March 4, 2015
March 6, 2015
Asafo Safo: Chapter 4
Asafo Safo: Chapter 4
by safohen
‘Leave your akodze on the white boulders’ Safo whispered. ‘We must show them that we mean no harm and we don’t want her to be more upset than she already is.’ She already knows we’re here’
‘Welcome Safo, Asafoakyerefo)’ a soft voice said as an akatasia stepped out of the shadows of the trees. Safo knew several other women and some men, trained by Amoawa, stood around them, watching them closely and prepared to strike at the slightest hint of aggression.
‘Come, Safo. Wura Amoawa is waiting for you near the seven streams.’ The rest of you should simply stay where you are.’
Amoawa, now older and giving off an aura of responsibility, trained herself quietly in Abotri ke tahuumo a Ga martial art taught to her when she was 10 by a woman who called herself the Tigress of the South. She gave a curt nod to the akatasia who left as silently as she had appeared and wondered whether she should teach Safo Kaklake klante Nomo ( the art of bladed weapon combat) to add to the Atwele Nomo (empty hand combat with fists and supporting arsenals), Mim dzee (art of evasion) and the Intia shomo (complex kicking and feet attacks) she had taught him when he was 16. She watched him quietly as he climbed the short hill to join her before striking his shin in a low sweep of his foot. She followed this with a kick aimed at his neck which he spun away from. She aimed for his joints with her fists, which he brushed away repeatedly. She swung a powerful right fist at his chest but he sidestepped her, grabbed it and tugged. She sailed through the air and landed on her feet, skidding briefly before coming to a complete stop.
‘Is there a reason why I should not drag the unconscious bodies of you and the asafo back to the village circle like the other asafo who have ventured here before you?’ She asked as she sunk into an offensive stance.
‘Amoawa, we have come to seek your help in reclaiming the village. After the events of the night of sacrifice, I know the asafo are not welcome here and I know you think that the asafo are trying to take over the village but we are not a part of that’
‘The affairs of the village are no longer my concern’ Amoawa snapped. ‘I have sent Mirekua to spy on the village and give me an idea of the situation there. ‘I will take action only if my people are threatened’
Safo understood Amoawa’s words. She did not just blame the )brafo) and the priests for the night of sacrifice but the ordinary villagers for doing nothing to stop it. A young woman suddenly appeared from the shadows. ‘Amoawa, a vice asafoakyer named Mans is responsible for the uprising and they are searching for Safo and his group.’
A tall, dark vice asafoakyer darted towards the hut, leading 20 low ranking asafo. She slashed the arrows aimed at her group and slashed through the bows of the archers, the blade slashing their chests. As they fell away, more asafo drew out their akodze at the entrance of the elders’ hut to defend the panin inside. She swung twice, breaking their blades and slashing three at a time. Three safohenfo surrounded her on all sides but other vice safohenfo poured in from all sides and slashed them.
As soon as she entered the hut, Takyi swung a fist at her, but she caught it and crushed it, sending him to his knees.
The elder asafo hurriedly escorted some of the elders out of the building only for the rest to be attacked by other low ranking asafo. ‘Owusuwaa, report’ ordered Mansa. A heavily scarred woman spoke, ‘This is the third elder’s hut in the village. The rest of the senior asafo and some of our age mates are now sheltering the elders in their own homes. We should be able to attack them by the break of dawn.’
‘What about )safo and the other safohen?’
‘We have been unable to find them and Amoawa’s shelter’
‘Keep searching and stay alert. They might attack us before the night is over’
At Amoawa’s shelter, she explained to the asafo that her people regularly monitored the actions of the village in case they decided to attack her shelter. ‘There are seven different hidden paths from our present location to your village that my spies use.’
‘Good, ‘noted Safo with a nod of his head, ‘we will need 20 of your best fighters to lead an assault on the asafo near the panin’s huts. Supi Takyiwaa may no longer be in the village but she kept a large amount of akodze in her home’.
The asafo searching the forest were silently restrained one by one as Amoawa’s people noiselessly attacked them from behind and led the asafo into the centre of the village. The asafo guarding the mpaninfo reacted with apprehension as Amoawa tore through their flimsy barricade, and walked past several unconscious junior asafo. )safo led the rest of the safohen into Takyiwaa’s hut, and they armed themselves with various akodze. At midnight, a line of low ranking asafo led by a vice safohen let off their arrows at 20 fighters who snaked towards them and shot flaming arrows at the huts, burning them and creating panic within the lines of the other junior asafo.
When they were close enough, they tackled the asafo with quick punches. As reinforcements arrived, they beat a hasty retreat into the bushes. One line of asafo stayed behind as two lines headed for the bushes, striking at the least indication of noise. Using traps and staffs to stir up the bushes, Safo and the other asafo forced the asafo to waste most of their akodze before launching a direct attack. Safo slashed through several lines of asafo and floored other with quick punches. Amoawa struck those on the left with low kicks and hard punches. Five asafo lunged at her but barehanded, she caught the blades of two asafo and rammed the hilts into their bellies, felled them with low sweeps of her legs before punching one in the throat and crashing her knee into her face.
She spun around the swing of one’s blade, grabbed the neck of her attacker and slammed her into the ground. The remaining asafo swung down her machetes at her, but she seized both of them and headbutted the asafo repeatedly until she collapsed.
‘The rest of the fighters may leave’ said Amoawa suddenly. ‘I will go with )safo to meet this Mansa.’ However none of them moved an inch. She smiled faintly,’Alright, )safo, let’s just crush the enemy”. Mansa heard the shouts first, and later the other asafo , as Amoawa, Safo and the other asafoakyer rushed at the remaining asafo lines, slashing through their blades and tackling them with high and low kicks. As he got closer to the barricade separating him from Mansa’s forces, an asafo lunged at him but he punched her in the throat and turned to slash an arrow that flew straight for his neck with his afena. He hacked at the barricade with his ndar, each swing breaking the barrier in large chunks.
Mansa watched as the barricade began to give way and heaved a sigh of acceptance before drawing out her afena. ‘They’re coming for us, she warned her forces, ‘show no fear, show no hesitation and show no mercy’. The barricade fell with a loud clatter and both forces darted towards each other, akodze drawn. Amoawa lunged at Mansa but Owusuwaa blocked her path, her spearhead slicing a tuft of her hair off her head. She thrusted the akodze at Amoawa again and again, but she brushed away the spear each time and kicked her into a stockpile of akodze. The vice asafoakyer regained her balance and attacked her again but with one swing of her left leg, she snapped the wooden shaft of the spear in half aand struck her across the head.
Enraged, Mansa lunged at her from behind but )safo blocked the attack with his ndar and they swung at each other, drawing sparks from their akodze. Mansa began to force him back until they swung at each other with such force that their blades broke. Mansa still swung her broken afena at him but he blocked it with his own broken blade and kicked her belly, forcing her to skid backwards as he drew out his akofena. She regained her balance and darted towards him, mimicking his earlier moves with leg swings and the swing of his akodze. He sidestepped her thrusts and began swinging at her using Kakla ke Klante Nimo (the Ga Martial art of bladed weapon combat).
Unfamiliar with this art, Mansa was unable to avoid being forced into the corner of the building they were fighting in. He swung hard against her akofena, sending her crashing through the clay wall and landing outside the building. They continued to fight even as scores of low ranking asafo and their vice safohen fought the safohenfo and other asafo. Sparks flew from their akodze as they clashed. She pushed back against him fiercely, nearly causing him to nearly lose his balance. Mansa chose that moment when he was still beginning to regain his balance to lunge at him, determined to kill him. )safo regained his balance, drew out his b)ha (scabbard) and sheathed her akofena in it, before rolling away, flicking the b)ha once, causing it to fly straight into the wall of a hut.
She drew out her ndar and slashed at him, ripping through his battledress but e blocked four swings of the machetes and swung twice, knocking the ndar out of her hands. She drew out a poisoned dagger and lunged at him only for him to bush it aside and punch her neck. She stumbled backwards in pain as he sheathed his ndar. Panting heavily, Mansa pondered over her next move. She glanced around her and noticed that all of her asafo were being restrained and disarmed by the senior asafo. She sighed, closed her eyes and raised her hands in surrender. Five of )safo’s asafo rushed towards her, disarmed and bound her quickly. At the break of dawn, )safo gave his report to Elder Takyi who nursed his injured hand.
‘Mansa and the vice safohenfo have been detained and are awaiting the trial for their crimes set for the next week. In the years of service to the village, she was considered as an average asafo with no outstanding qualities or family ties.’
‘We discovered that she used the gold dust reserves from the closed mines to but out the spy network which was why the signs of any uprising went unnoticed and timed the attack at the moment when the Supi and most of the asafo would be absent from the village in an intervillage meeting.’
‘What about the situation in the village?’ asked Takyi.
‘When the uprising began, most of the people fled to the nearby villages, Nyansakrom, being one of them. There were some acts of lawlessness in the village that night as the numbers of asafo have being reduced. Because of this, I’m going to conduct a patrol of the village this morning to make sure everything and everyone is safe and secure.’
‘Very good, )safo. You may leave now” noted Takyi.
Eight low ranking asafo stiffened as )safo emerged from the panin hut.
‘ Is everyone ready?’
‘Yes, Safohen )safo’
‘Mo (excellent) let us begin the patrol’.
The End
‘Welcome Safo, Asafoakyerefo)’ a soft voice said as an akatasia stepped out of the shadows of the trees. Safo knew several other women and some men, trained by Amoawa, stood around them, watching them closely and prepared to strike at the slightest hint of aggression.
‘Come, Safo. Wura Amoawa is waiting for you near the seven streams.’ The rest of you should simply stay where you are.’
Amoawa, now older and giving off an aura of responsibility, trained herself quietly in Abotri ke tahuumo a Ga martial art taught to her when she was 10 by a woman who called herself the Tigress of the South. She gave a curt nod to the akatasia who left as silently as she had appeared and wondered whether she should teach Safo Kaklake klante Nomo ( the art of bladed weapon combat) to add to the Atwele Nomo (empty hand combat with fists and supporting arsenals), Mim dzee (art of evasion) and the Intia shomo (complex kicking and feet attacks) she had taught him when he was 16. She watched him quietly as he climbed the short hill to join her before striking his shin in a low sweep of his foot. She followed this with a kick aimed at his neck which he spun away from. She aimed for his joints with her fists, which he brushed away repeatedly. She swung a powerful right fist at his chest but he sidestepped her, grabbed it and tugged. She sailed through the air and landed on her feet, skidding briefly before coming to a complete stop.
‘Is there a reason why I should not drag the unconscious bodies of you and the asafo back to the village circle like the other asafo who have ventured here before you?’ She asked as she sunk into an offensive stance.
‘Amoawa, we have come to seek your help in reclaiming the village. After the events of the night of sacrifice, I know the asafo are not welcome here and I know you think that the asafo are trying to take over the village but we are not a part of that’
‘The affairs of the village are no longer my concern’ Amoawa snapped. ‘I have sent Mirekua to spy on the village and give me an idea of the situation there. ‘I will take action only if my people are threatened’
Safo understood Amoawa’s words. She did not just blame the )brafo) and the priests for the night of sacrifice but the ordinary villagers for doing nothing to stop it. A young woman suddenly appeared from the shadows. ‘Amoawa, a vice asafoakyer named Mans is responsible for the uprising and they are searching for Safo and his group.’
A tall, dark vice asafoakyer darted towards the hut, leading 20 low ranking asafo. She slashed the arrows aimed at her group and slashed through the bows of the archers, the blade slashing their chests. As they fell away, more asafo drew out their akodze at the entrance of the elders’ hut to defend the panin inside. She swung twice, breaking their blades and slashing three at a time. Three safohenfo surrounded her on all sides but other vice safohenfo poured in from all sides and slashed them.
As soon as she entered the hut, Takyi swung a fist at her, but she caught it and crushed it, sending him to his knees.
The elder asafo hurriedly escorted some of the elders out of the building only for the rest to be attacked by other low ranking asafo. ‘Owusuwaa, report’ ordered Mansa. A heavily scarred woman spoke, ‘This is the third elder’s hut in the village. The rest of the senior asafo and some of our age mates are now sheltering the elders in their own homes. We should be able to attack them by the break of dawn.’
‘What about )safo and the other safohen?’
‘We have been unable to find them and Amoawa’s shelter’
‘Keep searching and stay alert. They might attack us before the night is over’
At Amoawa’s shelter, she explained to the asafo that her people regularly monitored the actions of the village in case they decided to attack her shelter. ‘There are seven different hidden paths from our present location to your village that my spies use.’
‘Good, ‘noted Safo with a nod of his head, ‘we will need 20 of your best fighters to lead an assault on the asafo near the panin’s huts. Supi Takyiwaa may no longer be in the village but she kept a large amount of akodze in her home’.
The asafo searching the forest were silently restrained one by one as Amoawa’s people noiselessly attacked them from behind and led the asafo into the centre of the village. The asafo guarding the mpaninfo reacted with apprehension as Amoawa tore through their flimsy barricade, and walked past several unconscious junior asafo. )safo led the rest of the safohen into Takyiwaa’s hut, and they armed themselves with various akodze. At midnight, a line of low ranking asafo led by a vice safohen let off their arrows at 20 fighters who snaked towards them and shot flaming arrows at the huts, burning them and creating panic within the lines of the other junior asafo.
When they were close enough, they tackled the asafo with quick punches. As reinforcements arrived, they beat a hasty retreat into the bushes. One line of asafo stayed behind as two lines headed for the bushes, striking at the least indication of noise. Using traps and staffs to stir up the bushes, Safo and the other asafo forced the asafo to waste most of their akodze before launching a direct attack. Safo slashed through several lines of asafo and floored other with quick punches. Amoawa struck those on the left with low kicks and hard punches. Five asafo lunged at her but barehanded, she caught the blades of two asafo and rammed the hilts into their bellies, felled them with low sweeps of her legs before punching one in the throat and crashing her knee into her face.
She spun around the swing of one’s blade, grabbed the neck of her attacker and slammed her into the ground. The remaining asafo swung down her machetes at her, but she seized both of them and headbutted the asafo repeatedly until she collapsed.
‘The rest of the fighters may leave’ said Amoawa suddenly. ‘I will go with )safo to meet this Mansa.’ However none of them moved an inch. She smiled faintly,’Alright, )safo, let’s just crush the enemy”. Mansa heard the shouts first, and later the other asafo , as Amoawa, Safo and the other asafoakyer rushed at the remaining asafo lines, slashing through their blades and tackling them with high and low kicks. As he got closer to the barricade separating him from Mansa’s forces, an asafo lunged at him but he punched her in the throat and turned to slash an arrow that flew straight for his neck with his afena. He hacked at the barricade with his ndar, each swing breaking the barrier in large chunks.
Mansa watched as the barricade began to give way and heaved a sigh of acceptance before drawing out her afena. ‘They’re coming for us, she warned her forces, ‘show no fear, show no hesitation and show no mercy’. The barricade fell with a loud clatter and both forces darted towards each other, akodze drawn. Amoawa lunged at Mansa but Owusuwaa blocked her path, her spearhead slicing a tuft of her hair off her head. She thrusted the akodze at Amoawa again and again, but she brushed away the spear each time and kicked her into a stockpile of akodze. The vice asafoakyer regained her balance and attacked her again but with one swing of her left leg, she snapped the wooden shaft of the spear in half aand struck her across the head.
Enraged, Mansa lunged at her from behind but )safo blocked the attack with his ndar and they swung at each other, drawing sparks from their akodze. Mansa began to force him back until they swung at each other with such force that their blades broke. Mansa still swung her broken afena at him but he blocked it with his own broken blade and kicked her belly, forcing her to skid backwards as he drew out his akofena. She regained her balance and darted towards him, mimicking his earlier moves with leg swings and the swing of his akodze. He sidestepped her thrusts and began swinging at her using Kakla ke Klante Nimo (the Ga Martial art of bladed weapon combat).
Unfamiliar with this art, Mansa was unable to avoid being forced into the corner of the building they were fighting in. He swung hard against her akofena, sending her crashing through the clay wall and landing outside the building. They continued to fight even as scores of low ranking asafo and their vice safohen fought the safohenfo and other asafo. Sparks flew from their akodze as they clashed. She pushed back against him fiercely, nearly causing him to nearly lose his balance. Mansa chose that moment when he was still beginning to regain his balance to lunge at him, determined to kill him. )safo regained his balance, drew out his b)ha (scabbard) and sheathed her akofena in it, before rolling away, flicking the b)ha once, causing it to fly straight into the wall of a hut.
She drew out her ndar and slashed at him, ripping through his battledress but e blocked four swings of the machetes and swung twice, knocking the ndar out of her hands. She drew out a poisoned dagger and lunged at him only for him to bush it aside and punch her neck. She stumbled backwards in pain as he sheathed his ndar. Panting heavily, Mansa pondered over her next move. She glanced around her and noticed that all of her asafo were being restrained and disarmed by the senior asafo. She sighed, closed her eyes and raised her hands in surrender. Five of )safo’s asafo rushed towards her, disarmed and bound her quickly. At the break of dawn, )safo gave his report to Elder Takyi who nursed his injured hand.
‘Mansa and the vice safohenfo have been detained and are awaiting the trial for their crimes set for the next week. In the years of service to the village, she was considered as an average asafo with no outstanding qualities or family ties.’
‘We discovered that she used the gold dust reserves from the closed mines to but out the spy network which was why the signs of any uprising went unnoticed and timed the attack at the moment when the Supi and most of the asafo would be absent from the village in an intervillage meeting.’
‘What about the situation in the village?’ asked Takyi.
‘When the uprising began, most of the people fled to the nearby villages, Nyansakrom, being one of them. There were some acts of lawlessness in the village that night as the numbers of asafo have being reduced. Because of this, I’m going to conduct a patrol of the village this morning to make sure everything and everyone is safe and secure.’
‘Very good, )safo. You may leave now” noted Takyi.
Eight low ranking asafo stiffened as )safo emerged from the panin hut.
‘ Is everyone ready?’
‘Yes, Safohen )safo’
‘Mo (excellent) let us begin the patrol’.
The End
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