One who has travelled down the Livingstonia escarpments from the location of the Mchenga coal grading machine down to Chiweta – or down Boliwoli – especially during the rainy season will live to remember a common sight henceforth.
You may just hear a bell ringing as you get engulfed in fear because of the steep slopes that leave you shaking in your seat. Or, you will see cattle dung in the middle of the road – testimony that the cattle turned the tarmac into bed. Or, mainly at night, you will find the cattle lying in the middle of the road.
I have had this captivating experience more often. And, often, I have failed miserably to convince people that the cattle that ring their bells, or dump their dung or lay stubbornly in the middle of the road are not mysterious as many think.
So mysterious have many people believed these cattle are that when you travel on a ride up or down the escarpments, you will hear neighbours sharing stories about the ‘mystery’ these cattle boast.
Magic at work
One will say the owner of these cattle died a long time ago – maybe before you were born – but these cattle have remained a fixture in the escarpments and all they have done is to multiply and keep filling the road with their dung.
Another will say that the fact that these cattle roam the bush in the escarpments even at night without being stolen or killed shows that they are fortified with magic.
Yet others will say that the fact that these cattle do not run away from the middle of the road even when loaded trucks approach them is testimony that the magic with which they are fortified is so potent that it forces drivers to, usually, stop or travel at snail speed and ably pass them without killing one.
In the line of duty
The latest I heard people debate this was last week. After finishing my business on Thursday I thought I should spend my time doing some feature stories around Chilumba in Karonga.
We passed through the area infested with the ‘mysterious’ cattle at around 10:20pm. We saw two groups about 10 metres apart. One group occupied a lane and another was grazing by the road side. It is common for cattle to graze at night especially when the moon is shining.
I heard a male passenger telling his female seat mate in front of me that the cattle we had seen are fortified with magic and the owner died a long time ago.
He said one cannot kill the cattle which is why they kept multiplying and never got stolen. He claimed that even if one killed the cattle, they would not eat the meat because it can’t be cooked.
One season phenomenon
I asked the man if he had seen all this by himself. Seemingly not ready to give in, he repeated exactly what he had told the lady passenger. I felt the impetus run around my body telling me that this time around I would defeat the claimant.
I started by telling him what happens around the area and why the cattle are not stolen. I told him I came from near the place we were passing through and personally knew the owners of the ‘mysterious’ cattle.
Having been involved in such a practice back in those days, I told the man that it was common for people to ‘abandon’ their cattle in the bush like this. The practice was particularly common in the rainy season when all land close to the homes was used for growing crops.
The man never bought it and only succumbed after I dealt him a lethal blow. I let him argue his cause. And when he seemed finished, I posed two questions to him. First, I asked whether he has ever lived close to where we saw the ‘mysterious’ cattle. Second, I asked whether he had seen the cattle we saw in the same area in the dry season.
Naked evidence
The man succumbed and never spoke again. In the dry season the cattle are grazed on the land used for crops.
Evidence of what I had said presented itself in total nakedness on Saturday afternoon. I had joined some media colleagues on the way back to Mzuzu and there were four of us the ride.
As we neared the top end of the escarpments, we saw four cattle grazing by the road side. I asked the colleague that was driving to slow down a bit so I could take a photo.
I fished my phone and snapped the cattle, telling my colleagues what I was up to. About half a kilometre later, we heard the bell and later saw someone driving the cattle towards the location of the coal grading machine.
We could not hesitate but stop. We pounded the man who identified himself as Sangwani Chisambo with questions. He confirmed what I had told the people some two days earlier. People dump their cattle here during the rainy season because they cultivate the land near their homes.
The cattle are taken back home in the evening. He said they only sleep in the area when nobody goes to get them. This happens when people are tired with their jobs. Chisambo is a driver and that is what keeps him busy during the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment