Hundred Wells of Salaga

The novel’s setting is in the Gonja Kingdom (present-day Ghana), sometime in the nineteenth-century. This is a dazzling historical drama. It traces the intertwining lives of a Gonja- princess, Wurche and Aminah, her slave. The seamless blend of the two stories is one of my favourite things.

This is my favourite of all the book covers for this particular book

Characters:

(I guess there were other characters but I am focused on the main characters - I never do this column but I liked the characters)

Amina's father went missing, half of her family burnt to death along with her village. She lost her first sibling to slave raiders, and was taken with her little brother shortly after.

Amina watched her very weak and dehydrated little brother peel off her body almost lifeless, as they marched as slaves to be auctioned.

His body was placed on a rock, surrounded by vultures (or were they crows now?), who awaited his final breath to have their feast.

Amina was bought by Wurche's lover, and by fate ended up Wurche's slave.

Wurche fought her own wars for freedom, independence, against her forced marriage, wars, slave trade and rape. She run away from an abusive marriage, to a Dagomba Prince, Prince-Adnan, and did the most darning thing the village had ever seen;

A relationship with a white man which bore evidence to her adultery.

(PS: A young man named Adnan submitted a review below, Is he a descendant?)

The Setting

My Best friend from a long time ago is called Wurche. She is not from Salaga, but Damongo. She tells me it means Queen. I recall that her father was a chief. I visited Damongo and then

Salaga with Wurche and a sect of my classmates at the time.

That aside, the story reminds me of my visit to Salaga. It was not a long trip, but I got to see the slave market. The natives pointed to the market soon as they realised you were not familiar with the area.

Google Images again ... :)

Just in case you are curious, Salaga has these wells. Those wells are used for agricultural purposes now. Did the Market have a bus station? The details are not very clear anymore, i was young(er). It remains in my opinion an under utilized tourist site

I own no rights to this photo. I took it off Google images.

Story Line

I have never imagined the Internal Slave Trade in Africa. I have known about its existence from watching the old and iconic "Roots" movie. To think that people sold their own for mirrors and gun powder is disheartening. What did it take to stay back? sell others of be taken? Slavery was not very long ago. Regardless, there are very few write ups about the internal slavery in this country, unless I am not looking in the right places. This is a story from another side of the coin.

Any who, this book is so well researched; you will be impressed.

It comes down to slavery happened and we played a role.

Which part of the novel intrigued you?

“In some places, they say if look too long into a mirror, it will steal your soul. In other places they say you become vain if you stare at yourself too long. Who is right?”

This statement and the book literally holds a mirror at society. It shows us the vanity, hypocrisy and cruelty of human beings. How selfish a man must be, to love himself and the sight of him only, to trade his humanity for the beauty he seeks to find within him.

The Salaga Slave Market

Favorite Character?

Wurche! She was a free spirit! Go getter!

Amina was a survivor, and sounds amazing. When Amina said to Wurche, “I want to be Free”, I was stunned at her courage.

I wondered how many slaves asked for freedoms from their masters. Whether they were treated the same; Given a hen and watched by others as their backs grow small along or gutted like fishes!

Reviews from Friends and Book Club

(Some of them were very emotional write ups so i didn't include them)

Well written! I like how Ayesha played with the narrative from the two perspective and how they merged seamlessly at a point.

I don’t know if I connected more with the story because I have been to former Salaga slave market. The first place the indigenous people point to when you arrive in Salaga.

The story has piqued my interest in finding out more about the role Africans played in Internal Slave Trade.

Good Read, Loved it

_ Adnan ( PS: Prince Adnan could never be me!)

I didnt read

_Selorm

Give me three minutes

_Nasiba

Hello Dear

_Rasheed

I'll finish the book In Sha Allah

_Albert

This was one of my favourite reviews:

First of all I was so excited to read this book because the setting is the North of Ghana. I’ve not read many books from that part of the country. The book is mostly about internal slavery in the country as well as chieftaincy wars the north experiences. I loved reading two completely different characters tell their stories. However I did feel like Wuruche was going to be some sort of “Yaa Asantewaa” / feminist type of person but she ended up just being a regular girl from a royal family who wanted more power but did next to nothing to get it. About Amina, in the beginning the writer portrays her love her family so much but when she gets her freedom in the end she runs off to live with a man, no mention of wanting to see her family again or wanting to find them at all. That was quite odd. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the German soldier character. It seemed a little out of place. I also didn’t really like how it ended. I definitely feel like the book could’ve been longer.

_Deyaa Mohammed

According to Google, This is somewhere in the Slave Cemetery.