The Drama within a Compound House: A case of “make it or Break it”
- KlemShots
- Jun 14, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 15, 2020
(Author: Owusu Prempeh Jnr)
Okay! so for the sake of readers who ain’t familiar with the settings within a typical compound house in Ghana, let me provide you with a bit of an outlook before I proceed to share my experience with you. Generally, you have this big house with a lot of rooms, each occupied by a unique family. Typically, the owner of the house, locally called “efie wura (house owner)” may also reside within the compound and thus, directly or indirectly controls most of the affairs of every tenant in the house. He is more like the mother or father figure in the house.
The rooms within the compound often range between 10-15 with only one kitchen and a bathroom being shared among all the occupants. The occupants, mostly husband, wife, and kids live in one room or as a matter of convenience may stay in what we termed as “chamber and hall”. However, in most cases, it is often the landlord and his family who are privileged to have that convenient room. So imagine, 10 individual families, each with at least 2 kids living in one single room within a small compound. That’s more or less 40 people confined within that small space (by simple arithmetic). Interestingly, each family will have what is called a “veranda wall” - a small little space demarcated for you and your kids. This is mostly used as a dining table after food is served because you dare not eat in the bedroom or someone else’s space. In the night, you don’t owe any sleeping space in the room and it is always the case of who sleeps first. Space within the room is created by the moving of the center tables and chairs (mostly placed in the center of the room during the day) to lay down mats and student mattresses on the floor. Your parents are the only ones privileged to sleep on the bed. If there is an extra space on the bed, mostly the little ones within the family would be invited to join them as a matter of convenience for the others.
These are the daily activities or let’s say the basic regulations within this compound house:
Each family is to scrub the bathroom - those cemented washrooms in turn. The same arrangement applies to the sweeping of the compound.
You have to wait for someone to finish bathing before you can also use the bathroom or the toilet. The kids have to give way to the adults to bath or preferably settles to bath outside.
Saturdays are for washing and one has to wake up early to do so, otherwise, that individual must forget drying their clothing due to the unavailability of drying space on the lines.
The landlord determines how much you pay for utilities (water and electricity) at the end of the month and you dare not question him on that.
Fufu is pounded in turn (groups of 2 or 3 at a time) depending on the size of the pounding area.
Sweeping is forbidden at night - I don’t know why.
Within the compound, one family will ally with another family to support each other when petty quarrels break out with another family.
You only offer food to another child who’s not your own after seeking consent from the parents. After the once-off consent, you are good to provide food to a child of another family. However, this special arrangement ceases when your parents are no longer in talking terms with that family. You will be whipped mercilessly if you are found going for their food as a child. That also translates to you not playing with their kids again - an uncomfortable situation to find yourself in as a kid.
Children associate with their peers within the compound house by attending the same school, or by a cordial relationship existing between the parents of both families, or who offered their food or candy when they begged.
Christmas is the lively moments in the house. Food and drinks were plenty and each family will often exchange food with one another
The joy of having to play with other kids. [Image source: Google]
Minor fights and Jibes in the compound house
Kwaku Bonti (Facebook post, 24 June 2019) described how ‘beefing’ is done in compound houses- a sight to behold:
I grew up in a compound house in Dadiesoaba-Asafo in Kumase (a suburb of the Ashanti region). All one needed to do to be awake to the multiple utilities of gospel music was to not oversleep. Just be awake between 4 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. This time was when women usually would sweep the house. Each compound house has a sweeping roster indicating which family sweeps on what day.
Often the women who swept used the quietness and the monopoly of stage granted by the dawn to make their very political and personal statements albeit proverbially through gospel music.
So if Adwoa Sey is the one sweeping today, you would hear her sing; "Asɔre ba ee, gyina nkyɛn... Ma yɛnsom yɛ Nyankopɔn... Wosuban yei deɛ ɛnnyɛ... ɛmma mmɛgye Yesu mmɔso oo..."
(Church member stand aside and allow us to worship our God. Your character is bad. Don't attempt to solely possess God.)
Here, some specific other woman in the house is being targeted and the person knows that the 'bad church member' in the song is just a figurative expression, her new nickname. The next day, Griselda Asamoah- Gyadu who knew last dawn that she was the target of this gospel song would have a response ready as she sweeps. She would typically sing; "Wo nyamesom mpo nie, na wobɛyɛ korɔmfoɔ... Wo nyamesom mpo nie, na wobɛyɛ wodini... Yesu asendua ase pa ara na adane adwamanbɔ yi..."
(If this is your Christianity, then what would you be were you a thief or a wicked person... Prostitution right under the cross of Jesus Christ.)
Realizing that she had been attacked more harshly than she had done, Adwoa Sey would come back stronger the next time she is to sweep at dawn. She shuns the Wenger-like* pass pass and goes for Conte's direct approach** this time around by singing...
"Metamfo eee, wopɛ me animguaseɛ... ɛneɛ sɛɛ woanya... Metamfo eee, wopɛ me nkuguo oo, ɛneɛ sɛɛ woanya... Akode3 biara wahyehyɛ atia me no... Annyɛ adwuma oo... Onyame apagya ne nsa... Wahyɛ ne din animuonyam..."
(My enemy, you want to see me disgraced. My enemy, you want to see me defeated. Whatever plans you hatched did not work. The Lord has intervened and shown his glory.)
When Griselda Asamoah- Gyadu has to sweep again, she also goes for the jugular. No time for 'national reconciliation', no d'etente, no 'olive brooms'. Knowing her plan, she decides to sweep with her daughter this time around and goes for Rev. Yawson's song.
Mum: ɔbonsam bɔɔ wo a, bɔ no bi (When the devil hits u, hit back)
Daughter [response]: ɔbɔɔ wo a, bɔ no bi!
Mum: ɔpem wo a, pem no bi... (When he pushes u, push back)
Daughter: ɔpem wo a, pem no bi!
Mum: ɔchesti wo a, chesti no bi... (When he chests u, chest back)
Daughter: ɔchesti wo a, chesti no bi!
Mother and Daughter: Ka n'anim... Ka n'anim.. Yesu Kristo te yɛn mu oo, obedwane... Obonsam suro Yesu din no... (Scold the devil and he will run away as he is afraid of Jesus's name)
At this rate, it would not take long for the two women to physically fight. Usually, the immediate reason would be that one did not close the tap in time... the water was overflowing... the 'light' bill has just increased.
This squabble continues until one person calls a truce.
How these settings changed certain perspectives of our life
Due to the large size of each family where food was shared no matter how small it was, it imbibed in us the spirit of sharing no matter the size of the meal because we always knew it wasn’t going to be the last meal of the day.
Don’t be too quick to stand with one particular family or group during a verbal exchange of words because the same individual will turn on you tomorrow.
In such an environment, you either develop high survival instincts, learn relationship modalities or devise ways of cohabitating with people of different backgrounds, exhibiting different kinds of attitudes. Lest, you become a daily “meat“ for the carnivorous ones. In general, you either become the best of yourself or the worse. I think I became the former.
Glossary:
*Wenger-like pass: a system of football played by Arsenal Football Club where the ball is passed ‘aimlessly’ among each player without scoring any goal.
**Conte’s approach: a system of football played by the Chelsea Football Club where the main aim is to score a goal without necessary passings.
Acknowledgment
A special thanks to my friend, Kwaku BontI for allowing me to cite a part of his Facebook post and everyone who provides a bit of insight into this article.
Article submission
Do you have an article to submit? Do email it to us on klentxx@gmail.com
Comments