The Harmattan haze is upon us. The dry, dusty wind blows in from the Sahara and contributes to the poor visibility these days. Every morning seems to have a bit more bite in the air. It is chilly at dawn and dusk (still only a T-shirt required though) which is of course a welcome respite after spending time in the heat of day.
We are now in week 2 of the Ayensudo Kindergarten Project. As we wait on the arrival of the bulldozer to level the site, the gangs of community labour have been cracking on with the digging of the drainage system either side of the football field. These are sloped ditches which will be planted with native grasses to prevent erosion. They will take excess rain water away from the kindergarten and the football field, and help to drain an area south of the site which is prone to flooding.
Meanwhile, our first weekend in the New Year has been a very exciting if not demanding one. We were privileged to be invited to a funeral of the old chief, a wedding and the instalment of the new chief.
The new chief, Mr. Ibrahim Yacob, had requested for Joe and I to cover the event by taking photos and keeping a video log of the proceedings. This was a rather daunting task but one that we were much obliged to perform. About 20 years ago Mr Ibrahim started the school which we are now extending. He is very helpful, influential, and most of all a great friend who comes to sit with us outside our house to talk most evenings.
The event began on Friday evening with the funeral sermon. This we attended from about 9:30 pm. The attendees were made up of local elders, the new chief and several Imams from neighbouring towns. There were songs and preaching and generally sombre proceedings, most of which we could not understand (apart from the bit about Cat Stevens converting to Islam). This carried on until 2am. We retired after midnight to conserve our energy for the main event on Saturday morning.
The day started out with more serious matters of introductions of chiefs from various villages and to formally introduce everyone. Men and women came from hundreds of miles around in their best boubou and m’boubou (elaborate gowns). There was much discussion about sitting arrangements, followed by supplications to God where everyone present contributed a token sum of money. This was done to remember the old chief that had passed away.
The wedding was not the great celebration that we envisioned. We hardly saw the groom and were told that the bride was not allowed to attend! And it was the part I was waiting for all day! Mr Abdullai, the Head Teacher at the local school, informed us that this was because the wedding was held in conjunction with a funeral, so the funeral took precedence. The wedding was simply meant to be legalised before the local elders.
The installation of the new chief was evidently THE EVENT of the day. The new chief was decked out in rather simple dress of white with a very intricate stitched decoration at his chest. He looked very much like the chief now! Once he was sworn in and formally introduced, he was set on a palanquin and raised on the heads of four men. This was the moment the women and children had been waiting in the periphery for. They began whooping and waving their scarves up and down (this is apparently to bestow best wishes and heap praise upon the new chief). It also seemed to be the signal for the brass band that had been on standby to begin!
It was a huge party, a carnival that took us from one end of the village to the other and onto the main road where it ended up with a cacophony of dance, shouts and music. The whole procession kicked up a big dust cloud that remained in the air long after the dancing had died down. With the new chief installed, the celebrations were to continue long into the day and evening. After multiple photos, stumbling after the crowd and many shouts of ‘obruni!’ later, we were done for the day.
It was a very fruitful venture and I think we managed to capture the mood of the community that day.
This is the same community that will be contributing to the Ayensudo Project with their time, labour and assistance.
Here are some photos. Please view by SET
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