‘Lunch’ with Foulah women of Guinea

Just as travelers in Nigeria going to other parts of the country via the same route, take a break for lunch and refreshments in Lokoja, so do travelers from within Guinea’s South up North and onto Mali and Sierra Leone, make a stop at Linsan in the Moyens Guinea (Middle Belt Guinea) region.Linsan as a […]

Just as travelers in Nigeria going to other parts of the country via the same route, take a break for lunch and refreshments in Lokoja, so do travelers from within Guinea’s South up North and onto Mali and Sierra Leone, make a stop at Linsan in the Moyens Guinea (Middle Belt Guinea) region.
Linsan as a business spot is said to have been in existence ‘since Guinea became Guinea’. “It dates back to the colonial era with the movement of trade and people from Guinea Bas (Western Guinea) to Moyens Guinea and Haute Guinea (Upper Guinea).
It is a beehive of activities as commercial and private vehicles park on the way to pray, eat and/or rest and even pass the night before continuing with their journeys. For residents in the area, it is an opportunity to mingle with guests, discover new nationalities as well as sell their wares.
The most conspicuous of items sold at this very busy spot are “nono” (cow milk) with “acha” and/or couscous.
‘Arè so don khosan’, women in various bogusly tied head gears call out to prospective buyers in Guinea’s Foulah language to “come and buy cow milk”. One’s attention is immediately drawn to an array of ‘nono’ filled soup spoons which the women offer freely with strained out stretched arms, as teasers to lure buyers to their products.
Beneath their hands are calabashes with partially uncovered raffia lids, filled to the brim with cow milk and chunks of ice blocks to keep the milk cool in the scorching heat.
Strategically positioned by the main road, the women are said to have become a major attraction in the market as they seem to be the ones almost all travelers first go to even if just for a taste of their ‘nono.’
The most common accompaniment of ‘nono’ in Nigeria is ‘fura’, but among the Linsan sellers and their buyers, ‘nono’ goes hand-in-hand with couscous or with ‘acha’.
Although the locals say they are not used to taking ‘fura’, it is however, during Ramadan, sold as an added alternative for the season.
Served in silver aluminum or stainless steel bowls, ‘nono’ addicts like Mamoudah sit on long wooden benches devouring their favourite with so much relish and a certain dexterity which provokes the taste buds of any onlooker, especially a first timer, to give it a try.
Scooped from the base of the bowl to the top to ensure a generous amount is in the spoon. A circular motion of the hand then directs the spoon to the mouth as the contents go down in two gulps, usually followed by sounds from lip smacking. “A sign of great satisfaction,” Miriama an ardent ‘nono’ consumer, who has patronized the spot for at least 10 years, said.
“It is very nourishing and filling, especially as it is in its original form,” said Mamoudah with half-filled mouth. He also explained that a little salt or sugar is added to the meal to further enrich it depending on the desire of the buyer.
Fatimata Jallo, who has been a trader at the spot for at least 20 years, explained that they don’t have to go far to get their consignments. “The men are the ones who bring the ‘nono’ to us here at our selling point. We have no business going to look for them.”
Jallo said “at any point in time we each buy between 40 and 50 thousand Guinea Franc’s (N1,200) worth of ‘nono’. By the second day we have sold it all off and begin awaiting new delivery.”
Binta Jallo, another trader, said “on each calabash sold a profit of about 5,000 Guinea Francs (N150) are realized.”
With most of their customers being travelers, the women said they have learnt to target prospective buyers and peak periods.
With the proceeds made from the sale of their wares, the women in telling our reporter what they did with the money, elegantly and proudly, yet unconsciously danced their way to describing how they spent their money.
They showed off well tailored and embroidered outfits under chiffon and cotton veils along with jewelry and hair styles well made and kept discrete under their big head scarves.
As an afterthought, they added that they sometimes paid the school fees of their children from the money.
Asked if they didn’t buy landed property or build houses with the money, the initial responses were giggles followed by an explanation.
“If we have to build houses, we need the approvals of our husbands.
After they have approved, they then build the houses; but with our money, not theirs.”
From their looks and shrug of their shoulders there seemed to be an unspoken question: ‘why bother if the glory isn’t mine but his?’
In the over 40 years this market has been in existence, “we have customers who have remained patriotic to us from all over Guinea and even Mali and Sierra Leone as well as other occasional visitors from various destinations,” the women said assuring that they never lacked money to meet their needs.
The women, however, lament that they are getting close to scarcity time which is usually in the dry season because of the lack of fresh green grass on which the animals feed and are well nourished to produce good enough milk.
According to Mariam Diallo, “at such times we pay twice the amount of what we currently offer for the same measures of milk and we have to break even by selling more expensive to our customers.
The Fulani women, traditionally, are not farmers, but in down times, “we resort to farming to make ends meet.”
The women farm in a very organized method, creating an association of tomato and potato sellers alongside a corporative so that all women in the community who are interested can benefit from whatever scheme is available.