Cliff shook his large head negatively. "Of course not, but Crawford
seems to think it'd be a good idea if some of us in the field would get
together and ... well, have sort of a bull session."
Jake growled, "We don't have much in the way of co-operation on the
higher levels. Everybody seems to head out in all directions on their
own. It can get chaotic. Maybe in the field we could give each other a
few pointers. For one, I'd like to find out if any of the rest of these
jokers know anything about that affair with the Cubans over in the
Sudan."
"I suppose it can't hurt," Isobel admitted. "In fact, it might be fun
swapping experiences with some of these characters. Frankly, though, the
stories I've heard about the African Development teams aren't any too
palatable. They seem to be a ruthless bunch."
Jake looked down into his glass. "It's a ruthless country," he murmured.
* * * * *
Dolo Anah, as he approached the ten Dogon villages of the Canton de
Sangha, was first thought to be a small bird in the sky. As he drew
nearer, it was decided, instead, that he was a larger creature of the
air, perhaps a vulture, though who had ever seen such a vulture? As he
drew nearer still, it was plain that in size he was more nearly an
ostrich than vulture, but who had ever heard of a flying ostrich, and
besides--
No! It was a man! But who in all the Dogon had ever witnessed such a
_juju_ man? One whose flailing limbs enabled him to fly!
The ten villages of the Dogon are perched on the rim of the Falaise de
Bandiagara. The cliffs are over three hundred feet high and the villages
are similar to Mesa Verde of Colorado, and as unaccessible, as
impregnable to attack.
But hardly impregnable to arrival by helio-hopper.
When Dolo Anah landed in the tiny square of the village of Ireli, the
first instinct of Amadijue the village witchman was to send post haste
to summon the Kanaga dancers, but then despair overwhelmed him. Against
powers such as this, what could prevail? Besides, Amadijue had not
arrived at his position of influence and affluence through other than
his own true abilities. Secretly, he rather doubted the efficacy of even
the supposedly most potent witchcraft.
But this!
Dolo Anah unstrapped himself from the one man helio-hopper's small
bicyclelike seat, folded the two rotors back over the rest of the craft,
and then deposited the seventy-five pound vehicle in a corner, between
two adobe houses. He knew perfectly well that the local inhabitants
would die a thousand deaths of torture rather than approach, not to
speak of touching it.
Looking to neither right nor left, walking arrogantly and carrying only
a small bag--undoubtedly housing his _gris gris_, as Amadijue could well
imagine--Dolo Anah headed for the largest house. Since the whole village
was packed, bug-eyed, into the square watching him there were no
inhabitants within.
He snapped back over his shoulder, "Summon all the headmen of all the
villages, and all of their eldest sons; summon all the Hogons and all
the witchmen. Immediately! I would speak with them and issue orders."
He was a small man, clad only in a loincloth, and could well have been a
Dogon himself. Surely he was black as a Dogon, clad as a Dogon, and he
spoke the native language which is a tongue little known outside the
semi-desert land of Dogon covered with its sand, rocks, scrub bush and
baobab trees. It is not a land which sees many strangers.
The headmen gathered with trepidation. All had seen the juju man descend
from the skies. It had been with considerable relief that most had noted
that he finally sank to earth in the village of Ireli instead of their
own. But now all were summoned. Those among them who were Kanaga dancers
wore their masks and costumes, and above all their gris gris charms, but
it was a feeble gesture. Such magic as this was unknown. To fly through
the air _personally_!
Dolo Anah was seated to one end of the largest room of the largest house
of Ireli when they crowded in to answer his blunt summons. He was seated
cross-legged on the floor and staring at the ground before him.
The others seemed tongue-tied, both headmen and Hogons, the highly
honored elders of the Dogon people. So Amadijue as senior witchman took
over the responsibility of addressing this mystery juju come out of the
skies.
"Oh, powerful stranger, how is your health?"
"Good," Dolo Anah said.
"How is the health of thy wife?"
"Good."
"How is the health of thy children?"
"Good."
"How is the health of thy mother?"
"Good."
"How is the health of thy father?"
"Good."
"How is the health of thy kinswomen?"
"Good."
"How is the health of thy kinsmen?"
"Good."
To the traditional greeting of the Dogon, Amadijue added hopefully,
"Welcome to the villages of Sangha."
His voice registering nothing beyond the impatience which had marked it
from the beginning, Dolo Anah repeated the routine.
"Men of Sangha," he snapped, "how is your health?"
"Good," they chorused.
"How is the health of thy wives?"
"Good!"
"How is the health of thy children?"
"Good!"
"How is the health of thy mothers?"
"Good!"
"How is the health of thy fathers?"
"Good!"
"How is the health of thy kinswomen?"
"Good!"
"How is the health of thy kinsmen?"
"Good!"
"I accept thy welcome," Dolo Anah bit out. "And now heed me well for I
am known as Dolo Anah and I have instructions from above for the people
of the Dogon."
Sweat glistened on the faces and bodies of the assembled Dogon headmen,
their uncharacteristically silent witchmen, the Hogons and the sons of
the headmen.
"Speak, oh juju come out of the sky," Amadijue fluttered, but proud of
his ability to find speech at all when all the others were stricken dumb
with fear.
* * * * *
Dolo Anah stared down at the ground before him. The others, their eyes
fascinated as though by a cobra preparing to strike its death, focused
on the spot as well.
Dolo Anah raised a hand very slowly and very gently and a sigh went
through his audience. The dirt on the hut floor had stirred. It stirred
again and slowly, ever so slowly, up through the floor emerged a milky,
translucent ball. When it had fully emerged, Dolo Anah took it up in his
hands and stared at it for a long moment.
It came to sudden light and a startled gasp flushed over the room, a
gasp shared by even the witchmen, Amadijue included.
Dolo Anah looked up at them. "Each of you must come in turn and look
into the ball," he said.
Faltering, though all eyes were turned to him, Amadijue led the way. His
eyes rounded, he stared, and they widened still further. For within,
mystery upon mystery, men danced in seeming celebration. It was as
though it was a funeral party but of dimensions never known before, for
there were scores of Kanaga dancers, and, yes, above all other wonders,
some of the dancers were Dogon, without doubt, but others were Mosse and
others were even Tellum!
Amadijue turned away, shaken, and Dolo Anah spoke sharply, "The rest,
one by one."
They came. The headmen, the Hogons, the witchmen and finally the sons of
the headmen, and each in turn stared into the ball and saw the tiny men
within, doing their dance of celebration, Dogon, Mosse and Tellum
together.
When all had seen, Dolo Anah placed the ball back on the ground and
stared at it and slowly it returned to from whence it came, and Dolo
Anah gently spread dust over the spot. When the floor was as it had
been, he looked up at them, his eyes striking.
"What did you see?" he spoke sharply to Amadijue.
There was a tremor in the village witchman's voice. "Oh juju, come out
of the sky, I saw a great festival and Dogon danced with their enemies
the Mosse and the Tellum--and, all seemed happy beyond belief."