Glossary

ansa bɛlɛ

a practice regulating pregnancies out of wedlock by which a man accepts full social and financial responsibility for a pregnancy

ataya bes

a coffee place for men serving ataya tea, which is believed to provide energy; mostly young people gather there to drink and discuss politics and daily events

bambrus or bambrusing

treating someone or something roughly; can also be used to describe rough sex limited to penetration; can also indicate rape

bod ose

a wooden house

bossing

consensual sex where the man is dominant

chɛr am

to tear, to rip apart; here it is describing men’s sexual conquest of attractive women

cober lappas

minors, ‘girl lovers’

contract relationships

cohabiting partners who are not exclusive but may not bring other lovers home

cut

male orgasm

cut and play

sex that considers male and female pleasure

fala-fala

someone who loves to escort another person; here a love potion that leads a person to follow another person wherever they go; fala can also mean to have sex

faray

an addicted smoker; also used to describe a woman who is embedded in street life and who smokes but who does not engage in sex work

financiers or providers

middle-aged men/elders who enjoy the (sexual) company of women and girls in exchange for financial support, often in the form of school/university fees or rent

fine boy

pretty boy; a physically attractive or sexually skilled person without the financial resources desired of a main partner

gbagba

black magic that prevents someone from urinating or going to the toilet; this spell is said to be often used against ‘passers-by’ (q.v.)

gɛt bɛlɛ

to be pregnant

gɛt-to gɛda or chillin

outing organised by social clubs in Freetown for club members and friends

ifohn or swear medicines

traditional medicines used in oath ceremonies as truth-determining devices in theft cases

kedi masta

someone who runs a brothel or gambling place and who takes a commission for services provided in exchange for a place, security, or introduction to customers; brothels are often run by women

ketch

to catch; also the name a female sex worker may use for a customer or a man to describe a new sexual partner

kongosa

gossip, backbiting

lɛk-lɛk

love potion mixed in substances, food, or ointments; used against a partner to prevent them from loving someone else; used against a stranger to make them fall hopelessly in love and surrender all control; the charmed person’s free will is taken away

mami kɔs

calling someone’s children bastards, thereby cursing someone’s mother

mami kwin or mammie queen

female leader

mas am

to step on someone; also used to describe men or boys sexually penetrating women or girls, yet not necessarily in a violent way

na mi bɔs am

I am the one responsible for taking her virginity

nak am

means to hit someone, but is also a slang term for having sex; for example, Ar wan nak am means I want to have sex with her

nɔr lɛf mi so

do not leave me like that

pan bɔdi

corrugated-iron house; zinc house

passer-by

a man who makes empty promises to a woman or who only takes when having sex and does not give the woman pleasure

pikin biznɛs

child’s play; also used to indicate a physical relationship that involves kissing and touching but does not lead to sex

plaba

palaver, to quarrel or fight

play

female orgasm

playing in her garden

a man sexually pleasuring a woman; a man giving oral sex to a woman

pul di bɛlɛ or pwɛl di bɛlɛ

to have an abortion; to perform an abortion

pul na do

the naming ceremony for Muslim babies

put mɔt pan di fɛt or putting mouth into the fight

involving oneself in someone else’s argument; talking to people while they are fighting

rare gal

female sex worker deeply involved in street life and sometimes in gangs

I nɔr ansa di bɛlɛ

to deny having caused a pregnancy

rɔb- rɔb

ointments that are believed to be magical and that people rub on their bodies either for protection from magic that could be used against them or as a charm to use against others for personal desires

sexing

consensual sexual act

show face

the father of a baby introduces himself to the family of the woman he impregnated, to confirm that the baby has a father without taking social or economic responsibility for the child or the mother

side-chick

a woman who is very attractive or sexually skilled but who is believed not to possess the qualities of a main partner and is therefore an intimate partner among others

snatching

stealing someone’s partner

sugar daddies

middle-aged men/elders, who enjoy the (sexual) company of girls and young women in exchange for money, mobile phone credit, clothes, or hair

swallow

apologise ritually at the end of informal community and household mediations and acknowledge that all issues have now been attended to

swear (n.)

an oath

tabulay (n.) or tabule (v.)

a drum or to drum; can also be a nickname for male or female sexual organs

tap to mi

cohabiting without being engaged or married

tay-tay

(mostly ropes) that are believed to be magical that people tie on their bodies, for example on the waist, ankle, wrist, or neck; this is done either for protection from magic used against them, or as a charm to use against others for personal desires

tɛdi bɔi

a gang member or young man engaged in the illicit economy who asks his girlfriend to make money for him (often through sex work and associated trickery)

tit ɛn tɔŋ mɔs jam or teeth and tongue jammed together

the quarrels that necessarily occur between people who are close (e.g. kin, lovers, or friends); it is used to describe the relationship between men and women

toma

namesake (i.e. someone with whom you share the same first name); a term especially used by the Mende people

wahala

conflict, trouble, or problem