The market was called Malato, or Accra New Town. It was the second largest market in Accra. I was soon taught that there was an art to selling yams, as there is to selling anything. Between sales, Bayere would school me in the events going on around us. The biggest sellers there were some people from Upper Volta (The Burkina Faso region) called Buzu people.
....."Bayere explained to me that most people in Upper Volta ... were very poor and that was why the Buzu people were here; but that we shouldn't worry because the yams they were selling were sold to them by Ghanaians then sold to (other) Ghanaians. Althought the Buzu people stood around counting money all day, the money wasn't theirs. Ghanaian money they made could only be spent in Ghana. If they were caught trying to take some Ghanaian money to their country, they could lose it all, so we didn't mind them....(Bayere) then went on to give me some history on yams and how the best ones are grown in his part of Ghana, Tamale, which is in the northern part of the country...
"I learned to chew the cola nut and drink the hot spicy porridge that the northerners eat and made lots of friends. Since everyone must come to the market at some time or other especially the women or their maids, they all wanted the best price and I usually gave it to them. It was there that I saw what happened to thieves.
"One day after about a week of selling yams, I saw a man get caught stealing a piece of cloth. The first thing I heard shouted was 'Dzula' which is the Ga word for thief. The thief ran and the women chased him yelling, 'Dzula!' At the same time they were throwing stones at him. Someone tripped him then the women began beating him with anything they could get their hands on.
"There were two police officers standing by casually smoking their cigarettes, which they finished before slowly making their way through the crowd of screaming women to rescue the man. Each grasped one of his legs and dragged him to a waiting jeep. The women were still following and beating him.
.....'Today you see African justice, my brother,' said Bayere, 'Like the police no come he would die here.' 'Ack! All for a piece of cloth,' I said, 'He must be hungry!' 'No, he's not hungry. Any African will give a hungry man food to eat,' said Bayere. "I could understand that. The people in the market worked hard for what they got and just didn't take kindly to thieves. Punishment could be swift and on the spot.
"I would like to explain here something about African and Ghanaian women in particular. They are nice, kind, humble, gentle, strong, and sweet as candy. They are straight women. Generally, they can be as soft as cotton, but they can also be as hard as rock. In short, they are the last of the original women. ....."I'll make a feeble attempt to explain my opinion of an original woman. All due respect to my mother, who upon losing her husband raised seven children, who all grew up to become fine, responsible men and women. Also, to my grandmother, who endured all the prejudice, hardship and humiliation that went with her newly won freedom. Then, there were my great-grandmother and her mother, who endured all the hardships of slavery from some very cruel people. These women survived their struggles to produce a race of giants who will again, someday, take their rightful place among the great men and women of the world.
"It is a privilege to be born from and live among the ancestors of such women in their own 'original environment,' in the deep African forest. It's there that one gets a better understanding of an original woman. It's a pity that many Black people will never witness it, because the only way to learn is to go the African bush and live for awhile amongst our people." pgs 52-53.
