NYU Black Renaissance Noire Winter/Spring 2012 | Page 9
Marubini was with two of her friends,
Chido and Danai. They were all
carrying big balls of brown clay. They
must be from the quarry; somebody
was going to make pots. Their legs,
arms and tanned kudu hide skirts were
smudged with mud. Despite this
Marubini looked as beautiful and as
graceful as a dancer at a harvest festival.
Her smooth ebony skin highlighted
the whiteness of her teeth and of her
sclera. Her head was shaved on all sides
except on its crown where long hair
grew in strands that were locked in red
ochre. Her limbs were long and sinewy
like those of hunters who ran long
distances, chasing game.
On one such occasion he sat on a stool
under the shade of his thatched
veranda, shaving off his beard while
smiling at the mirror. The white foam
of the mixture of wood-ash boiled in
lard (which he also used for bathing
himself ) made him look like an elder
as he scraped the hair off his chin with
an old iron knife. Occasio