The women of the village fetch water from a well or river
and carry it back home in a pot on their heads. They
carry thatching grass from the fields to make the roofs of
their huts, also on their heads or necks, often with a
baby on the back, even though this exposes the baby to
discomfort. They give birth without the aid of medical
help. If they want to see the chief, they have to walk far
in the heat of the day, through the dry, dusty veld and he
may not even be there, so that the walk was for nothing.
Sometimes a thorn will prick them, either in their heads
or necks or the soles of their feet. Their husbands go off
to the mines to work, and are sometimes killed there.
Then there is a funeral, where the whole village comes
to shake your hand. At night the old men sing of past
battles. Ploughing is done with an old-fashioned
implement pulled by oxen, while the ploughman walks
behind barefoot, guiding it. They live close to nature and
are very aware of the seasons.
, Message
The life may have been a tough one, but it strengthened the
people (the ability to carry weight on the head and neck, the
pain of childbirth that is a reminder of the wonder, the
struggle to see the headman, the community grieving with
the widow, the warriors who survived battles and can sing
about them, the thick-soled bare feet, the closeness to
nature). It gave them resilience and the ability to continue
despite adversity, whereas a life of comfort makes people
soft. He also doesn’t want the people to forget their culture
and where they come from either.
A thorn prick is at first a sharp sensation, and then gradually the pain increases. One can
imagine the pain being poured so that it increases, as water poured into a jug increasing with
the pouring.
By placing the adjective “teary” with “sorrow”, the impact
of the mourning woman is strengthened. She is crying in her
sadness at having lost her husband. The “sorrow” causes
the tears.
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