My Town Monday: Life in West Africa

The Rayne Frog Festival was rescheduled for November, so unfortunately there are no pictures of frogs dressed in jockey uniforms to post today. But it is the perfect time for another post from Mr. Boh, who sent a great piece on the heart and soul of the Kom people. He starts off with an African proverb that perfectly suits this (he has sent a long list of terrific proverbs that I'll have to post one of these days). Mr. Boh writes:

AFRICAN PROVERB: No obstacle in the forest can make the snail not to find its way; meaning, no matter how fast you run, justice will still catch up with you (for a crime committed).

THE 'AFO-A-KOM' (Kom's Property)

The AFO-A-KOM is a statue that was carved by one of the rulers of Kom called FOYN YUH FUNKUIN (Foyn is the paramount ruler of the Kom people, otherwise called Fon in most parts of the north western grass fields of Cameroon). Foyn Yuh ruled the Kom people from 1865 up to 1912. The Afo-a-Kom statue weighs about 200Kg and is about 1m80 in height. It stands on a pedestal holding firmly to its chest a baton (baton of command) with its two hands. It is naked and its manhood clearly exposed. Its body is plated with about 600 cowries and each of the cowries stand for the Kom people who perished at Babessi before the Kom people moved to where they are presently located. No one knows how long it took to have the statue completed because no one ever knew any such thing was in the making. In fact, people only knew of its existence when the fon came into the palace and ordered that some palace guards should follow him in to the forest surrounding the palace and carry it home. When it was being carved, the fon would get up in the morning and in his privacy move into this forest, which is very rich with medicinal plants, and spend the entire morning period there and would only get back to the palace late in the afternoon. In its completion, it was displayed in the palace museum amongst many others. It little occurred to anyone how important this statue was until...

JOURNEY TO AMERICA
One day, a Kom elite sneaked into the palace and made away with the statue. It was later sold to a stranger, and how it got to America no one really knows. However, it was sold into one of the American famous museums. While in that museum in America, it felt nostalgic and started portraying certain strange signs. The museum would close its doors at the end of the day and when everyone had gone home, Afo-a-Kom would start a kind of wanton destruction of the other pieces of art also in the museum. The following day when they would open the museum, they discovered that everything had been knocked down with the exception of the Afo-a-Kom which would be seen majestically standing on its pedestal as though nothing had ever happened. It continued like that for some time and soon the guards at the museum began complaining about cries at night were becoming unbearable. This started drawing the attention of many tourist and the rest of the population as the museum authorities were looking for ways to have it returned. One day a curious Cameroonian happened to have come to see for himself the talking statue and as he got in, behold, here was Afo-a-kom. Recognising it, he quickly informed the authorities at the Cameroon Embassy at the US. Negotiations soon opened on how to get it back to Laikom...

RETURN TO CAMEROON
When its full identity had been obtained and it was certain that it was from Cameroon, the Cameroon embassy at the US together with the museum authorities who were anxious to make a name shared the responsibilities to fly it back to Cameroon. It had a hilarious welcome by the population and the Prime Minister who personally represented the Head of State. From the airport, it came into town escorted just like they do the Head of State and that same motorcade escorted it to the Kom palace despite the bad conditions of the road at that time.

In Kom, there is an annual dance that holds every December. This usually is a very festive period in the palace and all works of art that are in the palace museum are displayed for people to see; those who have always wished to see the Afo-a-Kom can take advantage at this time to have a look. It is very important to note here that the only person who is not allowed to see the afo-a-Kom during this time is the Fon of Kom, who can see it only once in a lifetime and this is only when he is being enthroned. After his enthronement, he is not allowed to see it again until he passes away. It is possible that he (the Fon of Kom) might have seen it many times before he became Fon, but from the moment he is crowned, he no longer has a right to set his eyes on it for it is said that the magical powers vested on the fon turn to conflict with the ones vested on the Afo-a-Kom.

Sometime ago in the 1990s, a group of tourists came into Kom, negotiated with the palace authorities and took away the statue back to America; this time it was an authorised visit. It stayed for about a month and was brought back.

The late legend Bob Marley sang one of his songs (lyrics) titled "Buffalo Soldiers" which was interpreted by many back here as referring to the Afo-a-Kom. In this song, he tells the story of Buffalo soldiers in the hands of America; fighting in arrival; fighting for survival; stolen from Africa; brought to America...

Articles:
The Lost Totem, Time
The Wonders of African Art Explored in 2 Exhibitions, NY Times

Videos:
Afo-A-kom (Cameroon)
AFOAKOM-USA National Convention, Washington, DC

Click here for other My Town Monday posts on Travis Erwin's site...

'Belizean' Cuban Art

Terrie's post for Friday's Forgotten Books: Painting as a Pastime by Winston S. Churchill reminded me of my love of art, and though I can't paint one brush stroke, I do enjoy browsing art museums and picking up a piece here and there while I'm traveling. I found this painting at Caesar's Guesthouse art and gift shop on the Western Highway in Cayo, Belize in 2006. Initially I wanted to buy local art but this anonymous, untitled piece from Cuba jumped out at me and I couldn't leave without it. Unfortunately, when I shipped it back to the states, I poorly packaged it and the paint cracked in transit. I'm hoping one of these days to find someone who can fix it.

Friday's Forgotten Books: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

“When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.” -- Jonathan Swift

Toole’s novel borrows from this Swift quote and, simply put, creates a comic masterpiece centered around the concept.

The main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, is a fat, thirty-year old man still living with his mother. He works on a manuscript most days (which Toole allows us to glimpse humorous pieces of it) and couples his writing with an occasional afternoon movie where he vociferously bellows at the screen.

Ignatius has been referred to as a “Don Quixote” character, but this fit isn’t quite right for someone who abhors society and whose intentions are to 'promote' himself. He is more like a cynical Mr. Magoo on steroids. He bumbles his way through one comical situation after another, almost always coming out unscathed even though others around him may not be so lucky.

Ignatius prefers to remain in his hometown, the French Quarter of New Orleans. He explains, more than once, that the time he traveled to Baton Rouge on a Greyhound Scenicruiser bus was a traumatic experience, and is unmoved by the fact that his friends and family have tired of hearing him repeat the adventure.

His mother, who babied him his whole life, finally forces Ignatius to get a job. The social outcast is able to find work at Levy Pants, where the office manager, Mr. Gonzalez, is a meek push-over, and the office clerk, Miss Trixie, suffers from dementia. An ill-fated employee at Levy is not employed for long as Ignatius sees to it that the person is fired within his first few days. The ground is fertile for Ignatius to plant his demands and he establishes that he will show up an hour late so he is refreshed for work. He spends the workday pointlessly making up banners for the office and the only filing he does is into the garbage can.

The book makes pointed commentaries on modern society (the early 1960s). As Ignatius enters the factory labored by African-Americans, he thinks, "...mechanized Negro slavery; it represents the progress which the Negro has made from picking cotton to tailoring it." Because he’s easily bored and wants to impress an old girlfriend, Ignatius leads the workers in a revolt against Mr. Gonzalez in a "Crusade for Moorish Dignity." Instead of accomplishing the goal, his followers end up disatisfied with him and he ends up unemployed. (His second job of selling hot dogs, where he eats more than he sells, is also amusing. He is able to hang on the job only because the owner, Mr. Clyde, is desperate for help.)

After meeting a colorful homosexual, Dorian Greene, who loves to throw outrageous parties, Ignatius believes world peace could be achieved if homosexuals infiltrated the armed forces and government offices. Dorian agrees and helps out by hosting a rally to kick off the event; of course, politically incorrect comedy ensues.

And so it goes with A Confederacy of Dunces where fools can have a profound impact in unintentional ways. Writing funny material takes a natural skill that is apparent with Toole. Donald E. Westlake is the only other comedic author who has made me laugh so hard.

Despite his talent, Toole was never published in his lifetime. He committed suicide in 1969 and his mother brought the Dunces manuscript to novelist, Walker Percy, who was instrumental in getting it published in 1980. A year later, Toole was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Click here for more Friday's Forgotten Books...

The Thin Man Goes Home

I'm a fan of The Thin Man (1934), starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, based on the hardboiled novel by Dashiell Hammett. This film blends mystery and elegance with a charm that only old Hollywood can deliver. The success of the The Thin Man led to five more movies that were filmed every two to three years, imparting a quality that's lacking from other sequels of yesteryear. My charmer had never seen any of the films and I had only seen the 1934 original and its follow-up, After The Thin Man (1936). The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) is the fifth in the series and is perhaps an odd point to pick it up, but, with the accessibility of Google, we watched this one first.



We enjoyed the movie, but I found Nick and Nora's inebriated banter while solving crimes in the first two movies more entertaining than in this film where the pair are on the wagon (his preferred drink being cider) and left to solve the crime completely sober. Even so, their chemistry is still apparent ten years after the original and their playful interaction delivers a raciness rarely seen in the day. I wondered as we neared the end of the movie with just a few minutes to go, if there was enough time to reveal the murderer, but Nick quickly puts all the pieces together nicely and points to the guilty party in a final showdown.

The Thin Man Goes Home reviews

Rogert Ebert: The Thin Man

DVD Review: The Compete Thin Man Collection

Aftermath

Riding the storm out in Lufkin, Texas has turned out to be the right move. A little rain and wind from Gustav seems to be the extent of it. The hotel accommodations and the generosity of the people have been first rate. Of course, I’ll be heading back to areas that were hit directly by the storm, and as a result, posts over the next week may continue to be light. One good thing that has come out of the storm has been plenty of writing time. I knocked out a short story which I’m now fine tuning. I made time for a few distractions, including some trips to various stores where I found the shelves are well-stocked with the Longarm and Trailsman books. I picked up a couple, and I’m in the middle of reading Longarm # 358. I’ve also begun working my way through the very entertaining A Hell of a Woman, and so far, there’s not one bad story in this anthology.

Out of the Gutter has posted a list of contributors for issue #5 and my name appears on the list. It's an honor to be included with this fine group of writers. Little d's crossword puzzle will appear in the same issue.

Random thoughts while waiting for Gustav

As the storm approaches, Denise and I feel we are far enough away (famous last words), but we will still feel some of the effects. If needed, we have another possible shelter at my sister’s house a couple hours north to fall back on… We are looking at lots of thunderstorms, possible flash flooding and tropical storm winds... We have kept our car topped up as gas shortages are also happening here in NE Texas… The hotel made us sign an agreement that basically says they can kick us out whenever they need too… The last time I was here was in 1989 with my parents. 19 years! Its little d’s first trip to Texas but, unfortunately, instead of sightseeing we are spending the days inside writing and watching everybody’s favorite Weather Channel weatherman, Jim Cantore. When you see Jim show up, you know you’re in trouble. Heavy rain and winds are on tap for this evening and through the night until Tuesday morning.

Gustav and MTM Coming Attractions

While waiting for Mr. Boh’s next piece from Cameroon and in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Gustav over Louisiana, I thought I'd schedule a couple of posts ahead of time in case we find ourselves without Internet.

For next week’s MTM, if all goes well and there are no cancellations due to weather, I'm planning to revisit my adopted town of Rayne for the annual Frog Festival. We’ll try to get lots of pictures of the frog derby, jumping contest and other pageants, as well as some of the musical entertainment.

In the meantime, if posts are scarce or I don’t get a chance to respond to any comments, it means Gustav wasn't so kind to Louisiana or Texas (we are among the Louisiana evacuees who have taken 'shelter' by heading to the Lufkin area of NE Texas). We’re hoping for the best but also want to be prepared.