Badude

We like to marvel over how Pulaar has words for things that take at least a sentence or two to convey in English. But I’m starting tow wonder how much of that is the efficiency of the Pulaar language, and how much is my inability to extract a concise definition when I learn a new word. Especially if I have only the one context to interpret meaning from. For example, remember how Sanna once defined “daarnde” for me as “when you stand up it’s where you are?” I’ve since learned the word means “height.”

One night I'm sitting outside with Pateh and Mamadou. Pateh instructs Mamadou to “badakam.” From the “kam” I assume this is some sort of verb and Mamadou’s about to do something for or to Pateh and if I watch carefully, I’ll be able to learn the meaning of “badude,” which is what I assume the infinitive form of this verb would be.

Here's what happens: without request for further explanation from Mamadou and without any protest from Pateh, Mamadou picks Pateh up and lies Pateh down on his lap, then rolls him over so he’s lying on his stomach. (“Oh,” I think, “maybe it’s the verb that means ‘to drum’.” It’s sort of similar to drum the noun, “mbaggu,” and I’d been pretending Pateh was my drum some minutes earlier). Then Mamadou slings Pateh over his shoulder (“Oh,” I think, “maybe it’s a word that means 'to flip'”) and grabs Pateh’s ankles, so Pateh is now dangling upside-down over Mamadou’s back. Arranged thus, Mamadou stands up and, still holding Pateh by the ankles, walks home to their compound.

So, as far as I can tell, “badude” means “to carry a person home by slinging him or her over one’s shoulders so that he or she hangs upside down while you grasp the ankles.”