That day, Mot Binama the Human Being goes to visit his parents on the other side of the big forest. Arriving in the heart of the forest, he suddenly hears moans coming from somewhere.
“Uh!!! Who will get me out of this mess? »
Intrigued, he heads for the source of the lamentations and there he finds Mvomo the Boa Snake caught in a trap that the little ones in the equatorial forest of Cameroon call Egoudi: the trunk is on the boa snake, the head on one side, the tail of the other.
Mot Binama the Human Being takes pity, he lifts the trunk and frees Mvomo the Serpent Boa. Once out of the trap, Mvomo the Serpent Boa said to Mot Binama the Human Being:
MVOMO THE BOA SNAKE: “I can never express my gratitude to you enough. You just saved my life. As you started to save my life, save my life until the end! I’ve been stuck under this trunk for three days, I haven’t eaten anything and I don’t have enough strength left to go get another game. The only game within my reach is you, let yourself be swallowed! »
WORD BINAMA THE HUMAN BEING answers him: “Ah no eh! Oh no, that’s out of the question! You don’t think I saved your life so that you could take mine! »
MVOMO THE SNAKE BOA replies: “I understand you. But understand me too, I’m hungry. What good would it do you to save my life, if it’s to let me starve to death? Let yourself swallow. Why is the food arguing with me? »
WORD BINAMA THE HUMAN BEING says to him: “No, no, no, that’s out of the question! »
Then comes So l’Antilope.
WORD BINAMA THE HUMAN BEING sees the antelope and calls it: “So the antelope, please, come and settle this dispute for us. »
SO THE ANTELOPE arrives and says, “What’s going on? »
WORD BINAMA THE HUMAN BEING said to him: “Here, I have just saved Mvomo the Serpent Boa from certain death. But as soon as he gets out of the trap, he starts telling me… Wow! He hasn’t eaten for three days and that I should serve him lunch, I don’t agree at all. Please So the Antelope, settle this dispute for us. »
So the Antelope looks at Mot Binama the Human Being, a predator. So the Antelope looks at Mvomo the Snake Boa, another predator.
SO L’ANTILOPE said to the two belligerents: “I think that this situation deserves reflection. I’m going to consult with myself, and I’ll come back to settle this dispute for you, don’t move! »
So the Antelope went away and never came back.
So as not to tire your ears any longer, know that all the animals in turn have been solicited by the belligerents. But none of them wanted to settle this dispute between these two predators.
In the meantime the day progresses, the sun itself begins to find the time long. He is about to go to bed.
Mvomo the Snake Boa is getting more and more angry, it’s getting closer to the fourth day of the diet.
WORD BINAMA the HUMAN BEING, for his part, says to himself: “Ah! I’m still not going to end my existence in the belly of a cursed snake that I saved? »
It is just then that Kounou the Turtle arrives.
WORD BINAMA the HUMAN BEING sees the turtle and calls it: “Ah Kounou the Turtle, please come and settle this dispute for us”.
KOUNOU THE TURTLE arrives and asks Mot Binama the Human Being: “What is going on? »
WORD BINAM THE HUMAN BEING said to him: “Here! I just saved Mvomo the Serpent Boa from certain death. As soon as he gets out of the trap, he starts telling me… Wow! He hasn’t eaten for three days and I should serve him lunch. I don’t agree at all and no animal in this forest wants to settle this dispute. Please do something! »
Kounou the Turtle looks at Mot Binama the Human Being and thinks he’s a predator. She also looks at Mvomo the Serpent Boa, another predator, and she says:
KOUNOU LA TORTUE: “I think that this situation deserves deep reflection. I suggest you do a reenactment. »
So it was on that day that Kounou the Turtle invented this police and judicial technique called ”reconstitution”. It’s just about putting things back to the way they were before things got messy.
MVOMO THE SNAKE BOA agrees to get back into the trap, he says: “No problem, if it can allow me to eat, I’ll do what you ask me!” »
KOUNOU THE TURTLE speaks to Mot Binama the Human Being: “Would you agree to lift the trunk so that Mvomo the Serpent Boa can slip into it for the reconstitution of the facts? »
WORD BINAMA THE HUMAN BEING replies: “If it can save my life, there is no problem! »
Then Mot Binama the human being lifts the trunk.
Mvomo the Snake Boa slips under the trunk.
And there, KOUNOU THE TURTLE said to Mot Binama the Human Being: “Let go of the trunk!”
Word Binama the Human Being lets go of the trunk. The trunk falls on Mvomo the Serpent Boa, head on one side, tail on the other.
Then, KOUNOU THE TURTLE speaks to Mot Binama the Human Being and says to him: “My friend, how generous you are… I suppose you are going to free him again. But, wait until I’m very, very far from here, before doing your stupid things”.
Our Béti ancestors took a proverb from this tale that says: A benefit is not always repaid.
Africa in story is a series created by the NGO Des Livres Pour Tous – Côte d’Ivoire and the collective Making Waves, in partnership with RFI. This project has received support from the “Access Culture” scheme of the French Institute in Paris and the French Development Agency (AFD), the “ACP-EU Culture for West Africa – Awa” program from the French Institute and the Kôrè Cultural Centre, the “Agir” system of the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis and the Île-de-France Region.
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