Woman and Ila Tribe Essay Example

tribe decided to abandon their camp and relocate to the eastern part of the jungle. This new location proved to be challenging as it was difficult to find water. On one occasion, Walimai had to follow the trail of a puma for a long distance. Exhausted from the journey, his state of mind was not good. At that moment, a group of soldiers found him and brought him along to work with the rubber collectors. This period was characterized by a lack of freedom, and even the wind itself was tired of the smell of rubber. Their diet consisted of corn, bananas, and canned food.

In a peculiar camp, women were being housed. After weeks of labor, his employer presented him with a discarded liquor bottle and directed him to where the women resided. By the time his turn arrived, the sun had disappeared, leaving darkness behind. Walimai commenced recounting a tale about a woman belonging to the Ila tribe, known for their delicate females. Even men journey for months in search of this tribe, bringing gifts and embarking on hunts with the hope of acquiring one of their women. In this instance, one was present; she lay unclothed on a mat, her ankles bound to a chain.

The woman had a distinct odor resembling that of a dog and was visibly covered in dirt left by the men who had previously been with her. Despite being petite like a boy, she lacked the usual embellishments of feathers and flowers in her ears and painted designs on her body, commonly seen among Ila women. Walimai put his knife down and approached her as if she

were his sister, mimicking the melodious songs of birds. However, she remained unresponsive. To check if her spirit was still intact, he lightly struck her chest, but her weakened soul did not react. It was then that he communicated with her in his mother's language, which belonged to the Ila tribe.

After opening her eyes, she understood something and he realized it. Prior to anything else, he washed his hands and provided her with water to drink. Using his knife, he slit her neck resulting in her demise. Walimai had taken the life of a woman who was delicate and beautiful. He has a belief in life as a gift bestowed by the gods. He recalls how the woman looked at him with enlarged eyes and assumes she was grateful for his actions. He sensed her spirit entering his body and her weight bearing down on him, requiring him to exert more effort to stand up. He secured her body and stacked it up for making a fire.

After starting the fire, he climbed on the trees and walked away. Carrying her weight made his body feel heavy. He ventured into the jungle to hunt and return to his village. Walimai understood that death can be stronger than love. His tribe hunted animals for sustenance and survival. Even though he had killed the woman, he did not see himself as evil. Instead, he believed he needed to free her spirit from the oppression of being kidnapped and sexually assaulted by those men.

The woman's life was completely shattered by the brutal act of being raped, treating her like a mere animal. As a result,

she lost the intrinsic worth that all Ila women possess from birth. This led Walimai to make the decision to end her life. He believed that deep within her spirit, she was silently longing for the release of death. Despite having the chance to satisfy his desires as a man by raping her, Walimai firmly adhered to the importance of his tribe's traditions.

In my view, some individuals have such negative experiences and such a lack of appreciation for life that they may consider death to be the most preferable option. However, I believe that Walimai could have saved her from that despairing life and helped her recover from her past. Unfortunately, Walimai's strong commitment to his beliefs and traditions led him to believe that killing her was the only and best solution when he perceived that she had asked for help. He believed that he was assisting her by ending her life, in response to her plea.