Nini

"Nini" is the grandmother of the family in whose compound we're staying. She is an incredibly intense, traditional Kom woman who can't stand up straight even with her walking stick. She can only speak the Kom dialect and likes to speak it a lot - whether you can understand her or not. She sits outside the whole day - occasionally laughing but usually barking orders to everyone in the compound and occasionally beating both adults and children really hard with her walking stick.

The other day, I was sitting on the porch doing laundry, and Joshua was reading. Nini barked at us across the compound to come greet her. We only understood this because another woman in the compound translated for us. We curiously but tentatively approached her - always observant of the stick she held in her right hand.

We exchanged greetings and pretended to understand her subsequent speech. Then our translator asked if Joshua was my husband. When I said, "No, he's my brother," Nini looked very serious and said, "Ah, if he was your husband, you would conceive a child and give birth in this house and name the child after me." She was completely serious. I didn't know whether to laugh or run. I laughed, but I'm pretty sure my jaw was dropped and eyes wide in wonder.

We finished our time with Nini by eating a few bites of plantain and bitter herbs that sat in the pot on the ground at her feet. I think that made her almost as happy as if we'd given birth in her compound and named the child after her. We're presently on good terms with Nini but casually avoiding much direct contact with her and her walking stick.