The Wisdom Huntress: Anthology of Thoughts and Narrations

By Gloria D. Gonsalves

Savanna will take you along a ride through cultural familiarities, all the while passing by liminal experiences that illustrate the importance of being receptive and open-minded in an ever-shrinking world. Her exclusive records cover a range of subjects from love to death, food to music, which harmoniously form this book. The book is presented in a very non-linear progressive manner, opening and closing chapters with a new theme and lesson in mind. Each chapter has its own unique story and purpose, but they all aim together toward the same goal the acquisition and distribution of wisdom. Meanwhile, each story has an opener in the form of an African proverb or a Kanga saying, meant to help one connect them to the stories told. After experiencing joyous love and heartaches, insecurities and swelling pride, abuses and tender reinforcements, Savanna comes out of the callous jungle of life on top, roaring her victorious cries over the plains of Africa.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Oct 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477226810

Gloria D. Gonsalves

Gloria D. Gonsalves, also fondly known as Auntie Glo, is an award-winning author and multi-published poet. She likes to take long walks in nature and admire flowers. Her three-year-old son inspired her to learn to draw flowers using crayons. Gloria hopes you will learn to enjoy reading, and perhaps you too can teach someone else about flowers. You can visit her at www.gloria-gonsalves.com.

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© 2012 Gloria D. Gonsalves. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/18/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-2680-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-2681-0 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

A Child Is Communal

A Hungry Man Is An Angry Man

A Mother’s Prayer

A Story, A Lesson

A Tramp’s Revelation

A Vow To Self

A Woman

A Woman Not, Without A Man

Are We?

Africa

African Beauty

Anything But Ugali

Authentic Me

Balanced Portrait

Behind The Unknown

Bewildered

Caught In Two Worlds

Coded V

Colour And White

Confession

Corrupted Nose

Curtsying, Why I Do It

Crying Lions

Customer Care

Dating Dictionary

Defying Culture

Desperation

Dilemma

Earn To Be Loved And To Love Another

Everyone Is A Stranger Wishing Not To Be One

Emancipated Women

Envision

Farewell Mama Africa

First Kiss

First Understand It All

Forbidden Scene

Free Riding

Gazing Through The Jungle

Goodnight Whispers

Greedy Hyena

Grating A Coconut The East African Way

Hand Gesture

His Body

Holy Touch

Honey Making

Horrors Of Faith

Human Culture

Human Touch

I Am Blessed

I Am Exceptional

Imposter

In Loco Parentis (In The Place Of A Parent)

Inking Out Aloud

Joy Lost In Silence

Kitchen Party (Bridal Shower)

Khanga Teaser

Lifetime Proposal

Locally Served With Pride

Lost In Lyrics

Lost (Almost) And Found

Made For Me

Make Believe Virginity

Mama’s Day

Man Of Africa

Meet My Family Tree

Memory Lane Thoughts

Midnight Cry

Mishikaki (Marinated Grilled Beef)

Mobile Mania

Motherhood

Mother’s Touch

My Love

Nighttime Talk

Nobody Is Perfect

Once Stupid (A Lesson She Needed)

Poverty Is An Evil Child

Prejudices Of Poverty

Reaping What You Sow

Recalling Love

Reflective Tool

Regretful

Relationship Dictionary

Renouncing Mother Nature

R.I.P Son Of Africa

Selfless Lesson

She Is Of African Mighty Soul

Should The Past Linger Into Present?

Snowy Delight

Solid Rock Promise

Speaking Soul

Stop This Nonsense

Stress Of Choices

Sunset Melody

Super Feelings

Tall As Giraffe

The Art Of Grieving

The Beast And His Beauties

The Mighty Lioness

This World

Those Were The Days

To The Doctor

Together For Keeps

Tummy Tingles

Unheard Voices

Unspeakable Rewards

Valentine’s Day Or Extortion Day?

Values Instilled In Me

Vulgar Circus

We Deserve Us

Weeping Thoughts

Wisdom After Stupidity

Wisdom Huntress

Wishes

Wives In The Petals

What Does Marriage Mean For A Contemporary African Woman?

What Else Matters Than Love?

What Happened To The Popular Pastime Of Hair- Plaiting?

Write Me A Letter

About The Author

For Grace Jedidah

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion

or it will be killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle

or it will starve to death.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.

When the sun comes up, you better start running.

–African proverb

A CHILD IS COMMUNAL

Mkono mmoja haulei mwana.

One hand cannot bring up a child.

–Swahili Proverb

W hile at a local hair dresser getting my head washed, I heard one of them speaking in alerted tone, Whose child is that? It is wandering towards the busy road.

The second hairdresser went over, took the child by the hand and brought her to the shop. Meanwhile her mother came out looking for her and thanked the woman profusely. This caring attitude could have happened anywhere. This act reeled a lot of incidences in my head, which all spoke out aloud a child in Tanzania does not belong to the parents alone but the whole community.

It is common for a mother to send along her child to a neighbour, without prior notice, for a short stay until she returns from her errands. The child will simply walk into the neighbour’s house and say, Mama has sent me here because she has to go to the market. The neighbour will understand this and look after the child until its mother returns. No prior appointments or arrangements are necessary.

It is not surprising to see an elder person scolding another’s child for committed wrong doings. Besides parents, anyone young one will be reprimanded for false actions by elder members of community. I recall a recent incident while strolling in our neighbourhood with my mother. We came across uniformed girl and boy of about age 7 and 6. The youngest boy was hitting the girl with his books. The girl hit back with her hands. My mother intervened and asked what the reason for their fighting was.

He does not want to walk to home anymore because he is hungry, replied the girl.

Where is home? asked my mother.

They pointed to a hill about half an hour’s walk away. They were coming from school.

Is this your brother? continued my mother.

Yes he is, answered the girl.

My mother sat them down and began explaining how important it was that they love one another. She also explained to the sister her responsibility as the oldest one to look after her younger brother and be a good example to him by not hitting him back. Later they set off looking ashamed and talking to one another as the sister offered her hands to the brother so she could help him walk home.

Hillary Clinton has written a book titled It Takes a Village which visions the children of America and the impact individuals outside family have on them. She of course has attributed this book from that famous African proverb It takes a village to raise a child. It is not only in my home country Tanzania that a child is communal but I believe the same goes to many African communities and this can be proven by many sayings and proverbs similar to such that originate from other African societies. For example the Nigerian Igbo have a proverb Ora na azu nwa which means it takes the community/village to raise a child. In Kihaya (Bahaya) there is a saying, Omwana taba womoi, which translates as A child belongs not to one parent or home.

A HUNGRY MAN IS AN ANGRY MAN

Binadamu huongozwa na tumbo.

A human being is led by his stomach.

–Swahili Proverb

T he journey to my hometown Korogwe began in Ubungo Bus Terminal in Dar es Salaam. My informant told me that the bus would depart at 11.30 am. It was not so until two and a half hours later. Meanwhile I took the time to bond with the bus crew of Burudani. This bus is owned by a Korogwe resident namely Rashid Salum. Just as we were about to depart the city, a man of an Arab origin entered the bus. He handed out a leaflet. On it was written information about locally made medicine that cures 120 diseases, all listed down on the piece of paper he handed out. I took a look and decided it was not for me and put it away. He later passed around again to demand his piece of paper back, because only those who bought the medicine were entitled to keep it. As he was disembarking from the bus, a woman asked for the price of the medicine.

Why do you ask about the price of this medicine? Why you never ask the price of malaria medicine? Is it because it is produced by a white man? angrily, he stormed out of the bus.

About 100 kilometres later we arrived in Chalinze. Vendors of food and handmade wooden items swarmed the bus windows for an opportunity to make their sale. For some it might be the only sale made on this day.

How much is a bottle of water? called out a young woman from a seat behind me.

How much do you think it costs? answered the seller in a sarcastic voice.

300 shillings, replied the woman.

Go f… yourself. This is my business and you will not decide the price for me. If you want cheap stuff, go offer yourself at a brothel, shouted the vendor to the woman.

As the bus was leaving, the vendor continued with a litany of abusive words towards the woman. One might wonder why the sales man was angry at that woman. A 1.5L bottle of water is about 550TSH. The woman tried to bring down the price and did not realise that she was provoking a hungry man. Perhaps you might know of that phrase a hungry man is an angry man.

Two days later while comfortable settled in our home, I saw a man whose body profile resembled a teenage boy. He could have been the age of my brother but he was too thin, pale and looked sick. As he approached me, he began to smile. I smiled back but wondered who he was.

My sister you are back. Welcome home, he spoke in a tired tone.

Thank you. Can you please remind me who you are? I politely ask.

I used to help your mom and brother with heavy chores if they needed me. I know I look different now. I have liver disease, my sister, he added in a resigned voice.

My brother came out with a plate of food and handed it to him. Minutes later he handed him a glass of water to swallow his tablets. After he was done I offered to take the plate and glass away from him.

My sister let me rinse them out with water first, he offered.

Don’t worry I have a pile of dish washing to do. Just hand them to me, I answered.

My sister, you have not changed even though you live abroad. Some when they return they act snobbish and look down on others. May God bless you, he said and left.

When he left I asked my brother why he was not hospitalised.

"He was in hospital but they discharged him because