Exiting the Kitchen, Fafa had the food in a basket on her head. The basket is called a Kusi. It was made from palm fronds and has a rope handle making it look like a hamper. It's definitely the ancestor of these modern day hampers because, aside the mode, it has the colors to go with it as the whole basket was made with green fronds, but the lower half and the bottom was designed with a yellow-green frond that they got from a plant called Agor, a plant similar to a coconut in terms of everything but is hard to chew and doesn't contain water.
Daa Ama followed closely behind, with a cutlass in her hand, and Mawuli on her back. He kept pulling the scarf on Daa Ama's hair.
"Mawuu, if this scarf falls off , you will fall down too" she said
"eii , Ma take it easy on my man okay?" Fafa replied amidst laughter
"If I asked him to walk , he wouldn't. I've decided to rent him my back and look how this boy is treating dear me" Daa Ama said .
As they passed the houses of their neighbors and friends , there were greetings all over.
"Hello Daa Ama, Good morning, how is Mawuli? " asked Ami, a young woman in her early twenties with a pot under her armpit, probably going to get water from Nsuo fita.
"I'm here" Mawuli stopped pulling the scarf and answered, to which everyone laughed.
" oh ,you are going to the stream alone today " Daa Ama said.
"ahh, yes Dziedzorm is not feeling well so I had to go alone today, this is the last one I'm going". Ami replied and tapped Fafa on her shoulder. She exchanged some few words with Fafa and went her way after confirming she'd go to the village square in the afternoon that day.
After meeting a few friends , they were getting closer to the end of the village . Mawuli started pulling on Daa Ama's scarf again
"Ah , Mawuli" Daa Ama exclaimed.
"Hello Mawuli, behave " Fafa stopped and walked back looking at Mawuli who pouted turning his face away from Fafa and giggling afterwards. "If you want me to catch a nice bird for you today, you'll have to stop what you are doing" Fafa continued "or I won't catch any bird for you today or ever" . There and then, Mawuli immediately stopped pulling on Daa Ama's scarf and said ,
" I want the blue one , with the long mouth, and the yellow one that has the black head and the one that looks like Senyo's hair and and–––"
"It's okay, I'll get every bird you want okay? even if it's the great eagle from the deep forest" Fafa cut him short "only if you'll follow me and be collecting them"
"aha aha aha" Daa Ama replied "Fafali , how do expect my three years old son to follow you to the forest to collect birds?"
"How does he expect your thirteen years old daughter to get all these birds he was mentioning? Had I allowed him to continue mentioning, he wouldn't be done by now" Fafa laughed as she increased her pace again and was now in front.
"Mama , was it not her that said she is the great hunter?" Mawuli chipped in with his left thumb in his mouth looking at Fafa at the front form the back of his mother.
" Don't mind her son, she'll get them for you" Daa Ama said to which Mawuli nodded
"And you'll follow me to collect them " Fafa said chuckling as they reached the end of the village.
When they reached the end of the village, and about to enter the single pathway that led to the farm of Efo Gameli and a few other farmers in Afiadenyo, they exchanged. Fafa took the cutlass , and gave the food to Daa Ama. Initially Fafa was allowed to carry the food because of the village folks.When they see Fafa with the cutlass and her mother with the food, they'll criticize them saying "how insolent of a young girl to allow her mother to carry a Kusi whiles also carrying a child and she is walking freely with a matchet , what should a young girl be doing with a cutlass anyway?"
This wouldn't be the first time of the folks saying this.
The thing is, Efo Gameli's family was not like the typical family where they decided the men mostly worked in the farms and the women had to stay home and take care of the house , where the only time the women go to the farm is when they need to go bring foodstuffs, even then they weren't supposed to carry cutlass. It is said that , carrying a cutlass is like carrying the family , and it's only the men that are capable of doing that,so, the women must sit home and take care of the house whiles the men take care of the family .It's their responsibility.
Efo Gameli and Daa Ama believed , if Senyo wanted to become a dancer in the village square , and Fafa wanted to become a hunter, they were not going to stop them.
In Efo Gameli's home, they all sit together at a table during the evening meals, not like the other families where the men eat at the table and the women eat in the kitchen. For this reason, the men and some of the women in the Village thinks Gameli is not strong enough to take full control over his family. Only some of the women thinks that way because, most of them
wished they got married to Gameli, not only because of the freedom and mutuality in his home , but also because he is handsome as well. And the fact that despite him being one of the most handsome of his age, he never wanted to marry another wife, has left most of them in awe.Not one that is explainable.
Daa Ama now has the food on her head with Mawuli on her back who had calmed down a bit after pulling the scarf on her head for a while and got tired of it.
Fafa took the lead as they took the pathway that lead through the forest to the farms.
After every few pace , Fafa would stop and cut of stray grasses on the way , throwing them up with the cutlass into the bush
'so much similarities' Daa Ama thought smiling
"I wonder why you keep cutting these grasses on the way" she voiced out
Fafa smiles "You know, it's better to deal with the problem where it is than–––"
"yes yes I know , than to allow it to become a real threat before trying to deal with it. It's harder the later way. You say this almost everyday "
"that's because you keep wondering why I cut these grasses everyday"
"that's because you keep cutting the grasses everyday"
"that's because–––"
"because what? you don't have anything to say my dear "
"I have something to say, that's because it's better to deal with–––"
" hahaha and here we go" Daa Ama bursting into laughter. "Let's hurry , your father and brother must be hungry by now " she said increasing her pace