FICTION|TRADITIONAL TALE|WRITING|CREATIVE WRITING
Ibeyis
(or Hansel and Gretel, Afro-Cuban style)
“Son dos los jimaguas/son dos a la bella aure”
Thus sang the twins: Taewo and Kainde. The former chased his sister around the palm tree at the base of which they lived. Their joy filled the air. The children loved playing with two rattles, two small drums, and two sets of bells. Every time they skipped it felt as if the sound of a whole orchestra invaded every single corner of the forest.
But someone was not happy. The twins’ father, Shangó, had re-married recently after his ex-wife, Oshún, had left him, tired of his womanising ways. Shangó’s new wife and the twins’ step-mother could not bear the two children. Whenever she had the opportunity she punished them hard. She was forever nagging Shangó and often complained that he cared more about his children than her.
Taewo and Kainde remembered their mother fondly. Oshún was the most beautiful of the female orishas. Whether she was fanning herself with her yellow sandalwood fan or making her five gold bracelets jingle as she walked through the woods, Oshún’s beauty always stood out. It was her grace and poise that drove Shangó mad in their early courtship. It was also what caused the big fight between the twins’ father and Oggún…
