The Cost of Sugar(48)

Ashana rejoiced. She had heard exactly what had happened. Mini-mini had told her mother, Kwasiba, everything, and Kwasiba had in turn told Ashana. Although Kwasiba and Mini-mini were in fact mother Rachel’s slaves, they really liked Elza because she treated them so pleasantly, quite unlike the spoilt Sarith, who regarded slaves just as creatures who must serve her and always be there for her, never taking into account that they were people, too, and people with feelings. The domestic slave-girls knew what had been going on and all had taken Misi Elza’s side.

Sarith had now been back at home a few days and was sitting at the breakfast table one morning. She was alone. Her mother was upstairs and Uncle Levi had left on the boat, visiting a plantation further upriver. She had given Mini-mini a thick ear because she came to say that there were no oranges to make juice. Ashana came in, and hearing Sarith going on, said, “The pig says: what’s yours remains yours.”110

“What did you say, Ashana?”111 cried Sarith, realizing that this was meant for her.

Ashana repeated what she had said.

“What do you mean by that?”

Ashana replied really calmly, “I’m happy that Misi Elza has come to her senses and has chased the scorpion out of her house. Tyakun, tyakun, what’s hers is hers.”112

Before Ashana had finished speaking Sarith sprung up and gave Ashana two mighty slaps in the face. “You foul nigger woman: how dare you insult me like that, how dare you!”

She grabbed Ashana by her smock and shook her. But Ashana was a sturdy woman and stood firmly on her feet. She looked fixedly at Sarith and said, “It is never good to do evil.”113

Sarith became increasingly furious and began to scream, “You wretched slave, just wait, I’ll … whatever are you thinking…I’ll make sure you’re punished for this. Punished, I say.”

She rushed to the rear veranda and said to a small errand boy sitting on the doorstep, “Boy, call the basya, and hurry.”114

When the basya came a little later, Sarith pointed to Ashana and said, “Basya, tie this woman to a tree and give her a whipping.”115

Shocked, the basya took a step back. “No misi,” he said, shaking his head. In his view this was impossible. How could he whip Ashana – Ashana who was as it were head of the household, with almost more authority than the misi herself. Ashana, who had never ever been whipped? The masra would certainly not agree to this.

But Sarith grabbed the whip from his hand and gave him two cutting lashes, screaming, “Whip her, basya, do what I say, or I’ll have a few strong nigger boys whip you.”116

All the tumult had brought Mother Rachel downstairs. She saw her incensed, yelling daughter standing there with a whip in her hand, ordering the basya to whip Ashana. “What is going on, Sarith, calm down now.”

But Sarith did not calm down. She screamed, “This nigger woman, she’s insulted me, insulted me. She shall be punished; I swear she’ll be punished.”

“Is this really necessary?” asked Mother Rachel, recalling with some trepidation that this was Ashana, whom everyone in the household respected, and that Levi Fernandez would certainly be most angry.

“Is that all right, then, mother? Can a slave insult me? Are you going to allow that? What will become of us if that can just happen?” Sarith screamed, shouted and stamped her foot. “Go inside, mother, and don’t interfere.”

Mother Rachel thought that this might indeed be best. She had never been a match for her daughter, and of course Sarith was right: as a white you could certainly not permit a slave to insult you. Just imagine!

The basya took Ashana outside and took her to a tree. The small errand boy had to get rope from the warehouse to tie her so that she would hang with her feet just above the ground.

Sarith herself began to tear the clothes from Ashana’s body, so that she ended up standing in front of her in just a small loincloth knotted round her waist.

When Mini-mini saw that Ashana really was tied up she threw herself weeping at her mistress’ feet, threw her arms around her legs and sobbed, “Oh no, misi, I beg you, don’t whip Ashana, don’t let Ashana be beaten.”117

But Sarith remained adamant. She tried to kick Mini-mini, and when she didn’t let go of Sarith’s legs, Sarith took the whip from the errand boy’s hand and gave Mini-mini a lash in her face. Mini-mini let go, covered the bleeding wheal on her face with her hands, and turned away to avoid seeing how the elderly Ashana was whipped.

From the kitchen in the grounds, Kwasiba and the cook gazed in silence on the scene, lips pursed and looks that conveyed nothing but disgust. The basya began to whip. By the tenth lash Ashana’s back was cut completely open and blood was streaming from the wounds. Sarith watched and counted the lashes herself. When she had reached twenty-eight, Ashana collapsed, and the basya, totally desperate, threw the whip down and threw himself on the ground, shouting, “I can’t do this any more; whip me if you must, misi.”118