FROM KAFUI TO WANG YING

Kafui Ayetor Agbetor, proud seed of the Volta Kingdom

Mighty root of an unshakeable oak tree

Remnant of an undefeated lineage,

I have come a long way!

I have wrestled I have fought,

 I have seen cities crumble, at the tip of my sword.

A million times have my hands been raised at the Market square,

As a mighty wrestler of untamed lions…

Unprecedented owner of a hundred and one medallions

Makafui Ayetor Agbetor! The hard nut the sages could not crack!!

But little did I know that I was a caged man.

Caged in my own mentality about the Asian!

 Bound by the lie that that Africa has nothing to do with Asia.

 That Asia was a strange place for an African...

  My mind was a a rusty, leaking roof,

     A dilapidated summer hut,

                                                                        That needed renovation...

Wang Ying,

You brought into my life the refreshing touch of revolution,

You are to me, that spice of variety

That cannot be found on the Anlo market.

 Just a “Ni hao”, just a “Ni hao”, you said

 And my whole mind was tuned

onto a world of awesome possibilities !

Wang Ying,

You gave me back the sight

That I had obviously lost

From wearing the mask of self-pride and pomposity.

 I thought I had seen it all,

Till I climbed the Great Wall of China,

Till i saw you sitting elegantly in your "Qipao"

Then I realised

That Asia was indeed beautiful, adorable,

And that the greatest battle a man could fight

Was within the confines of his own mind,

The greatest proof of a man’s strength 

Is seen in the barriers he breaks in his mind.

So Wang Ying, speak to me again in your “Putong hua”,

That language is melody in my ears

And I will respond in Ewe, “Akpe, Akpe Akpe!”

Sing to me your “Tian mi mi…”

And I will respond in Ewe, “Me lo wo, Me lo wo, Me lo wo ”.

Come with me home,

Let me show you to Efo,

And tell the whole of Eweland that these crescent eyes

Taught me to step into the unknown,

That the magical calmness of the Yangtze river,

Taught me to embrace a different world,

And to find what the ordinary man cannot find.

Wang Ying…

                 .....You are my greatest medallion, my profound discovery.

AfriqAsia GLOSSARY

• Kafui       -    An Ewe name meaning "Praise Him"
• Wang        -    A very popular Chinese surname, also a title in Chinese nobility.
• Ying          -    A unisex name meaning Eagle, crystal or victorious.
• Anlo          -   A subgroup of the Ewe people inhabiting South Eastern parts of the Volta region of                             Ghana, southern Togo and southern Benin.
• Ni hao        -  "Hello" in Chinese.
• Qipao         -   Traditional Chinese women`s outfit
• Putonghua   -   Mandarin Chinese, a standardised variety of Chinese., official language of the People`s                         Republic of China.
• Akpe           -   "Thank you" in Ewe.
• Tian mi mi    -    "Your sweet smile" A popular Chinese song by Teresa Teng. 
• Me lo wo      -    I love you in Ewe.
• Efo               -    Title in Ewe meaning Uncle. Father.
• Yangtze river -   Longest river in Asia, and third longest in the world.