Dankawali

Abstract

This chapter highlights the author's interest in how Kuranko social consciousness permeated the natural environment so that the lifeworlds of djinn and certain totemic animals mirrored the human world in many ways. It details how the author received kola, which was the tree of life in the Garden of Eden and given to a stranger to incorporate them into the community and signify a desire for their wellbeing. It also explains how the principle of reciprocity governs relations between chiefs and djinn, informing relations between the living and the dead, rulers and commoners, and parents and children. The chapter mentions Nonkowa Kargbo, who recounted a story of the ominous effects of President Siaka Steven's shadow state in Sierra Leone. Nonkowa implied that people in positions of authority do not always exercise authority wisely or well, and underlings are sometimes driven to redress situations of inequity or injustice by underhand means.