Village boy Impressions

It is a curious thing what words are! Many things at once or o ne thing at a time.  They are worth all they say and more!  Sometimes they are like; Mothers' milk, c olourful blossoms,  Polished diamonds, w arm sunlight or Even clay in the potter's hand. But they can also be as Bitter as gall, c old as death,  Hard as marble, painful as betrayal,  Soft as butter, s weeter than honey.  Pick them like a connoisseur, Polished to dazzling artistry For they make or mar beauty and being. Choose them like the chef, Healthy and tasty both That you may glow with pride at their praise. Use them like the teacher, Precise, concise, and constructive  To guide and instruct the little ones And bring them up in the right way. Speak them like the mendicant, That you may move your Lord To generous benevolence.   If proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten, Words are the morsel that must choke or nourish you Though sticks and stones may break your bones, Words can haunt or hurt you for

The crops never thrive in untendered fields Neither the millet nor the cowpea Can stand the wild tares Nor the parched nor the cloggy field.  But even on God's loamy earth,  Much must be spent to make  The maize and the sorghum bloom.  Much must be given,  For much to be harvested; All have to be weeded and seeded Some have to be watched and watered And many others mulched and manured,  Least they wither and die.  There is no joy for the sluggard.  It is a world of labour From farm to fork.  Could it be we weren't planted deep enough,  Or we neglected to nurture the shoot?  What might have been a bumper field Is become a parched land For nothing untendered can prosper.  Yet we sowed wildly and sparingly: And some seeds fell among the rocks And died unappreciated and unpraised.  Many more fell among the thorns And were pierced with divergent cares.  Still others by the road side fell And the mouths that eat salt and pepper  Have devoured those; Spreading their poo across the glo

" Why the Chameleon Has a Broken Head & other stories of Asuom " is the second in the  Asuom Series  which seeks to present 'Buluk to the World' by translating the popular folktales of the land into the English Language to reach a wider audience and hopefully enable them to be integrated into mainstream educational texts in time.  Content:  The Book contains the following tales:  The Fattened Rams of Agoabiak Which is more important – Age or Wisdom? How Asuom Got A Handsome Mouth Asuom and the Three Herculean Tasks Asuom and the King's Roofing Beam Asuom and the Honey Tree Why the Lion Hunts Other Animals The Gossip Trap Why the Chameleon Has A 'Broken' Head (I) Why the Chameleon Has A 'Broken' Head (II) Read an Excerpt from the Book below.  "It was then that Abunoruk arrived. Everyone was so busy debating and making their own constructions of how Asuom brought the beam home. They took no notice of Abunoruk who made his way to the king and

Of a truth was Caesar’ intuition To have fat men about him Such as doth sleep at night. So would I have loud men any day That shout and shake and swear In showing anger or malice That let out peals of laughter When happy or tickled Or cry open bitter tears at need. Of them you may open and read And need not fear of poison darts Or sharp knives deep concealed. Not so the kind that dwell in quiet,   That brood in loud long silences Keeping century-old wrongs dear. That sit up late nursing their envy And all that is dark and sinister Is hoarded in their hungry bosoms. They creep in the shadows unseen Like vipers in the undergrowth, With their lean and hungry look There is no telling their thoughts Nor affection nor ill will Them you must not only fear but run!

Hello folks, I hope you have not given up trying to learn your beloved language Buli. It is one of those things that we cannot afford to turn our backs on and I encourage you all to keep trying.  A couple of days ago, I got a call from a young man who had found this blog whilst searching for information on the Buli language online. He wanted the Buli equivalents of the names of the parts of the human body and a couple of other domestic articles and animals for educational purposes. It seems that teaching children to name the parts of the body is becoming a norm in early childhood education and that young man is only one of many others who have called me from the University of Education, Winneba at one time or the other to ask for the Buli Language equivalent of many everyday things: numbers, domestic and wild animals, agricultural activities, family relations and the like. I have often prepared such things for my callers privately but I have now realised that I could reach a larger aud