Zam, of the African Congo (Indecision?) 1810

Zam and his mother sat in their hut in the village, he sat on a stump of a tree he used for a chair, a bit uncomfortable, but his mother wanted to give him instructions, he was now seven years old, and he needed to know a few things about the jungle, in particular, the lion, the hungry beast of the jungle, the merciless savage, the unleashed beast that was untameable. As she readied herself, laying on a cover made out of wood, crossed legged, to tell her son the extent of how to deal with an offensive beast like the lion, in a defensive way, silence overtook the hut, the silence inside of man and beast that is, not the silence of the jungle, for sounds of the jungle, many sounds of the jungle, all seeped in and around the hut, hooked onto the shelter like the grip of anacondas, for the jungle is never ever quiet—and as she went to opened her mouth to explain, she said:


“(Translated into smoother English for the reader, where it was of course in a dialect of the Congo, in the early 19th Century) To capture the big cat, you must be taught, perhaps more told than taught, and I shall Zam, tell you know, what your father had told me (his father had been killed by a great ape), here son, is how to approach, and if need be kill, or run from the predator, the giant cats, like lions, and tigers, of the Congo, and of course we have the great apes and anacondas…” Zamia had heard her husband teaching other children of the village, when Zam was an infant, too young to learn and retain any skill in this matter, the lions, the big cats often snuck into villages, in the high grasses and pulled their children off to a safe zone, and to feed on them; as for the anaconda, they swallowed them whole. “It is best,” remarked Zamia, “according to what your father told me, and those children, ‘…avoid hunting the lion or great apes, they will hunt you, and there is plenty of other foods in the jungle, one needs not take such risks as to catch, the lion, but if you must, follow these instaurations,’ and now son listen closely, I will try to say it as you father told me: you may have to invent along the way, if the cat is next to you, for a moment become a village priest, a king, be all, and the cat will see this transformation, and while he stirs in his mind for hunger or survival, you be ready for which ever one is the strongest he will react to, and while he stirs, moves a paw, or his great teeth he shows, do not move a finger, create mouth sounds but do not move your lips, but only a light distraction, it will chill the blood of the beast, it will darken his veins, the beast will see your quietness, your unblinking eyes, make the lion think you are greater than he, let him see the ‘I am that I am,’ the god in you, let him see you are the chosen one. Then it is your move, and do it slowly but move, steadily, and do not let the beast see your eyelids close—if you blink, make sure the beast is unaware of it—thus, the beast will know you are not like everyone else, and you are speaking a language it can understand, you have reached the skeleton of the beast, you have tamed him for the moment, tranquilized him, and must make fruitful your quest, either attack, or run, for the moment is against time unknown. Your skill with the spear will depend on a quick attack!”

There was such a moment, a reality, that occurred to Zam, and also there was something left out of the speech, something his mother didn’t know, didn’t overhear her deceased husband say, something Zam would now learn. For at this ripe young age of seven, he was faced with this very scenario, and did exactly as he was told, but Zam didn’t run, nor attack, he stood his ground, he became all he could, and beast moved away. He had learned one thing, which could be used for the greater good or a man’s demise, that not moving, was also a decision, and in this case it was the right one, in future time, he would face it again, and soon.

7-17-2008