Thursday, August 11, 2011

Losing your juju

So at home if you've "lost your mojo" or "lost your juju" you've just lost your 'it' factor, your particular piece of suavity (yes, it's a word, work with me here) or your panache. (I think that one is a word.)

In Sierra Leone if you've lost your juju there's a good bit of flapping and yelling going on, 'cause your juju is a piece of jewelry that women wear around their waists, usually tiny beads all around with a few charms to make it jingle.

Now, there's a range of surprises you get working in a hospital ward, where most people's gowns flap to the four winds and nobody seems to care much, but I must admit the juju is a new one on me. One of your tasks getting patients ready for the O.R. is to remove any jewelry from their body. Never expected the most bedecked to be the sweet three year old girls with two rounds of tiny, shiny beads around their waists. You don't want to be losing this juju!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I suppose this is to keep the spirits away? Many cultures have something like this. I guess it would be similar to Western practices of wearing crosses or getting religious tattoos.