HONIE LOIE (THE CHILD OF A BIRD)

MAMA LOMBEH GOING TO THE FARM WITH HER DAUGHTERS.

CHAPTER 4 MAMA LOMBEH -GOING TO THE FARM WITH HER DAUGTHERS

Mama Lombeh was a very loving mother, beautiful, gentle, and again no-nonsense taker. She loves all her daughters and she trained them to become a good house wife in the future. Early in the morning Marie would run the errant of mama Lombeh. She would collect her debtors and does the buying of things that are not in the farm house or available. Tenneh like to pack the home materials for cooking necessity and the bed of the father and mother. Hawa would be send on to fetch water for the home early in the morning. They all work hand in hand with their mother in order to achieve domestic works since that is their only schooling and concentration, before moving out of the towns to follow the father the husband of mama Lombeh. They have to put certain things in place in order to make food available in the farm while working because musa the younger child would be expecting them now and also the father.

Women are in the habit of acting slowly when it comes into going to work at the farm that while the men never waited for them when they have work to do at the farm. They men usually said if you want to spoil your business then wait for women. They are really a time waster they don’t manage their time at all except when the have late that is the time, they would try to rush up to do certain things. Mama Lombeh call her daughters Marie aah hawa that means Marie where is Hawa sometimes they just whistle with their mouth with one another. Marie sometimes shouts for her sisters with a loud voice to locate them if in case someone may hear her calling her sister. For her to come so that they would goes to the farm without wasting any time.

Mama Lombeh has to share out their packages each of them supposed to carry at the farm house and then she would immediately just take her leave having in mind Pa Lebbie reaction, when he is angry at them if they don’t get to the farm earlier. As soon as mama Lombeh move the convoy would follow with a faster movement like if someone is running behind them. Less than an hour they would cover the 2 miles immediately. When they arrived Pa Lebbie would be busy at the farm working if they are late, he would not answer them politely especially mama Lombeh.

He would say these words “the carelessness you are teaching your daughters one day you would see it upon your head how it will be heavy for you not me because by that time I don’t care as an old man, when they got married by then no one would kill me before my time. No matter how he talks he would always say this “he said time to work, we don’t need to play with it or careless it because no matter how you waste time on what you have to do, you would still do it because none shall come and do it for you. It is far better to do a work you have to do before time and rest well or goes back to town at earlier stage. Due to this Pa Musa was the first farmer to start brushing and harvest his crops at earlier stage. He continues to say that you have to know that we would not be alive all the time for them. They are girls we need not to joke with that so many I have seen idle at their marriage home are seriously a trouble maker I don’t want them to be that way they would one day leave us and settle in their homes except you said you are going to keep them around you for them to guide you.

However, within that time Pa Lebbie is talking to mama Lombeh would not say any word but she will be busy making food for them to eat something in the morning so that they would be strong to do the farm work. Farming work is very hard in those days because you have to apply human force by using cutlass with bear hand to brush, pickaxe, hoe and spade. They hand of Pa musa sometimes got spilled and damage; it will become so strong. All the men in that chiefdom their hand is not soft that why they don’t love to fight their wives. The quality of Pa Musa is, he never fights with his wife and his friend and another’s admiring him for that but some men in the village beat their wives almost every day. When you heard a woman crying in that village, she must have been beaten by her husband with their hands which is heavy like a bag of foo- foo if you properly investigate.

Marie was the fastest of all in running the errands of mama Lombeh. She was calling the gbaa –gbaa that means she do everything as fast as possible. That was the way she grows up she like to do things faster as possible as long the work has been dedicated to her. She was loved and admires by her mother and praised. She was a great example to her sisters Tenneh and Hawa whenever they want to slow in doing their work mama Lombeh said that while I love Marie if she was the one, I would not have taken a long time waiting for her in doing this little work that you are burning time on. She always throws his anger on them when Pa musa is angry at her they children would suffer that day with her loud voice over them. Which lead them to start acting that way; they have studied their mother that mama Lombeh does not like any child that always acts slowly. She would not work with you; she will be always angry with you when it comes to serious business, she would draw closer to people that like to do things gbaa-gbaa that is as quick as possible. Especially when she was given a task, a task at hand set by her husband. When a woman loves her husband, she might be the fastest being on earth in running an errand for her husband.

Tenneh was having a wonderful shape, nice ball eye, round nose and pretty because of her dark color. All of them were having a wonderful shape, nice look and pretty face when they passed by a man would stand.

However, when going to the farm they have to check on their traps for the fishes which they set up from yester evening. since it was a little river, they have to cross to get to the farm. It is call bubu in their local tribe that is a built to catch fishes in a bulk. They have to set it nicely where there is a passage of the river. They put in something attractive for the fish to enter in the builded trap. They sometimes find the builder house by an ant, sometimes cassava which they have sliced in sizeable form that would enter in the builder trap. They know what the fish need for it to enter into their trap. In the evening they would be saying to each other, mine own would catch more fishes than yours among that discussion Tenneh would say it is God that gives everyman luck. If it happens that way then you are the lucky one. Hawa would say I will hinder yours not to allow any fish to enter them. Marie said except you come their through by witchcraft power. Doing their discussion, they would be putting their traps in place rushing to get to the town for the night not to meet them on that and also their father would be waiting on them. They have to cast their traps in different locations where they have the assurance of fishes or crabs entering into their traps. They would drop it wherever they can access it and make sure that they put stick around it so tightly for the water not to carry their traps always they have prepared because it is not done by a woman. The trap that they use it is prepared and builds up by a man although some women can do it but it is not easy to see it. Among Marie, Tenneh, Hawa no one is able to do it. They have to beg their brother to do it and which is not easy.

In the morning before passing by going to the farm everyone would be rushing to see what his own trap had caught. if they see a big fish in the trap they would be dancing at that particular moment. If anyone among them does catch from her own, she would grow offended and not be very sad. Especially when catches more than them they would say your witch is working maybe when we went at the town you came and empty our traps. That is the reason you get early to sleep to manipulate ours but this time I will catch anyone that is hindering my own I would engage in serious battle with her through the witchcraft power. Hawa would say power is more than power if you are able to defeat that person. Marie..Ehh I would go out and buy witchcraft power where they sell it, mind you they one that they sell is more powerful than the one that is natural. Hawa...All witch is a witch, infact those that have real witch they would not boast or talk of it, it is only those that have nothing or little. That reminds them about story which mama Lombeh told them.

There was a man in one village, who was always boastful of witches before people and tell them how he is undefeated fowl, it is not easy for someone to defeat him within a day he would be saying that I am the organizer of witch craft powers in the village and beyond. He has so much power that he talks with the president of the witches and the wizard and he is not afraid of anyone, anywhere he goes, he cannot be afraid.

At this time that would be more attentive sometimes when mama Lombeh was telling this story because they want to know what would be the outcome of it all because they have in mind that an ordinary people cannot just boast like that in the that town. They like to test themselves with their witches. Mama Lombeh continues and said it was amazing that the man that was boasting within a day has no witch and he is seriously empty that within a day he boasts during the night he would not sleep. He would be saying treating remarks if you don’t want to die then don’t come here and try me. They would all burst into laugh and said while don’t you sleep now and goes out for the witch craft dance and proves yourself beyond. Tenneh… I am not like that man our mother in the story, they would laugh each other because it was just the beliefs of the villagers. They believe that anything that happen around you and within it is caused by witches even when their crops are not doing well. They would believe and think that witches might have comes doing the night and bow down on their plantations, they might have turn into pest and have eaten all what they have labor on as a setback. They belief in their doing well their ancestors are empowering them and conserving them from the manipulation of the sorcerers and the tricksters.