January 12, 2012

The White Skins - Dora Amoako

"THE WHITE SKINS"


  • Okomfo Anokye bid Asanteman farewell to begin the journey for the cure for death Bathed in the Antoa river were 300 Asafo(warriors) of superhuman strength
    They journeyed north, headed towards the land beyond the corn
    Over mountains, hills, deserts and through valleys
    Then journeyed some more till the soil turned from red to black and then brown
    After crossing the narrow river they came to a strange land with white soil
    Cold to the feet, men lived in strange stone houses and wore heavy clothing
    The Asafo were bewildered because never have they seen so many Albinos
    They asked and wondered “are we in Asamando(Land of the Dead)”?
    Are these people ghosts?
    Surely, this land must be cursed because of the sheer number of albinos

    OKOMFO ANOKYE REPLIED
    "Yes they look pale, white skin; they even talk funny through their nose
    With long stringy hair and smell like wet chicken
    Mansa Musa and Sundiata did mention them
    Their elders once upon a time visited the triangular mansions (pyramids) of our ancestors to learn
    They might look human but I doubt if they are fully human because Odumankoma (God/Creator) didn’t finish coloring them
    And they have no soul because they do not name their young after seven days.
    Aaah!! Look at these savages they eat with sticks
    Aaah!! See how their men wear horsehair on their heads.
    Sebi sebi they even eat like animals see how their meat is still drenched with blood.
    I think they are not far from animals so we should treat them as such
    But flowing through their land is the “fountain of youth”-the cure of death
    They don’t know its importance, but we do
    So we need to find a way to steal it with least resistance

    HERE IS THE PLAN
    Let us bribe them gifts of salt, gold, kente
    Let’s mesmerize them with our charms, talisman and potions
    And if they resist we will tell Mami Wata(River Goddess) to drown their kids
    And when we fight them we will summon our motia (dwarfs).
    Infact they are no match for our sophisticated weaponry
    After we take their land, we will enslave them so they can work by the river
    To carry gourds of the fountain back to Asanteman
    Let us break down their confidence so we don’t need to use physical force
    Let us paint sasabonsam(Devil) white so they will associate evil with their skin color
    And let us brag about the virility of our Odumankuma and the beauty of Asaase Yaa
    Yes, a white skin women will never feel beautiful till she tans her skin and pumps her breasts and buttocks
    Let us make them forget their culture, let us make them forget their history and hate themselves
    Because that is the only way they will fail to see the treasure that lies in their backyard,fail to see anything of value coming from them
    That is the only way they will allow us to tap the river for free

    ………..So they set to work on their plan
    Coercing and killing
    Capturing the men to work by the river so they can carry gourds upon gourds to far away Asanteman
    True to his word Okomfo Anokye did bring the cure for death back to Asanteman
    But that it because Owuo (Death) moved to the Land of the whiteskins
    So the more the river was tapped by the Ashanti’s the more members of the white skins aged and died.
    The river that nurtured them was being taken; they were dying without knowing why
    They said their gods have forgotten them so they inturn shunned their gods
    Hercules, Zeus, Pluto were now names mentioned with scorn and disgust
    They embraced the gods of Asanteman and feverishly poured libations and celebrated every single Afahye(festival)

    …………….Over 500 years later and the story remains the same
    Now the young whiteskins are scared, they refuse to stay and wither
    They see how everyone in Asanteman is young and fresh
    They want a piece of the good life
    So they pack themselves in boats, ships and hustle for visa
    Anything to help them get to Asanteman for a better life
    The white skins have forgotten the treasure that still flows in their backyard
    So they risk their life to travel to Asanteman where they work as menial servants, constantly demeaned by the dark skins
    Who make it a point to remind them of their deficiency in melanin
    They are a people living in Amnesia
    Still dying even though they have the cure
    The rest of the world awaits their awakening.
    Will they white skins wise up?
    We live to find out.

    ICON

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