I'll be posting here from time to time tidbits from our culture file. The culture file is where we record things that we have learned about the culture of the people that we work with. If you like to read about other people's customs, bookmark this page and come back from time to see if I have posted anything new. For today, here are some choices for your reading pleasure:
Housing
How to build a house
date: 14/May/97
author: Masalu Compo (This essay was originally writen in Landuma and was translated to English by Kirk Rogers.)
The building of a house of mud bricks. When you begin, the man will go to the carpenter's place; he (the carpenter) will make brick molds for him. He buys them. They are bought for 1,500f each.
When you get the brick molds, the men go and break up the ground [and make a pile of loose dirt] in the afternoon. The women draw water and pour it onto the dirt till it is all wet. In the morning you look for a barrel. The women draw water and put it in there. The men mix the dirt till it is like mud. If there are two molds, two men take the molds. Others mix the dirt. Others make a stretcher and transport the mud [to those packing it in the molds]. That is how you all divide up the work. The women draw water for mixing and put it there in the barrel. When the mud is taken [to the place where it is being packed into the molds] they dump it. The brick maker lifts it and puts it there in the mold till the mold is full. He smoothes the top of it off till it is flat. He lifts the mold off the brick. That is how you all make bricks. If it is a large house, you all make 3000 bricks. You leave them there till they are two or three weeks old.
The man goes and looks for a mason and tells him [that he needs a mason to build his house]. The mason asks him, "How many rooms do you want?" The house owner tells him how many rooms he wants. Now I have heard that masons say [that the price is] 10,000f per room. When they are agreed with the mason, the mason comes to dedicate the house.
To dedicate a house, the house owner will tell the people, "I want to dedicate my house on this day." The people will gather that day, coming to attend the house dedication. The house owner will buy kola nuts; if he has the means he will buy an animal, kill him, and grain will be cooked. The mason will lay down the string and measure [square up] the whole house. The assembly which has come, they help him dig the foundation. The house owner will make a 'sărkă' concerning that which God will do for him to make things go well for him [good health, plenty of food, good relationships with others, etc.] He will take out kola and a white paper. The assembly will pray for him there. A stick is taken and planted in the middle of the house, and the paper is hung on it. When they dig the foundation and finish, the mason will lay bricks till the foundation is complete. A mason may ask for an advance when he is finished with the foundation. The house owner gives him the advance. [Măsalu added later: "Not everyone does a white paper 'sărkă.' Some may do a 'sărkă' with kola only, or they will kill a goat and cook food. I think the white paper 'sărkă' is from the old days.]
The owner of the house and his family fill the house [fill in the foundation with dirt] till it is full [up to the level of the foundation bricks]. He tells the mason, "We are finished filling in the house [foundation].
The owner of the house goes and tells the carpenter, "I want you to make frames and doors for me." The carpenter says, "Okay, but I will make one frame for 5,000f. A window frame, 4,000f. One door, if it is plain [single piece of plywood with a board frame], 10,000f. If it is paneled [boards notched and glued with plywood or other wood panels in spaces, as the current doors made by the construction team], 20,000f, [or] 19,000f. Door of a window, if it is plain, 5,000f, [or] 4,000f. If it is paneled, 10,000f, [or] 9,000f." They agree on the price. The carpenter also, when he begins the work he says, "Okay, give me an advance." You give it to him.
The mason continues to build the house. While he is building, the men break up the dirt, the women draw water. The men mix the dirt; it is the dirt which is mortar. It is this he will put in the spaces between the bricks. He puts all the frames in and finishes.
The women plaster the whole wall till they are finished. They plaster inside, they plaster outside. [If they want their outside wall to be different colors they may go various places to get different colored mud.]
The house owner goes to make an agreement with the palm wood splitter, if palm wood is what he will put on the house [rafters; other types of wood may be used as well]. To split palm wood costs 40,000f. When he begins to split palm wood he will ask for an advance. When he finishes you give him the rest of the money.
The owner of the house tells the carpenter, "I want you to nail tin on the house. With the carpenter they agree on the price. I don't know the price of roofing a house. [Karfalő said, "Some ask for 100,000f."] When the carpenter begins roofing, he roofs the roof, he says, "Give me an advance." The house owner gives it to him. When he is finished nailing on all the tin, he gives him the rest [of his pay].
The women draw water, beat the inside of the house and plaster [the floor] there. [Karfalő said, "The women carry the dirt of the house [carry dirt from outside the house to inside the house] so that they can beat [the floor of] the house. If the work of carrying the dirt is excessive, the men will help them to carry it."] When it is dry there [the floor is dry inside the house], the people enter there.
Okay, that is how a house made of plain dirt is built.
Thatch roof vs. tin roof
date: 14/May/97
author: Masalu Compo (This essay was originally writen in Landuma and was translated to English by Kirk Rogers.)
Concerning a roof of grass. A house of grass is good, but the work of it is great, it is hard. You will chop rafters, you will chop stringers, you will cut cord [vine, or bark], you will cut grass. You tie up the whole house [tie parts of roof together], you bring [many trips] the grass to the village. You seek people who will roof [with grass] it. One year, the second, the grass will rot. You again will cut grass, you will remove the old, you will again call people to roof it. It is a big work, and hard. A grass house is indeed nice if it doesn't leak. Because inside it is only cool, if the sun is hot it is cool. If the sun isn't hot it is cool [inside]. But it is the work which is big, and also hard.
Roof of tin. A house of tin is good. This is why people want a roof of tin. When you get the price of the tin, 400,000 plus. You get the price of the palm splitter, 40,000, you get the price of a carpenter who will roof the house. OK, you will work hard to take out the money, you will work so that you can rest many years concerning the work of a house. If it is a baked brick house with cement [morter], you take a roof of tin and put it on it, you, till you die you will rest concerning the work of a house. OK, it is why people want a roof of tin. That is it.
Houses thatched on Thursdays will burn
date: 31/May/93
author: Pam Hamel
I, Pam, asked Usman if he had begun putting the thatch on his roof yet. He said he hadn't, and that he couldn't do it today because it was Thursday. He said if someone worked on his straw roof on a Thursday, later it would burn. He said that it wouldn't necessarily happen right away but it would burn before the time came for changing the straw and putting on new straw. The fire would destroy the whole house.
Hair Styles
Women's hair styles
date: 15/Dec/93
author: Pam Hamel
The Landuma wear their hair braided in several styles.
'ňăkăsi'-the braids are started on the left side at the temple and worked around to the right side. Some of the braids only go half way across the head before they are tied off.
'kondeňěnkěnji'-this is just opposite of the previous one. The braid is started at the right temple and worked to the left.
'marăgběngběnji'-the braids are started at the forehead and worked back.
'marăte'-the braids are started at the hair line (all around the head) and meet at the top of the head.
'kőnakäritur'-one braid is started at the left temple and goes all around the head just above the hair line back to the beginning. The rest of the hair is braided from front to back.
'gbăl-gbăl'-taking small amounts of hair and twisting it around and around until it's tight, then trying off the ends with string. The hair sticks straight out.
'ărada'-starts like 'gbăl-gbăl' but the hair is only twisted a little, then braided, then twisted at the end and tied off with string. These also stick straight out.
Kădi said the 'marăgběngběnji' is a style for the older women. My house worker Ădămă, who is about 38, wears her hair like this. I can't say that I have noticed this style on the younger ladies, but I have seen it on the older women. I have never seen 'ărada', and although I have seen 'gbăl-gbăl', it is not a common style.
Hide your hair or you'll go crazy
date: 18/Aug/93
author: Mike Hamel
Ădulay Tănbasa shaved his little brother's head. He first put water on his head, then shaved it with a razor. After he was finished they both picked up the hair and put it in a hole in a tree. The boys' mother got up to pick up a few small clumps of hair and then put them in the tree. Măsalu said they all hide their hair like this. One can put it in a hole in a tree, under a rock, bury it in the ground. If the hair is not hidden small birds will come and make a nest with the hair and the person will become crazy.
Dying hair
daate: 01/Nov/95
author: Mike Hamel
The Landuma like to dye their hair black when they have too much white in it. They can buy a type of stone in the market in Boké. They call it 'főrě'. To prepare it one puts about 1/2 cup of water into a pan along with 2 or 3 of these stones. They boil the water. As it boils the stones dissolve and the water turns a brownish color. This only takes a few minutes. The pan is removed from the fire and the liquid is poured into what ever container they have to store it in. Once it is cooled it can be applied to the hair. The dye is very runny. When the first application is dry a second can be applied and then a third. By the third application the hair is noticeably darker. By the next day it will be black. Fatu said that you shouldn't wash the hair the first day of the application but after that it is okay to wash it with soap. The hair stays dark for 3-4 weeks, the color gradually washing out. To keep it dark apply a little dye once a week. The unused dye stays good for a while.
Farming
Obtaining permission to work the ground
date: 20/Sep/93
author: Kirk Rogers
Normally, agricultural land is worked by those whose parents worked it before them. If you want to work a parcel of land which does not belong to you, you must obtain permission from the village elders. To do this, you wrap 3 to 5 kola nuts in leaves and give it to them when you make your request. "You ask the old men of the village for a field." If no one is working the land in question, they will give permission for you to work it for one season. If you want to work it again in the future, you must ask at that time. If someone has cleared off a field larger than he can plant, you can ask them if they will divide off a section for you to plant. "Divide off for me a field." This would also be for only one season.
Planting Rice in Ălidi's Field
date: 06/Aug/92
author: Kirk Rogers
The field had alrealy been cleared of trees up to a few inches in diameter, their stumps remaining 2-3 feet high. Rocks remained, from stones to big ones. Large trees were left standing; possibly the sight was chosen because there weren't many large trees. Surrounding areas not being cultivated had many large trees (1ft. diameter plus). Ălidi, a couple of his wives, Ăbu Maně, and a man from Kaboyi worked at clearing parts of field of smaller brush and grass. These were cut with coupcoups, then gathered in piles at edge of field or on stump clusters and termite mounds. While they did that, the group of young people (boys and girls about 8 yrs. and up, from Kämeya) planted rice. The ground ready for planting remained littered with sticks, branches and leaves. One walked around with a basket of seed. He broadcast it with his right hand in 3 jerky motions. After he covered an area of about 20 square meters, a group of 4 or 5 would start in with their hoes. They started on the downhill edge of the area and tore into the topsoil a couple of inches deep with quick strokes toward themselves, holding the hoe with both hands. They used the same small hoe used for planting peanuts. In this way most of the rice seed was covered. Two groups plowed/planted, the same man broadcasting for all. After 10-15 minutes of hard work, all rested. When that area was planted, all moved to the area being cleared, and planting continued, even while brush was being cut, gathered and moved.
Sowing Fonio at Măsalu's Field
date: 13/Jul/93
author: Kirk Rogers
I went to Măsalu's field to help him sow fonio. He was having an afternoon work group (as opposed to an all day work group). About 7 women were there, along with old Salu Kompo and Măsalu's older brother Seyidu, and Măsalu. Fonio had been broadcast when I arrived. The women were spread out in a line, facing uphill, working their way forward through the field. Much of the area they were sowing was covered with weeds. The fonio had been broadcast right on top of them. Each woman had a small hoe. She used it to dig up the weeds and plow the soil. Dirt was shaken off the weed roots and the weeds left in the field to dry up, though many of the bigger weeds were later removed. Meanwhile, Salu was in an adjacent section clearing the area of sticks. When the women finished sowing their section, they moved to where Salu was. He broadcast seed there and the women set to work. There were also many rocks of all sizes in the field, which the women worked around. Meanwhile, Seyidu and Măsalu worked in other adjacent sections, clearing areas where the weeds were particularly thick. What Seyidu was doing, weeding with a hoe, is called 'käjăti.'
Planting fonio seems to be about the same as planting rice, the only differences being the type of seed and the fact that much weeding took place during the plowing. The plowing I have seen of rice has been in areas where most of the weeds have already been removed; the plowing is done very quickly.
Usman's work party
date: 05/Jul/93
author: Kirk Rogers
Usman hosted a work day at his father-in-law's field near Silikonko. Ousman's fiance is about 11 years old. Each year one of her father's sons-in-law hosts a work day for him. It was Ousman's turn this year.
The area past Silikonko, where the field was, is very hilly. The field was on a hill which gradually becomes steeper as it decends to the gully at the bottom. The land was cleared down the hill to where it was very steep.
Folks arrived around 8-9am. Altogether there were about 60-70 people, including about 30 men and 15 women (the rest children). They sat around eating 'mőni'. Then the work began. A line of men began making holes with their hoes and dropping peanuts in, and others, men and women, followed behind plowing the ground to bury the peanuts. The field was large and this continued for a long time, with two or three teams working at a time. There were four drummers who played off and on while the people worked. Usman did none of the work, but handed out cigarettes, candy, and money (50f bills). In another area of the field, 4-6 older men (40s-60s?) were working at clearing wood from the field ahead of the sowers. They cut up the smaller stuff and tossed it in piles. The bigger logs they left in place; the sowers could work around them.
At around noon lunch arrived and all ate. After a rest, work resumed. Rice was planted in the afternoon. The drummers and plowers really worked together in this. Sometimes a line of women and girls would plow while singing. A line of young men plowed in 4/4 time, taking 3 strokes in the dirt, then standing upright for one beat, then 3 strokes, etc.
There was a mid afternoon break. Many gathered under trees and rested in the shade. Some kids practiced using small rocks for peanuts. Work resumed and continued till about 3:30. Then all sat down and some men made speeches.
Later, Usman filled in some details: "I had provided the food for the breakfast, as well as the women/girls to prepare it. These included Kadi Yěrěsa, Binta, Fatudi Kălisa, Fatudi Kompo, and Nadi Kompo (Ousman's older sister). I provided the expenses for these to go. I paid 3500 to the three tomtom players. To the 23 young men who worked I gave 15,000f in advance, and 5000 more at the end of the day. The other's who came were my relatives. The musicians and workers also got pay as I passed out money little by little. In all, I passed out 3200f.
"At the beginning of the day I gave kola and 200f to my father-in-law. This was symbolic of him giving over to me his field for the day. At the end of the day I returned the field to him by again giving him 200f and kola. The kola was tied in a bundle with a cord of cloth; to tie it with string or rope would not be good."
Scarecrows in Ălidi's Field
date: 09/Nov/93
author: Kirk Rogers
At Ălidi's field he has a couple of devices intended to scare away animals which would eat the crops. One is a long rope which he has strung up on sticks, about 2 feet above the ground. It runs the length of his "rack of peanuts", on the exposed peanuts side. Every few feet a plastic bag is tied to the rope. It is intended to scare away civits or mongoose which like to eat peanuts. At another place in the field is a small paillote, about 5 feet tall. When 'ăyăs' (an animal about the size of a dog) sees it, he will think there are people around and will run away and not eat the rice, millet, etc.
Weeding in Seyidu's Rice Field
date: 07/Sep/94
author: Kirk Rogers
This time of year - between planting and harvesting - most people are busy weeding their fields. Seyidu was having a work group come to his field to help him weed, so I went and worked with them for the morning. Each worker had a small coupcoup (a large knife with a hooked end). Two or more people worked on a section (I don't know how the sections were marked off. They pulled smaller weeds by hand and cut larger ones with the coupcoup. Cut weeds were put in piles on rocks or in small spaces on the ground where there were no rice plants (the rice was about 12-15 inches high). All was cleared leaving only the rice plants and a few smaller weeds, and the occasional corn and sorgum plants. At around noon lunch was ready and all went to the field paillote to eat.
Usman Harvests Rice
date: 21/Nov/92
author: Kirk Rogers
Usman was in his field harvesting /măs"fă/, a variety of rice. The rice stalks were about 3 feet tall. He harvested the rice using a sickle. One or more rice stalks were grasped in left hand (if harvester is right handed) and cut about one foot from the ground with a motion toward the body. When a handful was cut it was put aside in a pile. When the pile was large enough it was tied into a bundle or sheave and stood up with all the heads of rice up. Each bundle is about one foot across. Bundles were then carried to the area of the field paillote where they were spread out on a rack to dry. On the way home we passed through Ălidi's field. He was harvesting his rice using a regular knife. He cut the rice just a few inches below the head. Usman told me that this method is slower in harvesting, but there is less work later in removing the rice from the stalks.
Digging Up Our Sweet Potatoes
date: 26/Dec/93
author: Yolanda Rogers
Today our family went into the village to dig up the sweet potatoes we had planted during rainy season. Usman went with us to show us how to do it. The first thing to do, he said, was to pull all the vines off the mounds and lay them in the ditch alongside the mound. Next he took a hoe and began digging through the mound to uncover any pototoes. He started at one end of the mound and worked his way slowly to the other end. As he dug the dirt off the mound he covered the vines in the ditch with it. The buried "seed vine" will take root next rainy season and produce new plants. These new plants will be transplanted in mounds somewhere else.
Protecting against thieves with a fetish
date: 03/Jul/92
author: Kirk Rogers
Wumar has a garden at the stream. It is surrounded by a fence to protect against cows. In the middle of the garden is a stick sticking out of the ground about 4ft. high. Near the top of the stick, attached with a string, is a small square glass bottle, about 4inx4inx3/4in. In the bottle is a brown liquid covering what looks like peices of leaves. Usman said Wumar put it there to protect the garden against thieves. Because it is there, if anyone steals something from the garden he will get sick. He will stay sick until he goes to Wumar and Wumar heals him. No one else can heal him.
The Devil's Son Died
date: 23/Oct/92
author: Mike Hamel
Măsalu showed me a field he said everyone would like to plant but they are afraid to plant there. Ansu Tambasa, the father of Moduba Tambasa, was clearing this field when he got sick. Măsalu said the devil made him sick. He said that Ansu was clearing and burning the field. When he burned it he burned the devil's son, therefore the devil made him sick. These are the symptoms of the sickness: paralyzed legs, face was twisted, speech was slurred and very difficult to understand, he acted like a crazy man. The villagers called an old man to go to the field to talk with the devil. The devil told the old man that Ansu burned his son. If the son got better then Ansu would get better, but if the son died then Ansu would die. The people believe that since Ansu died the devil's son died. Usman Kălisa showed me a place between Kimiya Dacho and Tantol where devils live. I asked how he knows that devils live there. He said "A man from Kimiya Dacho was clearing and burning that field when he fell sick (paralyzed). It also happened to a man from Tantol. It was the same as Ansu Tambasa." The people believe the men burned a child of the devil. He also said that some devils are women and they have babies.
