the rest of the company could act, Safo slashed through three of their blades, tackling the remaining bandits with low sweeps of his leg. He kicked one in the chest and punched the other in the throat. Takyiwaa struck the three bandits who had their akodze broken with the hilt of her afena.

Five more bandits sprung at him, the foremost throwing a spear which he dodged, clutching it with one hand as it whizzed past him. He flung it to the bandit, pinning him to a tree through his clothes.He drew his spear and twirled it, defending himself from the arrows of the bandits and struck them with short swings of the akodze.

A fourth slashed his spear in half and thrusted an ndar at him, but he sidestepped the attack, striking the bandit on both sides of the head. The fifth bandit dropped his akodze and fled, upon seeing Safo but he tackled him and held him down. The asafo stared hard at the bandit and drew his head back in surprise.

‘What is it, Safo? Takyiwaa asked. ‘Do you know him?’

‘Yes, his name is Odum. He’s a good farmhand at my father’s farm’.

‘The farm is gone, Safo’ confessed Odum. ‘The chief took even more land from the people last night. He increased the daily offerings of golddust and silver to his priestess at the grove. All the other farmhands left earlier. The only reason I’m here is because I’ve nothing left to offer my family.’

After detaining the bandits, Safo scratched his head. ‘He can’t just do this. Maybe he’ll limits change his mind if I speak to him or the elders do’’. Takyiwaa adjusted her scabbard that slung across her back. ‘The chief, according to the priestess, is the bridge between the physical world and the ancestors. His position is divinely appointed hence there are no earthly limits to what he can do’.

‘He has seven large asafo companies to ensure that the people accept his way of doing things…or else. As for speaking to him, he believes the asafo’s duty is only to follow orders and not speak your mind. Ever. Only the elders are allowed to speak to him and just recently, one of them disappeared from his hut, and he’s not listening to the rest. Nkwansrafo are watching their movements daily’

‘So he’s suppressed their counsel and made them mere mouthpieces of his decisions only.’ Safo noted. ‘ It is against the laws of the land to upset the balance of power like that’.

‘What about you? Safo asked.’ You came to this land with him and helped to set up the village so maybe he’ll listen to you’.

‘He won’t.’ The Annan I knew who sought everyone’s wellbeing in the past no longer exists.’ ‘I have a task for you tonight, Safo. Go to Akos, the akodze maker and hurry, her life may be in danger. The 3 companies will take care of your father and the rest of your family.’

Safo sprinted towards Akos’ hut, his mind still reeling from the realization that his father’s source of livelihood was gone. There was a clash of akodze in her compound. Safo quickened his pace and entered the compound to find Boadu and Akos fighting each other. 5 other asafo sprung towards her, ndar raised.

She blocked their attacks with two half formed ndar, even as they forced her into a corner at his right. Boadu smashed the ndar away and swung down on her head but Safo blocked the strike with his afena. Boadu drew his akofena back. ‘Insect’, he muttered and swung down at Safo but this time, he caught the blade in between his fingers and punched him in the throat.

As Boadu fell on his knees, the other asafo converged on him. He slashed through three of their blades with one swing and blocked the other two with his scabbard, causing it to crack slightly. He swept his left foot into the heads of two asafo and with a low leg sweep, tackled the other two, their heads impacting the akodze strewn floor.

He sidestepped the swings of the other asafo and struck him on the head with the hilt of his afena. Boadu lunged toward him, machetes outstretched. Safo swung his afena once, slashing his machetes, sidestepped his lunge and struck the back of his head with his elbow. He wiped the sweat with his brow and ducked as a glowing afena blade was swung at him.

He raised his hands in surrender, ‘Abrewa Akos, I’m not in Boadu’s company. ‘Asafoakyer Takyiwaa sent me to collect the items’. Akos put down the akodze and pointed to 7 groups of akodze wrapped in red cloth.

‘You can take them to her’ she sighed. Safo wondered why Takyiwaa needed so many akodze and decided to confront her that night.

‘This company has enough akodze, Asafoakyer, so why do you need this many to be kept in your home?’ asked Safo.

‘I’m keeping the akodze here because it’s no longer safe to do so at the Posuban (Akodze store). Boadu and his men don’t come to this part of the village to patrol but to sell stolen akodze to bandits and thieves for a fee. That’s why they tried to kill Akos when she found out that they broke into her home.’

‘Does Annan know about this?” Safo asked.

‘He does now’ she sighed as she looked over his shoulder. Safo turned to see the priestess, standing at the entrance of their hut. ‘Asafo Safo, she said softly, Chief Annan wishes to speak to you’.

Annan swung his akofena at Boadu, slashing him across the chest. Bodu stumbled back, weights attached to his feet rattling loudly across the floor. He lightly swung a stick to block the swing of the akodze but it pierced the stick and stabbed his chest. Annan kicked his chest, sending him sprawling.

Boadu began to crawl on his belly, even as Annan raised his akodze to deliver the deathblow. He stopped as Safo run up to him and prostrated before him. ‘Great Chief Annan, Safo your humble servant pleads with you to spare Boadu’s life’.