Aláàfin: Irúnmölé

Chapter 22

                                ADEDAYO
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         Leaving my chambers, I then head to the combat training pit east of the palace. Coming outside makes me note how disciplined the dwellers of the palace are, for the level of scrutinizing gazes upon me is immense. Well not to any surprise, because the Yorubas are normally a tribe that stigmatizes every sort of form that comes against our customs and if the person droned to be their king is of such a situation, it's just normal that they regard him negatively.
        Normally, the moments after I step out of the palace would be flooded with different people prostrating and greeting me with praises but now the best I get is people greeting me with urgency in their tones and cold stares. Reaching the training pit, I then notice Dada at the centre of the sandy area enclosed by a low leveled round wooden platform at which people can watch the fighting in the pit from the outside. Inside with him are two warriors facing him and six teenage boys standing close with spears in their hands as they watch Dada demonstrate the Faabalé spear technique. Out of all the spear techniques, Faabalé is my favorite. It's probably due to how much aid it gives me when lashed aggressively by my uncle whenever we have a faceoff. But the rhythm as well gets me, the touches it implements when calming the rage of a Gùùn spear technique or a Sha Kpa machete technique. It for me, is the best of the three fundamental weapon techniques of the Yorubas.
            Displaying it's prowess, Dada takes the two warriors facing him as they thrust at him hard with their spears. Both trying not to give him space to wield his spear as they aim at disorienting him with various coordinated thrusts at the joints of his body. But to no avail as he implements the Faabalé technique, taming their strikes with taps on the blade of their spears with his speed giving him an advantage against both of them. At an instance where both of them are disoriented, he then strikes heavily at their spears, taking them off the warriors and sweeps one of the two to the ground using the hilt of his spear.
         As the warrior hits the ground, the boys watching the scene start laughing but Dada hushes them with a stern look and tells them to practice the move among themselves. He then greets the two warriors with one of them notifying him of my presence as soon he notices me while they speak. He and the two of them comes towards me and my guards standing at the outside of the training pit. Reaching me, the prostrate and greet with the two warriors with Dada leaving after they do so. I then say to Dada.
" I am going to the Olu Awo's place. Uncle Ogundele says that I take you with me. Do you know the way?"
" Okay my prince. Let me take my spear so we can get going." He replies as he leaves to take his spear at a corner and we both head to the Olu Awo's dwelling with Dada dismissing the two guards that came with me.
             Along the way, the cold stares drift and weren't as intense as before and Dada is to thank for that. Seems one's reputation as a possible wielder of the sea demons' Ashe still doesn't match the awe that came with gazing upon Dada. Despite how many times people see him, they are still stunned by the white dreadlocks he possesses with blind right white eye giving him more of a mystical demeanor. By history, someone with such looks has never been birthed before in all of OYO and like I said the Yorubas don't do well with irregularities or things that don't align with our beliefs or customs.
               And so whenever he is seen, people stare and shift. Even as my uncle added him to the Iron Guard, it didn't really change the view the common folk had of him. Thankfully, some of the oloyes, the elites and the Arewa Babes don't shun him with the Arewa Babes' reason being because he is handsome. Well, it's not like it's of much detriment on his side because he is not even someone that craves interaction. Among the Iron Guard, he conversates the least and there's literally a dumb person in the squad. And to add to that, he's very intrusive...even more than me and that says a lot. The only trait that reminds people that he's human is his love for kòkòrò. It is the only thing that can make him break character and I seriously wonder why. Not that it doesn't taste good but it's not something that could make me vulnerable like it does to Dada. It's mainly how the Arewa Babes approach him because once he sets sight on it, no matter how filled up he is, he would do almost whatever is asked by the person that offers him that crunchy snack.
  
       Upon reaching the borders of OYO-ILE at which the giant bronze&terracotta statue of Oduduwa's head rests, we then take a left turn down the path that leads to the Olu Awo's dwelling. The path is surrounded by tall mango and palm trees. And as we go deeper, to my right, I then see a couple of kids climbing and playing on a mango tree and among them I see a familiar face.

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Fun Fact: Kokoro is a snack food in Nigeria created by the Yoruba people. It is made from a paste of maize flour mixed with sugar and gari (cassava) or yam flour and deep-fried.