25 June 2013
FYI- I wrote this post
several months back and never got around to posting it, so the photos are a bit
outdated and may have already shown up on Facebook or elsewhere.
One thing you can’t help but notice when you first arrive in
Sierra Leone (and I’d imagine most countries in Africa) is that people here
really like to carry things on their heads. Not only that—they’re really good at it. Our first few days in
Freetown we watched countless women and children walk by selling beni kek (sesame seed cakes), granat kek (peanut brittle), and boiled
peanuts balanced on big trays on their heads. Others would walk past with big
bowls on their heads selling flip-flops, clothes, and other goods. Still others
would be carrying jugs of water. This is
referred to here as “toting,” and just about every Sierra Leonean we know can
do it. Instead of carrying bags on their shoulders, travelers often tote their
bags on their heads. They will carry firewood or freshly cut bamboo bundles on
their heads coming back from the bush. One time, a friend of ours toted a
bookshelf that probably weighs 80 lbs about half a mile to our house from the
carpenter. What’s even more astounding
is that many of these individuals don’t have to hold what they are toting. They
can even turn their heads with something balanced on top without needing to
steady it.
As early as that first week we’ve tried toting things, and
we were abysmal at it at first. My host
sisters spent a good hour with me once trying to show me how to tote my water
bottle. I wasn’t successful, but they assured me it was at least in part due to
my slipu ia (slippery hair). After that, I shied away from trying to tote
things for the most part, until our water pump broke.
For two weeks, we had to go to the second closest pump,
which is a good 200 yards downhill from our house. That means carrying water 200 yards
uphill—not an easy feat any way you slice it. Kevin had a good time showing off
his arm muscles after making 2 trips carrying two 5-gallon buckets up from the
pump. My first instinct was to just ask
the neighbor girls to go fetch water for us, but after Kevin convinced me it
was not cool to let an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old show me up, I decided to go
fetch water with them. We all grabbed a
bucket and went down to the pump. The
girls made sure that I had a katta, a
piece of cloth that you roll up and place between your head and the bucket to
cushion it a bit.
The first thing I noted about toting was that it’s actually
easier to tote a heavy object than a light one. The bucket full of water, once
perched right in the middle of my head, was not going anywhere. Now all that was left was to walk uphill 200
yards and dump the water into our storage container. The first trip was easy
enough until about the last 50 feet, at which point my neck started trying to
remind me that the muscles supporting my head are not used to carrying an
additional 40 lbs, and could I please put the bucket down soon. I made two trips that day, and gave my neck a
break for a few days.
Since that first time, I’ve toted water occasionally,
usually choosing the 5-gallon jug shown below because the small opening means I
can afford to be a little shaky without spilling a whole lot. I’ve definitely adapted to the Sierra Leonean
habit of toting things instead of carrying them with my hands, though I need to
us one hand to steady anything I carry. One of my goals for my next year of Peace Corps service is to be able to tote without steadying the object with my hands-- about 13 months to go!
 |
| Olele, Musa, and Hawa toting water together-- This was Musa's first time toting. There's about 3 inches of water in his bucket. |
 |
| Pay no attention to the splotches of water on my shirt-- I'm toting! |
No comments:
Post a Comment