Baba Galleh Jallow
Pa Fafanding Touray was the younger brother of Pa Burama Touray, one of the most prominent butchers in Chaku Bantang. A fairly tall and hefty man with a loud laugh and a jovial face, Pa Burama Touray had a slight stammer when he spoke. His personality exuded authority and confidence and like Pa Fafanding and Pa Demba Ceesay, he too rode a bike to the market.
Thinking of Pa Burama Touray reminds me of another wealthy butcher in Chaku Bantang. His name was Malick, and people called him Malick Buseh. A short, slightly built man with a very fast walk and clear voice, Pa Malcik Buseh had a very businesslike attitude and could be seen hurrying to and from the market. Pa Burama Touray and Pa Malick Buseh bought cows and had them slaughtered and skinned at the butchery just behind our compound in Farafenni Wharf Town, about two hundred meters from the market. The men then carried large portions of the cow meat to the market on their shoulders, where it was hung on large hooks and sold. Pa Burama Touray and Pa Malick Buseh did not sell the meat themselves. That was done by their much younger workers. May Allah bless their souls in eternity. Later, the butchery was relocated to the southwestern outskirts of Chaku Bantang.
Some of the young men who worked for Pa Burama Touray and Pa Malick Buseh were very popular in Farafenni. I remember men like Gra Juldeh and Gra Aliou Camara. Gra Juldeh and Gra Aliou were very friendly and jovial characters, always sharing jokes and displaying great enthusiasm as they served their customers. Gra Aliou, who passed away several years ago, had a very gentle, almost saintly personality. Always kind, always smiling and very humble and softspoken. May Allah bless his soul in eternity.
There were also men like Bai Taal, commonly known as Boy Narr, a very friendly but very tough guy from Senegal. Boy Narr was a short, fair-skinned, well-built fellow who had a reputation for engaging in fights. But he was also very friendly. Boy Narr had a particular swagger to his character and was known to be a daredevil. His younger brother or cousin, Bai Tarr, also sold meat at the market. I would often walk over to the meat-selling section and say rajjaa, and they would respond rajjaa and often add, bee du rajja deh. The term rajja referred to very old cows whose meat was hard to cook. In the end, we all called each other by the nickname rajja wherever we met! They were all a bunch of very jovial characters!
A regular visitor to the meat-selling section of Farafenni market was Batch Cham, the Health Inspector. In those days when the butchers brought the meat to the market and hung it on the large hooks, they did not start selling right away. They waited for the health inspector to come examine the meat and certify that it was fit for human consumption. Most of the time, Batch Cham would see no problem with the meat and the butchers would proceed to start selling. Once in a while, when he determined the meat to be unfit for human consumption, he would have it removed and carted away in wheelbarrows by the market cleaners for burial on the southern outskirts of Chaku Bantang. This was a rare occurrence, but it did happen once in a while. Batch Cham later resigned from his position as health inspector to contest the Sabach Sanjal constituency elections against former vice president Saihou Sabally. At some point, Batch Cham was a teacher at the Farafenni Junior Secondary School. Batch Cham later worked as administrator first at the MRC campus in the eastern outskirts of the town and later as administrator at the main hospital on the Farafenni-Kerewan highway. Batch Cham was the elder brother of Mamat Cham, alias Seaman, a short, very friendly gentleman who worked at the NTC store in Farafenni. Unfortunately, Seaman passed away at a young age. May Allah bless his soul in eternity.
I knew other elders called Malick in Chaku Bantang. One of them was Pa Malick Gaye, alias Malick Fogajai, father of Lamin Gaye and Babou Gaye. His compound was adjacent the back of our compound. Pa Malick Fogajai’s used clothing stall was right below my father’s stall, on the ground level of the market. Pa Malick Fogajai spoke in a loud voice and always walked very fast. He liked to carry his radio with him along the street and listened to the news when he was going to or from the market. May Allah bless his soul in eternity.
The other Malick I knew was known by many nicknames. One of his popular nicknames was Dokdach. He was a carpenter by profession and often carried small pieces of furniture for sale around the market. He was also some kind of an agent for people who wanted to sell some of their belongings, like mats, radios, watches, clothes, bedsheets, shoes, eye glasses or hats. People who needed cash often gave their belongings to Dokdach for sale. He could be seen walking around holding these items and trying to sell them. Dokdach was a very jovial and very popular character in Chaku Bantang who could be heard sharing jokes and laughing out loud as he walked around the market. He was still alive two years ago when I enquired about him.
God willing, in the next section, we will revisit other elders who worked or had stalls or shops at Farafenni market in those days: elders like Pa Ansumana the war veteran, Pa Siaka, the other Pa Kebba Sowe, alias Albela, Pa Cheikh Ndiaye, alias Cheikh Cigarette, Pa Pierre Chopet and Baye Ganarr the popular restaurant owner! May Allah bless their souls in eternity!
