Let us play a game in front of the house
across the street where Maame Yall sells tomatoes.
Come outside! Call all the maidens,
all the youngest ones from the neighbouring houses.
Braid yourselves into two horizontal lines,
and face one another.
One side playing for ‘shee shee’
and the other ‘paa paa’.
Jump as high as you can, reaching for sky
and thrust a foot forward as the other meets the earth.
Matching foot or opposing one,
the magic metes out the winner.
Come outside and see
the movement of the hips,
the beating of polished beads.
The sound of innocence
from clapping hands
and jumping bodies:
maidens freely born
and put on a time bomb.
A man like Paapa
comes whispering into my father’s ears;
my sister’s time is up.
The frail man from
down the street asked for a wife
and I saw my sister cry
like the day she lost ampe.
Glossary:
Paa paa/shee shee – this is the name given to the opposing sides in the game. Especially in Asante, ‘paa paa’ is for those who will land on opposing feet and ‘shee shee’ for those in matching feet.
Paapa – Father
Maame Yaa – female name.
Andrews Owusu Appiah-Kubi, best known as Mkay Ahndie, is a UK-based Ghanaian writer, filmmaker, editor, and director. He holds a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Aberdeen. Some of his works have been featured on BBC Radio Scotland.
All socials: @mkayahndie http://mkayahndie@wixsite.com/mkay