The hunter’s disappointment

Once upon a time, in a village called Totché, a large hunter by the name of Houkanli. Houkanli had his own concession and was the father of two little girls: Awa and Dadjo. His wife, Yessssi, was a woman of perverse and very selfish nature. In all totché, Houkanli was considered the best hunter, because he had killed the great snake alone who prevented cultivators from going to their fields. He was far from a coward. The day the king of Totché had offered a bonus for the death of the Grand Serpent, at least fifteen hunters had presented themselves. However, among them, only Houkanli had managed to kill the serpent and brought his head as well as the tail to the palace, thus proving to the king that he had accomplished the mission.

Since that day, Houkanli was appointed the great hunter of Totché. After the mission of the Grand Serpent, he had accomplished several other quests, such as that of the magic calabasse. In his family, he was the second hunter, his father having also been a large hunter. For Houkanli, her little family had more than anything, but his wife only thought of herself. She often said that hunting was a lost cause for Houkanli. She wanted a husband capable of supporting her financial needs and allowing her to compete with the Princess of Totché in terms of clothing style. But the meager economies of Houkanli were only enough to feed his family.

Each evening, YessiSi found himself around a big fire with his friends, telling everyone the dark aspects of Houkanli’s life and the misery he was undergoing. For her, he was a big coward. While Yessissi spent her time denigrating her husband, Houkanli clung to the forest trees to monitor her traps.

He returned every three days with game, even the most dangerous, whose head he was cutting out to show them to his daughters. He wanted to teach them that among animals, some were extremely dangerous and that it was necessary to be wary of it. After three days of hunting, Houkanli spent another three days with his family before leaving in the forest. But some days, he came back empty -handed. Yessissi then found nothing else to do than to insult him. For her, entering empty -handed was an unforgivable fault.

Three days spent near his family, Houkanli returned to the bush. At twenty-five meters, he saw a solid, black body, covered with vase, dripping like an old tree trunk saturated with rainwater. He no longer dared to move. With all the prudence he was capable of, he raised his spear, made her switch back; But, at that precise moment, his hand began to tremble and the lance did not leave … Houkanli always doubted what he saw.

The beast hired a new race. The lance ready to spring, Houkanli saw it coming. He is full of his long on the ground, but the creature exceeded him before he had time to throw his weapon. He got up, released the wild ropes that had held the spear, and left his hiding place. He began to run, guided by the noise of dead leaves under the steps of the animal. He jumped over the trunks of dead trees and sneaned between the branches.

After a kilometer, the animal stopped, and Houkanli appeared behind him. Its lance, projected with force, terrified the beast which uttered a long acute cry. Houkanli did not spend the remaining two days in the bush. He returned to the village with the beast: it was a boar. Yezoussi, very surprised to see her husband come back so early, kept asking her insidious questions, but he kept silent. She was still in her usual states.

Again in hunting. The air was bright and soft. The forest seemed calm and peaceful, like a guarded hunt. Houkanli waited. Maybe he would see something. Several times he stretched his ear, believing hearing a noise …

No, nothing. Two fast monkeys passed by giving themselves. A big hawk flew away. Then, suddenly, Houkanli jumped. This time, he didn’t dream! A distant noise had just been born. He was getting closer. It was neither a voice nor a cry, but a heavy race which shook the ground, a deaf trot, followed by branches which cracked under the strength of an imposing mass. As long as the animal does not spot it, despite the Chargne district that a rebate had thrown not far.

No, noise came straight to him. A barrier sounds not far. Where were the thickets going to open?

All these reflections still mixed in his mind, Houkanli saw the branches stirred to two hundred meters. Suddenly, an elephant arises, trompe lifted, pushing his alarm cry. Right after, another elephant, much larger and with a single defense, emerged from wood. The two animals ran heavily, the shrubs and the bamboo bent in their passage, like simple strands of grass. Houkanli quickly understood that the male protected the leak of the youngest. The little barrit still, then they disappeared. Houkanli, aware that these elephants were protected species, did not try anything against them. He sheltered in a large tree, relieved to have avoided a confrontation that could have been fatal to him.

While he was perched, his thoughts derived towards his personal concerns. Houkanli had always desired a son to help him in his hunting activities, but YessiSi, who could no longer give birth, had reduced this hope to nothing. He had never planned to marry a second woman, so he had resigned himself to his destiny.

Descended from the tree, he continued on his way. In the bundle of its torch lamp, a hyena appeared, emaciated and frightened. Houkanli saw an easy prey there and prepared to attack it. But as he was about to shoot, he heard his name, whispered at a strange distance, both close and distant. An frozen shiver crossed his spine. The hyena and remained motionless.

He first thought that a hunter from the village called him. But why? In the bush, it was strictly forbidden to call someone by name, especially at night. The voice echoed again, this time behind him. He turned around, but there was no one. The hyena, she had come closer, her gaze dug in distress. Houkanli takes a new opportunity to shoot him down, but was interrupted by a female voice, anxious … which seemed to come from the hyena itself.

Seized with dread, Houkanli let go of his weapon. He recognized in this voice a supernatural call. Tremblant, he started an incantation, his words getting lost in the mysterious echo of the night, invoking the spirits to understand what had just happened …

(INCANTATION)

“ Adôhou fôfi, fôfi catabolé onou bitibôtô monnon gnikpin égni kpin énan gba.

Hê monnon sô adjinakou oundo kélédjo atikpatô monnon kpa zagandian édjê kafouéti agbotiètiègbo kougbadji man gnonkpon a mon atôwéta bo mon anonwéta alômonnon wli Dan fã gbê.”

He was always told that in the bush, he would see spirits capable of speaking to him, but it would depend on him if he would stay or if he returns to his victorious. Immediately finished, hyena metamorphos in a woman of rare beauty. She was radiant, but entirely naked. For Houkanli, it was always an illusion or the work of a clever spirit. He didn’t believe his eyes, which explained why he kept rubbing them. The young woman was really in front of him. She explained to him how and why she had metamorphosed into a hyena. It was a sad story, but someone had to deliver it from fate. Without Houkanli confessing, she already knew what tormented the spirit of the hunter. Houkanli managed to get along with the woman. They spent three days in the bush together, but before that, she made Houkanli understand that he should never be insulted or dealing with an animal: “This is the cause of my misfortune. Houkanli the nickname Gbênan, meaning “the work of life”. Gbênan knew that she would spend the rest of her life near the hunter who had just delivered her, but that one day, someone would end up dealing with her animal, which would mark the start of a new tragedy for her.

Houkanli returned to the village with Gbênan. He first went through the palace before returning to his house. You below was absent for a few weeks, but the girls were there, waiting for their father’s return. They saw Houkanli arrive, accompanied by a young woman. At first glance, they warmly welcomed the beautiful stranger before knowing the reason for her presence. Houkanli explained to her daughters that this young woman was called Gbênan and that she would stay with them for a long time. This is how Gbênan lived with the hunter and his family. She got pregnant and gave a son to the hunter. It would have been said that happiness was waiting for Gbênan before arising in the life of the hunter. He nicknamed his son Donan. Until then, everything was fine for Houkanli and his little family. He became a great man in the village, his passage was respected, and everyone was approaching the big hunter to get advice or solicit loans to emancipate their activities. He had become immensely rich.

Houkanli had a son, which made him a very happy man. Gbênan, on the other hand, was also happy, but she knew that the more joy would grow, the closer the misfortune.

Suddenly, a frenzied jealousy was born in YessiSi. The latter fed dark thoughts and sorrows supplied by her friends. It looked like an inner heckling. She knew what she had to do to discover the origin of this sudden wealth. So she was waiting for the day when Houkanli organized a party for Donan, on the occasion of her birthday.

It was a great day for this rich man. Yezoussi waited at night to take action. That evening, we came back by the grasslands. The moon, in its first district, lit part of the sky, and a fog floated like a scarf on the loss of touque. Yessissi invited her husband to her room and Amadoua. For Houkanli, his wife wanted to share a moment of intimacy with him, but he did not know that she had a plan in mind. She made him drink until drunkenness, because, as the wise men claimed: "The truth is in the glass. Taking advantage of her condition, she asked him everything about Gbênan. Exhausted and drunk, Houkanli could not keep any secrets. He admitted at Yessssi, without omitting the slightest detail.

That night, many things happened. Houkanli was no longer really aware, he was in the Lord’s vines. YessiSi, plagued by hatred, took advantage of the situation to insult Gbênan in all possible ways. The worst part was when she treated it with “bush beast. To these words, Gbênan was deeply grieved. Unable to bear this betrayal, she immediately left the house, knowing that she had been betrayed by Houkanli. It was the end for her. She returned to the forest, condemned to resume her life in the form of a hyena.

In the early morning, Houkanli woke up, very happy. The sun started to climb the top of the trees. After around thirty minutes without a sign of Gbênan in the house, the sad news reached him. But it was too late to intervene. Taken of hatred and fury, Houkanli chased the house from the house. He then decided to live alone with his two daughters and his son, without allowing another woman to disturb her peace.