Tales from Bojuri: Warapa

Long ago in the land of Bojuri, a small village not far from Ogbomoso, a land of the mischievous and mysterious, a land of strange happenings. A land where evil is raw, lived Asabi, the girl with a strange ailment inflicted by the three most feared witches- Ayanfe, Mori and Isokale- in all of Bojuri.

Asabi, as her suitors would say was blessed by the god of beauty. She was specially created by Eledumare. Her beauty was heard far across all the neighbouring villages and the more her suitors increased, the more she upgraded her taste in men and wealth. In no time, even the prince of Bojuri wasn’t man enough for an audience with her. Her attitude became something else.

‘Asabi, I know your beauty is from Eledumare himself but beauty is temporary and time waits for no one. I know no man in Bojuri is fit enough to be your husband but choose from amongst the princes a husband that come to seek for your hand in marriage so that I took can see my grandchildren’ Her mother would plead but truth was that no man could satisfy Asabi, only angels could.

Such was the compliments she had received since her childhood that she was the definition of pride. She formed the notorious ladies group, ‘ma fowo kan’ meaning ‘don’t touch’ as a classic name for a group of beautiful girls in Bojuri that were specialists in extorting the men of Bojuri.

Despite been twenty-two years of age, Asabi was not bothered about settling down and having a family. ‘The only man that can come and put me in the family way was that man that can buy the whole of this Bojuri’ she would boast to her disciples. In spite of her blasphemy, her beauty was hard to ignore and instead aroused praises for her.

The Ma fowo kan group planned to throw a party that would be spoken for ages in the land of Bojuri and its environs for years to come. It was an intensed preparation and after a year of extorting chiefs and kings, the ma fowo kan group had amassed three million cowries- that was large enough to buy half of Bojuri and these useless girls planned on throwing a vain party.