Pahouin Chief

"Such a costly war. Why don't your chiefs meet for a palaver. How can your tribes afford to pay for so many dead men?"

- Pahouin Chief, as interpreted by Joseph

The Pahouin Chief was the leader of a village of Pahouins who lived on the shores of a tributary of the Ogowe River in French Equatorial Africa.

In January 1917, his son fell ill, so he sent three men to hurry downriver to fetch Oganga. The next day, his men reached Lambaréné and the doctor came to the village, via the Collette, with his assistant Joseph and acting boat-captain Indiana Jones. Dr. Schweitzer and Joseph operated on his son, fixing the youth's pain.

After the surgery, the chief spoke through Joseph to Oganga and Jones around the fire, and learned about the war in Europe. His notions of compensation for the dead at first seemed barbaric to Jones, but then Jones learned that this man might not comprehend the level of casualties that were happening in Europe, when in his world view, ten men killed in battle would require a large amount of riches for compensation.

The next morning, his men loaded the Collette with goats and fruit, as payment for Oganga's medical services, and the village bid farewell to his guests.

Behind the scenes
Abdullah Sohado played Pahouin Chief in the episode "Congo, January 1917" of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

Appearances

 * The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
 * "Congo, January 1917" Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life