Life in the village
The weeks I spent in the village during each visit were vital parts of my life. To me, my village was in every sense of the word home! My village is Peretorugbene Town in Ekeremor local government area, Bayelsa State. In my head was shaped like a capital letter written reversed but with more than three prongs. I wish I could draw it... a long stretch of the river, a small road between the river and the streets. Almost every street had a warf at the foot of the river made of wood and a separate resting place called atele made out of bamboo sticks. The Warf serves a lot of purposes; makes it easy to get on or off the boats and canoes, it also serves as a platform for chores. Washing clothes, plates, farming and fishing tools, bathroom as well.
We had the village center, radio house which stood as a major way to disseminate information by the use of public address system, a hospital which I never saw, the community school, we also had lots of churches too. The garment churches always looking clean and colourful in their robes on Sundays. They barely ever clo9se before 4pm! The market confused me a lot! Coming from the city where a market remained a market everyday morning till night to a village where we had market days (Dorogu fou) and times (usually night). You get to the market at night and it's teeming with activities and music, the next morning you won'tsee any sign that that spot was a matket. Everyone gone by very huge boats to another nearby village!!!! Till same day next week.
I enjoyed going to the warf for any reason whatsoever. I would prefer to wash the plates there (please don't ask me how many of my mothers cuttleries I lost in that process) or the number of my slippers that was carried away by the ever flowing river. I enjoyed watching the kids swim after the chores until I learnt how to swim and joined them.
I enjoyed eating coconut rice, banga rice, squid, karafiye, I didn't like mgbosu, I loved gbe and doun aka bayelsa suya were classics, madiga, so many other things. The village had varieties.
I spent my mornings lazying around, sitting on our porch and watching people leave for either their farms or go fishing, you'll hear them call after their kids and give instructions to the ones they are leaving behind. The cries of the littles ones that want to go with their mothers or grand mothers and someone in the compound trying to pacify and all that. Then I hope for the sun to shine bright so we can brube our mum to let us swim rather than have our baths in the bathroom.
I spent my afternoon/evening time playing and taking fun trips with my playmates. We made dolls our of the barks of plantain trees, we buy and sell stuff using the wraps of gums, we walked to the mild bushes and plucked some edible fruits and delicacies, we cooked, ran and played all day! As the evening approached, my playmates begin to disperse. Their mothers or grandmothers would be back from the farm soon. Things had to be done to avoid being beaten. I join them to do their chores, I enjoyed bathing the smaller ones.
The arrival of those that went to the farm or went fishing meant the children around had to help off load everything. You get rewarded most times by a fish or a big Crayfish or any other species. Now the big question, who would help me roast my prize? I would watch these kids expertly clean my fish with theirs and sit by the fireplace hoping to learn how to so the next day.... forget it. I usually got my fish burnt before it is cooked. 😂😂😂.
It was very easy to communicate with the children and adults because I was fluent in my language Ijaw. Sometimes, you're given a tray load of any farm produce to help hawk. I would balance my tray on my head, count all the goods and ask the prices and also the least acceptable price and with my partner off we go. I looked out of place in my beautiful clothes hawking... my mum will laugh and encourage me to go but when you're tired just come back home. It was safe to move around. My goods were sold quickly I think mostly because people were eager to ease the load.
I remember following my grandmum to the farm a couple of times. She carried dried fish and garri which was my snack. I don't remember doing any useful work in the farm😂😂😂. I knew how to do almost nothing. I also tried my hands on weaving the traps, that was much more successful than farming. I don't think I ever caught a fish in all my years of trying 😂😂😂.
Masqurades!!! I remember very little about them. The practice was abandoned roughly about 15 years ago if I'm not mistaken. Back then, the radio house would announce the particular masqurade that would display, the day and time. I remember the yellow one with black large polka dot (I think it was called eremtoru) then there was also "gulogulo owei" anyway the fun was being chased but you wouldn't catch me near even the window. I was that terrified of the charade yet I liked the adrenaline rush. So I would peep and watch the young teenagers tease the masqurades and eventually get chased and all that. The one I would always remember.... Olorungu it was the most dreaded. All dressed in red, merciless and usually the last. The last masqurade I saw was this one, an aunty in the compound convinced me to go with her in a canoe as we trailed its activities from one street to the next. We felt relatively safe since we were using the canoe and it was displaying on land. I don't know what triggered this masquerade but it threw a bottle at the river... I almost peed on my pant. I kept asking myself who sent me to follow this masquerade 😂😂😂. I got back home safely giving glory to God only to realise the masqurade cut down our plantain tree.
My village was my safe haven!
I could goon and on and on....
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