Monday, February 20, 2006

Guys,

Sorry didn't get post up. Will do soon. Did send mom some pics and she will be posting them. Also, my friend Amanda has a blog with pics. She is my neighbor so there are some with me. the site is www.tharshegoes.com. Or I just put up a new album on facebook.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Voodoo on the Mountaintop

Have been in Ouaga the past week for the yearly pcv's meetings. We have been very busy and really haven't had much time for anything. The last day of the meetings we scheduled a big Mardi Gras masquerade. We made Ouagajitos (mojitos with bissap) and a concoctition with orange juice, bissap and vodka which is tentatively names Bottom - Up Burkina (we will accept suggestions). My neighbors and I dressed up in our special mardi gras costumes that we had made when we were in Koudougou. Last Friday my two nearest neighbors came to my village and we had a mask making party.

The most exciting news is that we FINALLY got to climb the mountain. After talking about it since we first visited villages, the stars finally aligned for us (l'heure africain and all).I had mentioned the expedition to one of my village friends, fully expecting him to laugh me out of village, but instead he asked to come with me. It was then turned into a huge event and three other friends decided to come along as well. I half-jokingly tell people that I have a posse who follows me around everywhere (these four guys from my theater troop).

We decided to leave really early in the morning. Even though we said 6 a.m. we wound up leaving at 7:30 and still not everyone had made it. Abdul, Nebilbie (my cousin who lives in my family's compound)and I headed out hoping the others would catch up. Amazingly Souley caught up with us (amazing because the Burkinabes peddle at an impossibly slow rate). He told us Hamidou was in the village over visiting his sister and wound met us on the road. We met up with him in Tenado. The bike ride to the village at the bottom of the mountain is 22 km from me. We were meeting my peace corp neighbor from Reo there who was bringing a local friend with her as well.

We met up in Kyon only to have the Burkinabes decide that they needed to eat breakfast before they climbed the mountain. After they ate we had to head to an uncle's house so they could get a jug and water. Then we had to go visit the chief of the village to gain his permission as he is the keeper of the animist tradition and the locals believe they descended from the mountain. The chef said we could climb the mountain but his son would go with us to act as a guide.

We biked about 5 km to the foothills of the mountain. The area looked a lot like going into Carsbad Caverns. We started heading up the mountain. There was a trail which was a lot more than Amanda and I were expecting but the trail was staight up all the way. At the top of the foothills there were two rocks on the side of the path. We had to stop while the locals explained that we had to jump through them. If we didn't, we would get bit by a scorpion.

Before we made the final ascent to the summit we were stopped a second time by a pile of rocks. Each of us had to pick a rock up from the ground and place it on the pile. Then we are had to dance in a circle around the pile of rocks three times. At first Amanda and I thought they were all just joking but no, we actually had to do it. There were huge rocks of the top of the mountain and you could see for miles. Amanda is a huge yoga buff and we commented on how fun it would be to do yoga on the rocks. I wound up taking a picture of her doing the tree pose. The Burkinabes were totally thrown and I explained it was yoga. One of the guys said, "Oh, I know about that. It is like magic. You can move things with your mind." Of all the random things to know about in Africa! They then made us take a picture of all of them doing the yoga pose. Amanda said, "Oh great. You know if the crops fail this year it is because the witchy nacarras (white people) were doing voodoo on the sacred mountain." It was a joke and we laughed, but then checked ourselves because, remembering the dancing around the rock pile, we figured it could possibly the true.

On the way down I fell, of course, and got harassed about it for quite a while. On the whole it was a lot of fun.

Friday, February 03, 2006

The Pilgrimage of the Goat

It feels like so much has happened in village since the last time I have written but it has only been a month. I must admit that I am at quite a loss as to where to begin.

I got back for my week stint in Ouaga just in time to begin preparing for the last of the holidays, the muslim holiday of Tabaski. When I asked what Tabaski was exactly and what its relavence to Islam was, the answer I always received was, "It is the holiday of the goat." I would always then ask "Why?" And the responce was always, "Because that is when we slaughter a goat." Upon further questioning, I was never able to extract exactly what the goat meant to the holiday/religion. That is Burkina for you.

In the days before Tabaski I was scolded by my muslim friends in village for not yet visiting the mosque. Apparantly Sofiata is an Islamic name and since my name is muslim, I must surely be muslim and go to prayer. I was jokingly warned that I better get myself to prayer on Tabaski.

The night before we had the now-traditional all night dance party at my second family's house. The day of Tabaski came and I wore my long skirt and long sleeve shirt as well as the biggest scarf I have and headed for the mosque. On the way there my second family, who is muslim, stopped me. My scarf was apparently not large enough so I had to borrow one of theirs and they had to tie it a specific way. I was also sent toward a large tree in village in the opposite way of the mosque where prayers were going to be held.

I came upon a group of people who were preforming a pilgrimage on their way to the tree. The men were in front praying and shooting guns while the women followed behind. As we neared the tree three other groups came from other directions and we all arrived at the same time.

We sat out our mats and all prayed. I was in the back with the other women and my daughter. About half way through my second father, who is the butcher (hurray for free meat in village) left and later returned with a goat in tow. The imans then proceeded to slaughter the goat to "show the people the proper way to sacrifice it." I was just glad I was in the back!

After prayers finished my friend Abdul called me up to where the men were sitting and we all posed for a picture. It was a strange feeling being the only women allowed in the men's section especially since my scarf had fallen by that point. I waited around hoping for an invite somewhere.

Two of my theater guys asked me to their house to celebrate and we spent the whole day chatting, eating and drinking tea and zoomkoom (dont ask because you dont want to know what it is). I went home in the evening only to be told that I was expected at my second family's dinner. Needless to say I was quite well fed that day.

My theater troupe has kept me busy planning the bike-a-thon (you will all be hit up for money very soon so be prepared) and practicing their hour long play that they preformed during our biggest market day of the month. I am also planning a festival for women's day on march 8th. Is this my dream job or what I get to plan festivals (you know I secretly pretend it is going to be like bonnaroo or acl fest).

This is also the season of funerals. Almost everyday there is a funeral in one of the surrounding villages. I funeral is different from an enternment and is basically a two day party (held now because no one is working for these three months) to celebrate the persons life. Kinda like a Jazz funeral without the good music or bourbon. It is still strange to me to hear that this is the funeral season, however.

My family held a funeral for three women who died in our courtyard. My petite mom, the last of my dad's three wives, made me drink dolo and follow the drums around dancing (I got told that I was not a good Muslim for drinking the dolo by the way). The drummers and dancers went around to each courtyard carrying knives and a goat which they killed at the house of each father(Note: this is not apparently the best time to be a goat in Burkina). I made bissap (hibiscus tea) and gateau (beignets). I shared them with the women who later came into my courtyard singing another song they made up for me. It was their way of saying thank you. My friend Souley told me that one of the lines was, "The beautiful stranger who asked for a place in our house." So at least it was nice things they were singing.

I was invited last monday to go to a wedding. Actually I was invited to be in the groom's wedding party. It was actually kind of a let down because their was a lot of waiting involved. All of the grooms friends gathered at the grooms house and we went to the financee's parents house where the girl was hidden. The groom was sent to "find" the girl and then paid for her and was able to take her with him to his house. Of course an all night dance party ensued with the eating of cola nuts (but not by me). It was a bit strange because the couple already had a five year old daughter and the wife had been living with the husbands family. I asked people about this and they told me that now the couple were "officially" married and before the groom had just "stolen" the wife. It was my first animist celebration.

Next week we will finally climb the famed Mt Sanguie. I am looking forward to it and have invited five village friends to go with me. I will write about it when I go to Ouaga at the end of next week.