Yefon: The Red Necklace
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Authors: Sahndra Dufe
YEFON: The Red Necklace
The characters, names, and events as well as all places, incidents, organizations, and dialog in this novel are either the products of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2014 African Pictures International
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
ISBN-10: 1495452360
ISBN-13: 978-1495452369
Cover Design by Natasha Brown
Illustrations by Ethel R Tawe
Edited by David Gregory, The Right Edits.
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www.sahndrafondufe.com
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Sahndra Fon Dufe
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Trade Paperback Edition.
The Red Necklace
A novel by
Sahndra Fon Dufe
DEDICATION
This is my first published book, so please forgive the long dedication and thank you for your patience.
This novel is dedicated to suppressed women all over the world—to those whose rights have been infringed and to women whose dreams have been crushed because they were women: Women in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
I feel your pain and I empathize with you, because in many ways, this is my story; our story- the story of every woman. This is my humble attempt to be your voice. I want you to know that no matter the situation in which you find yourself in, when you make a decision inside yourself that you want a change, it is achievable. It is achievable irrespective of the hurdles that will come your way. And most times, there will be many. It is not enough to start the journey. Any one can start anything, but follow-through, my dear sisters, is everything! If this novel inspires even one of you, I would be glad that my job was done.
To my grandmother, mama Yefon Justina Fondufe, whose life story inspired me to write this book: Thank you mama, for teaching me that there is equal nobility in raising a large successful family. Also to Tererai Trent, Amina Lawal, the nine women from the Honor Diaries, and many others, whose beautiful struggles reminded me why this story needed to be told. I love you, and thank you for being the spark to change in your various communities.
To my late grandfather, Pa Elias Banka Fondufe, who passed away in October 2012 when this novel was still in development. You were so excited about it and proud of me. I have you to thank for teaching me to love reading and to focus on writing all the things I wanted to say. You spent unbelievable amounts of time teaching me our culture and history and answering all my long questions over the years.
In your library lie several of my books, which were written in pencil and pen from my childhood. In your words, it’s not that I did it late; it is that I did it at all. Thank you. This one is definitely for you, and I love and miss you dearly!
To my foster brother, Nsame Gideon Ngo, who recently passed in July 2013. I dedicate this novel to you for believing in me with all your might and showing me that no matter how crazy we may seem, we are, indeed, capable of changing the world in some way; and for showing me that all things are possible when you believe. I wish you were here to see this happen. I miss you bro! I think of you all the time.
To my wonderfully supportive parents, Dr. Ya Lydia Sakah Fondufe and Colonel Gilbert Banka Fondufe, my very
SUPPORTIVE
siblings, Serge, Glenn, and Vanessa, and to the love of my life, my darling Jonathan Nsien, thank you all for supporting me every step of the way. I love you, I thank you, and I promise to make you all proud, always.
To the rest of my family, friends, and loved ones, thank you very much. This is for you.
- Sahndra Fon Dufe.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
17. Something Like Independence
*Character Portraits by Ethel R Tawe
* Questions & Topics for Discussion
TO THE APPLE OF MY EYE, MY GRAND DAUGHTER YUVEYONGE; MAY YOU ALWAYS FOLLOW THE SPARK THAT IGNITES DEEP INSIDE OF YOU.
Through A Genesis Of Uncertainty, Life Unfolds, Sometimes Capitulating To Fear, Regret, Failure or violence. Held Together In Oneness, The Unity Of Our Feminine Being Eternally Yields The Powers Of Gentleness, Courage, Compassion, Forgiveness And Love. Quietly Or Boldly Whispering, Our Heart Speaks Aloud, “I Always Knew, I Would Be Me”.
-Dec 27 2013, 3.57 Pm, PST.
Yefon Labam
-PROLOGUE-
To my grand daughter, Yuveyonge:
You have a great path ahead of you, my pa once told me. Even though I heard him, I didn’t plan on changing the world. I only wanted to make a difference in my life, not everyone else’s. Before I knew it, my world blossomed into a beautiful rose, with me being a bee drawing pollen from its honeyed petals.
I used to imagine that I was a powerful queen ruling over an entire dynasty in North Africa. That was only my imagination. In reality, I wasn’t so fortunate.
I was only an illiterate village maiden destined by my gender to wind up a housewife with no hopes of ever becoming a Vikiy lim.
Vikiy lim
, or ‘career women’ simply didn’t exist in these parts, and it was an unmentionable taboo for a woman to even think of such things. You would be considered a disrespectful deviant and such behavior was terribly punished. I heard of people who had been severely beaten up, lynched, sent to prison, exiled, and even killed. That is a bizarre ending for the honest mistake of ambition, don’t you think?
I am a member of the Labam family. We come from a special berth in the county of Nso, near Kitiwum village, called
Mtaar Nso
, some eight kilometers away from Kimbo. We were the original peoples of the Nso tribe in Kumbo, Cameroon. This meant that the
wanle nsum
or young men from among the thirteen families that comprised this lineage were the only men in the tribe that were not obligated by birth to be a member of either the
Ngiri
or
Mwerong
cults.
It also meant that the
wanle ngon
or maidens from my family were the only women in the tribe that would ever be eligible to bear the heir to the throne of the
Paramount Fon of Nso
. The Paramount Fon was the chief of the tribe and the most powerful man in the entire village!
We were a dynasty with a strong history and culture, which could be traced all the way to the ancient sands of Egypt. Our gods were strong and our women fertile.
My family was not only among the thirteen bloodlines. We were also greatly favored by the palace, thanks to several of my
father’s good works, so it was natural that one of his daughters would be considered for a natural upgrade to royalty.
Betrothal to the crown was a very common conversation in my household when we were growing up. Everyone put ideas into my half sister Sola’s head that she would one day be queen of the Nso people. Her beauty could be compared to no other, and her mother, the troublesome Ya Buri, perpetually reminded my mother that her children were ineligible.
My older sister, Yenla, was an albino who was cursed with a chronic stammer. And I was a disrespectful tomboy with frog-eyes that made me look extremely ugly when I was a child. Sometimes, I suspected that this was partially the reason why Ma didn’t like me, and so I disliked her too.
Little did I know that history would be altered and the palace would turn down flawlessness for a tomboy who had absolutely no interest in royalty.
-1-
THE GOOD DAYS
The Second World War was almost at its peak when I was barely six months old, and at that time, North America was still surviving the Great Depression. British and French colonials confiscated German plantations and substantial firms on the coast of Cameroon; especially firms in the cities of Douala and Victoria. Among them, was the Woermann Corporation, which employed many people from the northwest and southwest of the country.
As a result, many laborers returned to their villages inflating the population of hamlets like mine. This was one of the many electrifying topics conversed about during the unending storytelling by the fireside that occurred every nightfall. When you had a big family and no technology to keep you distracted, you told stories or talked around the fire every night. The confiscations went on for many years and each day, I grew older and smarter and so I listened better.
My unmarried female cousins bubbled with excitement over the eligible bachelors relocating from the big cities, while the boys shuddered at the unconquerable competition coming their way. City boys could make the fittest village boy pass for a sheep.
Some girls insisted that they preferred a titled man from the village to those jobless city boys, and then, an argument broke out over which was more en vogue and why.
I felt out of place as I listened, my eyes darting around impassively from one shiny face to another. What could it be about these boys that made their cheeks glow with more shine than could be attributed to the cool crescent moon that was overhead? We cracked groundnuts by the fireside that Yenla had carefully made and continued talking.
My dirty hands supported my head, and I finally felt intrigued when one of my cousins with a lazy eye began to laugh, her laughter blending in with the crackling of the fire. I warmed my hands over the flame.
”City boys do it better,” she explained, her other eye opening wide as she spoke. I leaned in trying to understand why both her eyes turned in and out as she talked. It gave me the strangest chill, and
so, I looked away to the groups of boys roasting grasshoppers and drinking
palm wine
around another fire in our compound. I couldn’t hear them well but their own gathering seemed more entertaining. Their laughter was deep and unpretentious, and the way the light shone on their cheekbones gave them a look of strength. I wondered how our group looked from the outside.