Lunga: After the Fall

The legend of Lunga does not end with his fall from heaven. As we were told by our fathers who were told by their fathers, the fall marked the beginning of a new phase in his life. The series of events that followed shocked everyone.

As we were told, when Lunga crashed on the stone, he metamorphosed into a gigantic ram and ran to the banks of River Mbim in Luh. The ram later transformed into a water hydra and made the river its home. It found respite at the bottom of the river and lived there for quite some time. It took the villagers a while to digest this strange phenomenon.

At the time when the villagers were finally coming to terms with mighty Lunga's transformations, another strange thing happened. No one, even in their wildest dreams, could imagine that the hydra would kill a nursing mother who went to fetch water. This despicable act aroused the fury of the villagers. An amalgam of Luh medicine men, also known as witch doctors, were dispatched to chase the water hydra out of the river and the village. The chase was successful. When the medicine men returned to the village with the great news, the villagers chanted  and ululated.

This was not the end of hope for the water hydra. It sought refuge in Taku and as fate had it, one of the Taku elders, Pa Nyabvuh, welcomed it with a large cock and gave it a permanent abode in a sacred forest known as Nchirtu. This welcome did not come without conditions; the forest was to be the hydra's home as long as it did not cause trouble. It agreed to the terms but many feared that it was just a matter of time for it to violate the terms of the accord.