1 month

After a month in Saint Louis de Senegal it is probably time to add something of the cultural side here to my (pathetically empty) blog.

To begin with the most exciting, I have been given a new Senegalese name by one of the families here. It seems that people have genuine problems with Western names (not in terms of pronunciation I might add, it is more of a principled objection) so like to give out new names. Accordingly I may now be referred to as ...
Penda Baye Seck Niang

Equipped with a new identity I have been (predictably) enthusiastic in trying all the different ways of life. I spend most days popping round to someones house for a cup of Senegalese tea (very strong and minty, served in shot glasses, takes about an hour to brew) where we sit and discuss Senegalese politics and culture, there is an election in 2 weeks. I have been attemting to de-busy myself recently in order to spend more time engaged in the slower more ordinary Senegalese activities like this.

This weekend we went to the beach where we were invited to a sort of artists commune for tea and Thieboudjenne, which turned out to be one of my favourite days so far. They taught me to play the Thiembaye (Senegalese drum) which I failed happily at. And we spent hours drumming and dancing and drinking tea, which appears to be the average day of most people here.

Having participated (badly) in much of the dancing and music-making myself, I have also been to see it done properly in various dance shows and concerts of which Wasis Diop was by far the best.

The previous weekend 6 of us took the 4 hour "sept-place" ride to touba, the religious capital and site of the biggest Mosque in Africa. I hope I can work out how to upload pictures soon so that people can see the mosque, which was utterly stunning. Enormous, all white marble with green and blue marble domes. Outside it was hotter than anywhere I've ever been, but within the marble it was totally cool and peaceful with people chanting and praying (literally) everywhere. Religion here is unique and bizarre. Up until the 20th century Senegal was predominantly animist i.e beleived in spirits etc and to a large extent many of these beliefs still hold. But around 1913 a man named Cheikh Amadou Bamba became a Muslim, rewrote many of the religious texts, preached widely across Senegal and consequently converted 98 percent of the population to Islam. The legends surrounding Bamba are extensive and confused; he never slept because sleeping was a waste of praying time, he performed miracles, he ate only a handful of rice per day etc. But he is worshipped as much as God. Every taxi, shop and house are full of pictures of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba and his descendants. People also wear the pictures round their necks. I still find it slightly amusing that in most pictures the biggest religious figure in Senegal is wearing Ray-Bans.

The touba trip was fascinating in terms of learning the above and because we stopped to eat with a family in a village in central Senegal made up of the Poolaar ethnic group. While consuming the compulsory Thieboudjenne and tea we listened to them speak about the rivalry between the Wolof and the Polaar, the advantages of their polygymous family and and the life-and-times of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba. The interest value was only slightly hindered byè my shaky French.

Next weekend . . . Camals!