Liberian Literary Magazine
“You like it? I have
something fine in that valise.
If you can guess what it is I
will give it to you.”
“For true?” Tene giggled
excitedly,
exposing
her
sparkling white teeth. “How
many guesses do I have?”
“Men are usually allowed
four ...”
“All right,” Tene cut me off
abruptly. “Here is my first
guess. It couldn't be clothes, I
know.”
“You got two more to go.”
Tene
looked
up
and
pondered. “It's something to
do with gold?” She paused.
When she observed me
unconsciously
nodding
approval,
Tene
yelled,
“Earrings,
bracelet,
or
necklace! O, wait a minute
Kai!” She stopped me before I
could open my mouth. “Now I
know what, it is a pair of gold
earrings!”
“Tene you are right!” I
exclaimed. I opened the box.
On top of the loosely packed
clothes lay a pair of glittering
clover leaf shaped earrings.
Tene picked them up and
dangled them before her
eyes. “Kai, you mean these
belong to me? I want sister
Kema to see them.” She tried
them on. “Mmmm, they
match a lappa suit I have at
home.” When I told Tene the
earrings were hers, she swung
around and put her arms
around my waist and said,
“Kai, I love you. You are so
thoughtful.” This was one of
those rare occasions Tene had
said this to me.
Later on that day, the girls
informed me that they could
not stay Tonger, as they had
to get back to finish
harvesting the rice and other
crops.
My landlady suggested that
they remain a couple of days
more. Tene was anxious to go
January Issue 0115
back, but Kema prevailed on
her to accept the hospitality
of my landlady for two more
days.
In
the
meantime,
I
persuaded my landlord to
advance me more money, so
that in the event I decided to
send some money ahead on
Tene's dowry, it would be
available.
On the eve of their
departure, I had a long
discussion with Kema. Tene
had gone with my landlady to
some village to visit a friend,
leaving
us
completely
undisturbed. Kema wanted to
come to a frank discussion. I
surprised her with a bottle of
St. Paul Lightning, the socalled “cold water,” a
superior brand of cane juice
produced in the Suehn area.
After a couple of drinks, I
opened up the discussion on
Tene's dowry by asking,
“Kema, your sister is matured
now, what are the old folks
saying?”
She shifted on the bed.
“Like what for instance?”
She inquired, lowering her
eyes.
“You think I have just been
eating rice for nothing eh? I
am an old kuba, Kema.”
“Gortokai this doesn't tell
me anything,” and she lifted
her head.
“All right Kema you want
me to be blunt. Your sister's
armpits are no longer those of
an innocent child.” I said to
Kema. “The hairs under there
show sign of maturity, I swear
to God.”
She remained silent. The
room was getting stuffy.
Kema suggested that I open
the window.
All this time we had not
come to any conclusion, as to
the amount of dowry I should
pay. I therefore told her,
“Since we cannot agree on
6
any figure, I take it to mean
...” She laid her head on my
arm.
“That what?” Kema turned
up and looked at me.
“To offer the prevailing
dowry mat.”
I would pay the full dowry
required for a virgin, ten
pounds sterling, or forty
dollars.
The
procedure
involved
the
following:
twenty-five cents, to find out
from the family if there was
any other suitor besides me, if
no other suitor, twenty-five
cents to shut Tene's ears to
any further requests from
suitors; two dollars to tie the
rope on her hand, or engage
her, fifty cents to cut the
rope
or
confirm
the
engagement.
“Hold it there.” Kema
interrupted. The glass slipped
from her hand and sent the
rum spilling all over me. “How
much does this add up to so
far?” I took time and checked
these figures on my fingers.
The total came to three
dollars. This, plus the forty
dollars, a lappa suit for the
old lady and a robe for the old
man would be a fair amount.
I presented Kema with
twenty-three dollars to use
toward her sister's dowry and
we parted with no definite
time as to when I would be
coming back to Bendabli,
because I wanted to extend
my contract so as to earn
sufficient money to pay the
remaining amount.
If you are a professional
palm wine drinker, that is, a
habitude, or a connoisseur,
the most sensible thing to do
when you arrive in a strange
town is to associate yourself
with a palm wine circle. By so
doing you get to know all the
current gossip of that town.
It was my good fortune, as
soon as I had arrived in Suehn,