Chapter 17: Asweda's final journey on earth
Asweda was now an old man. He was too old to speak and could only communicate through gestures. The old man knew that his time on earth was over and had to do the necessary before his departure. As usual, he was to bless one of his one. Normally the first born son was to receive the father's blessing. But for this case he was in a state of dilemma and had to think critically before making final decision. The first son was Nasimalwa Thishida who was born outside marriage. The second child was Obulala who was the biological son to Asweda. After a critical thought, the old man decide to extend the blessing to his biological son Obulala. The fatherly blessing meant a lot and was highly valued.
There was a struggle between the two wives as each had to struggle to have her son blessed. Suzana alerted her son Nasimalwa Thishida to be on watch as they planned to trick the old man to bless him. Although the old man could not speak, his vision ability was still good. On the other side, Helena was also on watch. He was to to everything to ensure her son's blessings is not diverted.
On the third day of the fifth month, the old man in his wisdom called out the son Obulala to grant him the blessings. Obulala responded swiftly to his fathers call. The young man knelt down in a manner signifying respect. For the first time the old man's voice could be heard after a very long time of being dump. The old man stretched his hands and uttered words of blessing upon his son.
"Young man, I give you blessings of this world and the work of your hand shall be blessed". The old man emphasized that his son wealth will multiply and grains triple to fill the stores. He could be heard saying that his sons generation will be big and successful. The young man was urged to unite the family and ensure peace and prosperity among family members. Obulala was given the responsibility to take care of all his four mothers and not to discriminate any of them. The old man emphasized that the young man to mark his territories and avoid any intruder.
On the part of inheritance, the old man made a wise decision. He directed all his daughters to be given five cattle each. The step son Thishida Nasimalwa was to be given twenty cattle as directed by the old man Asweda. The old man then directed his son to carry him around the homestead as he gave further instructions. They went to one corner of the homestead where the young man was shown a small plant called 'Omubeli'. The tree was believed to have secrecy about protecting the family against the enemies. 'Omubeli' was a small plant of about one meter in height and had a green stem and was leafy. The plant had a strong scent and seasonally produced very attractive blue flowers. The plant was to be protected by all means.
The young man Obulala carried the father to the next corner of the homestead. At that point there was a very tiny thorn plant with small leaves. The plant had a significant role and it was believed to have some powers. The young man was advised to occasionally consult the ancestors at that particular site. It was believed that the ancestors stayed inside that particular tree. The boy Obulala was instructed to water the plant with blood of any slaughtered animal to feed the ancestors.
The old man Asweda eventually showed the exact place where he wished to be buried. He gave instruction on how he wanted his burial service to be conducted. The old man finally departed from the earth peaceful and partially satisfied. The young man was really worried seeing his dad dying under his watch, specifically under his hands.
The young man, once courageous nervously carried the dead father to the door of the first wife as the society norms directed. He then alerted his wife who came quickly in response. The wife wailed loudly to mourn the father in law raising the attention of the neighbors and other family members. Most of the family members were not around at that particular time. They had traveled to the neighboring village to attend to a traditional wedding of Shantela's daughter.
The entire village flocked in the homestead to mourn with the Asweda's family. There was massive wailing in that particular home. The wails passed different message about the deceased. Some old women could be heard singing praise songs to the departed soul. From the situation at that particular time, the deceased seamed to be a kind man who loved humanity. The old man sited somewhere in the spirit world would be satisfied by the turn of events and the kind of last respect he was accorded.
The message was to be passed to the Asweda's in law places. The long distance runners were summoned over the same. Among the four long distance Runner was Osuna Saga. Osuna Saga was the fastest long distance runner by that time. Each runner had to be sent to one of the four wive of the great Asweda. The runners left to go and convey the message and were expected back in four days time.
The family members including Regina, Suzana and Helena who had traveled to attend Shantela's wedding ceremony arrived back only find a sad mood at home. They were really shocked although they had expected it to happen. They joined the other mourners. Regina mourned her husband in an extra ordinary way that left the other mourners marveled. Regina was really confused about the turn of events and was really trying to come to terms with the situation at hand. It could be clearly seen that among the four wives, Regina was the most affected by the death of the old man Asweda. She emotionally wailed to relieve pain.
Suzana was really disturbed and worried at the same time. She called her son Thishida Nasimalwa aside to have a secret conversation with him. The main motive behind the conversation was to inquire if the son was blessed by the father. Suzana was really disappointed to find out the son missed the old man's blessings. Nasimalwa Thishida had traveled to a very far village to visit his lover at the time the old man Asweda was pouring out blessings. It was a time of regret for the Suzana's family as they could not imagine they had missed it out.
Helena also called out his son a side to secretly talk. The talk was centered about the old man's blessings and wealth sharing. Helena was really happy on finding out her son was blessed by the father. Those blessings was highly valued and was believed to bring good fortune to the family. Obulala informed the mother about the wealth sharing formulae which further favored Helena's family. They had over twenty thousand livestock of which only ten were to be given to Asweda's step son Thishida Nasimalwa. Each daughter was to receive five cattle only. This meant that Obulala was to be the custodian of the rest of the wealth. The old man Asweda seemed unfair but his decision was praised by the old men in the community. The community valued boy child over girl child. Also Obulala qualified to inherit nearly all the fathers wealth on the basis of being the biological son of the deceased.
There was rival among the family member on wealth sharing. Regina argued that he had massively contributed to the wealth of the deceased by the dowry already paid by the husband of all her ten daughter. She claimed to have a fair share of the same. Helena argued that he contributed massively on the wealth gain of the deceased by the livestock she received from her magical career. Suzana also claimed to have contributed massively through the bride price paid to her daughters. It was really a hard case to resolve. The old man Asweda could be blamed for not setting records clear before his demise.
The old men in the community had to hold a special meeting to discuss the way forward about the ongoing family wrangles. They had to come up with a bold clear decision to guide the already divided family. The meeting was successful held and the decision was somehow harsh. The old wise men made a decision to respect the deceased decision. They vowed to ensure the deceased wishes are upheld. This was a shock to most of the Asweda's family members. They had no other option but to accept the decision.
The old men formed a committee to organize the final send off of the once great man Asweda. The committee was mandated with the responsibility of ensuring smooth plans. They had to suggest the way to make the burial colorful. The plans were well put in place and the burial date set to be the 28th day of the fifth month.
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