Monday 31 December 2012

Beating the Grass

As we climbed the grassy hill, the sun warmed my back as a mild wind blew, bending the tall elephant grass on our path. I adjusted the strap of the water bottle and glanced at my father,he muttered a curse and spat as he flogged the cow closest to him. I exchanged uneasy looks with my elder brother,he shrugged philosophically as if to say, "such is life"
Baba went ahead of us,thrashing the tall grasses  all the time time cursing Ali,his bosom friend,my elder brother,Sule was marrying his first child,Amina. when the cows stopped to graze,baba asked us to sit down and then he told us stories about our culture, "do you know why the groom is flogged during the marriage ceremony?"He asked Sule as he sat down to drink his kunu,he shook his head, "many years ago,our ancestors gave their daughters out to other tribes,but they were maltreated by these men who always hide their true character so our ancestors decided that to test their true nature they must be made to pass through a test". He turned to look at me, squinting against the sun, "why do we beat the grass?" he asked, i scratched my sweaty armpit, it felt like a test, i cleared my throat, "sometimes dangerous animals hide under the bushes, we dont want to step on snakes so we beat the bush to chase them out" he nodded smiling, "humans, like grass, need to be beaten to bring out hidden nature" at this point he turned to Sule, "this is why you cannot be exempted from the flogging you will receive before you marry Amina. Sule looked down, he had told me that he was afraid he will cry when he is flogged and that will bring shame to him and his wife, "but baba, i dont have any snakes hiding inside me" he replied and for the first time that day, my father laughed, he threw his head back and laughed hard."when you are being flogged, remember that!" he replied Sule back. The day passed without anything else happening. But eight days later, whlen Sule was being flogged, our eyes connected and instead of tears, he laughed hard like baba, and i joined him, because the only thing inside us, was laughter and joy and baba's wise words, When you beat the grass, be ready for what will come out of it. Birthday Bro Mike,this short story is for you!

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