The Strong, rule and the Ambitious, trade.

"In the old days,'' said Queen Mirama when they were seated, ''Bamanga was ruled by the family of King Fernando."

Danta listened to his mother, his hands on his chin.

"At that time, the time of Fernando the First, there were no white men or any other strangers in Bamanga. Only the Bamanga people lived here. We did not meet people from the outside world."

"You mean we had no visitors at all?" asked Danta.

"Just people living near us. We always had plenty to live on. Some of our people went to the sea to fish in their canoes. Others were farmers. There was fish, meat and milk and we cut down the palm fruit from the palm trees. Then, one day the white traders arrived from Europe. First there were the Spanish people. Then the Portuguese. The French came, and the English. They fought among themselves for the trade with Bamanga. They taught us to fight. They taught some of our men to be soldiers instead of fishermen and farmers."

"The white men gave Fernando the first guns and whisky and he gave them land to build on. Then they bought slaves. We sold them slaves. They took the slaves to America and to the West Indies to work in the plantations."

"What happened after that?" asked Danta, fascinated by his mother's story.

"More traders came. They bought palm oil. They shipped it away to Europe in special boats called tankers - just like they ship crude oil today. Still other white men came and King Fernando also agreed to buy things from them and to sell things to them. They built churches, schools and trading posts but some of them brought guns and soldiers and they conquered Bamanga."

"Fernando the Second was still king, but he ruled under the European government. M Bamanga was now a British colony. The colonial government made many of our people join the army. The people of Bamanga were forced to join the army of Bamanga, and they had to fight the wars of the European government."

"In 1941, the soldiers of Bamanga were taken to India and Burma to fight in the white man's army. Many never returned. Your father wasn't even born then. But his people - the Timanga people, where your grandmother and grandfather come from -- were nothing. They were not important. They were just a small group in the middle of Bamanga."

"Why was that?'' asked Danta.

"In Bamanga it was like this: the Gammans were the rulers. King Fernando's family was Gamman. The Gammans were mostly Muslim. Some of them spoke Arabic. They lived in the north of Bamanga, but they came south to rule. They were the most ambitious of the peoples in Bamanga. They wanted to organize the country."

"Then there were the Managas. They were mostly traders. They travelled far and wide in Africa to buy and sell, and they were Christians. A few of them were Muslims, but even those went to school to study commerce. The banks in Bamanga today are run by the Managas and also in big industries. Some Managas even started to assemble motor cars."

''But, Mother, why are you telling me all this?''

''So that you will understand what is happening and where you come from ... It is my duty to tell you, my son."

"What happened to the Managas?'' asked Danta.

"They still live here in Bamanga,'' said his mother. ''But what you must know is this. The Managas, the Bamans and the Timangans were nothing.The Gammans ruled us almost as cruelly as the European government did. I come from Bama in the eastern part of Bamanga. Our people love technology. We can build anything with metal or wood and it works. The Gammans used my people in the factories and industries. But one of the good things your father did at first was to make sure that they paid the other peoples a proper wage. After years and years of rule by the Gammans your father started to change things."

"How?'' asked Danta, in amazement.

"As you know, your father comes from Timanga. His family is poor. The people of Timanga were inconsequential in national issues. But many of them, and many Bamans too, joined the army. Everybody had grown tired of Fernando, even the young Gammans in the army. You see, after Fernando the First died, Fernando the Second became king. He was even worse than the old Fernando. Then Bamanga got her independence. Fernando the Third led the people to Independence, but he was even more wicked than all the others. He stole money and stored it away in banks overseas. He built palaces for himself all over the country. And all the time the people were suffering."

''My father and the soldiers killed him when they took over the palace, didn't they?'' asked Danta.

"I do not know,'' said Queen Mirama sadly, "No one ever saw him again. But your father started to make things better. Until now. Now he is frightened all the time. He feels he must kill to protect us."

"Mother, I want to go away. The soldiers will kill me too."

Queen Mirama looked at her son in surprise. "Don't talk like that. You wouldn't want to leave your mother here all alone, would you?''

"But, Mother, it's true. I read in a book where bad men kidnapped a king's son and ---"

"That's only a story,'' his mother said, trying to calm him.

"But why do soldiers always want to rule?'' Danta asked fearfully.

"Because they want to tell people what to do. People fear a ruler. He's like a god. He can put people in prison. He can spend money as he likes on anything he likes. He can command armies to go to war. He can .. he can, play the tough guy.'' Mirama smiled at her own words.

Danta laughed. ''I like that."

"What?''

"Playing the tough guy."

"Playing the tough guy makes people suffer. Many die. Many have to run away as refugees. It is very sad."

"Is Bamanga going to be a bad place?'' Danta asked in a frightened voice.

"If they continue to fight your father, it will become bad. The people will suffer.''

"Tell Father to stop killing people!'' Danta said.

"I have tried to stop him,'' Queen Mirama said with tears in her eyes. ''But he says it is kill or be killed.''

"That is terrible," her son said. He shivered as if it had suddenly become very cold.