 According to Asare, their existence is far from idyllic.They are governed by a Mzee Matata, a fetish priest, who refuses to allow any innovations to undermine his authority, but after many years of cultivating the same land and fishing the same stream, the soil is overworked, the fish are being rapidly depleted, and the villagers are facing starvation.Only one villager, Ngurumo, dares to challenge the fetish priest by suggesting that the villagers relocate to a fertile valley on the other side of the jungle.