Using Your Head​—The African Way!

By Awake! correspondent in Sierra Leone

WHAT do people carry on their heads? If you asked some schoolchildren that question, in many parts of the world they might answer: “Their hats.” And that would likely be the end of the list.

However, when we actually put that question to some African youngsters, they replied: “People tote buckets of water, bananas, books, salt bags, firewood, television sets, fish, bags of cement, sacks of rice, refrigerators, baskets of vegetables, stones, crates of soft drinks . . . ” Their list went on and on.

Throughout the continent of Africa, toting loads on the head is commonplace. It has been for a very long time. The Bible informs us that way back in the days of Joseph, Egyptian bakers carried bread on their heads. And that was over 3,700 years ago!​—Genesis 40:16, 17.

Can You Tote?

Have you ever watched people who were skilled at head-toting? For them it is no more difficult than carrying something by hand.

But you try it. For example, put a book on your head and attempt to walk. (We might suggest a book that you do not mind getting knocked about a bit.) If you’re a beginner, you will probably move slowly, stiffly, very carefully, so as not to upset the precarious balance. One step . . . two . . . Quick! Catch the book before it falls to the ground!

“But,” you may protest, “my head’s not flat. How can you expect me to balance a flat book on a round head?” One answer is: Practice! Another answer is: Use a kata. A kata is a cloth or palm leaf that is folded and twisted to form a ring. It is placed between the load and the head to serve as a cushion and to help balance hard loads, such as wood. For softer things, such as a bag of flour, a kata is seldom necessary because the bag will settle on the head.

Whether you use a kata or not, it is important to carry things centrally on your head. Edward, a Sierra Leonean, recalls his early days: “When I first started to tote, I carried wood with my head cocked to one side. As the loads got heavier, my neck would ache with the strain. But the real trouble came when I began to tote buckets of water. Since you can’t balance water properly unless your head is straight, the water would spill out, and my clothes would get soaked. I hated that. It was the soakings, more than anything else, that made me straighten up.”

Yet, there’s more to the art than comfortably and centrally situating the item to be carried. An experienced head-toter will keep things in place on his head by numerous, slight corrective movements of his neck. It’s like trying to balance an upright stick on your finger. You don’t just put it there and hope it doesn’t fall. Rather, you must constantly adjust the position of your finger to suit the movement of the stick. And just as a heavier stick is easier to balance than a light one, so a weighty load is often easier to balance on the head.

Most Africans learn the skill early in life by imitating older children and grown-ups. Emmanual is one-and-a-half years old and still a little unsteady on his feet. When he was given a small can of water to tote, he held it on his head with both hands. It slid about, and some of the water sloshed out, but it was clear that he had grasped the idea. By the time he is five, the water will not spill. At seven he will be an expert.

A Practical, Beneficial Skill

Far from being merely a novel way to carry things, head-toting is a practical skill for African life. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Africa states: “Human porterage . . . is undoubtedly still one of Africa’s principal means of moving goods at the local level.” And for those who are used to it, loads are carried most easily on the head.

One traveling overseer of Jehovah’s Witnesses relates: “Most of the towns and villages that I visit can be reached by vehicle, but some cannot. These can only be reached by trekking. Usually, fellow Witnesses there meet me and help carry my bags, and the most comfortable way to carry them is on the head. On other occasions, while traveling on my own, I carry a bag in one hand and hang another by its strap on the shoulder of the other arm, but the biggest bag goes on my head.”

Apart from carrying things more comfortably, putting things on the head leaves your hands free. You can even be shaded from the sun or sheltered from the rain.

Add to this the physical benefits: grace, balance, and strength. The book Tropical Surgery states: “The country people [in the tropics], who are often accustomed to walking with head loads, have well-developed back muscles and good posture. They seldom suffer from back strain.”

Clearly, head-toting is not a skill to belittle. A young man in Freetown boasted: “I can put a bottle on my head and run with it without touching it with my hands.” A demonstration of his running with such a load on his head proved the truthfulness of his words. But unless you’re an expert, don’t try it!