UNDER THE TREE CALLED GBENDEH
MATURE REFLECTIONS ON THE LIFE OF A MISSIONARY CHILD IN COLONIAL SIERRA LEONE WEST AFRICA
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
After his evening meal, my father retired to the bedroom to read and write for a while before going to sleep. He was sitting in a chair with his back to his cot while writing at a small table. A candle lantern hung on the wall behind him above the bed. Presently dad noticed a dark shadow moving back and forth across his paper. The shadow seemed to follow his hand across the page he was writing on. At first he thought it might be a moth flitting about behind him. When he finally decided to look for the source of the shadow he was shocked to discover a large cobra calmly coiled on his bed with its upper body and head raised. The snake’s head was gently swaying back and forth while its bright eyes followed my dad’s every move.
My father did an instant forward dive over the table, landing some distance away from the snake. With the help of one of his native servants the snake was soon killed and removed from the room. According to my dad, at no time did the snake appear agitated or threatening. It had probably entered the hut looking for mice or rats. Perhaps it had been crawling about in the roof thatch before landing noiselessly on my father’s bed.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Under The Tree Called Gbendeh, is the chronicle of a young boy growing up in Sierra Leone West Africa, in the early third of the twentieth century, a time when much of West Africa was still under British Colonial Rule. It graphically portrays what the life of a white missionary child was like, living deep in the 1930’s bush of Sierra Leone. The author has skillfully woven together the conditions found in the present country and the conditions that existed over sixty years ago in a far different time. He writes of his love for his adopted land and whimsically recalls interesting episodes that took place while he lived in Sierra Leone. He paints a canvass not normally viewed by a white man. Under The Tree Called Gbendeh treats the natives of that day in all of their facets, especially the Loko tribe, a time when Britannia ruled. The history, customs, traditions, disease, witchcraft, fauna, flora, geography, resources, government, religion and the Loco people themselves are interwoven into a fascinating mosaic of a land founded as a haven for repatriated slaves that was for so long known as the “White Man’s Grave.” Sierra Leone is a small country where extremes are the norm, in climate, humidity, volatility, poverty, hunger and disease. It is a land of superstition, danger, envy, greed riches, beauty and graciousness, a culture steeped in the mists of time. Under The Tree Called Gbendeh, will intrigue and enlighten the reader. You will come away with a different appreciation of the good and the bad, the joy and pathos, the beauty and ugliness of this former West African Colony and Protectorate.
About the Author
Mr. Carter is a retired chemistry and physics teacher. He has always had a love for the land of his birth. His passion has led him to the writing and publication of this book about his life and observations of Carter is the author of two previous books Science For The Dental Technician and Potawatomi Area Council BSA, Historic Trail Guide. Mr. Carter presently resides in the state of