THE ENCOUNTER

THE ENCOUNTER

By

Africano Mande

O’ Maridi! O’ Maridi!
Don’t you bellow for me.
I ‘m the son,
Ain’t more or less a son.
So far muluya nda kuwa.

I rode on a buffalo in a leopard skin,
Charging with my pala burning red.
I pierced through your heart,
You proclaimed,
Come! Come! Come on!
Down on earth I came.

I cried to find the glory,
Searched for my civilisation,
But down on my feet,
The graves of Banzoro and Gedima rattled.
They both admitted that,
The civilisation I’m to inherit,
Is nothing but the numerous graves.
And it will not be easy.

My!
Should I tarry to be the witness?
Or I should promise that,
I will testify.

In my oath with Maridi,
I vowed to rise when the morning comes.
And with Ambiringi under my feet,
I will blow the trumpet of Mande.
And that day,
Those below and beyond the hills,
Will all gather to march.
Even the widows will get their share of musala.

GBUTALA

GBUTALA

By

Africano Mande

There lies the MAN,
There rests the pride of nation,
The symbol of a cause,
In the yards of Maridi.

Behind you,
Maridi still sings that,
Gbutala!!
You are the departed,
We are returning the soil,
When your are not in sight.
Maridi will still hold your spirit.

I will live to sing kudos,
For the nation to know,
For the children to commemorate,
For the pride of Maridi,
That not pledges,
Have tamed and derailed you.
Your past is free from guilt and apologies,
It gave gentle radiance with ideal.
Your struggle is free from shakedown,
It excelled you into the MAN.

Your will,
Is indestructible.
Your philosophy,
Consistent with reality.
Your vision incumbent.
Yes!
Westerners in the west,
Southerners in the south.
Called it natural reality and maturity.

As a living,
The oppressors built you up against their will and objectives,
Into a hero.
Your spirit denounced by them,
The vision detained,
But I promise that,
The generation will pick up your fallen spear,
To announce your spirit and free your vision.
I promise,
No sand,
No wind,
Will bury your footsteps.
No history,
Will out live yours.
No mind,
Will change your philosophy.
Your memory,
Will give light to the blind.
You alone are the MAN.

Welcome to Maridi!

Maridi is a land that you have to visit before you die. It is the only land of honey remaining in the whole world.