The Epic of Goza
Tapiwa Jiya
Austin Macauley Publishers
The Epic of Goza
About the Author
Dedication
Copyright Information ©
Acknowledgement
Synopsis
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
The Eve of the Summer Festival
Chapter 10
The Summer Festival
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
The Royal Wedding
Chapter 32
The Hour of Doom
About the Author
The author is a homegrown girl who was raised with folklore tales eloquently narrated by her aunty, Chipo, and sometimes her grandfather, Mariko. She grew up fascinated by literature and grew a passion to write stories, poetry and songs. She enjoys telling children stories and watching their faces light up at every word. Writing this book is anticipated to have the same effect on her audience at large.
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this book to God, my enabler, and my family and friends who offered me endless support and encouragement.
Copyright Information ©
Tapiwa Jiya (2020)
The right of Tapiwa Jiya to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528940252 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528970266 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge my aunty, Chipo, and grandfather, Mariko, who introduced me to storytelling and caused me to embrace the beauty of literature.
Synopsis
Goza was a faraway place in the middle of the jungle. It was a safe place to live for the king and his people. A place full of natural splendour, colour, butterflies of many designs, cows and goats, donkeys and sheep, chicken and ducks too. The people of Goza loved their king and they lived peacefully for many years. They didn’t have any neighbours, at least they believed for they had seen none for years and years. King Gama, his wife, Queen Eleaza, daughter, Leona, and son, Tyza, lived in a tall house made of stone, almost like a tower castle in the middle of the compound, surrounded by the king’s subjects’ mud and stone huts and square houses with their families.
One cold morning, a young traveller appeared at a distance. He was lost on his way in search of his long-lost uncle after his own parents were killed by lightning while working in their field. Tamura, the traveller, fell head over heels in love with the king’s daughter, Leona, it was love at first sight. The king assigned four of his strong men to escort the lost boy to journey to Nengara Mountains to find his uncle. The route was treacherous and swampy with deadly reptiles and creatures that came out day and night. Tamura was grateful.
King Gama organised a summer festival, which brought a mixture of great anticipation and apprehension to his people who will be meeting total strangers from far and wide for the first time ever, of whom they had no idea existed until they met Tamura and his family. Different cultures, appearances, dialects and manners cause commotion at the summer festival, with every different tribe and village trying to outdo the other in their dances, their men and their women, not to mention their cuisine, delicacies and brews.
Mara, Tamura’s little sister, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, following the death of her parents, and was always having terrible nightmares, but she had a special gift. She was chosen by God. The Angel of the Lord had appeared to Mara in a dream to teach her a prayer for protection against the blood-sucking evil spirits residing in the Baminga Mountains. She had to teach everyone in the village how to pray or be in great danger of being devoured. Her greatest challenge was how to convince them. Whether or not she can succeed in her mission to save the people is yet to be seen.
Tamura and Leona had planned to go on a cruise and see the world together and use part of it as their honeymoon. Tragedy befell the Goza people and their neighbours when the evil spirits in the crevices of the mountains descended on them while celebrating Tamura and Leona’s wedding. Only God knew who would make it alive. This tragedy changed the face of Goza forever.
Chapter 1
Once there was a king called Gama Baruka of Goza. Goza was a faraway place in the middle of the jungle. It was a safe place to live for the king and his people. A place full of natural splendour, colour, butterflies of many designs, cows and goats, donkeys and sheep, chicken and ducks too. The people of Goza loved their king and they lived peacefully for many years.
They didn’t have any nearby neighbours, at least they believed for they had seen none for years and years. The king, his wife, Queen Eleaza, daughter, Leona, and son, Tyza, lived in a tall house made of stone, almost like a tower castle in the middle of the compound, surrounded by the king’s subjects’ houses and their families.
The people of Goza had no contact with the outside world. They were a very closed people and were self-sufficient. They used the donkeys for ploughing the fields, carrying goods and spinning the wheel at the well for catching water.
Sometimes the donkeys would be stubborn and refused to work, but whenever the master in charge of the donkeys shouted with
