Jess writes:
Gender roles are still pretty prominent here. From what we can tell, women are still expected to cook, clean and care for the children, while possibly holding down a job at the same time. On the other hand, it seems that men are expected to, well, drink… and watch TV… hm. These gender roles are so engrained that we sometimes keep hush-hush about Adam being the primary cook in our home. In fact, MamaChristine was so stunned to find out that Adam was a good cook that when she ate anything of his doing, she would grin from ear to ear, chant, “Oh Jabu, Jabu, Jabu!”, and then would demand that he teach BabeJohannas to cook as well! Ha! And before our first week in country was even complete, I was actually accused (jokingly, by one of our LCFs) of being a witch and dosing Adam with a love potion when they discovered that he had helped me with our laundry!!! So all that domestic stuff that Adam helps with (and yes, he must help me with it!) we’ll just have to keep as our little secret… I really don’t want to end up at the stake!!
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Jess, I guess that's why I like having my own place.. I can cook and watch Knight Rider and nobody will question my manhood ( well, how could they anyway, I watch KNIGHT RIDER!)
ReplyDeleteActually, my darling you should probbly be careful with tossing out that term. It still has significant meaning in Africa and in South Africa in particular. I copied an article I had read and not too long ago there was a report on girls in Kenya being abducted and accused of witchcraft. I will paste the brief statement that I had read that was written in April of 09' but refers to days past.
ReplyDeleteI learned on my time on the reservation and my close friendships with a few Lakota that spirits, visions, good and evil magic are as real today as they were 200 years ago. I must some day tell you of my vision in the Black Hills and I'm not even sure I beleive in these things but it was bizzare and my reaching explanations to those I told about it just made them smile, for them it was a vision, clear as bell to them. Damian still brings it up. I know you were kidding and all was meant in good fun and I am not trying to put a damper on it but thought it might be useful to point out that we sometimes get lost in the so many similarities in all people and sometimes fail to recall that there are sometimes significant and profound differences in our realities and you may have just stumbled on one...People and cultures are so amazing and what you will read would not be that unusual until you recall it was written in April of 09' addressing issues going back 40 or 50 years..."The Ministry of Safety and Security of South Africa's Northern Province created a Commission of Inquiry into Witchcraft, Violence and Ritual Killings. The Commission issued a report in 1996-MAY which showed that thousands of people had been accused of witchcraft, run out of town and lost their property. The victims were accused of "shape-shifting" themselves from human form into bats and birds, of converting people into zombies, and of causing death by calling down lightning or through the use of toxic medicines. These beliefs are quite similar to those which circulated during the Witch burning craze of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Europe circa 1450 to 1792 CE. Those Witches didn't exist either."...So no magic shows for the kids dont let Jabu walk around like a zombie and just be a good little girl (we know you have the little part down!). I love and miss you, dad