Boundaries

Fru Doh

Description

In Boundaries, Musang, from the Grassfields, falls in love with Etonde from the Coast. Although aware of some existing tension and unfounded mistrust between both camps, the couple is ready to marry when Etonde�s father, incredibly, rejects the marriage proposal at the last minute. Although traumatized, Musang, finally, deems the rejection a sign from heaven and so reconsiders a lingering vocation idea � the priesthood. Meanwhile, a devastated Etonde, now defiant of men, struggles on to regain her equilibrium. Years after, however, and barely months away from his ordination into the priesthood, Musang, an exemplary postulant, is suddenly given the deprecating choice to go on probation or leave the seminary; he leaves.

Sujets

• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 23 septembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789956762439
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

BOUNDARIES BOUNDARIES Emmanuel Fru Doh

EmmanuelFruDoh

Boundaries

Emmanuel Fru Doh

L a ng a a R esea rch & P u blishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [e-mail] www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookscollective.com ISBN: 9956-762-66-0 ©Emmanuel Fru Doh 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechinal or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or be stored in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher

DISCLAIMER All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG.

Dedication

To my dear friend Robson Sama, To the memory of our mutual friend Pong George Pong & To the Anglophone cause in Cameroon: we must stand together and make our point or let belly-politicians divide and maintain us as national bastards in our fatherland.

To God Almighty be Praise and Glory

Chapter 1 he fervent and devoted catechist, Ndzem, looked up fro T m the Reverend Father’s house where Father Alphonsus at the revealing face of the sky above the Bamenda Station hill as he walked down to the doctrine class Freegan had summoned and reminded him of the upcoming First Holy Communion ceremony. Father Alphonsus, as the Christians fondly referred to him, was a burly looking man who virtually towered above every other person in the parish. His stern look, from a distance, immediately melted into a refreshingly friendly smile whenever anyone approached him, especially the kids. The children loved the gap he had between his upper incisors through which he had formed a habit of spraying spittle out of his mouth, unlike others who just spat “twah!” by the side. The children had to be ready for their First Holy Communion Examination within the next two weeks. This was the group, which, if successful, would receive First Holy Communion on Big-Day Maria, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. As usual, the examination held in Father’s huge office with the new converts sitting round in a circle of which Father Alphonsus, sitting at his desk, was a part. He would go from pupil to pupil, beginning from his left, asking each to recite one prayer or the other that the catechumens should have memorized,along with questions about the doctrine of the Roman Catholic faith. In the process, he wrote down brief notes on how each pupil performed, and, in the end, the results were made known to the children. Those who passed, by answering the questions correctly and repeating the prayers well, were then to prepare for their First Holy

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Communion: girls needed a white gown and pair of shoes and boys a white shirt and a white pair of shorts or trousers, depending on what the family could afford, and a pair of shoes also. Meanwhile, the catechist would spend the week before the ceremony showing the candidates how they would be seated in church on this great occasion, how they would process to the altar at communion time, and how to receive and consume the body of our Lord with reverence. They were, above all, to ensure it did not touch their teeth for fear it would bleed. If it was stuck to the roof of their mouths, they were to use only their tongue, never their fingers, to get it off. They were to keep sucking at it, without chewing, until it dissolved in their mouths and then they could swallow it. The catechist was thorough about this, as gently spoken as he was. He was a skinny man of average height, dark in complexion and sickly in gait, with smoke-stained lips and knuckles; he walked slowly and with an air of one in a daze. Father Alphonsus was urging the catechist who taught these classes every day, except on Saturdays, Sundays, and special feast days when there was no class, to ensure the catechumens were ready for the up-coming test. “Ndzem, you hear me?” “Yes, Father.” “Pikin dem must ready for exam. Okay?” “Dem go ready, Father, and dem di do well.” “Good, good! Okay, go finish class then.” “Okay, Father,” Ndzem answered, turned and walked out of the Father’s office. Ndzem, with a tired, worn out look on his face that his receding hairline did not help, was still in his late fifties only.

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