The mythical city of Wagadu was located in the Upper Volta region of West Africa and is believed to be an idealized compilation of four historical places, Jerra, Agada, Ganna, and Silla, which date from antiquity. These bardic accounts were first collected by Leo Frobenius between 1899 and 1915. In the two stories published in the July issue of THE WORLD & I, the city is lost for the first time, then rediscovered by a great prince, Lagarre. Our story continues from that point.
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Wagadu, the great city, lived, prospered, and grew rich and famous. Every year a girl was sacrificed to Bida, the giant serpent who lived in a pond near the great river. And once a year Bida flew over the city, spewing gold from her huge mouth like golden rain, like sun-mist.
In the year where we again take up the thread of our history of Wagadu, the name of the girl on whom the lot had fallen to be sacrificed was Sia Yattai-Bari. Sia was the most beautiful girl in the country, so not surprisingly she already had a lover. His name was Mamadi Sefe Dekote, or Muhammad, the Silent Sword.
Mamadi had this praise-name because he owned a sword that was longer than all other swords in Wagadu, which he honed and whetted to perfection. He could take a grain of millet, throw it up in the air, and cut it in two with his sword before it reached the earth. The sword edge was so thin that it did not sing as he swung it in the air but cut the air silently. Thus it was called the Silent Sword.
What sort of a man was Mamadi? Listen! There was a rich man living in Wagadu, named Wagana Sako, who had a very lovely wife. She was so famous for her beauty that she could not help attracting lovers. Does the flower call the butterflies? Wagana Sako had built a high stone wall around his garden, so high that no horse could jump over the wall, except his own, Samba Ngarranja, the strongest stallion in the country. That stallion was never permitted to mount a mare, so afraid was Wagana Sako that it would have offspring of equal agility. There were no gates in the stone wall, no windows, no doors anywhere. There was only one way to enter Wagana Sako's garden, that is, mounted on the great stallion, Samba Ngarranja.
One day Wagana Sako was visiting friends in the country. He had tied Samba outside in the garden. However, Mamadi had followed him, riding his own strong mare, who was in heat. While Wagana was drinking with his friends, Mamadi quietly untied the stallion Samba and let him mount the mare.
The course of fate cannot be stopped any more than the seeds of the acacia tree. The mare gave birth to a stallion, a worthy son of Samba. For three years Mamadi waited, training his horse to jump over the river and back, over hills and rocks, out of sight of Wagana Sako. Then, one night, when Wagana had gone out for a drink with friends, Mamadi--having watched him go--jumped over the wall on his young stallion and visited Wagana's wife. Before Wagana came back, Mamadi was on his horse and out of the fortress.
How does the caterpillar get into the pumpkin? How does the rat get into the grain store? Such a man was Mamadi. He was not afraid of Wagana's wealth
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