Growing up was great fun, I would always reiterate it to anyone who cared to listen.
I was seven when I went to live with my maternal Grandma in the village. I was her first grandchild and her favourite, going to live with her while my parents lived in the City was entirely my choice. Looking back now, I know I did the 'rightest' thing because the most wonderful memories of my childhood were made there, with just my Grandma and I and Mother Nature, honestly I wouldn't trade it for anywhere else.
Nature has its language, so it speaks,
an expanse of lush, vibrant greenery characterised by dense canopies and a biodiversity of plants and animals. It speaks through this foggy ambiance.
It's a small rural area nestled between two very steep Mountains and it has a crystal clear flowing Stream which transversed the entire area. This supplied water to the community and the neighbouring villages because there were no boreholes or any of such fancy things at that time. In the evenings both the young and the old would travel the distance to fetch water, calabash or earthen pots balanced delicately on their heads, their Jigida (waist beads ) dancing to the rhythm of their steps. ( Balancing those pots on one's head with expertise was an art one needed to learn diligently or one would keep breaking them... hahaha). I learnt to perfectly do that. There are so many things I learnt from her and hope to share as we get along.
I remember how I would wake up to the soft rays of the morning Sun, with the sweet aroma of Grandma's soups wafting across my nostrils, Oh it was divine, nostalgia brings them back to me.
Her kitchen was made with burnt mud and it also doubles as the storeroom for foodstuffs. Ever hanging over the fireplace, was Grandma's 'Nkpodun', a sort of local basket woven with iron, used for drying meat and fish, because the modern convenience like refrigeration was not available. Meat and fish dried in this way could be preserved for several months, I also discovered much later in School that this would preseve their natural flavours and their nutrients for a long period, these are often lost in refrigeration. Wow!
Grandma's 'Nkpodun' was always filled with assorted meat and fish, these were delicacies to grace the palate of Nobles...
Different kinds of meat and fish brought in by the hunters and fishermen would be gradually fire-dried, giving off the kind of distinctive scent that was irresistible. And I didn't try to resist, afterall Grandma said I was too thin and her idea of 'fattening' me up was by giving me meat to eat to my heart's content... Hahaha.
Well, let me end it here today to avoid making a very lengthy post.
I used A. I to create the images, that was the only way I could recapture those days gone by, the tranquil and the beauty that made them have a special place in my heart.
Special thanks to @galenkp for this initiative.
I am @edith-4angelseu
Thank you for stopping by my neighbourhood.