The Long-lasting Tree by Lamittan Minsah

A bloody resistance against colonial invasion that tears Seme's indigenous leadership apart marks the entry of a new culture into the clan. In an attempt to protect the clan's religious system from erosion by the Blue-eyed (British colonists), Osayo the priest faces off with people he considers loose cannons, including his own clairvoyant son, Okayo, who escapes to a mission center away from home and falls in love with a convert. The boy is obsessed with the new faith and formal education. In the meantime, a terrible plague breaks out in the countryside, killing animals and people and leaving the land barren. Coupled by a misunderstanding of concepts in the new faith propagated by the Blue-eyed, a long-standing rift and blame game emerge between the conservatives and the converts, causing further divisions. Soon afterwards, Osayo dies a convert and his son, Okayo, realizes he has a greater role to play. Just before the priest's burial, the supernormal powers of the clan's aboriginal religious tree are stolen by a witch in line with a prophetic myth. And in a painful and tragic mission to ultimately unite the conflicting cultural parties and limit the Blue-eyed's control, Okayo—with the help of his brothers, puts his front foot forward in combating evil.

Format: Read-only pdf