By Alagie Saidy-Barrow
I am not sure if it still has the pomp and pageantry of the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the annual July 4th celebrations used to be an event that a lot of us could not miss for anything. Gambians all over the United States will converge on Atlanta and party all weekend, play sports, lie about their achievements, brag about their degrees, gossip about other’s personal lives, lie about the compounds they built, plot against one another, have fun, celebrate, build solid relationships, do good, act important and wait for you to greet them first. It was also an event where many would meet their wives or husbands.
I know of Gambians living in Europe who will time their US visit to the July 4th celebrations. You know if you live in Europe, once you get your residence papers, the first destination is often Gambia, and the next visit has to be the USA! We all harboured dreams of that first visit to Gambia after we got our papers. I remember my buddy Lang Kachang practicing how he would walk when he visits Su! How he would tell off Kumuna Balajo, who jilted him for one Mukhtar Kassama when he lived in Saaba. Bandibunkas and grudge! Offend one and they will stay mad at you for the rest of their lives. Ask me!!
As much as Gambians living in Europe used to love griping and swiping against the USA, they retained a certain admiration for the mighty USA, especially those Gambians who called the so-called Great Britain home! They would call everyone they know when they visit the USA, and you can hear them “ Billai boy, mangi New York man… wow, mangfi tayyi beh si kannam… innit! And if they’re of the Dembo Badibu persuasion, you hear them say Boy, ebbeh munto leh? Before the person on the other end of the phone responds, they will be like … ah Nyinang nteh mangta Su… nfelleh nna boyo Ba Kitabu ya Hoyaho (they mean Ohio). In those days, it was a thing of pride to visit the USA from Europe! And they timed it to July 4th.
The highlight of July 4th was not the park or any of the dance parties, or the football matches. It was the Gambian stroll around the football park. Yes, the highlight was the walk I call the Giss-lenmma Walk or Alling-Njubay Walk. This walk around the park was very important and almost sacred! People took a whole year to plan their walks. The ladies go shopping for the shoes to match the outfit they have on layaway! Some will work two shifts right before July 4th so that they can put together enough money for outfits. They will make sure that the hair is on point and that their Checkess cannot be imitated! They know that fellows like Mpdou Njai will be watching, and boy, do they put on a show! You see, nowadays ladies post nice pictures of themselves on WhatsApp status or Facebook, or Instagram. We fellows post pictures of conferences we attend or announce places we visit because we want the females to not only see that we dress well, but we want them to know that we are also very important and can take care of a wife. Call it chauvinism or patriarchy. It’s a free world after all.
During the walk around the park on July 4th, the ladies sometimes come in gangs, but because they don’t want their individual shines stolen, they only do their Gisslengma or Alling Njubay rounds in three or fewer! That is to maximise exposure and increase one’s chances of being hollered at. You will hear them: Jangha yow nyata yone nga dem round? Man behnna yon rek, Olly would respond…. Gissulor ken? Oumie would ask ( that’s coded language for ken chaysoot la).
Then you will hear one go: Man day mangi rombah nyom Momodou Yaya Jallow fallay… joh nakkor suma number bi…her July 4th mission is accomplished! Next is to call the marabout, Baba Jallow, so Momodou will marry her.
And then the fellows! No creation is as dramatic as a man trying to get the attention of a woman! We scream and yell and make a fool of ourselves just so she would notice us. Especially these Badibunka men! Phew! If other men are also vying for the same woman, eternal enmity is born… I have seen Baba Illiasa and Baba Njaba Kunda, both Badibunkas, just start a fight to be noticed. I used to see guys rent very expensive cars, and throughout the event, they always made sure they parked where the car could be seen. They want to be noticed. They will have the doors open, playing loud rap music. They will have their crew with them, and they speak our local languages with an exaggerated accent punctuated with billai man numbsaying….Those who lived in the Bronx copied patois because their aspirations stopped at admiring the Jamaicans. They will tell you they have not heard the word Malloh in years! They’re quick to ask you how long you’ve been in the USA, and they always make sure to let you know they’ve lived in the USA longer than you. That adds to their credibility! And they will quickly point out that they have visited Gambia or will visit soon to show you that they have their papers, as if getting papers in the US is something to brag about!
And then you have those guys who have no game and no style, but they have degrees. When the see that lady in her heels, walking with her friends doing their inimitable checkess and giggling for no damn reason, the degree holder will go into English mode to get noticed too and they go: The cacophonous imbroglio that ensues as a consequence of having a football match where the supreme authority or rather the arbiter is seen to … bla bla bla… the ladies walk on as if they cannot hear them. Those are the types that go around badmouthing guys with style! No one is serious to them unless they have a degree!
Guys will line the football in their best matching outfits, checking out every lady doing the Alling Nfelleh walk! Most of us are scared of rejection, and so even if they liked a lady doing her walk, they will not dare talk to her lest she ignore or embarrass them. So some guys will also do their own walk and will do everything to find that lady they are afraid of talking to. If the lady gives them that eye and smile (you know the one that translates to “yes, you can talk to me”), the guy will conjure up some conversation igniter. If he has no game like Njundu, he would go “Ya Meera emang boh Su?” Meaning, don’t you think you are from Su? Su can mean Gambia if you are outside Gambia, but if you are in The Gambia, Su means the Badside. Oftentimes, that first sentence is make or break for the guy! The lady is turned off immediately because, seriously, who wants a Badibunka for a boyfriend??? She would say, “Oh, I thought you were Omar Touray, sorry.” And she walks off! The guy is left fuming, and in those days, we harboured ill feelings towards a lady you approached, and she turns you down. Njundu tells me he is still not on speaking terms with many ladies because he “Kased” them and they refused!
Then you have the football players! Aware that the cheppehs are watching, they will go on a showboating solo performance, and if a defender touches them, they will scream and roll around as if someone stabbed them with a knife! They will end up leaving the field and have some exaggerated limp. Then they will start their Gisslengma stroll with a visible limp. Usually, they will have two of their boys who cannot get a shine of their own take a stroll with them!
Then you have the other guys who bring beer to the park and start drinking it in the open. Every word is punctuated with mein or nigga and they’re always trying to be disruptive! The cheppehs stay away from these kinds and will go: Kumba, nying dolominto kay etelleh kumamdi… Kumba will be like, nko, enya kassi. July 4th is not a success if the only ones who showed interest in a cheppeh are from this group!
The degree holder with no game does make the Gisslenma walk. They know that they have no style, and so they just shout when they talk, spitting on anyone close to them. Stay away from them, especially in this day of viruses!!
July 4th in Atlanta was “often imitated but could never be duplicated.” Folks from other states would come to Atlanta and act all cool. DC guys were quick to tell you they are cool with Pa Samba Jow. New York fellas would tell you they don’t live in the Bronx. Seattle people were quick to tell you that they don’t hang with Badibunkas. Ohio folks jump at any opportunity to tell you they don’t work in a warehouse. And Mississippi fellas would tell you they are only there for education. Ndeysan, time come, time pass!
