Sunday 30 December 2012

Boxing Day


Following on from my previous post about our Christmas here at Balaba, I though I would try to give you an idea of how others might celebrate Christmas in the Gambia. I talked to a few people from the nearby village of Berending about what they do for Christmas. Firstly, if possible, everyone in the family tries to get home, even if they work somewhere else in the country. This made much easier because the majority of people here are Muslim, and so they don't celebrate Christmas – in fact, it's a normal working day here, and only the Catholic schools are closed for the holiday – Muslim schools are still in session. Lamin explained that the essential services, such as the hospitals, fire service and the military have a reciprocal arrangement, whereby the Muslims are on duty during Christian festivals, and then the Christians take their turn during Muslim festivals such as Tobaski.

In Berending, there is definitely a community feel amongst the Christians living there. They mostly live in the same areas of the village, and on Christmas Day most of them will go to the Catholic Church for Midnight Mass, and again on Christmas morning. After that, the whole (Christian) community gets together. Of course, the weather is sunny and dry, which means everything can happen outside, so a huge communal meal is cooked, of pork, rice and vegetables, washed down with palm wine naturally! Before Christmas everyone makes a donation towards the food, but if someone is especially hard up and can't pay, they can still go and eat with everyone else – I was explaining to Lamin about how our church makes up food parcels for those who are having difficulty, but in some ways this communal approach seems even better.

After the meal, people will either sit around in one area together, or visit each other's compounds, and their Muslim neighbours may drop in as well. My Gambian friends found it hard to understand how we may go to church on Christmas morning, but then generally go home with just our families for the rest of the day, as Christmas is very much a communal event here.

Later in the day, there are other communal events – an eating competition, a singing competition etc, followed by drumming and dancing which could go on all night. In fact, the whole week between Christmas and New Year is seen as part of the holiday, and I've heard music and drumming floating from Berending every night since Christmas Eve! Presents don't feature as part of the culture here, probably because most people have very little, if any, spare cash.

Anyway, as promised, here is what we did on Boxing Day!

Quite early in the morning, Lamin set off to Kartong to get fish. Kartong is the last village before the river Allahein, which is the border with Senegal, and you have to go through border control and customs to get to the fishing area (although in reality this is just a small checkpoint in the road). Sometimes you need to wait for the fishing boats to return, which can take a while, but this time Lamin didn't need to wait long, and he soon returned with some lovely fish, including an enormous black grouper. 

Tackling the black grouper with a cutlass! 

Ara and Saffie preparing the other fish.

Everyone tends to help preparing fish when there is a large lot to be gutted, so Lamin took responsibility for the grouper, using his 'cutlass' (machete), and Saffie and Ara took care of the other fish. Some was taken to be grilled, and the rest was cooked with the usual addition of black pepper, garlic, chilli, onions and stock cubes. Naturally it tasted absolutely delicious!

Delicious!


As on Christmas Day, we settled ourselves under the cashew trees, along with several visitors, including two cousins who had heard I was visiting, and came specially to see me (this is considered the polite thing to do in Gambian society). I first met them when I went to the Bakassouck Youth Meeting, and it was good to catch up on news about their Congre (Congress), their annual meeting and party, which sadly took place just after `i left earlier this year, and also t hear more about the Bee project.

After a while we decided to go down to the river at Sala, where the palm wine tappers work, partly to have a change of scenery, and partly to get more palm wine. This is a truly beautiful spot, and I have spent several very relaxing afternoons there enjoying the company and lovely surroundings. The tappers build little shelters from palm leaves, in the shade of the trees, surrounded by rice fields; at this time of year the rice has been harvested, but the foliage is still quite high. The river is nearby, and you can go out onto the flood plain, which is encrusted with salt, where there are lots of birds to be seen. It's very remote, and we have to do some serious off-road driving to get there; we need to keep the car windows done up so the surrounding vegetation doesn't crash in!

The flood plain next to the Allahein River.


Bakary hadn't been there before, so was keen to take a look at the river, and I also went along. However, I hadn't accounted for his intrepid spirit, which meant that rather than following the small tracks between the fields, he simply took off through the vegetation (which is about head height), hunting for wildlife. Since I only had my flip flops on, I wasn't really best equipped for ploughing through rice furrows and hedges, but I persevered, and we were rewarded with the sight of lots of birds, including oxpeckers which sit on the local cows and remove parasites.

Oxpeckers hitching a ride!


He tried his owl call trick again, which attracted quite a few birds, and he kindly agreed that I could record it on my phone, so I could use it when I go out on my own. Sadly I found out afterwards it hadn't recorded properly, but maybe we can try again when he comes back in January.

We then relaxed under the palm trees, watching the wildlife and chatting – I even saw a pair of Red-Billed Hornbills rooting through old weavers' nests (small birds), throwing out debris such as feathers and leaves. I can only assume they were trying to find insects to eat.

Finally, as the light began to fade, it was time to pack up and go home for dinner – yet more of the lovely fish. Once it gets dark, we tend to sit around and talk, and often someone will be brewing ataya, so it's all very sociable. But we all felt quite tired, so opted for an early night after a busy couple of days.


Friday 28 December 2012

Christmas Day in the Gambia




My very own Christmas tree!
I was looking forward to my first Christmas in The Gambia (well actually, my first Christmas outside the UK!), although a little worried about how much I would miss my family. My friend Sue had given me a small stained glass Christmas tree to bring with me, so that I would have a Christmas tree here, which I hung on the wall, but it would have been completely impossible to fit any other decorations in my suitcase! Still, we were expecting lots of visitors, and planning special food, so we still needed to do some preparation.

Christmas Day
Our Christmas breakfast was the same as always – bread and peanut butter and tea. Our stepson Dodou was visiting, and we also had various family members, including another little girl staying too, so they also enjoyed the breakfast.

All ready for Breakfast.
I went to help the women in the kitchen, whilst Lamin went to kill the pig for lunch – because we are on solar power here, there is no fridge or freezer, so food has to be bought or provided fresh. 

A double burner!

Delicious pork in sauce.
When a pig is killed, Gambians traditionally cook some in sauce with block pepper, onion, garlic, chill, onions, mustard and flavourings, and also barbeque some with onions. Numo had managed to borrow a small barbeque from some Europeans up the road, although it's usually done on the inner rim of a car wheel!

Adding flavour to the barbeque.

Numo as King of the Grilling!
Some of our visitors were muslim, so we also prepared fish for them, whilst the men went off into the 'jungle' to buy palm wine – as I've said before, this takes time because of course, they need to drink quite a lot before deciding whether or not to buy(!). Meanwhile Lamin's sister Maji arrived, after a long journey from further north – she is muslim but wanted to come and greet us on Christmas day.

Lamin and his sister Maji
One of our visiting friends, Bakary, works as a professional bird guide, and he offered to take me out to look at birds – it certainly felt strange to be out on Christmas morning, wondering whether or not to put sun cream on! He is extremely knowledgeable, and had the most amazing trick of mimicking an owl call; within a few minutes, the nearby tree was alive with birds who had come to check the call out!

It took quite a long time for the lunch to be ready, with the women working on the rice and pork with sauce, whilst the men drank palm wine and supervised the 'grilling'.

Just to prove I do some work occasionally!

But Saffie is the expert of course....
Meals are served in one large bowl, and everyone either eats with their hands or uses a spoon. Man usually eat separately from the women and children – at Balaba we normally eat together unless there are lots of people, but today we had so many that even the children ate on their own. Mealtimes are not really a social occasion here; firstly, people often have to crouch, and although they are used to it, it's probably not that comfortable, so no-one spends any linger than necessary, and as soon as they have finished they get up and walk away. It's taken me quite a long time to get used to this – it somehow felt rude to walk away when others are still eating. Also, someone once explained that if food is limited, eating is very important, so they like to concentrate on the food rather than become distracted by talking – children are encouraged to eat in silence!

The children are enjoying their Christmas dinner.

And so are the adults...

Grilled pork with onions anyone?
So Christmas lunch was eaten in the shade of the cashew trees, where we also relaxed after eating. One of our visitors, Almamo, kept up a constant supply of 'ataya' – green tea; this traditional drink is made all over the Gambia, and there is a complete ritual to making it, which I love to watch, and will try to share some time. It is minty, tooth-achingly sweet, and very refreshing.

A perfect shady spot to while away Christmas afternoon.
Almamo in charge of the ataya.
Later, Maji was moving on to help her niece who had just had a baby, so we drove her to Gunjur and met Fatou (also Lamin's niece of course), the baby, and two delightful little girls, who were over the moon at having a toubab with a camera in their home. 

Lamin's niece Fatou and two-week old Lamin (it's the traditional Gambian name for a first-born son!)

Big sisters - aren't they lovely?
Soon after we got back, Ara (another of Lamin's sisters) arrived with her small son, who is named after Lamin. She is also muslim, but again, wanted to come and wish us Happy Christmas.

We spent the evening chatting, drinking palm wine and 'wanjo' – a delicious drink made with hibiscus flowers, sugar and flavouring. 

The children are enjoying their wanjo.
I'm not quite sure where everybody slept, but it seems that everyone managed to find a 'spot' somewhere – it's quite common for women and children to be squeezed in together several to a bed!

I did manage to Skype with the family during the day, accompanied by the local children! They are fascinated by the laptop, and when I get it out I feel like the Pied Piper, because they follow me everywhere, and crowd round to watch what I'm doing. They were completely amazed by Skype, and the fact that someone could talk to them through the computer, but it did make communication a bit complicated, as they got terribly excited and noisy!

So my first Christmas in the Gambia came to an end. I can honestly say I had a lovely day, although in some ways it didn't feel too much like Christmas. For most Gambians it's a normal working day, and there was very little build-up to it – in stark contrast to the frenzy we see in the UK. It really made me think about how we celebrate Christmas there, and whether we have the right balance between making it special, whilst not allowing it to get out of hand. I wonder whether some of the things we do, and the pressure to get it all done, can get in the way of our enjoyment? Sometimes we seem to reach Christmas Day frazzled and exhausted, rather than ready to have a lovely time. Food for thought maybe?

Next post I will share all about Boxing Day. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas celebrations, and had a great day. Merry Christmas everyone!

Sunday 16 December 2012

Naming Ceremony in Marakissa


Yesterday the whole family went to Marakissa, the village where Lamin's mother lives, to go to naming ceremony. I've written about the naming ceremony before (see earlier post), but each one is bit different. A naming ceremony can be a small family celebration, but usually they are much larger, and the extended family is invited – there is no need to invite the neighbours as they will come anyway! Everyone helps by making a contribution of food, and by helping with the cooking etc.
Our contribution yesterday was fish, so we asked Lamin's uncle Antoine to catch some for us ready to take to Marakissa for lunch. We arrived at his 'base' in the forest, where he taps for palm wine and catches fish, about 10:00 am, and he had already caught us a huge bucket of fish. These tilapia are small river fish, and are generally eaten by holding it in one hand whilst picking bits off with the other (together with eating the accompanying rice). They are quite bony – the Gambians just put everything in their mouth and then spit the bones out, but as a cowardly Brit I tend to pick out as many bones as possible before eating. However, the fish is delicious, and worth the trouble! 



Antoine and his friend were working on crafting an oar for the boat, using a tool which looked suspiciously like a garden hoe (to my untrained eye), and I was amazed at how carefully they could shave the wood to get just the right shape.




Finally, after the obligatory sharing of palm wine, we set off for Marakissa, arriving at around 11.30. Lots of the family were at Lamin's mother's house, plus all the neighbouring children (about 20 or so!), which is quite normal – because Gambians live mainly outdoors, the children all play together. We went over to the compound where the naming ceremony preparations were in full swing, just to 'greet' the hosts, and were treated firstly to a bowl of rice pudding topped with yogurt, and then grilled pork. Friends and family were cooking vast amounts of rice, chicken, fish and vegetables in enormous pots, and everyone sat around chatting. I can manage a short conversation in both Mandinka and Karoninka now, and if I'm lucky I can sometimes get an idea of the theme of a conversation, but I've still got a lot to learn!




After lunch at Lamin's mother's compound, we then went back to the naming ceremony for the dancing. It's mainly the women who dance, although the men can dance very well, and everyone stands in a circle either clapping or playing sticks, and individuals take in in turns to do a 'solo' dance. I'm not very good at the dancing, but I like to have a go, and it always cause a great deal of laughter when I try.






My brother-in-law Numo is an excellent drummer, and couldn't resist joining in with the professional drummers, with whatever came to hand!


Needless to say, we were all very tired when we got home, and so it was an early night for us all.

Thursday 13 December 2012

Back in The Gambia again!


7 December 2012
After spending so long in the UK, it's hard to believe I am finally back in the Gambia. The year 2012 has certainly been an eventful one! After I returned to the UK in April I was thrown straight into training and a test event for the London Olympics. I was delighted to have been accepted as a Gamesmaker, and thrilled to be working for the Press Operations Photo Team in the Water Polo venue, which was part of the stunning Aquatics complex. You may have seen publicity about the Gamesmakers at the Olympics, and I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life! Not only did I get to be in the Olympic Park almost every day, with an electric atmosphere, but I also got to work with the best sports photographers in the world, often getting to sit right next to the pool and watch every match. On the night Team GB won three athletics medals I finished my shift and watched the races on the Press Room TV, then went outside to hear the cheering in the stadium – it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! Lamin came to stay for three months in the summer, and we managed to get Olympic tickets, so he was also able to get a taste of the excitement.






The other major event this year was the birth of my new grandson Joshua. Although he wasn't very well when he was born, he's doing very well now, and is, of course, very beautiful. His big sister is very pleased with him (most of the time), and it's definitely lovely to be a grandmother again.



So now I am back in the Gambia – this time until April, so I will be here for Christmas. We are now into the dry season again, but it's still quite green from the rain, and the camp is alive with insects such as huge swallowtail butterflies. This is a novelty for me, as they have usually died off by the time I arrive, and I spent some time this morning trying to photograph them, but as they are never still, it's a bit tricky! Still, I've included a shot so you can see what they look like.





I am hoping to have amore reliable internet connection this visit, so I will do my best to keep my blog updated and keep you informed about what's happening here.