BUDGET 5

Mawo and Biy-Djem

Mawo of Djem Compound is in his late forties and is a pagan. He had formerly
two wives, but one died and the other left him and went to Ndop with another man in 1940. Mawo's son is about 12 years old and lives with him. A younger daughter
stays with her mother's mother at Kikai Kilaki. Until he married again in 1946
Mawo arranged for the young girls of Djem compound to tend his kitchen-gardens, and he himself looked after his plantain groves and goats. He is not nearly so energetic a trader as his younger brother, Kibu, possibly because his commitments are less heavy.
In 1946 he married Biy, a pagan from Kiyan. She became pregnant at the end
of 1946 but had a miscarriage. She was again pregnant in September 1947, and Mawo decided to send her to the maternity clinic at Shisong. She went in January 1948, but returned to the compound on the 22nd February because the date had been miscalculated ! During the weeks when she was at the Mission, Mawo gathered firewood and took it to her. He gained his main income from the sale of goats, plantains, and fowls, and occasional retailing of kolas. He was a jovial man who belonged to two djanggis and also attended mfu and another society in Mamu area each week, where he generally managed to obtain a little wine. I recorded his budget weekly from the 6th October to the 5th March, and have estimated his expenditure and income for the preceding 7 months in 1947.

NOTES

(a) I have no record of salt bought during the 5 months, although I generally mentioned salt when inquiring about purchases on market-day. Two weeks before I began recording the budget Mawo had spent 6d. on salt. He himself remarked on several occasions that he used less than other people.
(b) Mawo paid one penny to a diviner to consult the omens about his wife, Biy, who was pregnant. The diviner advised him to have a sacrifice performed by the fai of Biy's lineage at Kiyan, and another performed by the fai of her mother's mother's lineage at Mbam (see footnote (d) below.)
(c) Mawo 'cooked' djanggi at Viya in December 1947 and collected £2. He provided wine to the value of 2s. 6d.
(d) See (b) above. Having consulted the diviner on the 2nd January, Mawo took 2 fowls (2s. 6d.) and a small goat (3s. 6d) from his own farmyard to the fai of his wife's lineage. In addition he bought palm oil (1s.) and gave it to the fai of his wife's mother's mother's lineage for a sacrifice on behalf of Biy. On the 13th January he bought a fowl (1s. 6d.) and sent it to his wife's father. On the 15th November, the 25th December and the 8th January he sent each time a calabash of wine (total cost 1s. 6d.) to the fai of Biy's lineage.
(e) On the 2nd December Mawo bought a calabash of wine (6d.) for the fai of the widow of his brother who was 'cooking' mfu.
(f) Mawo on the 11th February bought a mat to send to a kinsman for mortuary ceremonies.
(g) Mawo did not collect thatching grass because he said it gave him skin disease.
(h) Mawo bought kolas only once during the recorded period of 5 months, namely 1,000 large nuts for 20s., which he sold for 22s. I estimated that he made about 12s. profit a year retailing kolas.
(i) An estimated expenditure of 8s. for salt and oil; 1s. for meat; and 5s. on staples and condiments.
(j) Biy, as a recently married woman, had a good supply of utensils and tools and expenditure was therefore small on such items in 1947.
(k) Biy, a pagan, wore a strip of baft costing 2s. Mawo spent little on clothes as he already possessed 2 large loin cloths, a tunic and cap.
(l) Mawo belonged to the Djem djanggi which he 'cooked' for 20s. during the rains. I estimated 2s. for the cost of wine for the occasion.

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(m) It is difficult to estimate the cost of articles given to wife's kin. Mawo was very vague but emphasized that he had given salt, oil, meat and wine several times in the year.
(n) Mawo had a very large grove of plantains and usually sold one or two bunches a week. As his wife's harvest of grain and roots was good he was not dependent on plantains for food in the house.
(o) Mawo said he sold about 4 goats a year at prices ranging from 5s. to 7s.
(p) See (d) above. I have allowed a further 2s. for gifts in kind from household supplies made earlier in the year.
(q) Biy farmed 1.3 acres. In September 1947 she obtained 4.5 vegati of maize; and, in January 1948, 4 vegati of finger millet.
(r) The estimated weight of plantains was 1,430 lbs., and their value £3-12-0; but some fruit (10s.) was sold in the market.