"Married to a Snake for Money"
I never thought my life would turn out this way. If someone had told me years ago that I would one day be married to a snake, I would have laughed. But now, I am living in fear, trapped in a life I cannot escape.
I was 26 years old when I met the sangoma who changed my life forever. I was tired of suffering. No job, no food, no good clothes. My friends had money, and I wanted to be like them. One day, I heard about a powerful sangoma who could make people rich. They said he lived deep in the village, far from the city.
I borrowed transport money and took a bus. The journey was long. The bus was old, and the road was dusty. After some hours, I got off at a small market. From there, I paid a man with a motorbike to take me deeper into the forest. The air smelled different. The trees were tall, and the place was too quiet. I felt scared, but I told myself, If I become rich, this fear will not matter.
When we arrived at the sangoma’s place, it was a small mud house with strange things hanging at the door—animal bones, red cloth, and a small bottle filled with dark liquid. The sangoma was an old man with red eyes. He did not greet me. He just looked at me and said, “You are ready for money, but are you ready for the husband who will give it to you?”
I did not understand what he meant. But I nodded.
He told me to remove my shoes and enter his hut. Inside, there was no chair, only a mat on the floor. There was a fire in the middle of the room, and smoke filled the air. He gave me a black cloth to wear and told me to kneel. Then, he started singing in a strange language.
After some minutes, I heard something moving in the dark corner of the room. A snake. A very big one. Its body was thick, and its eyes shone like gold. My heart started beating fast.
The sangoma laughed. “This is your husband now,” he said. “If you accept him, he will make you rich.”
I wanted to run, but my body felt weak. The sangoma told me to close my eyes. He cut my finger with a small knife and let my blood drop into a wooden bowl. He mixed it with something dark and told me to drink. I did. My whole body became cold. Then, I felt something wrap around my waist. The snake.
The sangoma started talking to it, saying things I did not understand. Then he looked at me and said, “The wedding is done. From now on, you belong to him.”
That night, I was given a small house to sleep in. I could not stop thinking about what had happened. But when I woke up, something strange was in the room—money. Bundles of money, everywhere. I touched it. It was real.
I ran to the sangoma and asked where the money came from. He smiled. “Your husband gave it to you. But you must take care of him.”
That was when I learned the rules:
- Every night, I must sleep with the snake.
- I must never talk about him to anyone.
- I must never try to leave him.
- I must feed him fresh milk and raw eggs every morning.
- If I obey him, I will always have money.
I followed the rules. Every night, I felt his cold body beside me. Every morning, I woke up to more money. I bought cars. I bought clothes. People respected me. They called me rich. They did not know the price I had paid.
But the more money I got, the more I feared for my life. The snake became jealous. If I talked to a man, he would punish me. If I stayed out too long, I would come home to find him waiting for me, his golden eyes full of anger.
Now, I cannot leave. I cannot love a human. I cannot live a normal life.
If you are thinking of doing this, please listen to me—some money is not worth the price. Some roads, once taken, cannot be walked back.
I am rich, but I am not free. I saw the snake once on our wedding day and since then all I see are the eyes and I can only feel it.
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