Me Tituba Witch
Abena, an African woman finds herself in slavery,
Raped on the boat to Barbados, she will be sold there,
A few months later, Tituba with a thin face will be born,
For having defended herself against her rapist master, Abena will die hanged.
Tituba is taken in by Man Yaya in full aging,
Taken into servitude, she will arrive as far as Salem, north of Boston,
Accused of witchcraft, she will benefit from the great pardon,
But will be sold to reimburse the costs of her imprisonment.
Who will be ready to buy a witch? she asked the chief of police,
Do you know at what price the negro is sold now, he answered? Twenty-five pounds!
She knew the fate that awaited her, a new master and new services,
Every day, strangers inspected her teeth and felt her free breasts.
One day she found favor in the eyes of a man, a very rich Jewish merchant,
Small, his back deformed by a hump, his complexion the color of aubergine, grimacing,
His face devoured by large red sideburns mixed with a pointed beard,
Three days later, the Jew, redder and more lopsided than ever, was waiting for her, hands clasped.
Deprived of her chains, she had to relearn how to walk,
She had to relearn how to communicate with her peers and to speak better,
She had to relearn how to discipline her hair around her bushy head,
She had to rub ointments on her dry skin like poorly tanned leather.
Quatrains by ARIÉ…..JOIE inspired by an excerpt from her 1986 book
Few individuals have this bad luck: being born twice.
Maryse Condé died on the night of Monday 1st to Tuesday 2nd April 2024, at the age of 90. Author, journalist, teacher, with more than 70 books to her credit, the writer from Guadeloupe leaves behind a brilliant career, and a prolific body of work with worldwide renown.
She leaves behind a masterful body of work, which describes "in precise language the ravages of colonialism and the chaos of post-colonialism", recognized in 2018 by the New Academy of Stockholm awarding her the new academic prize for literature.
Guy Pujol says the l’ARIÉ…..JOIE