Domestic Life
Kutupa takataka -or- To take out the trash
Gathering the accumulated refuse of the week, mostly plastic bottles and papers amassed in a plastic bag, I told my host brother (kaka) that I needed to take out the trash. We went to the kitchen door, he entered, and returned, much to my surprise, with a box of matches. Exiting our home from the rear, we went to the edge of a steep hill, which quickly descends to a small river. Atop this hill lies our backyard of about 200 square feet. Placing the bag of trash on the ground, kaka lights it on fire. The bottles heat and each in turn gives a sharp sigh of relief as the heated, trapped air is finally released. The paper to ash, the bottles only half melted, “Done,” kaka states with a tone of finality.
Kufua nguo –or- To wash clothes
In a bucket, that is. No electric washer or dryer. It is just as well, power in Morogoro is sporadic right now. A lengthy drought has starved the largely hydroelectric powered circuits of this country recently. Its severity has disrupted business as usual (kaka, a taxi driver, needs a certain electrical instrument to fix the tire of his car, but without electricity can only wait…) and even prompted a downward revision of expected economic growth for the country as a whole. The generators on the main road in Morogoro are silent, humming, or growling depending on the day and one’s proximity. Thankfully, washing all clothing out of 5 gallon buckets frees us from this dependency. A certain violent, repetitious hand motion is used to tear filth from all parts of one’s clothing. The experience is notable to one familiar with electric washers for the abrasions it will create on inexperienced hands, its lengthy duration, the quantity of water used, and its disposal. Pouring the soapy, dirty water into a drain, it is promptly carried outside of the family compound via pipe straight into the small river out back. I had never really questioned where
Kuoga -or- To Bathe
Again, from a bucket. ‘nuff said.
No comments:
Post a Comment