English for Life Grade 8 Learner’s Book for Home Language

Chief Sekoto holds court

did not like chiefs had to concede that Paramount Chief Sekoto was a very charming man. His charm lay not so much in

Being a teenager
Term 1: Week 1 and 2
Introduction
The theme of this cycle includes to not knowing who you are, what you want or where you are going. The last five years of your school career can be very rich with experience, or you can allow that time to pass in uncertainty and unhappiness. We use this theme to work on your English skills.
You will start by looking at the parts of a book. This is something you can use in all your subjects. Then you will read a short story using the reading process, answer questions in discussion and writing, and look at adverbs. There is also a listening text for you, a passage for comprehension, and practise at writing sentences in preparation for the last activity: writing a reflective essay.
Navigating the parts of a book
It is always helpful to know how to find your way in a book. We start the year by showing you how to do this. Below are the first few pages of the book from which the short story you will read is taken. The first page is the title page, which gives the title, the compiler and the publishers. The second page is the imprint page which gives more information, including who the publisher and printer are and the ISBN number, the International Standard Book Number, which all books must have. The third page is the Contents page which gives a list of what stories one will find in the book and the page numbers on which they appear. The fourth page gives the first story. The numbering starts on this page.
Winners
A collection of short stories
Compiled by
Graham Edwards
MOLLIGORE PUBLISHERS
PO BOX 36433 Menlo Park 0102
First published by Drostdy 1993
New edition by Molligore Publishers 1996
All rights strictly reserved
Printed by Paarl Print, Oosterland Street
Paarl, South Africa
ISBN 0 620 17605 9
CONTENTS
Introduction
The Winner – Barbara Kimenye …………….. 1
………………………………………………………
Chief Sekoto holds court – Bessie Head …… 47
………………………………………………………
Glossary………………………………………. 215
The Winner
Barbara Kimenye
When Pius Ndawula won the football pools, overnight he seemed to become the most popular man in Buganda. Hosts of relatives …
1
Other books may have more parts, such as chapters, an index for easy referencing, or an appendix, which is a part that has been added at the end. You might also find footnotes or endnotes in a book, which tell the reader something about an item in the book.
Activity 1.1 Looking at parts of a book (pair)
1.With a partner, take two different school textbooks and each make a list of the different parts that you find.
2.Now share your book and your list with your partner. Check whether your partner’s list includes every part in the book.
3.Now compare the two lists. Are they the same? What is different? Can you give a reason for any difference you find?
4.Where would you look, if you were asked to turn to a certain chapter, to find out where the chapter is?
5.If you were told to look at a certain topic, which section of the book would you look in to find it?
6.Your teacher will look at what some of you have done and give general feedback.
The reading process
Do you remember the reading process? Here it is to remind you:
Pre-reading: you skim the text to find out what it is about; you might find out something about the author before you read. This step activates the things you already know and makes it easier for you to understand what you will read. Your mind gets to expect certain information and if it is right, this information is confirmed and expanded on. If it is wrong, your mind works to correct it and change your expectation as you read.
During reading: Your ideas about what you predicted you would read are either confirmed or rejected. You look for details in the text.
Post-reading: This part of the process checks your understanding of the text. You are usually asked to discuss something or to answer questions.
You should use this process with everything you read, in all your learning areas.
Here are key features of a short story:
Characters: the people or animals that the stories are about
Characerisation: how the characters are described through what they look like, do, say and what others say about them
Plot: the arranging of the events of the story, showing cause and effect, why things happen
Conflict: a struggle or some kind between characters, ideas, forces, feelings (even in one person)
Background: what happened before the story began
Setting: where the story takes place
Narrator: the person telling the story; can be a character or the writer
Theme: the main idea of message
Activity 1.2 Reading a short story (individual and pair)
1.Your teacher will tell you something about the author, as pre-reading activitiy.
2.After you have listened, scan the story to get an idea of what it is about. Use the heading, the picture and any words that strike you while you scan. Write down a sentence giving your prediction.
Chief Sekoto holds court

Chief Sekoto holding court
Even those who did not like chiefs had to concede that Paramount Chief Sekoto was a very charming man. His charm lay not so much in his outer appearance as in his very cheerful outlook on life. In fact, so fond was he of the sunny side of life that he was inclined to regard any gloomy, pessimistic person as insane and make every effort to avoid his company. It was his belief that a witty answer turneth away wrath and that the oil of reason should always be poured on troubled waters.
Every weekday morning, Chief Sekoto listened to cases brought before his court, while the afternoons were spent at leisure unless there were people who had made appointments to interview him. This particular Monday morning a lively and rowdy case was in session when, out of the corner of his eye, Chief Sekoto saw his brother Matenge drive up and park his car opposite the open clearing where court was held. Nothing upset Chief Sekoto more than a visit from his brother, whom he had long classified as belonging to the insane part of mankind. He determined to dally over the proceedings for as long as possible in the hope that his brother would become bored and leave. Therefore he turned his full attention on the case at hand.
The case had been brought in from one of the outlying villages, called Bodibeng, and the cause of this rowdiness was the whole village of Bodibeng had turned up to witness the trial. A certain old woman of the village, named Mma-Baloi, was charged with allegedly practising witchcraft, and so certain were the villagers of her guilt that they frequently forgot themselves and burst out into loud chatter and had to be brought to order by the president of the court with threats of fines.
Evidence was that Mma-Baloi had always lived a secret and mysterious life apart from the other villagers. She was also in the habit of receiving strangers from far-off places into her home who would not state what dealings they had with Mma-Baloi. Now, over a certain period, a number of the children of the village had died sudden deaths, and each time a mother stood up to describe these sudden deaths, the crowd roared in fury because the deaths of the children and the evil practices of Mma-Baloi were one and the same thing in their minds. The accused, Mma-Baloi, sat a little apart from the villagers in a quaking, ashen, crumpled heap and each time the villagers roared, she seemed about to sink into the earth. Noting this, Chief Sekoto’s kindly heart was struck with pity.
Further evidence was that about a week ago a strange young woman had turned up in the village of Bodibeng and made straight for the hut of Mma-Baloi, where she had died a sudden death. This had made Mma-Baloi run screaming from her hut, and it was only the intervention of the police that had saved Mma-Baloi from being torn to pieces by the villagers.
Chief Sekoto was silent for some time. The insanity of mankind never ceased to amaze him. At last he turned to the accused and said gently, ‘Well, mother, what do you have to say in defence of yourself?’
‘Sir, I am no witch,’ said the quavering old voice. ‘Even though I am called the mother of the witches, I am not a witch. Long ago I was taught by the people who live in the bush how to cure ailments with herbs and that is my business.’
She pointed a shaking finger at a bag placed near her.
‘I would like to see the contents of the bag,’ Chief Sekoto said with a great show of interest. The bag was brought to him and its contents tipped out on the ground. They were a various assortment of dried leaves, roots and berries. He examined them leisurely, picking up a few items for closer inspection. This very deliberate gesture was meant to puncture a hole in the confidence of the crowd, who annoyed him. While he fiddled about he was aware of how silent and intent they had become, following his every movement with their eyes. Thus holding the stage, he turned to the old woman and said:
‘Proceed with your defence, mother.’
‘About the deaths of the children of which I am accused, I know nothing, Sir,’ she said. ‘About the young woman who died in my home last Saturday, I am also innocent. This young woman came to me on recommendation, being grievously ill. We were discussing the ailment when she fell dead at my feet. Never has such a thing occurred before, and this caused me to lose my mind and run out of the house.’
‘That is quite understandable, mother,’ Chief Sekoto said sympathetically. ‘Even I should have been grieved if some stranger was struck with death in my home.’
He swept the crowd with a stern glance. ‘Who issues the certificates of death in Bodibeng?’ he asked.
There was a short, bewildered silence. Then a car and a messenger had to be found to fetch the doctor of the Bodibeng hospital. There was a delay of two hours as the doctor was engaged in an operation. Throughout this long wait the court remained in session. At one stage Chief Sekoto received an impatient note: ‘Dear Brother,’ it said. ‘Please spare a few moments to discuss an urgent matter.’
Chief Sekoto replied: ‘Is it life or death? I am at the moment faced with the life or death of an old woman. I cannot move.’
It was near noon when the doctor arrived. His evidence was brief and to the point. Yes, it was true, he said. There had been a surprising number of child deaths in the village of Bodibeng, and death in each case had been due to pneumonia; and yes, he said, he had performed a post-mortem on the body of a young woman last Saturday afternoon. The young woman had died of a septic womb due to having procured an abortion with a hooked and unsterilised instrument. He would say that the septic condition of the womb had been of three months’ duration.
All that was left now was for Chief Sekoto to pass judgement on the case. This he did sternly, drawing himself up to his full height.
‘People of Bodibeng,’ he said. ‘It seems to me you are all suffering from derangement of the brain.’
He paused long enough to allow the villagers to look at each other uneasily.
‘Your children die of pneumonia,’ he thundered, ‘and to shield yourselves from blame you accuse a poor old woman of having bewitched them into death. Not only that. You falsely accuse her of a most serious crime which carries the death sentence. How long have you planned the death of a poor old woman, deranged people of Bodibeng? How long have you caused her to live in utter misery, suspicion, and fear? I say: can dogs bark for ever? Oh no, people of Bodibeng, today you will make payment for the legs of the old mother who had fled before your barking. I say: The fault is all with you, and because of this I fine each household of Bodibeng one beast. From the money that arises out of the sale of these beasts, each household is to purchase warm clothing for the children so that they may no longer die of pneumonia.’
He turned and looked at the old woman, changing his expression to one of kindness.
‘As for you, mother,’ he said. ‘I cannot allow you to go and live once more among the people of Bodibeng. It is only hatred that the people of Bodibeng feel for you, and this has driven them out of their minds. As hatred never dies, who knows what evil they will not plot against you. I have a large house, and you are welcome to the protection it offers. Besides, I suffer from an ailment for which I am always given penicillin injections at the hospital. Now I am tired of the penicillin injections and perhaps your good herbs may serve to cure me of my troubles.’
He stood up, signifying the end of the case. The people of Bodibeng fled in confusion from the courtyard, but the old woman sat for a long time on the ground, silent tears of gratitude dripping down into her lap.
[From: Tales of Tenderness and Power, published by Heinemann International in their African Writers Series, 1990. Copyright © 1989. Taken here from Winners compiled by Graham Edwards, Molligore Publishers, 1996.]
3.How correct was your prediction? Write a sentence under it, either correcting or confirming it, for example:
My prediction was almost right but …
4.Now let’s examine some of the elements of the story. Write your answers out:
a)Write two paragraphs describing the two main characters. One paragraph should describe the chief; the other the old woman.
b)What is the conflict in the story?