By Kalipha Jabbi
According to 19 century American author and literary critic, Meyer Howard Abrams, Prose is a form of language that has a natural flow of speech and grammatical structure, without the metrical patterns of poetry. It is used in everyday communication, literature, and academic or journalistic writing to convey ideas and stories in a straightforward, organized manner.
To Abrams, a non-fictional prose refers to written or spoken language that presents information, real events, or ideas. It is grounded and does not include fictional elements, though it may employ literary techniques for clarity, engagement, or persuasion.
As we witness the historic launch of such a book, I stand here today, remembering the words of the erudite literature lecturer and analyst, Mr Abdoulie Senghore, in his review of an anthology, Whispers from A Wounded Land: The Voice of Mother Africa where he describes the attempts of young writers, writing the stories of Africa and her people as ‘’re-education and regeneration of society’’. This, he references the words of another literary giant and arguably the greatest writer to have emerged from Africa, the late Chinua Achebe: Today, we also echo those words as in the old saying…..
“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
Here, Bubacarr is on a sacred mission to not only give us something to read but preserve the past, connect the present and a material for future generations to uphold.
The book according to the author himself aims to highlight and safeguard our cultural richness for the benefit of present and future generations. A historic piece, this book to the author is written to give a gist of a typical life in a small Gambian village. But from the reader’s response theory, and in my role to give a brief review of the book, this is just beyond a historical narrative.
“Torro Ba: The Land of Culture” is a quintessential masterpiece of a book, with 22 sub chapters and a poem. It will be a daunting task to singularly review every chapter of the book. So, in this review, the reviewer wishes to holistically review as per the three themes in the book. But for records, I seek to employ the reader response theory and this regard, my view on the book may not fully represent the intent of the writer. The review is a traditional way of dissecting the book in its context, themes, language and other literary points of interest.
The three themes we will be exploring in this book are Culture, Religion and Economic
Culture
One of the central themes in this much acclaimed book is the distinct culture of the people of Torro Ba. From the first chapter, Season of Reaping God’s Property, the author takes a rollercoaster journey in almost all the 22 chapters to relate the culture and traditions of the village. In this particular chapter, he gives a nostalgia narration of a season that’s so much revered in Torro. With the power of metaphor, the villagers describe the traditional harvesting of baobab as Season of Reaping God’s Property. Harvesting baobab holds a significant place in many Gambian villages but in Torro’s traditions, the day is not business as usual as there are always euphoria and excitement. Accordingly, “The annual harvesting event typically unfolds on a tranquil Friday and at least lasts for two days.
Torro Ba’s youth engage in the communal task of gathering ripe baobab fruits from the trees surrounding the village. Groups form and partnerships are forged, each member eager to claim the most fruitful yield.”
Another communal activity that represents both culture and economic of the village is the harvesting season of the Detarium Senegalese also known as Ditakh. Like God’s property, Ditakh harvesting also holds a significant tradition in the lives of the Torro people.
Another culture that feels so refreshing in the village of Torro and casts lots of nostalgia is the act of finding the black power, locally referred as “Womboi ngoh”
“This process involves talibe being sent, or sometimes going voluntarily, to kitchens to collect the black powder that accumulates on the back of cooking pots.” The womboh ngoi in its black liquid is used as an ink for scribbling on the wooden board used in the local darrahs. For every kid raised in Torro, this is an activity you must remember.
Still on the traditions and cultures in the book, Chapter 5, 6,7, and 8 all resoundingly chronicle the most typical of Torro’s traditional and cultural values. From the traditional circumcision in chapter 5, marriage in chapter 6, first Thursday for newlyweds in chapter 7 and naming ceremony in chapter 8, the young author takes his readership through a memory lane of these distinct traditions. How they are observed, roles of women and men and the status of certain elders in the society. Until today, these practices are vital in the lives of every person in the village. The circumcision is a ritual rite that prepares young boys to adulthood. In his narration, this period allowed them to experience life during and after circumcision, outside their comfort zones at home. They stayed in the bush, returning home only at night to specific household. For weeks they did not see their mothers, sisters, or the female relatives.
Through a typical narration of these four heavily observed traditions in the village, Gaye reminds us the works of celebrated Senegambian writers of our ingenious history in the status of Poet Leopold Sedar Senghore, Philis Wheatly, Ousman Sembene, Lenrie Peters, Tijan Sallah and Hassoum Ceesay.
To conclude on this theme, two activities that are notably mentioned in the book and are both endearing to the people of Torro are the Night Wrestling that brings the entire village at the village squares and The Village Hunting.
Themes of Economic
One predominant theme in the book is the perfectly account of the myriads of economic activities in the village. From the harvesting and selling of what he describes as God’s Property in baobab, season of harvesting Ditakh in chapter two, these two natural resources the village is endowed with are a source of income to the villagers. Because of this, the banabanas frequent the village to buy them. Another economic activity in the village in his accounts is the locally production of groundnut butter in chapter 12. He uses a third person pronouns in Maa Salla and Isata Bah in a technically literary term called apostrophe to represent the women of Torro. Apart from the endowment of wild fruits in Baobab and Ditakh , the village according to the author has animals at their disposal that they use for economic and religious purposes (Sarrdih) in chapter 15. Beside the reaping of God’s property as explained in chapter one, the baobab trees also provide honey for the people of Torro as he postulates in chapter 16. On page 61, I quote, “In Torro Ba, honey extraction has long been a practiced art, predominantly from these baobab trees. Although not without its challenges, this task often becomes a source of enjoyment for the youths.”
To sum it up in economic theme of this accomplished work, is the rice production in chapter 18 and fishing at the local river in chapter 21.
Religion
Another theme to explore in this book is Religion. In Torro, the Islamic religion plays a significant role in holding the village together. According to the author, “a cornerstone of the village’s religious life is its traditional madrassa school, located just a stone throw from the mosque. In Torro, every parent ensures their child attends either the formal madrassa known as Daara or the local version affectionately called dudha. These institutions play key roles in lives of the people of Torro. It is from there, they learn their religion, the holy book and teachings of the prophet. In chapter 9, he expounds on the roles of not only Daara but Torro’s giant status as a bastion of knowledge for the communities around.
The Daara originally served as an educational institution dedicated to Quranic studies, boasting a structured administrative framework. Over the years, it has shaped the lives of hundreds of villagers, drawing students even from neighbouring communities who sought Quranic education for their children. Religion, according to the author, shapes the academic journey of anyone who grows up in Torro but that doesn’t sway them from exploring western education. He ascribes that, “growing up in Torro Ba offers unique advantages; children are privileged to learn the Quran at Daara concurrently with western education in school. The reverence for Quranic education is deeply ingrained in the village culture and coexists harmoniously with formal schooling.
Another important aspect of religion as far as the author is concerned, is contain in chapter 5 and 6 of the book, that deals with circumcision and marriage. The mosque does not only play the roles of worshiping centre but a place where all marriages initiations are firstly performed. It is where the parents and guardians of both the brides and bridegrooms meet after the asr prayer to tight marriages and give their blessings.
Throughout the book, one could read through the mentions of different religious feats, like the calls to prayers and the attachment of different activities towards different daily praying times.
And in the last part of the book, the author dedicates a poem to his mother. The mother of the author in this regard, represent all the mothers of Torro. He laments on their perseverance, dedication and the ultimate sacrifices they make to see the successes of their children, amid so much vulnerability. He cries the wishes of the sons and daughters of this humble village in uplifting their mothers.
Language and Styles
The language in Gaye’s work is a masterful blend of English and African linguistics traditions. He clearly reminds us of the works of the great Kenyan novelist and playwright Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o who is best known for writing in Swahaili. Though he doesn’t extensively write in the Pularr language, his mild use of language is deliberate, aiming to preserve and showcase the richness of African oral traditions while addressing a global audience in English. From words like dudha, Ditakh, talibe, nyaal tarri, womboi ngoh, selbehs, wadoi go mayee, jombayee are all examples of his usage of Pularr in the book.
One thing Literature lovers will be proud of this book is the presence of rich literary terms or figurative expressions. His clear explanation of events gives us a vivid image, thereby presenting us imagery and the usage of common names in the village is both metaphorical and apostrophe. The book is also written and narrated in the third person narration.
I will say congratulations to Gaye for doing what many young Gambian writers are not capable of doing. This is a bold move from him. At a time when there is too much focus on poetry and fictional writing, he decides to do something different. He has done what, Chinua Achebe reminds us to do as not only Africans but young authors. For in his words, Chinua said ‘’if you don’t like someone’s story, write your own.”
Today, Gaye has put Torro on a global map. He has provided us a guide to Torro Ba: The Land of Culture and a reference for generations.
