Oriki'badan

Notes

56 Oriki’badan Notes 1 At the University of Ibadan of the eighties, academics was simply referred to in short as acada. 2 Gbea is the traditional name for Buea, a town in the South West Province of Cameroon, the former capital of that part of Cameroon that was once referred to as West Cameroon. 3 Sasse is the neighbourhood in which St. Joseph’s College is located, but it is always used to mean the school and not its location. 4 Saker Baptist College is the name of a distinguished Baptist Secondary School for girls in the city of Limbe, Cameroon. 5 Miss Wilma Binder, as Vice Principal of the institution, had the habit of censoring letters coming in for the girls, and those from anyone not on a list pre-approved by the girl’s parents were opened. If they came from a boy and he was talking about a relationship, the girl was in trouble. Such letters were known in Saker as Palaver Letters. 6 Sacred Heart is the standard way of referring to Sacred Heart College, a boys’ secondary school in Mankon, Bamenda, Cameroon. 7 Marcellin Champagnat was the founder of the Marist Brother order. 8 For decades, Sacred Heart College, Mankon, a secondary school in the North West Province of Cameroon, was situated in the country, away from the hullabaloo of the budding Bamenda town at the time. During those early years, students simply referred to the surrounding neighbourhood as the "country," but they preferred the French word for it – la campagne. Accordingly, all those who lived in the surrounding neighbourhood were considered country folk, les campaignards. 9 Ntang is a building in which one resides, a hut in most cases. 10 Ki-hap, the yelling sounds produced by Taekwondo practitioners. 11 Allâhu akbar (God is great) is a Muslim expression frequently used in a number of situations like in the exchange of greetings and even when the faithful are summoned to prayers. 12 Òyìnbó is a Yoruba word used for white people. 13 Bàbá is a term of respect, and endearment even, that could be equated with Grandpa for example. 57 Emmanuel Fru Doh ń 14 E Se is "thanks" in the Yoruba language. 15 E Se gon can be translated in to mean "thanks a lot." 16 A is a Yoruba traditional garment that is wide and goes down tos the knee in length. It is worn by the male gender. 17 Tabala is a children’s game which requires each player to take turns tossing a clay bolus in boxes drawn on the ground. The player then skips from one box to another and in the process shifts the bolus with his or her toes while standing and hopping on one leg from box to box without the ball settling on a line, in which case the player hands over his or her turn to the next player. 18 Wàhálà, a Yoruba word, here means problems or challenges. 19 Dalu is "thank you" in Igbo. 20 Mboma is the pidgin word for a python. 21 Ni wega is "thanks" in Gikuyu. 22 ’Care is the contracted form of "acare" which is the term used for a white person in the Mankon language of the North West province of Cameroon. 23 Akeva is Bulu for "thanks." Bulu people are found in SouthCentral Cameroon. 24 Medagse is "thanks" in Fante. 25 Afoyo is "thank you" in the Acholi language. 26 NEPA is the acronym for National Electrical Power Authority. 27 A pidgin expression for "take it easy." 28 An agbádá is a robe-like outfit traditional to some African ethnic groups. 29 Àmàlà is a dish traditional to the Yoruba. It is made from dried yam which is then ground into yam powder; it is then sieved and when needed, processed into àmàlà. 30 gui is the word for the supreme deity, God, among the Mankon people of the Bamenda Grassfields of Cameroon. . . . . dànsíkí .` ...