BUDGET 4

Kibu and Dzøøndzøiy

Kibu of Djem Compound is a man in his thirties, and has one wife, Dzøøndzøiy.
Both are ex-Christians and they have two children living with them,a daughter aged about 6 years, and a son aged about two years. A third child, a boy, lives with
Dzøøndzøiy's mother at Mbam.
Dzøøndzøiy worked 1.4 acres in 1947 without assistance, apart from the clearing
done by her husband and his help with the maize and millet harvest. She neither
traded nor visited the market. Kibu headloaded kolas to Mayo Daga about 3 times
a year, but during the period October to March he made no journeys as he was
busy cutting thatching grass and firewood, and making mud-bricks for a house he intended to build in about a year's time. He belonged to two djanggis: one at Djem and another at Kinga, a neighbouring compound. I recorded his budget weekly from 6th October 1947 to 5th March 1948. During that time he was sick for several days and did not visit the market. He occasionally sold plantains, thatching grass, kolas and honey locally.

NOTES

(a) A basket bought for the millet harvest.
(b) Kibu gave his wife 1s. to buy seed-yams at Mva as her own had been spoilt by insects.
(c) Kibu bought a Munshi loincloth to wear when working. He had cash in hand from the djanggi which he had "cooked" a week previously.
(d) Kibu cooked djanggi for 15s. on the 1st February 1948.
(e) Kibu sent a mat for the ceremonies of a relative who had just died.
(f) On the 15th November Dzøøndzøiy's mother came from Mbam for a visit. On her departure Kibu bought for her meat (9d.) and a condiment (1d.). He also gave 1d. to her companion. See also footnote (r) below. On the 18th January Dzøøndzøiy visited her mother at Mbam, and her father gave her 3d. to buy salt.
(g) During the dry season Kibu cut 49 bundles of grass. He said he would keep 5 for house repairs.
(h) During this period Kibu bought small quantities of kolas amounting to 19s. He was keeping these for a journey to Mayo Daga in April.
(i) Kibu bought honey for 3s. 9d. and sold it for 4s.
(j) Kibu bought tobacco in Memfu and sold it for 2s. 3d. I have estimated 6d. profit as I have no record of the purchase price.
(k) I have allowed 7s. for oil; 1s. 6d. for salt; 1s. for meat; and 7s. 6d. for staples and greens.
(l) Dzøøndzøiy wore only a strip of baft (2s.) as pubic covering. Kibu possessed 3 large loin cloths, a tunic and a cap.
(m) Kibu "cooked" djanggi for 40s. in the rainy season.
(n) A man with Kibu's income would normally spend about 5s. a year on gifts to wife's kin.
(o) Kibu did not have many plantain trees so sales were small.
(p)) Kibu made 3 journeys a year to Mayo Daga carrying 1,000 kola nuts each time, which he said he bought for 15s. and sold for 30s. But he incurred expenses for food and canoe transport and his estimated profits for 3 journeys were only 40s.
(q) While in Mayo Daga he bought rock salt or blankets and retailed them for about 10s. profit.
(r) Dzøøndzøiy's mother, when visiting Kimbaw, brought a hoe (1s. 6d.) for her grandchild; sugar cane (1d.); beef (6d.) for her grandson; and 2 farm bags (1s. 4d.) for her daughter.
See also footnote (f). Dzøøndzøiy on the 18th January took her mother maize flour (6d.).
(s) Dzøøndzøiy harvested 7 vegati of maize in 1947 and 6 vegati of millet.
(t) The approximate cash value of 200 lbs. plantains was 10s. and I have estimated that 50 lbs. were sold during the year.