Holiday Hike in Dogon Country

The landscape was breathtakingly beautifully. Mainly because we were all out of breath by the time we reached the peak of each cliff due to our guides incredible long legs and ability to climb at an alarming rate in flip-flops that were two sizes too small. I began my hoilday season by spending a few nights in Bamako to get checked out by the medical staff and relax, unfortunately because I stayed in Bamako immediately after Peace Corps training I did not get the free transport to Sevare, to make my travels a little easier. On my own I managed fine though and got out of Bamako in time to meet up with volunteers in Sevare the night before we were to travel to Bandiagara to get ready for our Holiday Hike. On the 24th we began our journey with our guide Mamadou.

Group 1 Day 1

Climbing rocks to get a bird's eye view of the village

Morning of day 1 we hiked about 11 km and breaked for lunch and a nap in a small village. After the heat of the day wore off we explored parts of the town and meandered our way across a mountain to make it to the village we were to stay for the night. That night we met the dugutigi (village chief) and as a gift gave him kola nuts and tea. After dinner he organized an impromptu dance performance which was very entertaining, but we were all extremely tired. They prepared the dance floor by watering the ground, to prevent the dust from rising everywhere from their quick dance movements. They move their feet in very quick movements and slightly bend down swaying their arms moving to the beat of the drums. The men and women dance in slightly different styles. I wish it wasn't so dark otherwise I would have recorded some of the dances. We saw the moon rise and slept on the roof of some huts under some mosquito nets they provided and a mattress. It was a little cold the first night, but not as cold as the next. Day 1= 14km

Animism~Christianity~Islam
Each rock represents a religious practice in the village

The next morning we were served pate (malian fried dough) and bread with jam and the choice of tea or instant coffee. Then we set out around 8 am for a 10 km hike to our lunch destination in Tele. Our guide said it was going to be a flat hike today. It was flat, but very sandy. I think we enjoyed the up and down more than walking in sand for 4 hours. The village Tele was awesome after an amazing grilled chicken lunch and nap we hiked up into the cliff dwellings. Our guide told us Dogon people settled there 4 centuries before Christ.

It was incredible to climb through the remains of a village resting on the side of a cliff. They were very ingenious architects, I tried to imagine an ordinary day living in the mountain climbing across or around houses to see a friend, or playing a game of hide-and-seek in all the small spaces between the mountain and mud buildings. We then left that site to walk another 4 km in sand to reach a fellow PCVs village to enjoy a shower and christmas dinner with a big group of volunteers. The village knew we were coming ahead of time so they put together a play to present after our dinner. This night we were given only mattresses on the roof and it was really really cold. Another volunteer and I kept waking in the middle of the night asking eachother if they were still freezing wondering why they didn't give us more blankets. So we shared a mattress and sandwiched ourselves between the other mattress, still cold, but could sleep more than 20 minutes at a time.

The next day we had an even bigger breakfast than the day before, because the volunteer at the site made special requests. We got to choose from rice cereal, moni (mali millet porridge), bread & jam, and tea or coffee. We only had 6 km left before the end of our tour through Dogon and our last village stop was Djiguibombo. I was very happy with my decision to go to on the hike for Christmas. I did not have time to travel to Djenne or Mopti, but there is always next year.

2011 is days away. I have yet to think of a New Years resolution, so I will brainstorm ideas. What is your New Year's resolution?
I went into town this morning to go to the bank and post office. I finally got to send out postcards I've been carrying with me for two weeks. I also received a package from a good friend (Thank you a bunch Nancy). I am going back to site tomorrow, excited to celebrate the New Year with my new home in village. Although I miss home very much and listened to the voice messages of the Christmas calls I received from family while waiting in the bank. I totally cried, because I love my family and want to squeeze them like a tube of toothpaste. Happy New Year!!!

Tubaniso~ House of the Doves

I am back at the Peace Corps training site near Mali's capitol Bamako. We have two weeks of scheduled sessions for technical training, project ideas, and PACA practice (Participatory Analysis for Community Action). Also our work counterparts from our respective villages have joined us to attend PACA sessions as well.

Week 1

Week 2

So far the session on tree grafting has been the most helpful and engaging. I am really excited to graft some trees, particularly Mango and Shea. A grafted Mango tree can produce fruit in as little as 5 years whereas an ungrafted tree would produce fruit after about 25 years. I took pictures throughout the presentation. Our presenter was a Malian man that spoke Bambara. He put together a grafting kit and takes it with him wherever he goes.

Our presenter with his Graft Kit Bag

He said we should keep a grafting bag with us as well, because you never know when you might need your tools to collect branches. He was very entertaining and you could tell he was excited about his presentation.

completed graft of Baobob Tree

At T-So (Tubaniso) we are conveniently close to the big city Bamako. I have had the pleasure of going into town for dinner three times already. Pizza, banana split, falafel, wine, hummus, cheese, espresso, etc. the big city of Bamako has it all. I went to the Fourmi (a large supermarket) and was overwhelmed with the selection of shampoo & conditioners I could pick from. The Fourmi even sold dog food, I was convinced when I saw that aisle I could find anything there. I browsed a bit, but decided just to buy shampoo, postcards, a chocolate bar, and soap. I am trying to save money for traveling in Mali. While at T-So if we're not in a session, people are hanging out watching movies, tv shows, reading, playing card/board games, and playing volleyball, soccer, and basketball. If we had a bat and a ball I'm sure we would be training for W.A.I.S.T. the softball tournament held in Senegal. The sessions have been pretty long and after more than a week here most of us probably would rather be at site, but soon after our IST is christmas so many of us will be traveling to different places in Mali to celebrate together and listen to christmas tunes.

The Adoration of Trees

I pass the Sankio village sign and it is yellow, but I remember him saying to turn left at the yellow sign past the Sankio sign. I continue, hoping I will eventually come to that sign. I have already biked over 12km in the early afternoon sun. As I ride, I pass women returning from the bushes carrying loads of firewood atop their heads, children herding cows near a pond, large diesels on the road to Burkina, and mounds of cotton on the side of the road that I wish was snow. I come to the yellow sign and as I turn my tutor is right there behind me on his moto, I break for water before taking the small dirt/sand path that leads into the village I came to visit.
In December this village has a two day ceremony, the first day involves the killing of many chickens. The animists and muslims that still practice some traditonal fetishes take two chickens into the bush (kungola) to be sacrificed. They say their wishes/prayers and hand their chicken to a man that slits the throat, draws blood on the tree, and tosses the chicken on the ground. People then watch to see how the chicken dies and when it stops the position will tell the person whether or not their prayers/wishes will be answered.

"next chicken"

I could only go so far, I was warned to stay back. Because, I am not a married woman nor have any children I must stay back and not get close to the area where the men killed the chickens. Also after the fact I was there, my tutor said feel free to take many pictures, you are safe the dugutigi (village chief) is here, there is no problem.... (hmm k why would I not be safe?) "This is traditional things if you came alone they will kill you". Interesting I feel so much more relaxed now, I think I'll take more pictures of this interesting ceremony. Afterwards we returned from the bushes into the village to visit people and relax under the shade of a hangar while two men played the drums and sang. I was then convinced that I had to return the next day, because there will be much more drums and a balafone. The dugutigi said to be in village at 8 am so I wouldn't miss any of the drumming and also I would get there before the drumming got too sloppy due to the consumption of millet beer. After another quick tour of another part of the village I was on my way back home, I made it just before dark.

Another area in the bush, tutor and dugutigi, I was told to stay back

Friday morning. I arrived in the village half past eight. We waited drank tea, I nearly fell asleep a few times. They offered me a recliner, I declined. Crazy people came, a women shoved a tire at the crazy man's head shooing him out of the concession so he wouldn't bother me. The dugutigi was postponed due to an unfortunate event in the village, a man's cows destroyed another man's crops. Just after 11 am he arrived and we sat a little while to chat. In the distance I could hear the drummer's approaching....

Drum line approaches

They approached and I listened and watched as we sat. I was surprised that the crowd was mainly just a bunch of old people, but I guess they are the ones keeping this tradition alive. The men played the drums and people passed around a variety of miscellaneous recycled containers holding millet beer and serving them in gourd bowls. I was offered to drink but declined for fear of catching a water-borne illness. I am not entirely sure how they make the drink or if the containers they use have been sterilized (unlikely). One day though I'd like to make a batch of millet beer. I'll shadow an animist or christian in village someday to figure it out. The rest of the day we spent walking around the town, followed the drummers as they paraded through another area of the village. Greeting people as we went.

Mali cotton

I got to meet a man making cotton cloth it was totally awesome to see the cotton stretched across the concession to his work station. I followed my tutor to his host family's concession for lunch and then was back on the road for home to share pictures with my host family. I think it is important to have a host family in as many villages of Mali as possible so no matter where you go you'll have a place to rest.

"I ni baara"

The City of Sikasso

I just returned from the Thanksgiving festivities hosted by volunteers in Sikasso. The town is big and I didn't explore as much as I would have liked, but made some good discoveries along the way. The market there is big even not on an official Market day. I spent one morning just walking around lolligallying in the market.  There is an underground and above ground market area. I was looking for some sandals and anything else that caught my fancy. I came across a shop selling soccer jerseys and went in, there were some nice Mali shirts with the country printed on the fabric and a wall of men's shoes, gucci, LV, nike, vans, etc. I found some sweet shorts that are really long and go past the knee, perfect for walking around in Mali, a little bargaining and sold.
I came across a guy selling monkey skulls among many other interesting items, such as bracelets, necklaces, masks, knives, bogolan-fini cloth, leather bags, etc. I really wanted a necklace, but I know he was overcharging me and he wouldn't accept my reasonable offer so I left. I didn't have much money with me and I wanted to be sure I had enough to buy the sandals I came there for. Finally I found a sandal man worth talking to, he sold his sandals in a wheel barrow and all of them were just a keme (500 cfa ~ 1 dollar). So with the help of the sandal man I chose a style and he dug through the pile to find my size. I think I went to the market a little early, because later that day many more vendors arrived with a larger selection of sandals, etc. Next time.
I stayed at the Hotel Ikhlass its about 30 minutes across town from the Peace Corps Bureau and Market. It was a nice hotel. I shared a room with 4 other girls. It had wireless internet, a shower with warm water, a tv, and a toilet.

 

Hotel Ikhlass Entrance

Walking towards the Bureau from the hotel you come across a Restaurant Al Baraka. They have a menu and most of the time what is listed on the menu they will be able to serve you. If you go in a large group expect a long wait. I have had the Shwarma, meat sandwich wrap, and the Hamburger. Both good choices. Down the road from the retaurant is another place that serves soft-serve Ice Cream. 



Placemat at the Al Baraka

All in all it was a good trip into town to see Sikasso and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with other Americans. On Friday Hotel Maissa another hotel down the road and around the corner from the Ikhlass had a pool and was rented out for the afternoon. Very nice to relax in the water. Also there were donkey races before our meal. The best part though was getting woken up at 5:20 am to receive a Happy Thanksgiving call from my family in the states, everything served as a good distraction for my first thanksgiving away from family & friends. Love and miss you all. I'll be returning to my village today only to be back at an in-service training in a weeks time.

A wise man once said...

"Mogo be nunuma ni ka soro k'i taama, mogo te taama ni ka soro k'a nunuma. Jin ko bee ye doni doni ye."

"People crawl before they walk, they cannot walk before they crawl. All things in the world happen slowly."

Amiina to that! Five months in Mali and the language is progressing slowly slowly, but I am understanding more and more each day. I'm not afraid to make errors when I speak so I pretty much talk freely and hope they get the just of what I was trying to say. Kind of like the way I speak English if you know me well. I can understand better than I can speak just because it takes some effort to attempt to form a grammatically correct sentence, plus I don't want to accidently say something ridiculous by mixing up vocabulary words.
This morning was very pleasant I woke up early for a jog/walk and this time I took my ipod. It was really beautiful watching the sunrise. I found the perfect rode with few travelers and it is at a slight elevation so I can see the horizon and parts of my town. I was enjoying my tunes and then Suavemente by Elvis Crespo came on and I couldn't help but dance all along the trail. I got caught offguard when a man came up from behind me on his bike, I was a little embarrassed but carried on with my dancing.


The road of my morning travels

I was going to do laundry today. but the fam was so I decided to wait till after Tabaski. Instead I went to the corn/rice machine to get some work done. Had tige dege na for lunch, took a nap next to mom, and had tea when I woke up. I promised to make no-bake cookies for the seliba tomorrow so in the wulafe (late afternoon) I went to the butigi (boutique) down the road to buy some oatmeal and chocolate powder drink mix. Then I decided to wash my bike and oil the parts, which took longer than I had anticipated.
After bathing I watched my host mom's niece cut apart a guinea fowl while I cut potatoes and then onions, garlic, and a bell pepper. "Sita be kasi". Yes Sita does cry everytime she cuts onions. I didn't understand what we were going to have for dinner. because they were also cooking plaintains and they mixed them in with the fried potatoes. It turned out well though, I asked what the dish was called and she said 'frite ni loco", fries and plaintains. Ayiwa. O.K. I can remember that; on top of the fries and plaintains was the guinea fowl cooked with the onions, garlic, and bell pepper. When I came home on Monday there was a new goat, but I guess he'll be gone by tomorrow night. My brother said he is going to kill it tomorrow and we are all going to eat! Except for her, pointing to his cousin. He teases everyone in the family a lot. So sometimes I say he is crazy. Tomorrow evening I am also going to make oatmeal a.k.a. "Ameriki moni/ceri". I made it once before in the morning, but my host mom wasn't back from town then. Well its that time again.
Ala k'an kelen kelen wuli. ~ May we get up one by one.