Rosetta

Rosetta is the cook at the compound and makes a tasty goat stew, delicious to wipe up with a few chewy chapattis. Pineapple season has coincided with our visit and our greedy slurping of it hasn’t gone unnoticed by Rosetta as she has started buying it every day.

Rosetta hasn’t got any children and she told Adrian it’s due to medical reasons. I asked Benneth whether this would lead to her being ostracised as in some other cultures but he said not necessarily as her husband would likely ‘find other things she can offer’ around the home. Many marriages here are polygamous so Rosetta is likely to share her home with other women, but I don’t know her well enough yet to talk to her about her personal life. In some ways the Zande (the predominant tribe in this area) have a more relaxed attitude than I expected to sex and relationships. I was told the Zande are known for being ‘promiscuous’ and Benneth divorced a former wife as she ‘brought a man home’.

Promiscuity would be an interesting characteristic in an area that is heavily Catholic and something that deserves more research.