Saturday, May 30, 2015

Burning Grass

This is the story of the nomadic cattle-rearing Fulani of northern Nigeria during the colonial era. It’s a bit of a folklore with its mix of beliefs in magic and superstition.

The acquisition of a Kanuri girl by a village chief forms the incident on which the story develops. The chief’s two sons fall for the girl and the older runs away with her. The chief’s rival to the village throne curses the chief with the “wanderer’s disease,” making him wander off with a restlessness, and thereby stealing his chieftaincy and destroying his home. As the chief and his family move from village to village we are told about the life and customs and beliefs of the Fulani and a bit about the role of the colonialists at the time, in healthcare and taxation. The chief meets his sons as he wanders from village to village. Eventually the family is reunited and returns home to drive out the impostor, before the death of the chief.


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