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Chapter 1: Ancient Africa |
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First Person Documents |
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[from the towns of Aramoko and Ilesha]
Ogún, master of the world, support of the newborn child
Ogún is virile
Ogún, master of the yam I cut...
Ogún, with coronet of blood
Burns the forest, burns the bush
Leaves the forest screaming in the sound of flames
[from Ire town]
Ogún cuts, in large or small fragments
He kills the husband on the face of the fire
He kills the wife on the hearth
He kills the little people who flee outside
Even with water present in the house,
He washes himself with blood.
Sudden as lightning, he terrifies the lazy.
[from the town of Ilesha]
Ogún promenades, serpent poised about his neck
Ogún, King of Ire, lord, great sovereign of iron.
With stripes about his body,
Such as one sees only on the skin of the wild doe
Unless it be Akisale, born of the Gaboon viper
Unless it be Akisale, born of the python
From Flash of the Spirit by Robert Farris Thompson, copyright © 1983 by Robert Farris Thompson. Used by permission of Random House, Inc. http://www.randomhouse.com.
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