Extrait du livre Loango and the enchanted wave
Loango and the enchanted wave Pascale Vignali Illustrated by Mathilde Menet Le Regard Sonore Editions
Once upon a time, there was a small country tucked away on a hidden coast of Greater Africa. It was a secret kingdom protected by a huge forest as old and mysterious as time itself. I’m talking about the kingdom of Loango in Gabon. At the time when our story begins, no one knew of this small paradise, no one except the Pounous, who relished in its beauty each day…
The Pounous lived from hunting and gathering along the forest’s edge. The men were also marvelous weavers, and the women skilled potters. As for little Loango, he spent his days wandering around playing his sanza. Enchanted by the music, his friend Kokolo the pangolin always trotted along beside him.
The only person who managed to keep Loango by her side was his grandmother, Mame Tsaku, especially when she was sculpting a mask in her workshop: Mame: Well, well, there you are! Now, Loango, entertain my old ears with your music while I make this Mukudji mask : yesterday morning, our neighbor gave birth to beautiful twins barely bigger than two coconuts ! We’re going to have a big celebration for their birth and the mask will perform a dance to bring them luck ! Tsayé- tsayé, tsayé-tsayé, yéyéo, tsayé-tsayé, tsayé- tsayé, yéyéo... tsayé-tsayé, tsayé- tsayé, yéyéo...
Loango : Mame Tsaku, why is the Mukudji mask so important? Mame: Because it represents the spirit of all spirits! He watches over the Pounous and grants us his protection when we dance for him… Loango : But it’s just a piece of wood! I’ve never seen a spirit come out of one of those masks to protect me! Mame: Ah… well, my little Loango, that’s because you are only looking with your eyes… One day, you will know how to look with your heart. For example…take my adze. For you, it’s nothing but a common tool for sculpting wood… For me, it is much more than that…
Loango : … And… Could I wear the mask during the ceremony? Mame: Later on, perhaps… When you are grown… Loango : Pffff… We must always wait to be grown to do interesting things… But I want to experience a great adventure right now! Do something that no one in the village has ever done! Mame: My, what impatience!... You want to do something that no one has ever done? Well, then… hmm… Go and count the waves! If you are patient enough to count to the thousand-and-first, then you will get a surprise… Loango : A thousand and one waves ? But Mame Tsaku, that’s toooo long…!!! Mame: You’re right, and that is precisely why no one has ever done it! That is something exceptional, just what you’re looking for! Now shoo, let me finish this mask for the little coconut twins! Grumbling, Loango left, dragging his feet towards the beach…
Seated at the water’s edge, the little boy started to count in a dull voice: Loango : 1, 2,3 … Loango : ….54…….55… Time went by slowly… Loango : ...372, 373,374… Loango felt his eyelids growing heavy with sleep… Loango : ...497… but he persisted. Little by little, with each new wave, Loango : … 498… Loango rubbed his eyes, crinkled his nose, and sighed… but held strong. Loango : … 499…
He was so concentrated that he didn’t notice the weather changing at first. Loango : …998... The wind was getting stronger, making ripples in the sand. And the waves… Loango : …999… was he dreaming or were they getting a little higher each time... Loango : …1000... ...as if being pulled toward the sky?
Gusts of sand began to swirl and whirl all around Loango and Kokolo. Suddenly, Loango : …1001 !!! They saw the ocean swell like a giant wave and turn into a gigantic whirlpool climbing endlessly towards the sky. Blinded by a blast of wind, they closed their eyes to protect themselves… then, suddenly, everything became calm.
Carefully, Loango opened one eye: The ocean was floating peacefully above their heads as if they were seeing the world upside down. Loango : Oooooooh ! Waaaaw ! Loango couldn’t believe it… Loango : Ha-ha ! Incredible! Mame Tsaku was right, the thousand-and-first wave really is an enchanted wave!!! Come on!!
