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Momodou
Denmark
11633 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Aug 2020 : 20:06:38
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THE ONLY NIGHT WHEN RULES ARE RELAXED FOR CHILDREN: ENTER DANGDANG KURUNTOH
As we celebrate "Musukoto Salo", tonight is the only night in a year when children can let their guards down because elders will look the other way and not punish or reprimand you.
You can eat as much as you can or want, no table manners and in fact if you dont eat enough, a mythical animal called "Dangdang Kuruntoh" which sounds like it being some crawling being in the backyard, will come get you.
Some children over ate to the point they felt discomfort. And you know grannies never ran out of home remedies. It is believed that using a broom and rubbing it on the stomach reduces the discomfort. We tried it as children and it worked. LOL
This evening, children will go out collecting MUNKO, a sort of moist rice cake which children will roast on hot ambers as a delicay.
After sunset, women will bang the metal covers of water jars as a mark of the beginning of the celebration.
Women dress in their husbands clothes and for once, the whole community is in celebration and happy. No one is judged today.
Its a protest in my mind against the rules of society. Quite liberating. May be the state should also relax all rules and let there be some anarchy for 24 hours. LOL
This night, many families cook futo or couscous and the head of the lamb sacrificed at Eid-ul Adha is cooked tonight.
In some communities, the head of the lamb is cooked with some stuff believed to increase intelligence especially in religious families. This is common among the Jahanka ethnic group.
It is also an opportunity to show gratitude, help the poor especially orphans by touching their heads and giving them something.
Especially among the very old, they tend to prepare for death by buying their own shrouds and keep. We do that in Kaabu but you can never convince a kombonka elder to prepare for death. Each time you mention shroud, they faint.
At kuntaur, we were asked to jump over fire seven times. May be that is a Wolof tradition as my grandma is Wolof. We would also add some black powder to our eyelids which she insisted must be done because it protected the eyes. In Wolof its called TUSH NGAL
As the day gets older, i would like to reach out to kombonkas that anyone who has over eaten, should use a broom as directed. Am told that all brooms have been bought in kombo in anticipation of this night. CHEI!!
ALLAMANG MAA BAY LA JARRI TAA LA
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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DANGDANG KURUNTOH
