I guess this surprise arrival was deliberately calculated to produce a dramatic effect. Home at last! Uncle is back with us! I felt like going up the summit of a hill overlooking our village and chant the slogans about his home coming to any one who cared to listen. Traditional modesty, however, called for celebration with restraint. There was no room to stage a publicity stunt of this sort. For the first few days of his arrival, we had to seal our lips to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.
Miners were crowd pullers and any premature careless talk about their arrival would have the effect of attracting uninvited guests who may want to 'reap where they did not sow'. In a small village, where everybody was known, the return of a man from the mines overwhelmed all. It was more of a village than just a family affair. There was yet another consideration why in the glare of the public eye, the family had to keep emotions in check for a while. This 'ritual' of silence was observed to avoid exposing uncle to risks. Those days, there was so much belief in the power of witchcraft. Enemies imagined or real were many. For instance, a stone's throw away from home there lived a very old and frail woman who was allegedly skilled in the profession of sorcery. She was perceived to be the family's number one enemy. Perhaps she was responsible for the many woes and tragedies that afflicted the family in the past. With the advantage of hindsight, I think paranoia had gripped my family. Having outgrown the fear of witchcraft, I now see the whole issue in a different light. She was just a harmless old woman. Anyway, the belief in witchcraft then was strong. That was exactly the more reason why we had to keep uncle's arrival a secret, albeit temporarily, at least to allow him time to consult with his doctor to renew and beef up his traditional 'insurance' to ward off danger.
