In continuation to
my previous post about the fascinating novel, "Memoirs of a Geisha"
by Arthur Golden, I wrote that I was going to do a comparison between the old
time Japanese Geisha and the modern day Nigerian runs babe. My source for the modern
day Nigerian runs girl I won't disclose. Sorry.
So, here are my observations...
From the book, the
Geisha was either a girl child sold into slavery/ a legitimate girl child of an
experienced and retired Geisha. This means that from the tender age of 9, that
young girl has started her training to becoming a Geisha. She would be sent to
a dance school which she would attend till even when she turns into a full
blown Geisha. She'll also attend a music school where she learns to sing and
play the "Sham..." a stringed instrument like a guitar, to entertain her guests. She then
attends another school where she learns to serve tea and drinks. And trust me,
all of these lessons of the arts is not just to teach the girl comportment,
carriage and manners, but to mainly groom her into building a sex appeal that
can turn even the head of a stone.
The modern day Nigerian
runs babe on the other hand is also either a slave/a legitimate daughter with
parents (dead/alive) who probably grew up in a normal or abnormal home but
definitely not groomed by her guardians in the arts to learn the art of
seduction. She probably went to school and learnt any other subject but not
seduction. You see, this “Here” society sees that trade as a taboo.
Another observation I
made is that, a Geisha's identity isn't a secret in the society because, they
are all registered and, every tea house is aware of them and supports their
trade. In fact, their earnings is calculated per hour by the Mistress of the
house and the most popular Geisha charges the highest amount for her time. The
good news for them is that, the entire society/town supports their trade
because, everyone is a beneficiary to their trade and so the Geisha makes it a
point of duty to be polite, friendly and generous to everyone she comes across
else her trade could suffer from the spread of just one bad rumor against her.
On the other hand, the
modern day Nigerian runs babe's identity is a secret. In fact, to the best of
my knowledge, they guise themselves during the day as CEOs of one
beauty/fashion business or the other and then in the evening, they set out to
meet their client. But the thing is, not everyone benefits from their
"sales" but just the weave, makeup and clothes/shoes/accessories
merchant because, that's where most of their income finds rest. They need to
keep up the look of sophistication and expensiveness so that their patrons
would pay more. Some of them are polite while some of them are ... Really
saucy. And then the saucy ones literally look down their nose when addressing
people cos they feel too expensive to sneeze. This brings me to my next
observation about the Geisha.
The Geisha's dressing
is very conservative even though at that time, according to the culture of her
trade, she would use certain colors like red as a collar to her kimono to show
she's still an apprentice "a learner" or a white collar to show that
she was now a fully experienced Geisha. OR, by revealing the upper section of her collar
bone, to let on a bit of sexiness to the men who find that part of the
Japanese's woman's body really erotic. For them, less means more!
While for the you know
who's, oh lord have mercy; MORE is MORE! Reveal it! Flex it! Work it! Shake it!
Twerk it while you walk! They believe. "Let the men drool as you walk!" they want.
And that's how they do it when they set out to conquer the night. And some of
them wear leg chains for identification too or a tatoo. On which part of the
leg? I still haven't figured out that part yet. Some don't even wear the chains
but their style is to go to every popular bar in town and inform the PR that
they're available for companionship to any lonely (WEALTHY) man. Then they would tip the
person and as well drop their contact. Most of them work the regular jobs with organisations but live the lifestyle of millionaires as they always want to be up to date with the latest rides, gadgets and fashion.
*such stress*
*such stress*
Another startling
observation I made is that, the Geisha is never regarded as a prostitute but an
entertainer who gets paid handsomely to help exhausted and bored men to relax
and have a good time. The men never sleeps with them else they'll be seen as
loose and cheap. The only man whom the society permits to sleep with her is her
danna whom I explained about in my previous post. And they are only allowed a
danna at a time because such a union is deemed sacred. Thus, the union could be
a contract that'll last for maybe 6 months or a year and then they'll dissolve
it. The danna's wife will be fully aware of this union too but won't be
bothered cos she knows it's a custom everyone knows about.
Our Nigerian runs babe
on the other hand probably sleeps with all of her patrons for good cash. Only a
hand few are lucky to get "thanks for coming" without sex. And of
course, they're seen as no entertainer but prostitutes or kept women. Their
"danna" is referred to as "sugar daddy" and a
"big" runs girl could have as many as 5-10 danna as she wants. For
her, getting her needs met is paramount. So, she doesn't care. Also, her
relationship with her sugar daddy could start or end unceremoniously at
anytime, secretly of course. Who dash her liver? Lol. The man's wife could kill
her and nobody will care.
Whew! My fingers ache
from typing but, what's my point in doing this comparison anyways? I'm simply
fascinated at how Arthur Golden has succeeded in making the life of a
prostitute/kept woman really interesting, beautiful, and fascinating (just
can't stop using this word). However, I have my own reservations about these
two lives but I won't state it here. I will probably let it out someday on my
YouTube channel, Frankly Speaking with Glory.
Right now, it's
drooping eyes, tired fingers, an aching back and more clicks to go down on my keyboard another day. Hey! I'll love to read your comments. Fill me in on your thoughts below.
Interesting piece
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Emmanuel.
ReplyDelete