Did you know that the official currency of Haiti is known as gourde, named after the gourd? (botanically classified as a fruit) In the early 1800's the ruler of northern Haiti declared all gourds to be state property and had them rounded up and brought to the state treasury where they were then reissued as currency. Eventually banknotes and coins replaced the gourds, but gourde has remained the name of Haiti's official currency.
I first discovered this fact when I read The Black Sun as a young man. My folks were big fans of the Mandingo series of books, as well as others written by Kyle Onstott and his partners. The books were really too adult for my age but I guess my parents thought it better for me to find out about sex that way instead of them having to uncomfortably explain it to me.
There were gourds growing in the pastures surrounding the house where I grew up; not sure what specific type of gourd they were, but they usually didn't grow much larger than a baseball and, in fact, throwing them was the most fun I had with them. The vines and fruit smelled to high heaven when crushed, with an odor like day-old B.O. After working hard all day during a hot summer, I often heard my dad say "I smell just like an ol' gourd vine."
I first discovered this fact when I read The Black Sun as a young man. My folks were big fans of the Mandingo series of books, as well as others written by Kyle Onstott and his partners. The books were really too adult for my age but I guess my parents thought it better for me to find out about sex that way instead of them having to uncomfortably explain it to me.
There were gourds growing in the pastures surrounding the house where I grew up; not sure what specific type of gourd they were, but they usually didn't grow much larger than a baseball and, in fact, throwing them was the most fun I had with them. The vines and fruit smelled to high heaven when crushed, with an odor like day-old B.O. After working hard all day during a hot summer, I often heard my dad say "I smell just like an ol' gourd vine."
2 comments:
I didn't know this. I learn something new each day
In The Black Sun, the new ruler of the part of Haiti says that the peasants can't do anything w/out their gourds...can't get water, can't prepare their food, can't even take a leak in the middle of the night w/out one. (afraid to go outside because of the "loup-garous" - werewolfs)
The book was not only full of sex, but also about voodoo. I forget the name of the book at the moment, but the author also had another book that featured it prominently.
It wasn't just straight sex either, but homosexuality as well. I remember my dad saying he figured the author must have been homosexual, he (the author) featured it so much. Onstott also seemed to have a bias against Christianity, but then again, several of his books took place in a time when the Spanish Christians were particularly cruel. One of his books, The Tattooed Rood, was about that and the main character converting to Islam.
The Mandingo books were really good, focusing on the antebellum South and a father and son who raised slaves. There was a movie made, but it was horrible. I can't remember how many books there were in that series, seems like four/five or so. I know you love to read and I believe you'd really like them. I found several in boxes of stuff I got after the folks passed away; some of the books were eaten up by silverfish and full of dust, but I managed to read a few of them again. Still good after all these years. I'd love to have them if I had a big library.
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