Page 12 - Obruni In Ghana | Amber Lockridge
P. 12
10 EPISODE 1: TAKE IT UP
into tears and hides behind her older brother. Internally I sigh. I’m never quite sure what to think about these mixed reactions. I bend over to set my bottle of coke on the ground. Immediately the children begin calling me again. I sit up and, smiling, shout back at them:
“Obibini,” meaning “black person”.
They first look shocked and then begin laughing
hysterically. A volleying banter of “Obruni-Obibini” follows for some time until I tell them my American name.
“Bibini, wo frem “Amber.”
They stumble over it, unable to shape their mouths around the hard “r” sound at the end. Finally I offer them the Fante name my family has granted my instead.
“Kukuwa” I tell them. “Wo frem Kuukua”
They laugh and laugh with delight and disbelief. The young girl has stopped crying to stare at me with wide, terrified eyes, which is at least better than tears. They repeat my halting phrase back to me.
