After God had finished creating the Earth, the animals, and human beings, He decided to take a walk among them without being recognised; rather, He intended to test the men and women He had created. He therefore transformed Himself into a poor man, adorned with monkey skins, and, with a staff and a saddlebag, walked towards the Earth in search of His favourite creatures, man and woman, to see if they would recognise Him.
He went from village to village, but no one welcomed Him: some apologised, saying they had no room; some claimed they had no more food; some suspected Him of being a fraud; and so on…
One day, the poor man arrived at a Birrwa village called Kasassi and, passing from hut to hut, he met a man named Saidu, who was very hospitable to him, although he had little food or wine to offer.
Saidu was finishing the rice his wife had cooked for him, but, seeing the poor wretch, he invited him to sit down and share the last handful of rice remaining on the plate. Afterwards, he instructed his wife, Kadiatu, to offer him the remaining glass of palm wine.
The poor man was very happy and satisfied. He therefore decided to bless Saidu specially in return for the hospitality he had received.
“Tomorrow morning at dawn,” he said to Saidu, “go up the mountain in front of you, because I wish to give you something.”
“I will come, have no doubt,” Saidu replied gratefully.
Kadiatu, his wife, listened curiously behind the door. As soon as the poor man left, she ran to her brother, Baimba, and recounted all that she had heard between the two of them, urging him to go to the mountain even before Saidu, to claim first what the poor man had promised her husband. Baimba, clad in monkey skins, ascended the mountain.
Upon reaching the top, he saw a brilliant light from which a voice emerged, asking him:
“Is that you, Saidu?”
“Yes, it is me.”
“Your voice does not sound like Saidu’s, though your body does. Come closer, for I wish to bless you. You were the only one who graciously welcomed me when I descended among you, miserably attired in monkey skins, to test you. Since you and your wife have shown kindness and goodness towards me, I wish to be generous to you. Take this sceptre, and with it rule the world.”
Meanwhile, Saidu had made his way to the top of the mountain where the poor man had summoned him. Upon reaching his presence, he said, “Here I am, friend! I am Saidu, whom you instructed to come here yesterday.”
“But were you not the Saidu to whom, a short while ago, I bestowed the sceptre of power as a sign of blessing and a reward for hospitality?”
“No. It is I, Saidu, who speaks to you.”
“Come closer, that I may see your face better and hear your voice more clearly.”
Saidu approached, and the poor man recognised him, reacting furiously:
“Saidu, I am the Lord of Heaven and Earth. I came down among you creatures to seek a man worthy to rule the Earth in my name. Someone I did not deem worthy has usurped that right without my consent. Now I wish to know him. Let us return together to the village, and you will inform me of all the men who dwell there.”
Back in the village, they summoned all the men to gather at the barry, the meeting place. Only Baimba was absent. When he arrived, God spoke to him:
“Come closer and tell me who you are.”
“I am Baimba.”
“Yes, now I recognise your voice. You are the usurper of my power on Earth. Who sent you to me yesterday morning to receive the sceptre of power when I had promised it to Saidu?”
“It was Kadiatu, Saidu’s wife. She overheard your conversation yesterday. As soon as you left their hut, she rushed to me, informed me of the promise to Saidu, and urged me to come to the mountain before him to receive your blessing.”
“Cursed be you and your sister Kadiatu, who sought to deceive me and her husband. You shall become a dog, and she a cat. From now on, you will eat only the scraps of men, you will detest each other, and will no longer understand one another, for you will speak two different languages: you, dog, will bark, and you, cat, will meow forever. You, dog, will be obliged to guard Saidu’s hut, while you, cat, will have to keep the rats away from it, if you both wish to survive. And as for Saidu, he will be blessed with the sceptre of power on Earth, and you will all obey him!”
Saidu summoned everyone to feast and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God. That day became sacred, and every year, on the same day, the people of Kasassi commemorate it with a sacrifice offered in His honour.
(Folktale from Sierra Leone)
