Page 16 of Possessing the Prince

I give Abena a quick kiss on the cheek before Adom helps her into the car. As I watch my wife get settled, I am more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this Owusu situation.

I turn to Kofi. “Are you ready?”

Kofi nods and we walk back to the front door. This time we do not knock—we walk right in and the servants say nothing. I know that has everything to do with Kofi and little to do with me. We can hear Thomas fussing with his father in the office. We walk in and they look at us like they were expecting us. I allow Kofi to walk in front of me, and he takes a seat in front of the large gold desk Chief Owusu sits behind. Thomas takes a seat on an adjacent couch, and I choose to stand behind Kofi. I take a deep breath. I fix my eyes on Owusu’s and say one word.

“Talk.”

Revelation

Senya

Chief Owusu wipes the sweat from his brow as he prepares to spin his tale.

“You want me to talk, eh?” He leans back in his chair and it creaks under his weight. Then he pulls a pipe from his drawer and lights it. After taking his time, he finally begins.

“Well…as you know, my grandfather Kojo Owusu was royal. The men of our patriarchal lineage have served as chiefs to the Ashanti people for centuries. The Owusu line is divine. Yet, it is also despised. We have owned the majority of this village’s lands for centuries, but we always lease them fairly with the neighboring clans. Before the gold, we were farmers, and everyone lived off the land. The clans in the area lived in peace for generations until Kojo’s paternal grandfather, Ekow, loved one child more than what was required by the Gods.

“Ekow had twelve children but only one son: Kojo’s father, Yaaba. When Yaaba was six, an evil spirit came upon him and robbed him of his strength. He became so sick he could barely walk. Ekow was not pleased; he was determined his son would not be a cripple. In those days, cripples were cast out of the village and left in the forest to die alone.

“Ekow took Yaaba to every healer he could find, but Yaaba only grew worse. Finally, he took him to a revered fetish priest who ran a shrine in the rainforests of the Atewa range. His shrine had many trokosi, or slaves, of the Gods.

My ears perk at the mention of the Atewa Reserve. I know of the trokosi practice of taking young girls and making them slaves to the priests, but I never knew where it was practiced. “That is Ewe land, near the Volta. I did not know the Ewe practiced ritual servitude.”

Chief Owusu swallows and nods. Thomas hands him a glass of water and he clears his throat. “Yes, unfortunately, the Ewe tribe is one of many tribes in Ghana that practices it. Of course, there are tribes in Benin and Togo that partake of the ancient ritual, but in Ghana, it is your mother’s people that began the practice. She was well acquainted with the trokosi practice. Filthy Ewe migrants brought war and sexual deviance to our borders.”

“Watch it,” Kofi demands from his corner. “You will not insult the prince's blood with your prejudices. And you will keep any mention of his mother off your tongue unless you want to lose it.” I look to my brother and smirk, knowing he is deadly serious. “Besides there are some fetish shrines right here in Ashanti land also. Sadly, no tribe is without the sin of female subjugation and servitude on their hands.”

Owusu nods. “Of course, I apologize. However, you should know the history so you can understand our situation. Hundreds of years ago, when the Ewe migrants started to disperse through Ghana and greater Accra, there were many wars. So, warriors from both sides, both Ewe and Ashanti, would pledge women to religious shrines in order to gain victory. However, it is spoken that it started with the Ewe religious leaders as payment for their blessings before a battle. The practice eventually became what we know today as trokosi.”

I nod. “Yes, ’Tro’ in Ewe translates to ‘God’ or ‘deity’ while ‘kosi’ simply means female slave.”

Chief Owusu looks impressed. “So you know your native tongue?”

“Of course. I did not have to learn Twi until I was placed in my father's house at the age of six. And as an adult, I have gone with Kofi all over Ghana to conduct business on behalf of the crown. I speak over sixty-two African dialects.” I don’t know why I am telling Owusu all of this. I guess I feel like boasting.

“Aye. Well over time, the wars ceased and there was a need for law and order in the villages. People were raping, murdering, and stealing. Causing all sorts of harm. So, the trokosi practice became a way to settle debts and atone for ancestral sins. If someone in a family committed a crime, they would need to atone. The way that was done was by giving a virgin girl to the shrine, and she became a trokosi.

The unfortunate girls would often have to serve for life. No village would take them back if they escaped, and they were tainted as slaves if they were released. Though the practice is now against the law, in some remote parts of the country, it is still practiced in secret. But I have gotten off topic and instead given you a history lesson. I want you to have proper background knowledge, but once I finish, all will be clear.

“Now where was I…Oh, yes! The priest told Ekow his son’s afflictions were due to a long-forgotten family transgression against the community and gods. He demanded a trokosi to atone and ordered a girl be given as a sacrifice or Yaaba would surely die.

“Ekow obliged and set his mind to do what was necessary. His wife would never be able to bear the loss of one of his daughters to the servitude of the trokosi’s fetish shrines. His heart grew cold as he stewed over his fate. Not to mention his anger at the Gods grew and he no longer thought with a clear mind.

“He knew that his neighbor, Chief Kwaku Apeagyei, had many sons and just as many daughters. Inspired by his own jealousy and bitterness, Ekow decided Kwaku could spare one of his daughters for sacrifice. Ekow gathered his five brothers and told them the plan. He convinced them that if Yaaba was going to be saved, this had to be done. The night after he returned from the Atewa range and the fetish shrine, Ekow and his brothers stormed Kwaku’s compound, snatched his daughter, and charged her with immoral acts outside of the confines of marriage. Kwaku defied them, but his sons were still young, and he was outnumbered. Though he fought desperately, he was killed. Ekow took Kwaku’s young daughter of 14, Efua, from her home, and gave her to the priest. In return, Yaaba was healed, but ties were severed between the Owusu and Apeagyei clans. Efua was never spoken of or seen again.

“As the years progressed, Ghana was liberated and Kwaku’s sons grew to become politicians and military leaders. As you know, Chief Apeagyei’s brother Samuel Apeagyei is the president of Ghana’s right hand. Though, because of his vast oil wealth, he is more powerful than our leader in many ways. Samuel has not forgotten the transgression of Ekow and is relentless in his quest for revenge against the Owusus. It is a blood feud of the worst kind. Over the past forty years, he has used both legal and corrupt methods to strip my family of everything but our compound and land. He took our mines and managed to get his filthy hands in all of my businesses. Even our government has turned against us!”

I take a deep breath and measure my words before I speak. “So that is why you were so apt to help our father with his debt. You needed protection, and Abena married to an Asantehene would give you that.”

“Yes!” he cries out and stands. “When the betrothal fell through, I went to lay before Samuel and beg pardon. His demand was that his nephew be married to Abena. He declared that since my ancestors sacrificed a woman of their family years ago, I must surrender mine now. The union of Owusu and Apeagyei would end the feud once and for all. I agreed, and they promised me that Abena would be treated like a queen, not made into an Ewe trokosi as their ancestor was. He warned me if I did not follow through, he would take over what is left of my family’s lands and kill Abena before my eyes. So, you see, there is no possible way for you to marry Abena. You cannot buy off Chief Apeagyei with money when he thirsts for blood.”

Thomas turns to the bar and pours himself a drink. Could it be that even he did not know the depth of his family’s secrets? In his own twisted way, Chief Owusu was trying to protect his family and his daughter. Is is why he is so greedy? Maybe this is why he controls Abena’s life—he knows no other way to save it. I am sure the irony was not lost on him that his daughter was being sought after by an Ewe man when the original transgression that started this blood beef was the selling of an Ashanti girl to an Ewe priest in the mountains.

But none of that matters now, because Abena is my wife and I will never let anyone harm one hair on her head over some ancient family grudge. I hate that her marriage to me both protects her and makes her a target. If I had known all of this beforehand, I might have taken a different course of action. I did many background checks on Chief Owusu and his business, but nothing beyond his impending bankruptcy came up. I should have tried harder. However, now is not the time for regrets.

“Chief Owusu and Thomas, please have a seat. There are a few things you should know if we are going to be able to help you kill this feud. But if I and my brothers are to help you, three things must happen.”

Thomas sits on the corner of his father’s desk. “Whatever it is, we will agree to it.” He turns to face his scowling father. “Isn’t that right, Father?”

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