Baba,

Sorry for the late response and thanks for the message of condolence. "Uncle," as we all called him, was finally laid to rest yesterday at the Jeswang cemetery.

Your deduction is quite accurate: Baba Sillah has made quite a debut as a novelist with "When the monkey talks". I had the rare privilege of reading the manuscript during the summer of last year and was captivated by its power. The reader cannot fail to notice the similarities in this piece of work with works of the great Ngugi like "Devil on the cross" : the inherent political message, the celebration of our African/Gambian cultural heritage and history leave the reader always anxious to move on to the next chapter. A wonderful addition to Gambian literature that we must all read.

Regards,

Kabir.



----- Original Message ----- 

  From: Baba Galleh Jallow 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 12:30 AM
  Subject: Re: Review of 'When the Monkey talks' by Mam Biram Joof


  Mr. Njie,

  Thanks so much for forwarding this interesting review. Clearly, judging from Mr. Mam Biram Joof's eloquent analysis and the few excerpts from WHEN THE MONKEY TALKS, Mr. Baba Sillah is a great writer. He makes me proud to be a Gambian and an African. Overall, this is very inspiring. Please extend my congratulations to Mr Joof for an excellent review and to Mr Sillah for a great work of art. I eagerly look forward to reading this wonderful book from a Gambian author. Thank you.

  Warm regards,

  Baba Galleh Jallow



  >From: Amadu Kabir Njie 
  >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list 
  >To: [log in to unmask] 
  >Subject: Fw: Review of 'When the Monkey talks' by Mam Biram Joof 
  >Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 19:33:46 +0100 
  > 
  >"WHEN THE MONKEY TALKS" by Baba Sillah 
  > 
  > LAUNCHING 
  > 
  > 
  >OF 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >"WHEN THE MONKEY TALKS" by Baba Sillah 
  > 
  >(Friendship Hostel, Bakau, Friday 19th September 2003) 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >Book Launch Statement of support 
  >By 
  >Mam Biram Joof 
  > 
  > 
  >It is indeed most gratifying that the Launching ceremony we are about to witness today will be done by Her Excellency, the Vice President, Mrs. Isatou Njie Saidy, herself a former colleague of the writer at Armitage High School a good many years ago when I myself was a Graduate Master, as we were then called, and later the Vice Principal of that school. It is also gratifying to see some of the author's other colleagues at high school now occupying very distinguished and responsible leadership positions in Public Service as well as in the Private Sector. I am certain that that many more would have been present if they had known about the event. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The task assigned to me in this event is to make a statement of support in my capacity as Right Hand Launcher. In expressing my very strong and unreserved support, I would like to touch on three very pertinent and interrelated aspects of the Book being launched today. They are: 
  > 
  >· the Launch event and the Book itself, 
  > 
  >· the driving force behind the production of this Book i.e. the man himself, and 
  > 
  >· the powerful messages the Book conveys: their importance, significance and implications. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >1.0 The Launch event and the Book 
  > 
  >Today marks a significant milestone in The Gambia's literary history. Today, we have come to launch and celebrate an important accomplishment of a distinguished son of the soil, distinguished by a vision embodied in this work that we are all gathered here to see launched, distinguished by the messages the author so powerfully, eloquently and effectively transmits in the pages of his Book. The Book, "WHEN THE MONKEY TALKS", is at the same time authentically historical. The author makes a brilliant job at using the medium of the novel to get back into history. In doing so, he transmits very powerful messages in innovative, imaginative and creative ways. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >Ø The characters and names may be fictional but we can all discern the rich tapestry of history based on events that have actually taken place that have shaped the social, political and economic outlook of Kataminaland. Kataminaland can be any one of the countries in West Africa once under the firm grips of colonial rule. However, the particular geographical jurisdiction it more aptly applies cannot be mistaken. Many of us here in this gathering have lived long enough to easily recognize among others: 
  > 
  >- the Alaagi Birams (the local representatives of the once 
  > 
  > ubiquitous United African Company), 
  > 
  >- the likes of Brian A. Finn (the Colonial Secretary), 
  > 
  >- the Paates and Disires (Samba's parents), 
  > 
  >- the farabaas in the local community, 
  > 
  >- the Goorgi Mafaatim Njaays (the wise old men in our towns and villages), 
  > 
  >- the Imam Faafas (the religious and spiritual leaders), 
  > 
  >- the Sir Percys and Lady Wintertons (the Governors and their spouses who I many ways were virtually despotic rulers lording it over the local inhabitants), 
  > 
  >- the Jali Kawsus (the famous griots), 
  > 
  >- the Tambaas (local Government House Workers) 
  > 
  >- the uncle Dembas, and 
  > 
  >- the likes of Reverend and Mary Seacole. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The fortunes of virtually all communities have been shaped by the dynamics of interactions and the unequal power relations between the characters living in those communities. So it was in Kataminaland. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > The Book gives us invaluable insights into colonial thinking and actions as well as the motivations of the actions of colonial officers. These were essentially exploitative, divisionist intentions designed to meet European needs, and the imperatives of being on their part (i.e the colonialists) to always be on guard concerning the desires of missionaries to "educating the uneducable." Such utterances, such as sometimes strongly expressed in scepticisms about the merits of educating the natives, often betrayed racist prejudices. Notice the strongly racist, contemptuous and stereotypical tinge in the conversation of Sir Percy Winterton (The first Governor of the colonial territory of Kataminaland). Listen to what he says in his conversion with Sarah Weblen (Wife of the Police Commissioner and Lady in Waiting): 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >" You see Sarah, one has to get into the minds of these natives to see what makes them tick. This is a land where men are children. He would appear rather a degeneracy of a man with his rudimental mind. He is not of the ring of the true metal; there is no rich nature for education to cultivate. He seems to belong to one of those childish races never rising to man's estates, which fall like worn-out limbs from the great chain of animate nature. What we have here is a total lack of gratitude, love and self-denial. There is nothing but ingratitude, covetousness, selfishness and cruelty. Above all they are vain and have hedonistic tendencies. They will therefore find any excuse to sing and dance and indulge to drinking and a myriad of other orgies." 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >But there were also fears about educating the natives for it was, in the views of some colonial officials, "giving them the weapons to destroy you". There is also discerned the bullying and intimidation that were important hallmarks in colonial times. One can also clearly see the crucial role played by the so-called trading Companies like the UAC in covertly furthering colonial interests or even the missionaries about whom colonial officers sometimes seemingly felt uncomfortable considering them as "riding on our backs in order to accomplish their covert agenda". 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The author's gift of poetry is evidenced in a good many sections of his book where this is demonstrated. I understand that provision is made in the Launch Programme for renditions of samples of this. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >"WHEN THE MONKEY TALKS" is full of humour. Baaba Sillah has the skills to express a serious and even delicate point and has the ability to do so in a manner that becomes virtually innocuous and less threatening that has the effect of disarming the reactionary and easily defensive. I will give a few examples: 
  > 
  >· "You do not tell a mad man that his father is missing. He will run to the bush hoping to find him" 
  > 
  >· There is the story of the man who was so frightened by a lion that was chasing him that he could not recognize his wife for days. 
  > 
  >· Recounting what he was taught as a police officer regarding discipline he had acquired and in an apparent attempt to demonstrate loyalty and to impress a Senior Colonial officer, the Senior Commissioner in Charge of Customs and Excise, when he was sent on an errand, Buraama Naabali, the local Superintendent of Police responded: 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >" Yes Sir, you know the meaning 'police'? P is for polite, O is for obedience, L is for loyalty to te Crown, I na for make we use we intelligence, C na for be caring to hall them pipple and E we for come early to work. Na this the new master teach we!" 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >This masterpiece, this Book, demonstrates the skills with which this literary artist uses vocabulary and language as well as the power of imagery in which he effectively captures and achieves a rich blend of the sights, sounds and colours of the African environment. I here provide only one of many examples (p. 36) found in the Book. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >"The day was breaking. Poised at the crest of dawn, there was a silent thunder on the land. The forest was awakening. The sounds of the night animals were fading, gently beckoning to the sounds and smells of a new day. The call of the bird that sings 'men to the farm, women to the rice fields' along with the menacing chatter of the weaverbirds clashed like a discordant melody. The occasional bray of the donkey, the lurking egret waiting to accompany the lowing cattle, the sound of pestle and mortar, the smells of the overnight dew on the leaves of the aromatic herbs, the mornings coolness, the trickle of the thin crust of water on the brown earth and the magic of the rising sun, together compose the symphony of the change from darkness to light. This was certainly a glorious day in the making". 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The reader will marvel at the effective manner in which, through the medium of a novel, the various social, political, cultural, traditional, economic and other strands are woven and integrated to become transformed into a totally coherent configuration. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >This Book being launched today has, I would want to agree with the author, a broad African audience, for, in my view, the time it spans and the variety of issues it deals with, all have important implications for now and for the future for every one, irrespective of age, gender, socio-economic condition, political affiliation, religious persuasion and ideological orientation. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >For those wishing to enhance their proficiency in the English Language, reading "WHEN THE MONKEY TALKS" is a must. The Book will serve as a very rich resource for students grappling with the mastery of the English Language. The author has the ability to make the reader actually see and feel what is narrated. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >2.0 The force behind this literary work 
  > 
  >This Book amply demonstrates the qualities and disposition of a man worth emulating, Mr. Baaba Sillah. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >Here is a man who has refused to succumb to the death trap of despondency that may result from the potential paralysis of disability. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The Author's accomplishments serve as potent inspiration to all Gambians, indeed to all persons the world over, who are desirous of summoning up courage and invoking determination to say "NO" to disability, a man who, in his dictionary, the word "no" does not exist. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >Baaba Sillah demonstrates that yes, "eyes" are very useful assets for humans to have. But he does also most eloquently demonstrate that having eyes is not a necessary or essential condition to have a vision. It is this vision that Baaba Sillah is so powerfully endowed with that makes him so imaginative, resourceful and creative to have triumphed over impaired vision that he admits has resulted in, and understandably, the loss of some of his occupational flexibility. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >There can also be discerned in Baaba Sillah a rare combination of many endowments rarely seen embodied in one person at one and the same time that make him a man of many parts, among them: a psychologist, a sociologist and social critic, a historian, a poet and one steeped in cultural and traditional affairs. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >3.0 The messages: their significance and implications 
  > 
  >There have been men and women in our various communities who were very perceptive in their appreciation and recognition of the negative consequences of colonial policies and directives as not being in the interest of the African. Sadly, many such people have not been recognized let alone listened to seriously. They made their views known on a variety of issues such as: 
  > 
  >· the devastating effects of colonialism, 
  > 
  >· the cumulative effects of bad governance and disempowerment, 
  > 
  >· what the disappearance of solidarity can and has indeed done to the common welfare of man that has once been an important hallmark and strength of the African, and 
  > 
  >· the introduction of the cash crop economy and a mono-culture that was perceived as "a divisive set up to make us produce more and more of what we do not need and still pay taxes for it". 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The price that we have had to pay for all this has been disastrously enormous with continuing adverse rippling effects. By taking us back into history, the author underscores the importance of learning from the experiences of the past with a view to empowering us to move confidently and resolutely forward. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >One of important lessons the narrator in the Book is of the view we all ought to learn is that: 
  > 
  >" We are all temporary custodians of the earth and as a matter of course should revere and cherish the gifts He (God) has bestowed upon us." 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >There are also lessons to be learned and to be remembered from the "preoccupation of the crows" with a view to taking with us "what we need to move forward along the search for human advance, and to leave behind the bones, the skulls and the skeletons of despair, discord and apathy. Let the past by all means inform the present though", says the narrator, "there is virtue in remembering to forget past glories if they stand in the way of growth and progress. These memories ought to die! Tomorrow's harvest is sown today. The mission is to sow the seeds that will flower and from these flowers shall we reap the blessed crop." 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The power and implications of these statements have many important ramifications that are both important and rewarding to explore. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >I taking us back into history, we are compelled to raise a number of issues and questions relating to colonial policies, among them: 
  > 
  >· was the system of indirect rule involving "the use of local rulership" a devise for "setting the hyena to catch the hyena"? 
  > 
  >· was the establishment of Paramount Chieftaincy and Native Authority to serve the role, primarily, as the watchdog and to function as the extended arm of the colonial administration? 
  > 
  >· to what extent was the establishment of a mission station an exercise in colonialism? 
  > 
  >· could it be that the priority to educate the sons of the traditional rulers and elite as an effort to establish bonds with the native rulers and the cadres formed in consonance with imperial interests that would in effect make them loyal to the Colonial Administration and ensure that they serve to safeguard those interests? 
  > 
  >· the ingenious ways that the colonial system transformed the colonial masters' wants into the African's needs. 
  > 
  >· Does the assertion that "the watch dog is to modernize Colonialism through trade . that is why the UAC is here, there and every where in Africa" within the framework of the dual mandate merit a re-examination and re-evaluation of the promotion of trade by the imperial power in the colonial era? 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >These and indeed many others constitute very intriguing questions and issues for the student of modern history. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The author also underscores the point that we have, each one of us in our own ways, a responsibility towards contributing to the advancement of our communities, societies, countries and indeed the entire African continent, and that we must, all of us, courageously rise up to this important challenge. By being empowered, the narrator urges, it is indeed possible that we take an important and positive part in the making of history and in the shaping of our destiny. The African can and indeed does have possibilities to contribute to enhancing important qualitative changes in Africa's condition, rather than merely lament over the African's predicament. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >The author has demonstrated the need to benefit from modernizing forces and opportunities but that in doing so, we must never be far from our cultural heritage and roots where we must be firmly anchored. The author demonstrates this in various ways e.g.: 
  > 
  >Ø He makes reference to and use of African maxims to drive home his message, 
  > 
  >Ø While cognizant of the fact that we can refer to the past, we must, however, the narrator counsels, refuse to be ensnared and entrapped by the straitjacket of the past, and that we must draw lessons from or be inspired by our cultural heritage and traditions to move confidently forward. 
  > 
  >Ø We must refuse to be swept off our feet by the trappings of Western culture and by the acquisition of western values and thought patterns that have the tendency of removing us far away from our cultural base and result in total cultural disorientation. I do believe that this is the point underscored by that famous Indian sage, Mahatma Gandhi, when he said: 
  > 
  >"I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any." 
  > 
  >Ø The book also attempts to explode the myth popularly held in some circles that the African merely watched while history was being made or written for him. His capacity to have influenced the course of events might have been limited in many ways and by many other restraining factors. He was, however, certainly not a passive and helpless onlooker in the unfolding of events that were to determine Africa's future. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >I very strongly urge every one present here at this launch ceremony and indeed all Gambians to support Baaba genuinely and generously by buying the Book, reading it and deriving inspiration from it. There will be a serious gap in our education and enlightenment if we fail to take this opportunity to add this masterpiece to your jealously guarded treasures. It is for these reasons that the author (pp. 7-8) has dedicated the Book to, among others: 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >" .all the lustrous children of Africa and the African Diaspora.to all the children of the world who die needlessly every year from curable diseases, from malnutrition and the effects of pollution, to those children that live lives of want and to those that hunger for love and are bereft of their birth-rights daily owing to the recklessness, misgovernance and the greed of the corporate world, .to those children who, today, look towards foreign coasts for their inspiration. May you live to strive for those unborn to become. You are the mothers of pearls and the flowers of noor. May you seek knowledge and inspiration in your own birthright, may you grow up in pride in your own heritage, in the history and culture of your forbears." (and also dedicated) " .to all the blind and disabled persons, whose plight is all to often forgotten or cast into oblivion." 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  >I thank you for listening. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
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