ANGRY DEPARTURE 2.07 Shalele: Well, are things OK with my husband?! Up til now silence, he hasn t come back? Well! May Allah make things OK. Tanko: Peace upon you!... Peace upon you! Sh: Upon you be peace! My husband, are you OK?! T: Yes indeed, (I m just) fine! Sh: Where you were you so long like that? T: Well, to tell the truth, I went shopping (I went to the market)... Sh: Well greetings on your arrival! T: Well fine! Fine! Hi! Sh: Indeed! Greetings on your arrival! T: Hi! Sh: I made food for you but it s has gotten cold... T: Boy oh boy! Sh:... and as for me, I was unable to eat. T: Well, those things, you know... Sh: Well stay seated, [OK] let me bring the food. T: OK, fine!... Oh my goodness! Sh: Are you OK? Where were you so long? T: Oh I went to the market. Sh: The market?! What were you doing at the market? T: To tell the truth I went and bought... I did some SHOPPING, I bought some cloths and other little things. Sh: Cloths?! 1
T: Yes! Sh: What for?! T: And some other things.... Cloths, you kno! Sh: Cloths for what?! T: Uh, uh!... Gee! Come on and sit down! T: Uh, uh! Sh: Well for what?! T: You ve brought the food and you re tired. Sh: I heard you say cloths. For what?! Let me hear it. T: The truth is... Well, haven t you gotten the news?! Sh: You have to tell me. T: Yeah, well.. the truth is... to tell the truth, I want to get arrange a marriage. Sh: A marriage??!! T: A marriage.. She lets go of the food bowl. Sh: No way! Not in this house! T: Why?! Is marriage a crime?! Sh: It s not a crime, but it won t be with me! I won t stay with you! T: You won t stay with me?! Sh: No! I won t stay with you! T: Well why? Sh: No! As for me, you re looking at my departure! T: Me and this house of mine? Sh: No way! T: OK come here!... Come!... Come!... Come!... Come!... Come here!... Come!... Come!... Come!... Come here! Sh: MhM! Leave me alone! She goes out in anger. 2
CONSULTATION WITH A FRIEND 2.08 Ado: Peace up opon you!... Peace upon you! Tanko: And upon you be peace. Who is it? A: Didn t you recognize me? T: No, Malam Ado? Welcome, come in. A: OK. He comes in. T: Welcome, sit down. A: Uh! Are things OK with me seeing that you look pensive? T: Geez! How could things be OK? Don t you see the house with no one in it? A: Oh. Did they go visiting? T: No. It s not visiting that she s done. She left me (she made a departure). A: She left you?! T: I swear to it, she left me. A: What caused that? T: Yeah, well, it s just because I said I was going to arrange a marriage. I was going to get her a co-wife. A: A co-wife?! T: A co-wife. A: Just?! T: That the thing that brought about the fight. A: Well there s no just about a co-wife. There s no just about a co-wife. Why are you going to get a co-wife for her? T: Yeah, well. I just saw some girls and I wanted to marry her. 3
A: Aaaaa... Well. How about I give you some advice? T: Yeah, well, that fine. Yeah, I agree. A: You see now, your wife, she s of good character, here she is patient, she s behaves well. OK. Why do you want to get her a co-wife? T: Yes, that s right, she s patient and behaves well. But I just wanted another wife (marriage). A: Well, what s fitting, since she is patient and well-behaved, here she is, smart, well, I don t any reason you should get a co-wife for her. So why? T: That s right. I agree, she is patient and well-behaved, but now, are going to...l what advice can you say to me? A: All right! As for me, the advice that I d give you Malam Tanko, since your wife, she s smart, and you don t have... she hasn t done you any wrongs, my view is you should give up on this marriage, this co-wife, give up on getting her a co-wife. Let me come, me and you, tomorrow let s go to they house and make reconciliation so she ll come back. How do you see it? T: Yeah. Malam Ado, your advice is good. A: All right! T: And, fine, I m thankful. A: All right! T: I agree. A: Tomorrow we ll go to their house and make reconciliation so she ll come back. T: You ll accompany me? A: Oh I ll accompany your. T: OK, great. A: OK. T: I feel good. A: OK, I ll come in the morning tomorrow. T: OK thanks. 4
A: OK, fine. T: Thanks. A: OK until later. T: Fine. T: Thanks. A: Until later. 5
RECONCILIATION 2.09 Ado: Peace be upon you!... Peace be upon you! Mother-in-law: From inside the house. Upon you be peace! Here s a mat, have a seat. A: OK. Tanko: Fine! Pull it over. M: Greetings to you on coming. A and T: Yes, greetings too. M: Right. A: Hello. T: Hello there. M: Right. A and T: How was your night? M: Just fine. A and T: How s the tiredness? M: There s no tiredness. A and T: Hello. M: How s the household? A: Praise be to Allah. T: Just fine. M: How s the family? A: Praise be to Allah. T: Just fine. M: Good. A: How are the children? M: Just fine. 6
A: How s the rain? M: Praise be to Allah. A: Well, good. M: Right, greetings to you. A: Well, we ve come about the matter with Shalele. Yesterday we can and it was said that Shalele had come back home. Well, in short, that matter, may one be patient. The marriage that Malam Tanko sai he was going to do, he s given it up. For the sake of Allah and his Prophet, may one be patient. M: No, well it doesn t matter. One knows that marriage is not a crime, but one knows that heartless treatment is not pleasant, isn t that right? Moreover, the way young people are now requires patience. Be patient, may Allah watch over the future, may the future be cleared. No matter, no matter. A: How about the matter of returning her? M: Oh, that moreover one will see that she s returned if Allah accepts it. A: OK, so she ll be returned? M: Lord willing. A: OK, good. M: Yes. A: Is it today that she ll be returned? M: If Allah accepts it, in the afternoon one will take her. A: OK, OK, good. We are thankful. M: Your welcome, no problem. May Allah watch over things. A: OK good. T: We are thankful. M: May Allah watch over things. T: We are thankful. A: Well is Dad here? 7
M: Oh! He s at the farm. A: He s at the farm. M: You can finish up (here), when you are going to pass on, you can greet him. A: OK fine, fine. M: May Allah watch over things. A: Yes, Lord willing. This matter, it just (requires) patience, it just (requires) patience. M: Well you know, modern times and those of the past are different. A: Yes, that s true. M: It just requires patience. A: OK here s is money for the bus. Here s money for the bus. M: OK fine. (You re) even going to trouble like that?! A: Oh it s nothing. M: OK no problem. A: No problem. M: OK, fine. T: We are thankful. A: We are thankful. M: OK see you later. A: We ll go by way of the farm. M: Yes, OK, greet the household. M: May Allah protect (us/you). A: OK fine. The mother-in-law goes into the house. Tanko & Co. put on their shoes and go out talking about Shalele s return. 8
GREETING WITH THE FATHER-IN-LAW 2.10 Ado: Peace be upon you!... Peace be upon you! Father-in-law: So be it, and upon you be peace....oh, is it Tanko? A: Yes, it s him. Tanko: Yes, it s us. A: How was your night? F: Very well. A and T: How s the tireness? A and T: How s the rain? S: There s no tiredness. F: The rain, praise be to Allah. A: Good. T: Greetings to you. F: Right, greetings in return. A: How s the farm? F: Oh just fine, we re thankful. A: Well fine. F: Right, greetings on coming. F: Right, greetings on coming. A: Yes, greeting in return. F: Right. Is the household well? A: Very well. F: Fine. A: To tell the truth, we went to the house and they said you were at the farm. F: I ll be darned! A: So that s why we came to greet you. F: I ll be darned! A: OK, fine. F: Well, it just requires patience. A: OK F: Just a bit more patience. A: OK. F: Just a bit more patience. 9
F: Just a bit more patience. F: I ll be darned! F: Just a bit more patience. F: Uh, that thing, it just requires patience. A: So it does. F: That, married life, it requires patience. A: OK, fine. F: You know, it just requires patience. A: Uh-huh. Fine. OK that s it, we re going to go back. T: We re going to go back. F: OK, you re going to... OK, let me break you off some new millet heads. A: OK. T: OK. A: Heh heh, you re going to trouble like that? T: Oh no problem. A: OK. The father-in-law goes into the millet and breaks off some new heads. T: Sir, that s enough. A: That s enough. The father-in-law brings the millet heads. A: OK, fine. T: OK. We are thankful. F: Arrive safely. A: OK fine. T: We are thankful. 10
F: Arrive safely. A: We are thankful. T: Fine. F: It just requires patience. A: OK fine. T: We are thankful. F: Arrive safely. A: We are thankful. T: Fine A: OK, until later. S: Fine. A: Until later. A: Praise be to Allah. You see, Dad was generous. 11