Chapter 2
The Wangoo River is one of the longest rivers in Africa and was discovered a long time ago by the inhabitants of Waroko village. Wangoo river flows through many villages before entering Zamba village from where it moves on and on. Nobody in the village know where it ends, the Wangoo river is rich in fishes and it serves the various communities in many other ways such as providing them with a good source of water supply for all their needs. Then after the rains as the water recedes due to flooding it leaves behind a rich layer of silt which helps to enrich the top soil thus paving the way for a good farming season.
The Boma people are not found near the riverbanks like other villages. They dwell in the rich plains of the Wangoo river valley where there is green grass in abundance for their teeming herds of cattle. But the Wangoo plans are also infested with tse tse flies and
mosquitoes. Compared to the lush green grass these pests are of little or no problems at all to the Boma people.
Boma village is uniquely positioned by nature. To the north, is the Wangoo river while to the south are the rolling plains of green grass better known as the Wangoo river Valley to the east and west is a thick forest rich with all that makes a forest but to the average Boma man you‟re looking at the evil forest. As a result of the people‟s perception nobody farms there, rather it is seen as a place of punishment for doers of evil. If a man is guilty of sleeping with another man‟s wife he is banished into the forest for five moons but if the man is guilty of killing another man he could be killed too by hanging or by being banished into the forest it all depends on the decision of the chief priest and the people of Boma village.
Where the punishment for murder is banishment, the murderer is taken to the evil forest and left there to live out his wretched life till he dies and is eaten by wild animals. If during the course of his banishment he is
found near the village, he will be arrested, bound and taken back to the evil forest. Thus, the people of Boma village always avoided committing heinous crimes because the punishment is better imagine than serve. Banishment into the evil forest meant certain death the average Boma man is not a coward but he would rather die for a worthy cause like protecting his territory from any aggressor than be banished into the evil forest for adultery or murder and there to die without a proper burial.
Occupation wise Boma people are cattle rearers and their cattle dot the Wangoo river valley. Unlike the Fulani herdsmen who move from place to place the Boma cattle rearers lead a sedentary life taking out their cow in the morning to the valley where the cow eat grass to their satisfaction and in the evening they lead them back to the village.
Boma women are mostly subsistence farmers growing crops and staple foodstuffs, which they sometimes trade with other villages for their own needs. The Wangoo river valley support their lifestyle in that the
grass remain green for the good part of the year and when the dry season arrives they provide the cattle with other alternatives available.
This could range from allowing them graze around the perimeter of the evil forest to feeding on anything edible within the fringes of the village. Due to their way of life Boma people have remained where they are for a very long time and it is obvious that they are there to stay.
The people of Boma village are known for their peaceful and quiet disposition but when provoked they always rise to the occasion. But so far they have been enjoying peace and prosperity with the neighboring villages. Except for skirmishes with slave merchant who attempted to enslave this people a very long time ago there has been peace. But peace and joy as the saying goes has a slender body which does not last forever the mysterious death of Uriji Atanda‟s son marked the beginning of problems for the villagers until the killer is unmasked and punished life will never be the same again for the people of
Boma village every man and woman knew that very well.