I don't want to believe it's superstitious believe, for I have seen it happened. Yes! The withering of the yam leaves.
In my culture, not all crops are grown by women. Some crops are for males while others are for females. Should a plant select gender to grow it? That seems to be the case, in my culture, that is gbagyi culture. I grew up in a village, it's almost like impossible to see a male growing a melon crop. This plant is solely for women, and is some how an unwritten law in the heart of gbagyi men and women. When you see melon farm, in a gbagyi village, you can be 99% correct to say the farm is own by a woman.
Now here is the gist that get me confused on how to get the scientific explanation for some happenings. It's a trite knowledge among the Gbagyis that women don't farm yam. Before now, I used to think it another propaganda by men to monopolize the yam farm, since that's one crop that fetch good money for the men. Until I saw it myself.
The withering of the yam leaves and stem. A menstruating women is completely barred from entering a yam farm because it's withers the leave and stem of the yams. That is the reason behind excluding the women from farming it. Women are literally forbidden to enter yam farms in Gbagyi culture. I know some of you may be saying it's just a superstitious believe, it may be, but I have seen it happened myself.
There was a time a girl friend of mine accompanied me to go get some garden egg from our garden. After getting the garden eggs, I decided to go get some yams for the evening pounded yam. I forgot to tell her not to enter the yam farm with me, so she enter it and she even help in removing some of the grasses. It was the following day that I heard my father complaining that a woman who was menstruating had entered our yam farm, and the leaves are withering, and I went there and I saw it for myself. Lo and behold my girlfriend was menstruating that every day. Was that coincidence?
Picture taken by me, using my phone camera
