
Storytelling: Tata & Laila their vocation to the village (last part)
The wife of the Fulani man was busy milking some of the cows, while her husband fed the others and made sure some did not wander into the bush. Sometimes, he used a big stick to beat a stubborn cow. When the Fulani man had finished his work, he took Tata and Laila round the cattle farm. He showed them where food was stored for the cows, and he also showed them where white cheese was made from the milk from the cows, then he gave Tata and Laila some cheese to eat.
While they ate the cheese, the Fulani took them to the little stream where the cows usually drank water. As they left the cattle farm for home, some of the cows cried ‘moo, moo’.
‘Those cows are saying good-bye!’ Laila exclaimed. That may be so,’ said Uncle Jatau with a smile. When Tata and Laila returned from the cattle farm, a meal of hot yam flour was waiting for them. The meal tasted very good with the meat of a bush animal.
“How is yam flour made?’ Musa asked Aunty Mairo.
“Oh, it is quite easy,” replied Aunty Mairo, Shall I tell you how?”
Tata and Laila quickly sat down near her.
First, I remove the skin of the yam with a knife, and I out the yam into flat slices and spread them out in the sun to dry. The dry yam slices are then beaten into powdered form in a mortar. Then I use a sieve to remove the unbroken grains from the flour. The grains left are used to feed our domestic animals.’
Tata and Laila’s grandmother made, black soap once a week, and Tata and Laila wanted to know how the soap was made. Grandmother gladly took them to the shed where she made the soap.
Grandmother had collected the thorn left behind when the palm fruits were harvested on Uncle Jatau’s farm. They were very dry and grandmother set fire to them. After the thorns had been burnt, grandmother put the ashes into a big pot. She added water, placed the pot on the fire.
Then she fried some of the palm oil which Aunty Mairo had made, and poured it into the now boiling ash. She stirred the mixture with a long stick. As she turned it, the mixture slowly turned into soap. She put the little bits of soap into a large calabash. When she had done this. the soap was put, aside to cool down.
Back home, she gave some to Tata and Laila to wash their hands with. Apart from soap making, Tata and Laila’s grandmother was also good at dyeing cloth. Her dyeing pots were kept at the back of the house. Uncle Jatau had some work to do on his cotton farm, and asked the children to come with him.
Tata and Laila refused politely as they wanted to watch grandmother dye clothes. So, Uncle Tunde went off, while Musa and Lola sat near their grandmother’s dyeing pots. Grandmother showed Tata and Laila what she had done so far.
‘Look at those two pots, one on top of the other. The top one has a hole at the bottom.’ she explained.
‘Why?’ asked Laila. ‘Because’, replied grandmother, ‘I have put wood ashes and water into it and I want the water which will turn light green to drip into the lower pot.’
Grandmother used a small calabash to pour the liquid from the lower pot into a big pot. Then she added some balls made of indigo leaves.
“What are those balls?’ Tata asked.
Grandmother explained carefully. ‘I made those balls by beating indigo leaves in a mortar and using both hands to roll them into balls.’
After grandmother had put the balls in, she added plenty of water and covered the top with a lid.
‘Now, it should be covered like that for the next three days’, grandmother told Tata and Laila.
‘And what happens after that?’ Musa wanted to know.
‘After that, the dye will be ready,’ grandmother answered, “and I can dye my cloth with it then!’
The next day, Tata and Laila went with Uncle Jatau to his cotton farm. Uncle Jatau had explained to them that cotton grew on the farm like any other plant. The farm was within walking distance, so Tata and Laila did not have far to walk. They saw that cotton plants were not much higher than the cassava plants which Uncle Tunde had already shown them.
On top of the green leaves were little bunches of white coron peeping out of soft shells, Some plants had up to
ten or more bunches of cotion. Uncle Jatau picked some of the white cotton and because there were so many, he was able to pick a basket full.
Tata and Laila also helped him to pick some. They discovered that the cotton they picked had hard spots in their centres. Uncle Tunde explained to them that the hard spots were the seeds. These would be removed later on. He also told them that eloth was made from cotton, and that they all were, in fact, wearing eotton in one form or another.
The school holidays were almost over and Tata and Laila were due to retum home with Mother. They were both very sad. They had enjoyed themselves and had learnt many things about village life. They spent the rest of their holidays saying goodbye to relatives and playing with their friends.
The day for their returning home soon arrived. Tata, Laila and Mother got ready to go to the railway station.
Uncle Jatau carried the big bag, while Tata and Laila carried their own school bags on their shoulders. They waited at the station for almost two hours because the train was late. When the train finally arrived, the three of them climbed aboard.
Tata and Laila sat up during the journey. They looked at the little villages and the forests and hills which the train ran past. Father was waiting at the station to meet them. He helped Tata and Laila get down from the train and on the way home, he carried the big bag. They were all happy to be back home and they told Father stories of all they saw at Musuru Village.
Three days later, school re-opened. Tata and Laila got dressed for school early that morning. After breakfast, Tata and Laila carried their school bags on their shoulders and left for school. Many other children were already at school by the time they got there. Some children came in new clothes and had new school bags. Many of them were going into new classes and had new teachers.
The first lesson in all the classes was story-telling. The children in each class were asked to tell stories of how they spent their holiday. Tata was the first to speak in his class and he told them about all the places he and Laila went in Musuru village. Laila also told her class the story of the many new things which she had seen and discovered in Musuru village.