Yefon: The Red Necklace (27 page)

The day we obtained independence, I was coming back from work as usual. I was feeling tired when a bunch of boys danced past me, drunk.

“Independence! Independence!” they sang as they breezed away. I smiled. It was good to see people in the village this fanatical about anything.

When I arrived home, even Ma was dancing; her back was bent and she shook her derriere taking backward steps each time. This was the typical mummy-dance. Everyone’s mother seemed to dance this way. It was simply infectious! This independence matter
was getting serious! Ma had even cooked a big fat
ngwv
∂
v
and she called Yenla and myself to her room to eat it before others saw and begged for some. I was famished and tore apart the bones from the flesh.

“They say we are now a country,” Ma said, jovially.

“I heard it on the radio on my way back from the farm,” Yenla added, shyly.

“Independence is a good thing. People are saying that soon we will have a black president,” Ma replied.

I laughed and teased, “Since when are you people interested in who is president? I don’t even know who the Fon of Nso is.”

Surprisingly, Ma laughed and Yenla chorused in. “You are just trouble. How is the
ngwv
∂
v
”?

“Wonderful”! I exclaimed, licking my fingers.

When I asked Kadoh what she thought about Cameroon joining East Cameroon, she shrugged. “The Nigerian traders in the market are very rude, so maybe it is a good thing.”

I smiled. I wanted to feel happier, but I couldn’t. I really didn’t care if we had joined Nigeria or East Cameroon. All I wanted was for women to be able to go to school no matter what side we joined.

That was a nice little happy memory to have, and true enough, in 1961, Ahidjo was made the first president of Cameroon. He was a dark Muslim from the north, and I overheard the conversation between Father Tony and Father Andrew, while I served them tea in their office one Sunday. Father Andrew had become a priest about a year back and his belly seemed to have gotten even bigger.

“The concept that he is Muslim seems disagreeable, wouldn’t you agree?” Father Andrew said, rubbing his giant belly.

Father Tony, busy, signing some papers, dismissively answered, “I don’t see how that would affect the work of God in these parts.”

Father Andrew, dissatisfied, looked at me, “Are the people happy about this man?”

Not knowing he was speaking to me, I still held the teapot looking straight ahead until he further directed the question at me.

“Yefon?”

I was a little startled. “Yes, father?”

“Are the people happy about this president?” Father Tony looked at me too.

Hesitantly, I responded, “I don’t know.” But I did know. They were ecstatic. Kadoh told me that a black president meant, among other things, that the ban for female education would be taken off, so I was, in fact, also excited about the prospect.

One other day at work, I heard an even more exciting piece of news. Some Irish nuns had come from Bamenda to visit our parish and Father Tony put me at their beck and call to help act as a guide. It was a first, but he was trusting with such a huge task and I couldn’t afford to disappoint him.

The Irish nuns were old and sluggish and had a strange addiction to flowers. A short walk from the parish house up the hill to the Cathedral could turn out to be the most dragging experience in the universe. I was carrying the bags, and so I angrily felt the pain as they gushed over the smell of every single flower on our way. For work, I usually wore a white long apron gown provided by the parish and tied my hair with an accompanying scarf. So it was very hot under those clothes and I perspired profusely.

The hard work paid off because I learnt some valuable information. An all-girl school had just been built in Bamenda called Our Lady of Lourdes. The school would train girls to live an exemplary life like Mary, and all it took to be admitted was to pass the common entrance in List A.

My
sha
η
g
immediately began to glow at the words common entrance! I had heard that expression before, but I didn’t know what it meant, and so I asked Father Tony one day. Still studying me, he explained to me that it was the national exam that all primary school children wrote to make them eligible to go into secondary education in Cameroon. He didn’t ask me why I was asking, even though I knew he had some questions up his sleeve.

When I walked to my
mbve’
after work that day, I thought about the common entrance. Maybe this was a sign from
Nyuy!
Perhaps I could study for this common entrance thing, pass it, and go to Bamenda, to Lourdes, where I would be trained to live an exemplary life. I didn’t know how easy or difficult this exam was,
but I knew one thing, I was special. Pa always said that to me, and I believed it.

When I returned home, the sky was reddish orange, and my aunties were seated outside, picking
njamanjama
. One of my cousins had gotten pregnant out of wedlock, and they were discussing the necessary steps that would be taken to make sure the man married her.

“It is my children that want to disgrace me,” her mother cried desperately as if the world had come to an end. I smiled secretly knowing that Ma would give us a lesson when we got home. I offered the poor girl an apologetic smile before entering Ma’s
taav
where Yenla was already dutifully sitting. There was an unmissable smirk on her face.

“Good evening, Ma.”

“What is good about the evening? Tell me, what? Look at your generation. Bringing disgrace to their parents!”

Yenla sat still, and I struggled with difficulty not to let out the laugh that was struggling to choke me.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because none of us is pregnant, but you are already angry as if one of us is.”

“
Kibaranko!”
she screamed, snapping her hands over her head three times. “Abomination! Which of you is seeing a man? Yefon, I suspect you!”

Even Yenla began to smile. “Ma, relax.”

“If any of you bring pregnancy to this house, we shall wear one-side trousers,” she snapped before retiring to her room.

That was one of Ma’s favorite threats. She had never worn trousers in her life, yet she used it a lot when she threatened. “If you don’t do this or that, we will
wear one-side trouser
.” I imagined both ma and myself in the same pant leg would be uncomfortable.

Yenla and I shared a knowing smile, as I sat next to her, and once Ma closed the door behind her, out erupted the heaps of laughter that had been piling up. My sister and I shared a good laugh, and hugged each other.

-18-

VEYEH IS IN TOWN

I woke up from bed with a strange question on my mind. Why did my parents named me Yefon? I never really liked the name. I wasn’t cut out to be some mother of a king. They should have named Sola or Yenla that! I would take their names in a heartbeat, or perhaps Kadoh’s. I didn’t know what it meant but it had a nice musicality to it. Kadoh once told me that her name originated from one of the neighboring tribes called Bali, where the white people had settled first.

As Kadoh and I walked about, I saw Yenla sitting outside cracking
ngie
.

“
A sakah a wanle
.” I greeted, admiring how her reddish hair shone in the morning sun.

“
Sakah yo dze
,” Yenla replied cheerfully. For a while now, she had been decent with me and I liked it.

Suddenly Kadoh started humming, and fanning her nose with her right hand. Both Yenla and I looked at her, and before I could ask what smelled, a rancid stink of butterfat and ochre powder hit my nose.

“
Ishi
, what is that?” I asked, sniffing around to better identify the stench.

“Is it not that Sola, with her beauty treatments?” Kadoh snapped, wrinkling her nose in the most dramatic way ever.

“It is bad,” Yenla muttered, “I think I will go inside.” She picked up her tray and walked into Ma’s
taav
.

“The fact is, no matter how beautiful her mother tries to make her look, she needs to wash her soul too,” Kadoh said.

“Don’t worry, they are jealous because the prince can’t marry them,” Ya Sero said loud enough so we could hear. “
See that wan with her koki buttocks
.”

As Kadoh and I were preparing our buckets to go to the stream, a messenger passed around the village hitting a loud gong.

“The prince is back!

”Eh!” Sola sat up, sharing an excited look with her mother.

“And he is looking for a wife! No work shall be done today! Prepare for a dance, at the Town Square!”
Kadoh started dancing. So did Sola. Even Yenla came out from
the house dancing. I smiled, even though I didn’t want to dance, it was nice to see all that.

“Kadoh, let’s go,
na
,” I urged.

“No,” she replied. “I am not going anywhere! I will stay to prepare for the dance!”

Well, I was going to get my water, so I set out. A little farther out, the road had been blocked with whipping
Jujus
dressed in sackcloth that covered their faces.

“All of you go get ready for the dance!” they shouted.

I came back home to see the massive preparations. Sola washed and conditioned her curly mane with eggs, and tied it in a scarf. Then her mother braided her hair in tight cornrows that scaled her entire head.

“You should come with us,” Kadoh urged from behind one of the most beautiful masks I had ever seen her wear. It also smelled of lemon grass that relaxed you as soon as you inhaled it.

“I work tomorrow, and I need to rest.”

“Yefon, my dear, I know you are not interested, but come for a short while,” Kadoh said.

When Kadoh asked you for something, it was hard to say no. I let her wash my hair and tie it up in a whole bun. She also painted the skin around my breasts with different colors of clay. It looked nice.

When we arrived at the dance, I felt my breath shorten. The loud
nchum
s thumping in my ears overwhelmed me, and I looked around, trying to admire the colorful, festive environment.

Most of the girls looked well dressed with their
te’
s smelling fresh and clean. Some occasionally waved as they walked past. Once again, I found myself wondering how ALL these girls planned to marry a man they had never met. Well, the
Juju
s were whipping any one who tried to go home, so may be there were a few like me who didn’t want to be plucked like a
ngwv
∂
v
. Or maybe not.

A man who walked in a painfully slow manner finally arrived at the circle and began to address the crowd on the importance of this dance.

I was distracted and bored. Besides, we had been waiting for almost two hours, and I couldn’t see too well. Strong rays of sunlight blinded me and I decided that I was going to leave. The
prince would never pick me if he were here, so there was really no point in my staying.

With the whole place so crowded and every one away from home, no one would even notice my absence. After several attempts, I eventually walked away from the event, feeling free and happy. I could go spend some time in my
mbve’
, I fantasized, as an entourage of
nyambara
, or horses, galloped past me raising dust.

I coughed while admiring the golden carriage that the
nyambara
were pulling. That must be the prince! I hoped he found a befitting wife today. For a moment, I felt like turning back and joining the girls. Maybe he would pick me! But probably not!

What if it was one of my sisters that he picked? The palace would show favor to Ma, and the rest of the compound. I could demand a newer slingshot! I smiled to myself, aiming at a bird from under the shade of a big Eucalyptus tree.

I shot the small bird with my slingshot, and I ran to the
mbve’
. I hoped that I had enough firewood to make a decent meal out of the bird.

On my way to the
mbve’
, I admired the peace of the hills. Most of the decent women were at the palace, and I smiled as I watched men and their unacceptable women: the rejects, whores, and divorcees, drinking palm wine under small thatched groves. Maybe they thought I was a loose girl too. If not, why was I not at the palace?

I picked up speed, not wanting to be judged and equally wanting to stop at the market to purchase a few herbs for my meal.

I felt the muscles in my face wobble about as I quickened my pace, looking behind one last time to make sure no one was watching before ducking into the
mbve’
.

A thicket of bushes camouflaged the
mbve’
from unsolicited guests, and the idea that
Ngonnso
once walked in this
mbve’
brought a wide smile to my face.

I washed the bird with some rainwater that I had been collecting and made a fire before sitting down with my back against the wall, plucking the feathers out from the bird.

Meticulously, I removed one black feather after another, and a few minutes after the tangy smoky smell of roasted bird meat filled the
mbve’
.

I then washed my feet and rubbed some of the cooling
lotion that Yenla had made from Eucalyptus leaves into them. Then I started to walk about the
mbve’
, hoping to find something exciting. The coolness of the rocks was always relaxing to my feet, and since I was the only one who came here, I didn’t have to worry about contracting hideous creatures, like lice or jiggers.

I studied the image on the wall that Pa had drawn, as I ate the bird. With its refreshing taste stuffed in my mouth, I realized that I had a lot to live for, and somehow I knew that learning was a big part of my journey.

“Why did you choose me?” I said out loud, and then I asked again, this time, to the
sha
η
g
.
“Ngonnso
, why did you choose me?” I said her name clearly, in the same accent that Pa had used when he had told me about her. I wanted her to know how important this was, how much I wanted to find out about my destiny.