Six days left in Africa
this will probably be my last post.. although after 6 pm today i am officially done with class and will have some nice time on my hands. i'm actually in the middle of writing my last paper of junior year - in french - on henna traditions in hausa culture. ironically, i am in the midst of suffering from a henna inflicted acid abrasion on my hands and feet (yes, the worst spots on the body to be itchy) and am covered in rash in the shapes of flowers and leaves. opted not to go to the clinic (and spend all of $5) because i have about $20 US left and i'm determined to make it last through the end. it's amazing how our concept of expensive has changed. sometimes we want to slap ourselves for getting upset over losing 200 CFA... which may only be 40 cents US but it covers a whole taxi ride, 1/3 of a beer, half an egg sandwich, two brochettes... etc. anyway, i think i'll survive the rash. mind over matter has in many ways been the motto of this entire experience, and i wouldn't want my last week to be ruined sulking in my scratches.
very last week... i can't believe how fast time has flown by! at the same time, i feel like i've been here forever. yesterday i walked home from the museum, which i haven't done for the past 2 weeks because it's been too freakin hot. we've actually been getting nice breezes throughout the day recently, and i'm not sure what the temperature has been but it's been much more pleasant than those 125 or so days. anyway, i chose to walk that scenic staple route, and as i walked home i realized all the things i will miss (aside from the stank of poo river and burning trash, of course!) we have the kids who scream anasara fofo from the river; we have our little beggar baby on the corner, whose family makes a killing off of a bunch of americans who can't resist a cute face; we have the automechanic shop on the side of the road (which is just a bunch of motorcycles and guys sitting on a bench) and then we enter the CFCA - where students passing by politely greet us in french, and then we meet up with our staff who greet our return in hausa and zarma. i hadn't done that walk in a while because i normally come home drenched in sweat, but yesterday was nice. i savored every minute of the walk, one which i will miss.
don't have it in me to get sentimental and reflective now. am already planning on writing extensively on the plane -as long as i don't need to benadryl myself to sleep, this time with good reason!- will revisit the blog then :) thanks for following
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Il a PLU ici!
it RAINED here!
yesterday was by far the hottest day we've experienced. the power went out in the afternoon, and we were all melting. luckily we've rediscovered the youthful joys of frolicking under a hose... mondays have consisted of pretending to have a day at the beach instead of taking sieste ease the pain of the scorching temperatures. napping is impossible without the fan when the power's out anyway. well, we made it through the hottest part of the day by pouring water on ourselves for about 2 hours. listened to the dirty dancing soundtrack and really made an event of it.
afterwards, i had to go to my community placement at the franco-nigerien cultural center. i cabbed it and nonetheless was drenched in sweat while waiting for my supervisor. came back to eat a small dinner (appetite is finally being affected by the weather!) and then had dance class. the only way i can describe dance last night was like working out in a sauna. i played field hockey in the hottest part of summer in high school, but i have never ever ever dripped sweat from so many places of my body at once. it was awful and we all wanted to vomit haha.. but lately our instructors have been pushing us up to do solos and we really got into the dance last night, despite how awfully hot it was.
later in the evening we met up with our marine friends for a night in an air conditioned bar, and on the drive out RAINDROPS were hitting the windshield! we could not believe it. during the day at the cultural center i had seen clouds (which is unusual) but i figured i'd never get to see the rain here. and then it pouuuured. the rains were cool and heavy, and lasted no more than 10-15 minutes i'd say. but what an event! it is hot season, and they say when it's hot enough the mango rains come. i couldn't believe my eyes though, what a chance to see the rains in africa :)
..hopefully now the heat plateaus for a while!
yesterday was by far the hottest day we've experienced. the power went out in the afternoon, and we were all melting. luckily we've rediscovered the youthful joys of frolicking under a hose... mondays have consisted of pretending to have a day at the beach instead of taking sieste ease the pain of the scorching temperatures. napping is impossible without the fan when the power's out anyway. well, we made it through the hottest part of the day by pouring water on ourselves for about 2 hours. listened to the dirty dancing soundtrack and really made an event of it.
afterwards, i had to go to my community placement at the franco-nigerien cultural center. i cabbed it and nonetheless was drenched in sweat while waiting for my supervisor. came back to eat a small dinner (appetite is finally being affected by the weather!) and then had dance class. the only way i can describe dance last night was like working out in a sauna. i played field hockey in the hottest part of summer in high school, but i have never ever ever dripped sweat from so many places of my body at once. it was awful and we all wanted to vomit haha.. but lately our instructors have been pushing us up to do solos and we really got into the dance last night, despite how awfully hot it was.
later in the evening we met up with our marine friends for a night in an air conditioned bar, and on the drive out RAINDROPS were hitting the windshield! we could not believe it. during the day at the cultural center i had seen clouds (which is unusual) but i figured i'd never get to see the rain here. and then it pouuuured. the rains were cool and heavy, and lasted no more than 10-15 minutes i'd say. but what an event! it is hot season, and they say when it's hot enough the mango rains come. i couldn't believe my eyes though, what a chance to see the rains in africa :)
..hopefully now the heat plateaus for a while!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Konni - PCV week
This pic is from the tail end of our adventures in the village living.. Here we are in Koure, the last place in West Africa where you can see free-roaming giraffes. We were lucky enough to see 7! Our guide had no remorse - we walked within 40 feet of them! For other numbers, I would say it was 120 degrees (gray was not the wisest color choice for a day of photos) Despite the sweat and the bumpy ride, seeing these creatures was a magical experience.
As for our actual time in the bush, I am pleased to say I truly enjoyed myself. I can't really remember what I was expecting, but the time I spent living villager style -sans electricity, sans running water- was probably one of the best weeks of my life. The peace corps volunteer I stayed with was an awesome 27 year old with 2 bachelors and 2 masters, a (white) hawaiin by the name of Serette. She was evidently very well integrated in her village - I loved the way her neighbors and friends addressed her.. "Sahara" is her Nigerien name. Saibon Gida was the village we were in.. all mud-brick structures, no electricity or running water anywhere, 22 km from nigeria, decent sized market on Tuesdays, big onion producer, a 3-4 hour bush taxi ride away from the peace corps hostile.. Oh yeah, it was my first experience on a bush taxi. I sat on the gas tank in our first taxi. My head and knees didn't really fit, my hips were squished, and I was inhaling fumes for 2 and a half hours -it was an old, beaten stationwagon stuffed with 10 people and a trunk full of bags. The second taxi was even better: A open bed truck with 40+ people crammed in the back.. babies and goats included. Definitely the most crowded bush taxi I have ever seen. I am glad we didn't tip, and that I can now say I was a bush taxi passenger.
As for the village, it was beautiful. Women work all day preparing food and taking care of their babies - which are many. Food preparation is not fun - pounding millet takes much more strength than I think the finished product is worth.. It's not a very nutritional food staple, and it definitely isn't bursting with flavor. I know this picture is sideways, but it uploaded so it stays: its an ancient woman preparing tuwo over a hot fire. This is after all the laborious pounding and close to the finished product. I tried to pound a little, and gave the women a good laugh. A kwai muwa = That's difficult in Hausa.
We also worked on a mural on the mayor's office wall.. The only cement looking and roofed building in the village. It was a food sensibilisation, and the process of creating it drew a huge crowd. It was satisfying to see how many people were interested, how much one very juvenile looking mural could stimulate an entire village:
Was happy to help with that, and glad that our PCV had an actual project for us to do. Most of the day we had to just hang out in the shade because it was so hot.. Food preparation is really time consuming, even when you're not pounding grains. Serette fed us well the entire time. Even washed our dishes - I told her she was doing too much and is as hospitable as any local Nigerien would be to new guests.
Before dusk I'd take a bucket bath, and set up my mosquito net and cot before night fall. The week we were there the moon was full, so it provided a little extra light. I won't lie, I was a little afraid of using the latrine in the dark with a flash light - there were scorpions and cockroaches! I survived the bugs though.. and the animals. I realized after this past week that roosters don't just cockadoodledoo at sunrise, they go all night long. For that reason alone I didn't get very good sleep.. Nonetheless, night was my favorite time of day. It got cool enough to wrap myself up in my pagne/s, the moon and stars shined clear because there were no other sources of light in the sky, and I was just feeling totally relaxed. It made me realize that a lot of clutter comes with material and monetary wealth.. It also made me realize how many people there are in this world, and how little you understand about them until you habituate yourself in situations like theirs.
Even though I say I roughed it, my experience was cushy..
We had a latrine. The other villagers wake up early enough to go out to the bush to take care of business. We had water filters and bleach.
The well from which we pulled our water was in close proximity to Serette's hut; it was probably no more than 15 feet down, which means it was dirty.. Approx 30 people a year die as a result of water related issues in Saibon Gida. A water chateau is supposed to be functioning by rainy season, but there was little evidence of progress on that.
We could afford the $2 per meal it takes to eat rice or pasta and sauce.. which are the better alternatives to millet or sorghum stuff. Serette told me that the villagers have to pay a tax of 500 CFA per year, and that is apparently too much to ask. 500 CFA = $1.
During our stay, Serette's neighbors thatched roof burned down.. leaving 2 side-by-side families homeless. We showed up to give our greetings.. the ground was black and muddy, and the air was fresh of smoke.. In that same day we saw an extremely malnourished 2 month old, who can hardly breathe properly he is currently so ill.. His mother died during child birth, so he was getting goats milk (unpasteurized or anything of course) which made him sick. His grandmother ate a magical plant that now makes her lactate, so that is how he's getting his nutrients now. He probably won't make it, though.
On the bright side, we met a healthy baby who was only a few days old. The village kids put on a little show of dance and song for us, the ladies brought us traditional tuwo (not a personal favorite), a man gave me a welcome gift - a huge batch of onions, and I was able to use some of my Hausa. I love this pic of the kids, right in the middle of their performance (they LOVE the camera)
I was completely for the beautiful simplicity of village life. In comparison to Niamey, I think I'd take the bush over a pretty poor city. On the same token, I'm thrilled to have a toilet.. and access to the rest of the world here! The week made me want to do more, travel further, learn and live new things. It was my favorite part of this abroad experience, and I think I'll cherish the things I saw and felt for the rest of my life.
Posession Dancers
Some attendees who got up to dance before the spirits were called. The one in the purple was a medium.
Homestay Reception
that is my mom about to stand up , binta.. intimidating that she doesn't look very happy for photos or during first impressions - but we bonded, and she has a beautiful smile! rukoyah, the house keeper (14 yrs old) is in the white, and monido, the niece, is in brown. i am sporting binta's adolescent burkinabe dress - it was a gift
Monday, March 30, 2009
La Danse de Posession
the posession dance
so this past weekend was full of cultural events.. saturday was the marriage and sunday was the posession ceremony. i didn't realize the emphasis on "dance" until we got there, though. actually, let me preface the whole story with a little information on the timing of the event: it started at 10, our professor didn't pick us up until 11:30, we got lost and didn't get there until 12:00, the calabash players (whose music is responsible for calling out the spirits) didn't show up until 4 or so, and the actual dancing, trancing, and possession probably didn't start until 5. during all the time we were there where nothing was really happening, we were fed a huge nigerien plate of rice and sauce, we were occupied with a tiny 2 day old goat, and we even took a nap.. the nap was disturbed by men digging holes in the sand for the calabash players as well as what we thought was the sacrificial chicken going bananas over our bodies as we were lying down. but then things picked up, and there was tons of dance before the mediums actually showed any signs of being posessed. even the anasaras put on a little show! they forced us up in the dance circle, and the sand was extraordinarily hot underneath our feet, but we did what we could to provide a good show. our goofy boys especially caused a stir. then we sat down, and the posession began! probably impossible to imagine from whatever i write, so here is my best attempt at a synopsis:
the reason why the ceremony was called:
a woman in a polygamist (?) marriage -the third wife- was seeking revenge upon the first two wives. the first 2 wives were upset when their husband decided to take another, so they had a posession ceremony so that the 3rd wife would not be able to produce children. the 3rd wife then had a posession ceremony so that she could have children, and was having another one now (after her baby was born) in hopes that the 2 first wives would be cursed, i suppose, and the husband would divorce them both.
the spirits that were called and what they did:
red spirits - with the music and other mediums screaming in their faces to try to call out the spirits, these particular mediums were posessed by sad spirits. once past the trance phase they did a crazy dance of flailing arms, then they fell to the earth and cried and screamed and dug their hands into the sand. (there were 2 men and 1 woman posessed by the red spirits this time)
hauka - i was completely unaware of where these people came from. unlike the red spirits, who seemed to have a formal musical calling as well as people yelling and requesting their presence, the hauka came out of nowhere. the hauka spirits are angry spirits, who represent white soldiers and the colonizers. they are violent and angry. yesterday, there was a man and a woman posessed by this type of spirit, and they were foaming at the mouth, sweating profusely, trembling. the guy startled everyone because 'the spirit entered him quickly'.. he jumped up into the air and threw himself on the ground HARD.. 3 times in a row landing flat on his back on the hard sand! he then proceeded to rush at the crowd of people flailing his arms, making everyone run away!
i hate to be vague, but i will never be able to recap all the details of the day! once the spirits were all out, we went into this mudbrick house where the actual counsel was given to the woman who called the ceremony. the red spirits gathered around the woman, and the hauka went around talking to all those who gathered. (it was probably 120 degrees in that hut, by the way) people asked for advice, fortunes were given freely, and every once in a while something bizarre happened and there would be a cry from someone in the crowd. i don't actually know the exact advice they gave the 3rd wife who called the ceremony, but the male hauka did come up to the 9 of us white people. he said he liked us cause we were one with him (he came from ohio), he would be with those of us who were going to the beach after we left niger (most of my peers here are going to the coast of benin rather than straight home after the program is over), and he said we'd all get our diplomas (that one was vague, i know).. but for how violent his motions were, he was very nice to the anasaras.
anyway, to wrap it up, 9 hours of exhausting and crazy events later.. at the end of the day was i convinced? i would say that i'm 87% sure that something extraordinary was happening. i will say that nothing that happened couldn't have been acted. HOWEVER.. there are many unexplicables.. like: it would have to be really really really good acting to physically torture yourself, or foam out of your nose and mouth. also, the mediums who get posessed don't get paid. the musicians do for calling out the spirits, but the mediums don't. one woman was in trance, and they were trying to get the full posession, but the spirit "fell out of her" and she flopped to the ground before the spirit spoke. and the one hauka woman was a fully veiled, hardcore muslim until the spirit entered her.. and our teacher told us she hates being posessed and has to beg god for forgiveness after she attends these events. it is part of her duty, however, to be posessed, and no matter the pain or the sin of it all, she has to do it. also inexplicable, putting your baby's life in danger. one woman was overcome when the spirit was talking to her - she cried out and her body flailed, and we were lucky the baby (who was tied around her back the way all women here carry their young) didn't crack his skull on the wall behind her! after that episode the anasaras took over the infant and the woman went to rest on the floor.. but no mother here would act like that with her child around her waist!
at the end of the day you could definitely say it has a lot to do with beliefs, culture, and perhaps some sort of fabrication.. it is after all a very theatrical event.. but it's still really a mystery to me. i'm convinced there are spirits, i'm not positive they posess people. i'm sure mediums minds aren't fully there as their bodies are apparently being posessed, but i have no idea where they go! it's amazing to hear some of the stories, and to really think about it. being western the whole thing all sounds like such bull, but it is such a strong part of the culture here. me saying that spirit posessions don't exist is like a nigerienne saying that baseball isn't a sport. and that's a terrible analogy.
yesterday was exhausting, but an amazing experience. literally exhausting though - dehydration last night and all day today for sure. must nap now. was able to get one or two pictures on my friends camera yesterday, and will put them up with others the next chance i get.
so this past weekend was full of cultural events.. saturday was the marriage and sunday was the posession ceremony. i didn't realize the emphasis on "dance" until we got there, though. actually, let me preface the whole story with a little information on the timing of the event: it started at 10, our professor didn't pick us up until 11:30, we got lost and didn't get there until 12:00, the calabash players (whose music is responsible for calling out the spirits) didn't show up until 4 or so, and the actual dancing, trancing, and possession probably didn't start until 5. during all the time we were there where nothing was really happening, we were fed a huge nigerien plate of rice and sauce, we were occupied with a tiny 2 day old goat, and we even took a nap.. the nap was disturbed by men digging holes in the sand for the calabash players as well as what we thought was the sacrificial chicken going bananas over our bodies as we were lying down. but then things picked up, and there was tons of dance before the mediums actually showed any signs of being posessed. even the anasaras put on a little show! they forced us up in the dance circle, and the sand was extraordinarily hot underneath our feet, but we did what we could to provide a good show. our goofy boys especially caused a stir. then we sat down, and the posession began! probably impossible to imagine from whatever i write, so here is my best attempt at a synopsis:
the reason why the ceremony was called:
a woman in a polygamist (?) marriage -the third wife- was seeking revenge upon the first two wives. the first 2 wives were upset when their husband decided to take another, so they had a posession ceremony so that the 3rd wife would not be able to produce children. the 3rd wife then had a posession ceremony so that she could have children, and was having another one now (after her baby was born) in hopes that the 2 first wives would be cursed, i suppose, and the husband would divorce them both.
the spirits that were called and what they did:
red spirits - with the music and other mediums screaming in their faces to try to call out the spirits, these particular mediums were posessed by sad spirits. once past the trance phase they did a crazy dance of flailing arms, then they fell to the earth and cried and screamed and dug their hands into the sand. (there were 2 men and 1 woman posessed by the red spirits this time)
hauka - i was completely unaware of where these people came from. unlike the red spirits, who seemed to have a formal musical calling as well as people yelling and requesting their presence, the hauka came out of nowhere. the hauka spirits are angry spirits, who represent white soldiers and the colonizers. they are violent and angry. yesterday, there was a man and a woman posessed by this type of spirit, and they were foaming at the mouth, sweating profusely, trembling. the guy startled everyone because 'the spirit entered him quickly'.. he jumped up into the air and threw himself on the ground HARD.. 3 times in a row landing flat on his back on the hard sand! he then proceeded to rush at the crowd of people flailing his arms, making everyone run away!
i hate to be vague, but i will never be able to recap all the details of the day! once the spirits were all out, we went into this mudbrick house where the actual counsel was given to the woman who called the ceremony. the red spirits gathered around the woman, and the hauka went around talking to all those who gathered. (it was probably 120 degrees in that hut, by the way) people asked for advice, fortunes were given freely, and every once in a while something bizarre happened and there would be a cry from someone in the crowd. i don't actually know the exact advice they gave the 3rd wife who called the ceremony, but the male hauka did come up to the 9 of us white people. he said he liked us cause we were one with him (he came from ohio), he would be with those of us who were going to the beach after we left niger (most of my peers here are going to the coast of benin rather than straight home after the program is over), and he said we'd all get our diplomas (that one was vague, i know).. but for how violent his motions were, he was very nice to the anasaras.
anyway, to wrap it up, 9 hours of exhausting and crazy events later.. at the end of the day was i convinced? i would say that i'm 87% sure that something extraordinary was happening. i will say that nothing that happened couldn't have been acted. HOWEVER.. there are many unexplicables.. like: it would have to be really really really good acting to physically torture yourself, or foam out of your nose and mouth. also, the mediums who get posessed don't get paid. the musicians do for calling out the spirits, but the mediums don't. one woman was in trance, and they were trying to get the full posession, but the spirit "fell out of her" and she flopped to the ground before the spirit spoke. and the one hauka woman was a fully veiled, hardcore muslim until the spirit entered her.. and our teacher told us she hates being posessed and has to beg god for forgiveness after she attends these events. it is part of her duty, however, to be posessed, and no matter the pain or the sin of it all, she has to do it. also inexplicable, putting your baby's life in danger. one woman was overcome when the spirit was talking to her - she cried out and her body flailed, and we were lucky the baby (who was tied around her back the way all women here carry their young) didn't crack his skull on the wall behind her! after that episode the anasaras took over the infant and the woman went to rest on the floor.. but no mother here would act like that with her child around her waist!
at the end of the day you could definitely say it has a lot to do with beliefs, culture, and perhaps some sort of fabrication.. it is after all a very theatrical event.. but it's still really a mystery to me. i'm convinced there are spirits, i'm not positive they posess people. i'm sure mediums minds aren't fully there as their bodies are apparently being posessed, but i have no idea where they go! it's amazing to hear some of the stories, and to really think about it. being western the whole thing all sounds like such bull, but it is such a strong part of the culture here. me saying that spirit posessions don't exist is like a nigerienne saying that baseball isn't a sport. and that's a terrible analogy.
yesterday was exhausting, but an amazing experience. literally exhausting though - dehydration last night and all day today for sure. must nap now. was able to get one or two pictures on my friends camera yesterday, and will put them up with others the next chance i get.
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