The Story of a Village

After a few days rest from my taxi ride from Conakry, I am joined in Bamako by Mrs. M.L. a woman from an Engaging congregation from Georgia. Her congregation has been reaching out to the Senufo people over the past 5 years. I am excited to learn from M.L. experience among these rural people out in the bush of Mali close to Ivory Coast. We drive another 8 hours away from Bamako and are received by her friend Z who hosts us during our two weeks in his village.

One day Z asks us to come and greet his uncle, the chief’s younger brother. As we approach, a young man hurries to find us a bench to sit on. Z’s uncle rises from his sprawl on his own bench in order to receive us. After repeating our greetings, we settle in for a visit. M.L. asks, “Are you the chief’s younger brother?” “Oh yes! Much much younger!” The old man laughs. A young grandson comes to sit in the man’s lap. Z’s Uncle continues to brag, “That brother of mine over there does not know all our stories. He spent too many years abroad in Ivory Coast but our father told me all our stories. Besides he is mean and doesn’t like to talk, I always tell Z to come to me and I will tell him our stories.” In Senufo families it is common practice for the head of the family to choose one son to stay in the village and farm while he sends others away to school (the one he hopes to place in charge). Often the son sent abroad or to a larger city for school, does not come home again to stay until he is needed as the leader of the household. Z is like his uncle, Z’s twin brother was chosen to go away to school while he was picked to stay in The Village and farm. However this did not deter Z from continuing his own education, little by little, Z can read both French and Bambara and knows the Bible better than most Xians in the U.S. Z smiles and blushes at his uncles bold bragging against who he call his father. Z’s “Father,” the Chief of The Village, is actually also his uncle. Senufo family relations are varied and hard to understand from a western mindset. Often children from one father will be sent to be raised by his brother’s family. Always they show as much respect or more for their father’s brother as they do their own fathers. Also often their defenders come from their mother’s brothers, those are the uncles they can joke with and speak with freely. This uncle for Z is a safe person; he always comes to his support when Z is in trouble. “So you know the stories of The Village? Would you please tell us one?”  M.L. inquires. Z’s uncle is more than happy to relate a story. He sits up straighter and pulls his grandson snugger in his lap.

This is the story of how The Village came to be. You see this village is different from others; it was founded by a woman! A Long time ago before the French came, there was a Senufo woman who lived over in a village called Yelen in Ivory Coast.  She was given to be married to a man and had two sons but then her first husband died. The village of Yelen gave her again to a second husband but again this husband died. Then the people of Yelen, chased the woman and her two sons away because of the death of these two husbands.  So the woman left with her two sons, the first son named Zie (meaning first son) and her younger son named Zanga (meaning second son). They walked and walked many miles, when they had walked 5 villages from Yelen and were in the bush the woman stopped and began to cry because they were alone but her first son said to her, “Nah fiaa!” which means “Mother do not cry.” He said we can live here and be our own village. And so this is how the village got its name because Zie said “Mother do not cry.” Then Zie said to his brother Zanga, “You are a hunter and you can protect our land and I am a farmer, so you will be the chief of the land and I will be the chief of the village.” So even today there are two chiefs, the chief of the land who owns all the land and the chief of The Village.

We thank Z’s uncle for his story and he glows with pride and will not let us leave without a sack of peanuts as a gift. He continues to remind Z to visit as often as possible to learn all of The Village’s stories. We also exhort Z that the history of his village is important to remember and repeat but Z also knows other very important stories that he can share and teach as well. Z is one of The Village’s few believers.  He has begun a new tradition of stories, stories much older than The Village or even the Senufo people. Z knows the stories found in the good book starting with the creation of the world all the way to the one he knows can save his people. Often Z repeats the stories he knows to his own 9 children and to other young people in The Village. He quizzes the children on the details of the stories to be sure they can remember them. The Village is blessed to have Z, many neighboring villages have no one to tell these stories.

Z needs our pr@yers, pr@y he will reach beyond his own village into other with the good news that he loves. Pr@y also for the young people in his influence that they will grow into adults unafraid to share the good stories in their own village and as far as their feet can take them.