Yoomo work faces extinction
Until the usage of these humorous terms, Tweaa, dum so dum so, Ayarigate, Ecomini, edey be k3k3, “All die be die”, “Pink sheet”, “gargantuan” became popular in Ghana, Yoomo b3 Ga was the common term on the lips of many Ghanaians. The term has been there for over a decade.
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The term Yoomo is a Ga word which means an old woman. However, coining the B3 Ga to yoomo linguistically means, “there is no old woman in Accra”
The yoomo word was popularly due to a unique profession associated with it. Hair-dyeing became a lucrative business venture for many people, especially in the rural areas in the 80’s and early 90’s. And due to their visibility in villages, towns and cities, people normally called the players in the industry as Yoomo wura.
Most people in Ghana have used yoomo before. Yoomo, as I indicated earlier, is the Ga rendition of “hair-dye” in English. Yoomo workers were highly in demand by schoolchildren, those with the afro hair style and the aged grey hair men and women. The yoomo industry was evident by the attire of the professionals who had several stains of the black dye.
However, the job seems to be dwindling at the speed of light these days. Yoomo workers are rarely seen in most areas.
Having closed from work and on my way home, I saw an aged woman, possibly in her late 50s, with her yoomo accoutrement. I was tempted to quickly follow her with several questions in mind. However, the unclear weather deceived me, and I rushed home thinking that it was about to rain. I missed that golden opportunity of talking to the yoomo veteran.
My desire of pursuing this cause almost died as a result of the scarcity of yoomo professionals, until I met another yoomo stalwart at the Kingsway in Cape Coast. I took the opportunity to engage her.
Pride of a yoomo worker
According to the yoomo stalwart with over 19 years work experience, Efua Krakraba, her mother started the work in their house in Biriwa in the Mfantseman District of the Central Region. “I started the work right after I gave birth to my first born, who is now 20 years”, she told me.
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She noted that their house was always occupied with yoomo clients and that influenced her to join the business not only because of its lucrative nature, but the demand and pride that was attached to it. “I used to carry the yoomo materials and follow my friends when they go out to sell in town”, she said.
Auntie Efua said when her mother died and there was nobody in their house to take up the job, she grabbed the opportunity. “My mother helped me a lot in learning the profession so when she died and there was nobody to do it, I decided to take it up”, she stated.
Future of yoomo work
However, the joy that inspired Auntie Efua some 19 years ago to join the noble yoomo profession is likely not to last. “At first, it was very profitable, but now if you are not lucky, you won’t even get your transportation back home”, Auntie Efua lamented.
When I engaged Auntie Efua at about 2:15 p.m, she had only applied yoomo to three heads and was hopeful that she would get more customers. It costs customers 50 pesewas to have their hair nicely dyed. According to the yoomo expert, only those with the natural hair, especially old men and women with grey hair, patronised her services.
“It is the old men and women who want to hide their grey hair who mostly call us”, she revealed. Auntie Efua nearly laughed out loud, when I asked her whether the youth also showed interest in her services.
“No, my son, you can trek the whole day without anyone calling you”, she said. The yoomo business is highly threatened with extinction in Auntie Efua’s family due to it’s unprofitability. “I won’t encourage my child to do yoomo work. You can’t do yoomo and make a meaningful life like others. It is not helpful at all”, she said.
Collapsing factor
Auntie Efua believes it was the packaged hair dye in stores that had collapsed the business. “I heard they have made some hair dye powder and people usually go for those ones”, she opined.
Although she had not seen the packaged hair dye before, she argued that nothing could be compared to the yoomo in terms of quality. “The yoomo is good for all types of hair”, she said.
Yoomo materials
Auntie Efua and her two other yoomo friends buy GH¢20 yoomo stone at Mankessim and share among themselves. She said her portion of the GH¢20 worth of yoomo stone took her about a month to finish selling due to low patronage.
“In fact, my two friends have all stopped and are now into fish mongering. They say it is not good to do the yoomo anymore. I will also stop next month and join them”, she said. She said at first, she used to make GH¢20 a day but could only manage to make GH¢2 now.
Areas of operation
She treks around Biriwa, her hometown, Moree, Ankaful and Cape Coast. Auntie Efua told me she was afraid to take her profession to the hinterlands due to rampant killings. “I was nearly killed in one palace had it not been the timely intervention of a good samaritan who intentionally called me back”, she explained.
According to her, she sometimes walked home due to her inability to pay for her transportation of 2.24 pesewas after a hard day’s work.
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Time of work
Auntie Efua starts work at 7 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. when the work is good and closes at 5 or 6 p.m. when the work was bad. Although the work looked unprofitable, she said, “half a loaf is better than none”.
The process of application
Having ground the yoomo stone with its liquid, within 10 to 15 minutes, Auntie Efua would finish applying the yoomo depending on the size of the head.
Tools for yoomo business
You can earn the envious yoomo title by owning a brush, comb, gloves, mirror, plates, metal pestle, basket, cloth, yoomo stones and its liquid. My august guest in the noble profession continued to infest me with her grimy smile as our interview came to an end.
Writer’s email:zadokgee89@yahoo.com