Tale of an African Woman
Publication Year: 2008
Published by: African Books Collective
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Download PDF (57.8 KB)
pp. 1-5
"Have a seat,” I declared politely after my visitor from Ireland was ushered into my office and I shook hands with . . .
Chapter Two
Download PDF (48.8 KB)
pp. 6-11
Along, long time ago, even before my country, Mungo, came to be administered as a colony of the Europeans, in the northern . . .
Chapter three
Download PDF (43.7 KB)
pp. 12-16
Caught up in this sad situation, which was not of her making and which she knew nothing about, it was natural that Yaa`s childhood . . .
Chapter Four
Download PDF (51.5 KB)
pp. 17-23
Yaa soon turned ten. In the light of her age, she was forced to abandon the rather rich but boring chore of supplying water to her . . .
Chapter Five
Download PDF (48.7 KB)
pp. 24-29
The eve of the day the entire village had been waiting for finally arrived. While people braced themselves for the event, those . . .
Chapter Six
Download PDF (60.9 KB)
pp. 30-35
By now, the wrestlers were all geared up and kept their ears opened for the names which would soon be announced by the master . . .
Chapter Seven
Download PDF (40.4 KB)
pp. 36-39
The wrestling was over. Even though the induction event had not come to an end, many villagers were already walking away . . .
Chapter Eight
Download PDF (45.0 KB)
pp. 40-44
There was no more excuse to deny her a land grant. The Tabih cut out a large, fertile piece of land along an old river valley as her . . .
Chapter Nine
Download PDF (42.0 KB)
pp. 45-49
It was not very long after Chacha had died. The villagers started to notice some very weird patterns of behavior in Yaa. It started slowly . . .
Chapter Ten
Download PDF (53.8 KB)
pp. 50-56
Old Bangsiboh got up early that morning. At night, on that day, he had a dream in which he saw a leopard hanging from a . . .
Chapter Eleven
Download PDF (57.0 KB)
pp. 57-64
Tabongwa sat on a rock under a baobab tree not far from his compound. Even though the base of this plant was very broad and . . .
Chapter Twelve
Download PDF (74.2 KB)
pp. 65-76
Darkness had just begun to gather. Tabongwa had finished the day’s work and was about to prepare his dinner. He popped some . . .
Chapter Thirteen
Download PDF (53.9 KB)
pp. 77-83
When the last word of the incantation had been uttered, Tabongwa held the palm bearing the ashes to his mouth and asked . . .
Chapter Fourteen
Download PDF (42.7 KB)
pp. 84-88
It must have been around the year 1884. European statesmen were poised to meet in Berlin, the capital of Germany. Long before they . . .
Chapter Fifteen
Download PDF (43.2 KB)
pp. 89-93
It was more than a year since Sangbong and Ndah first met at the marketplace. Not very long after the meeting, the communities from . . .
Chapter Sixteen
Download PDF (33.9 KB)
pp. 94-96
The people looked very hungry and destitute. They had come across beautiful flat land where they had hoped to establish their . . .
Chapter Seventeen
Download PDF (57.8 KB)
pp. 97-101
Good news in Ireland has often meant good news for humanity. This became evident on a cold Friday afternoon way back . . .
Chapter Eighteen
Download PDF (29.1 KB)
pp. 102-103
Sangbong wasted no time after Yakiri had been established. Within the span of half a decade, he moved quickly and created five . . .
Chapter Nineteen
Download PDF (51.9 KB)
pp. 104-110
It was in 1940. Bernard Nso was then a student at Oxford. Yakiri was already more than half a century old. Ireland was bracing itself . . .
Chapter Twenty
Download PDF (40.1 KB)
pp. 111-114
As they drifted progressively towards the tropics, the hotter it became. Fr Sean could feel sweat streaming down his whole body. He had . . .
Chapter Twenty One
Download PDF (58.9 KB)
pp. 115-123
The hotel was situated just next to a botanical garden. The garden was very green and made up of different types of tropical plants . . .
Chapter Twenty Two
Download PDF (44.2 KB)
pp. 124-128
It was evening when they finally got to Abakwa. The priest was taken to Ayaba where the biggest mission in the region had just been . . .
Chapter Twenty Three
Download PDF (44.1 KB)
pp. 129-133
Back in Yakiri, the messenger dispatched to announce the arrival of the Irishman was received to a tumultuous welcome . . .
Chapter Twenty Four
Download PDF (43.0 KB)
pp. 134-138
It was still not dark when the priest arrived at his house. It was a three-room house, with two sleeping rooms and a vast sitting room. It was . . .
Chapter Twenty Five
Download PDF (59.3 KB)
pp. 139-147
The good instinct of prevention is better than cure having had the better of the priest, he decided to lock his door. Still, he could . . .
Chapter Twenty Six
Download PDF (37.6 KB)
pp. 148-151
The priest had planned to hold a meeting with the villagers at the church in the late afternoon and it was getting to time. He had seen . . .
Chapter Twenty Seven
Download PDF (42.2 KB)
pp. 152-156
Two days later, the emissary arrived with the whisk. Their journey to Kimbo was set for the following day and was to comprise Fr Sean, Tela . . .
Chapter Twenty Eight
Download PDF (35.2 KB)
pp. 157-159
It was late in the afternoon when they left for Yakiri. They arrived around dusk when the chickens were coming back to roost. Tela used . . .
Chapter Twenty Nine
Download PDF (89.3 KB)
pp. 160-175
Fr Sean recalled all that Bernard Nso had told him before he set out for Africa. How could he forget the useful tips which had already . . .
Chapter Thirty
Download PDF (51.5 KB)
pp. 176-182
After spending some years in the small African village, the Irishman was perfectly at home. At least, this was what he thought. He was . . .
Chapter Thirty One
Download PDF (33.7 KB)
pp. 183-185
Nkar sat on a hill on the main road from Yakiri to Kimbo. From this imperious position, it overlooked Yakiri. Its first . . .
Chapter Thirty Two
Download PDF (44.3 KB)
pp. 186-190
About twenty years had elapsed since the priest arrived in Yakiri. It was evening and Tafon was standing in his compound, concentrating . . .
Chapter Thirty Three
Download PDF (67.3 KB)
pp. 191-201
Tafon raised his head and saw the giant figure of Mbinkar, the
sub-chief of Nkar, framed by the door.
“Let God and the ancestors guide your steps
Mbinkar,” he greeted . . .
Chapter Thirty Four
Download PDF (40.5 KB)
pp. 202-205
Fai, who started to doze off after the meal, was now snoring. His sleepy body was at war with gravity as he struggled to keep it . . .
Chapter Thirty Five
Download PDF (62.4 KB)
pp. 206-214
After his trip, Mbinkar had every reason to celebrate. From his discussion with Tafon, he was convinced that his family’s notoriety . . .
Chapter Thirty Six
Download PDF (78.5 KB)
pp. 215-227
Owing to the tragic circumstances which surrounded my birth, I was compelled to grow under the care of my grandparents. The death . . .
Chapter Thirty Seven
Download PDF (56.4 KB)
pp. 228-235
After my grand mother had applied some ointment to soothe my bruises and had tried to calm me down, I sat back and reflected on what . . .
Chapter Thirty Eight
Download PDF (49.9 KB)
pp. 236-238
The year came to an end. My relationship with Forche was going from strength to strength, even in the midst of all the gossip. To make . . .
Chapter Thirty Nine
Download PDF (74.1 KB)
pp. 239-248
If by our becoming involved in joint activities, Forche and I had started to dream of romance of some sort, a jarring note occurred which . . .
Chapter Fourty
Download PDF (45.0 KB)
pp. 249-253
During the holidays, I received a letter requesting me to appear at St Augustine’s College for the interview which would determine . . .
Chapter Fourty One
Download PDF (51.7 KB)
pp. 254-260
It was around 3.30pm when the car of Fr Sean screeched to a halt in front of the main building. There, I noticed another kind of rivalry . . .
Chapter Fourty Two
Download PDF (113.5 KB)
pp. 261-278
With Achini and his friends gone, I opened my box and took out some sheets and a blanket and proceeded to make up . . .
Chapter Fourty Three
Download PDF (36.8 KB)
pp. 279-281
In the course of that year, a girl dismissed for bad conduct from Our Lady of Lourdes College in Abakwa washed up in SAC with her fat . . .
Chapter Fourty Four
Download PDF (38.5 KB)
pp. 282-285
At his small but sumptuously decorated and furnished house in Azire, a neighborhood in Abakwa, it was getting to 9am when Mr. Arata was . . .
Chapter Fourty Five
Download PDF (67.8 KB)
pp. 286-293
Father Nielen was at his office in the afternoon when there was a knock on the door and a gnarled old man walked in. He pulled a chair . . .
Chapter Fourty Six
Download PDF (39.1 KB)
pp. 294-297
The final college results were out. The names of those who had succeeded were already posted at the college campus. The successful . . .
Chapter Fourty Seven
Download PDF (48.7 KB)
pp. 298-303
Arguments on whether it was proper or not to send me to the university began to spread in the village. These discussions soon . . .
Chapter Fourty Eight
Download PDF (73.9 KB)
pp. 304-315
The men carried on with their drinking and debate. Some eavesdroppers picked up the most damning elements of their discussions . . .
Chapter Fourty Nine
Download PDF (74.2 KB)
pp. 316-327
Like the news of my success in the examination, the one that I would enroll at the university took my village by storm. Almost everyone . . .
Back Cover
E-ISBN-13: 9789956716562
Print-ISBN-13: 9789956558094
Page Count: 332
Publication Year: 2008
