THE BIG FISH THEORY
“It is the palatable soup that draws the seat closer to the dining table.” Ewe proverb.
Farm work is drudgery, especially for smallholder farmers using rudimentary tools and implements. A farm worker, therefore, needs fresh water for rehydration and food to replenish the energy. Depending on the nearness of the farm to the home, the number of persons going to the farm, and the duration of the stay on the field, a farmer may decide to carry food, and water or not.
In some cases, there are tubers, groundnuts, vegetables, maize, bush meat, mushrooms, palm nuts, fruits, and other stuff available on the farm. A stream or nearby well could provide water for drinking and cooking. Otherwise, a farmer has to prepare soup and/or its accompaniments or carry raw foodstuff to the farm. Salt and fish are the only items absent on a typical farm in Dzodze traditional area. Geswani applied one feeding protocol or the other in his farming career. On one occasion, he learned a big lesson.
He prepared a thick palm nut soup from home; collected it into a clay pot; and carried it in a basket on his head. While on a bush path to the farm, a palm frond overhead removed the basket crushing it on the ground. There is no armor against the cracking of a clay pot in such a situation. The soup spilled on the ground, conspicuously leaving behind an assorted collection of big and choosy fish.
A colleague farmer arrived at the scene and, on the one hand, lamented over the incident, and on the other, praised the fish component of the soup. His Adam’s Apple went up and down while commenting on Geswani’s spilled soup. The friend advised Geswani to pick the fish, wash them with water, and never let them go to waste. Not long after, Geswani overheard his friend narrating the incident to another person, extolling how big the pieces of fish were.
Gesani then reasoned that, if the soup were filled with tiny, miserable fish, neighbors would have heard the incident with corresponding disapproval and disdain. He did not only learn a lesson but also used the Big Fish theory as a trump card, as we shall see. After all, much fish does not spoil the broth.
Getting interesting
There are more ahead