The Hands of the Blacks by Luis Bernardo Honwana

Idontremembernowhowwegotontothesubject,butoneday,Teachersaid
thatthepalmsoftheBlackshandsweremuchlighterthantherestoftheirbodies.Thisis
becauseonlyafewcenturiesago,theywalkedaroundwiththemlikewildanimals,sotheir
palmswerentexposedtothesun,whichmadetherestoftheirbodiesdarker.Ithoughtofthis
whenFatherChristianotoldusaftercatechismthatwewereabsolutelyhopeless,andthateven
thepygmieswerebetterthanus,andhewentbacktothisthingabouttheirhandsbeinglighter,
and said it was like that because they always went about with their hands folded together,
prayinginsecret.Ithoughtthiswassofunny,thisthingoftheBlackshandsbeinglighter,that
youshouldjustseemenow.Idonotletgoofanyone,whoevertheyare,untiltheytellmewhy
theythinkthatthepalmsoftheBlackshandsarelighter.DoaDores,forinstance,toldmethat
GodmadeBlackshandslightersotheywouldnotdirtythefoodtheymadefortheirmasters,or
anythingelsetheywereorderedtodothathadtobekeptclean.

SeorAntunes,theCocaColaman,whoonlycomestothevillagenowandagain
whenalltheCokesinthecantinashavebeensold,saiditwasalotofbaloney.Ofcourse,Ido
notknowifitwasreallysuch,butheassuredme,itwas.AfterthatIsaid,Allright,itwas
baloney,andthenhetoldmewhatheknewaboutthisthingoftheBlackshands.Itwaslike
this:Longago,manyyearsago,GodtheFather,JesusChrist,theVirginMary,St.Peter,many
othersaints,alltheangelsthatwereinHeaven,andsomeofthepeoplewhohaddiedandgoneto
HeaventheyallhadameetinganddecidedtocreatetheBlacks.Doyouknowhow?Theygot
holdofsomeclayandpresseditintosomesecondhandmoldsandbakedtheclayofcreatures,
whichtheytookfromtheheavenlykilns.Becausetheywereinahurryandtherewasnoroom
nexttothefire,theyhungtheminthechimneys.Smoke,smoke,smokeandthereyouhave
them,blackascoals.Andnow,doyouwanttoknowwhytheirhandsstayedwhite?Well,didnt
theyhavetoholdonwhiletheirclaybaked?

Whenhetoldmethis,SeorAntunesandtheothermenwhowerearounduswere
verypleasedandtheyallburstoutlaughing.Thatverysameday,SeorFrias toldmethat
everythingihadheardfromthemtherehadbeenjustonebigpackoflies.Reallyandtruly,what
heknewabouttheBlackshandswasrightthatGodfinishedmenandtoldthemtobatheina
lakeinHeaven.Afterbathing,thepeoplewereniceandwhite.TheBlacks,well.Theywere
madeveryearlyinthemorningandatthishour,thewaterinthelakewasverycold,sotheyonly
wetthepalmsoftheirhandsandthesolesoftheirfeetbeforedressingandcomingtotheworld.

Butireadinabookthathappenedtomentionthestory,thattheBlackshave
handslighterlikethisbecausetheyspenttheirlivesbentover,gatheringthewhitecottonof
Virginiaandidontknowwhereelse.Ofcourse,DoaEstefaniadidnotagreewhenitoldher
this.Accordingtoher,itisonlybecausetheirhandsbecamebleachedwithallthatwashing.

Well,idonotknowwhattothinkaboutallthisbutthetruthisthathowever
callousedandcrackedtheymaybe,Blackhandsarealwayslighterthantherestofhim.And
thatsthat!

MymotheristheonlyonewhomustberightaboutthisquestionofaBlacks
handsbeinglighterthantherestofhisbody.Onthedaythatweweretalkingaboutit,iwas
tellingherwhatialreadyknewaboutthequestion,andshecouldnotstoplaughing.Wheniwas
talking,shedidnottellmeatoncewhatshethoughtaboutallthisandsheonlytalkedwhenshe
wassurethatiwouldntgettiredofbotheringheraboutit.Andeventhen,shewascryingand
clutchingherselfaroundthestomachlikesomeonewhohadlaughedsomuchthatitwasquite
unbearable.Whatshesaidwasmoreorlessthis:

GodmadeBlacksbecausetheyhadtobe.Theyhadtobe,myson.Hethought
theyreallyhadtobe.Afterwards,Heregrettedhavingmadethembecauseothermenlaughedat
themandtookawaytheirhomesandputthemtoserveasslavesandnotmuchbetter.But
becauseHecouldntmakethemallwhite,forthosewhowereusedtoseeingthemblackwould
complain,Hemadeitsothatthepalmsoftheirhandswouldbeexactlylikethepalmsofthe
handsofothermen.Anddoyouknowwhythatwas?Well,listen:itwastoshowthatwhatmen
doisonlytheworkofmen...thatwhatmendoisdonebyhandsthatarethesamehandsof
people.How,iftheyhadanysense,wouldknowthatbeforeanythingelsetheyaremen.Hemust
havebeenthinkingofthiswhenHemadethehandsofthosemenwhothankGodtheyarenot
black!

Aftertellingmeallthis,mymotherkissedmyhands.Asiranofftotheyardto
playball,ithoughtthatihadneverseenapersoncrysomuchasmymotherdidthen.

Luis Bernardo Honwana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lus Bernado Honwana (born 1942) is a Mozambican author.

Biography[edit]
Lus Bernardo Honwana was born Lus Augusto Bernardo Manuel in Loureno Marques (presentday Maputo), Mozambique. His parents, Ral Bernardo Manuel (Honwana) and Naly Jeremias
Nhaca, belonged to the Ronga people from Moamba, a town about 55 km northwest of Maputo. In
1964 he became a militant with FRELIMO, a front that had the objective to liberate Mozambique
from Portuguese colonial rule. Due to his political activities he was arrested by the colonial
authorities and was incarcerated for three years.

He studied law in Portugal and worked for some time as a journalist. He was appointed director of
President's office under Samora Machel. Later in 1981, he became Secretary of State for culture. He
served on the Executive Board of UNESCO from 1987 to 1991 and was chairman of UNESCO's
Intergovernmental Committee for the World Decade for Culture and Development. In 1995, he was
appointed director of the newly opened UNESCO office in South Africa. Since he retired from the
organization in 2002, he has been active in research in the arts, history and ethno-linguistics. [1]

Works[edit]
Honwana is the author of a single book, Ns Matmos o Co-Tinhoso (1964), translated into English
as We Killed Mangy Dog and Other Stories, and the tale "Hands of the Blacks". This work has
proved enormously influential and a case can be made for it being the touchstone of contemporary
Mozambican narrative. We Killed Mangy Dog is a collection of short stories set in the (Portuguese)
colonial era at the turn of the sixties and is reflective of the harsh life black Mozambicans lived under
the Salazar regime. Several of the stories are told from the point of view of children or alienated
adolescents and most feature the rich mix of races, religions and ethnicities that would later
preoccupy Mozambique's most internationally celebrated writer, Mia Couto.