Somewhere along the line, possibly in the 40’s from American servicemen working in places like “Smell no Taste”, some tribal Liberians heard of Santa as a magical being. A spirit going around to homes giving things to children didn’t quite make sense, but they figured out a logical category for him, and ever since, in December, the Santa Claus boys go about.
A collection of boys follow a figure completely hidden in rags, and they sing and play improvised drums and kalimba while “Santa” dances. One of the boys sings the situation (abbreviated here):
“Santa Claus was flying on a 707 from New York to Paris, but the plane broke and he fell into the ocean. A fishing boat helped him out, but it sank at Freetown. He swam to shore and took a bus to Monrovia, but the bus went off the road to miss a snake and lost a wheel at Zagbo. He waited by the road, and a generous taxi driver stopped and gave him a ride to Gbangba Town. The poor man has walked all the long way from Gbangba Town, and he needs small small money to get to Robertsfield, and small money to get a plane to go back home.”
At this point one rattles a tin can suggestively.
4 comments:
Pretty cheesy. But not that different from some European Christmases in the 1300s, right?
It fits the local categories just fine. Santa isn't as skilled a dancer as the stilt walker fellows, but they give a bit of entertainment.
But yes, airline money, wassail, six of one...
And the historical St. Nick is best known for supplying dowry money to keep girls out of the clutches of Ballio* types.
* Ballio, the pimp in Plautus' farce Pseudolus, was such an odious character that his name became a byword for loathsome individuals.
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