Whirlwind of a Weekend

So much has happened since my last post and I am beginning to realize that I won’t be able to share every detail on this blog… you would get sick of my rambling and I would spend half my day blogging!  But this time I'll try anyway... I’ll start back at last Thursday and fill you in on the big weekend I had here!

I got to visit my research site on Thursday.  Dr. Dantouma Koita, a young physician and the Banankoro project director, came to pick me up after lunch and we rode to Banankoro on his moto.  The whole way there, I began to get excited and feel butterflies about really being out at the CSCOM (Community health center) and interacting with the workers and the women there.  Because this is the end of the rainy season, the scenery was really quite lush and beautiful, and the afternoon sun shining on the small communities along the way felt really peaceful.  At the health center in Banankoro I was given a warm welcome.  I met the midwife and the male nurse that work to run the CSCOM.  I got a glimpse of the four small rooms that make up the health facility: an office where consultations take place, a room for the medical officer on duty with a bed for night guardian, a birthing room, and a recovery/sick room where 5 beds were crammed in to hold new mothers as well as sick patients. 

I got to meet Assana, an elementary teacher who is the liaison between the village and Dantouma and myself.  He is, informally, the assistant program director, and he and Dantouma introduced me to three of the community health workers who were present (of the 5) and to a group of new mothers and pregnant women who had come to greet me.  I tried to explain some of my goals and tell the workers and the women that I looked forward to talking to them about this program and Assana translated into Bambara.  At the end, the women who had gathered smiled at my attempts at Bambara and clapped for me!  When Dantouma and I got on his moto to go back to the city (and try to beat the approaching rain), I was filled with a sense of excitement and motivation.  I am hoping that this feeling will be renewed and reinforced this week when I go back to Banankoro for introductions to village leaders and to observe during prenatal care day at the clinic.

Vieux Farka Toure and his bassist
(cameo by funny dancing woman in back)

I spent Friday “taking care of business.”  I went to the embassy and picked up my three boxes of books, then headed over to Daline’s to pick up some odds and ends that she “sold” to me as she prepares to return to the states.  I also took a couple pieces of clothing that she gave me to the tailor to be altered.  I am so grateful to have met Daline and been blessed by her kindness!  When I finally got back to my house I was exhausted and after carrying shelves, cookware and boxes up to my apartment, I was happy to get a short nap.  That evening, I went and hung out with my family again.  I found out that my oldest sister who is getting married is going to be a second wife!  I was shocked because she is a very smart, capable woman who is marrying a judge… she studied in Russia and teaches law classes at the university.  I have this sad feeling that she is settling because she is getting older, but I guess I really don’t know the whole story.  Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel sad and a little outraged that her husband who joined us for dinner was leaving a wife and two children at home to be at our house!

Friday night began what would be a musical weekend.  My brother, Papou, took me to the Parc au Prince, a bar/lounge, to hear the live musical stylings of Baba Salah.  Baba is a fairly young Malian musician who has played guitar for Oumou Sangaré (a famous Malian singer) among others, and he was indeed astounding.  The music made up for the fact that I kind of felt like I was on an awkward date. 

Daline and I pose with Vieux!

Saturday saw a trip to the mini artisan market (hooray for beautiful and inexpensive silver jewelry!) and a return to the tailor to pick up my newly altered clothes (now I had something to wear to Yaya’s wedding!).  I visited Yaya in the evening and took note of all the preparation for the next day’s events.  Yaya’s friend, Ahmed, also a Maiga like me, took time to explain all of the wedding plans to me, which was really interesting and quite kind of him.  I rushed off to change and prepare to meet friends for a concert at 9pm and on the way home, Yaya stopped to buy me a chicken for dinner!  Yum!  I made it (only a little late) to the concert at the French Cultural Center and really enjoyed an evening of music with Vieux Farka Touré (the late, great Ali Farka’s son).  He was cute and energetic and I even got to meet him after the concert because he and Daline are friends!?! 

Saturday was a fun, but late, night with American friends…. We went to a rather sketchy bar/club where we were the only ones dancing.  They served us water in old vinegar bottles and we left when we noticed the moldy ceilings… I hit Ibiza club with a few people and danced until the wee hours, which made my early rising time the next day a little rough :/

Yaya and his bride, Assitan, outside the mayor's office 

The day of the wedding was long, but fun!  I put on my bright green outfit, courtesy of Daline, and ended up matching the color of the “bridesmaids.”  I went to Yaya’s at 8am and hung out with all the “guys.”  I traveled around with the men all day, in fact, but I didn’t mind because I get along with Yaya’s friends really well.  We caravanned to Yaya’s uncle’s house, then to the bride’s house to get her, and then to the mayor’s office where the actual marriage took place.  I didn’t get to see it because it happened in a little room and only the couple, the witnesses, and the cameramen fit inside!  So, I stood outside and tried to stay cool while I waited and talked to Yaya’s friends and family—this became a general theme for the day.  When we finally left the mayor’s office (which was crazy busy with weddings!  I think I counted 5 different wedding parties), we literally drove around all of Bamako, stopping at the houses of family members and an Imam to take pictures and introduce the new couple (I think we made 6 or 7 stops!).  We caravanned the whole way, honking horns and stopping traffic at times.  It was rather exhausting and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the bride in her big, awkward dress getting in and out, in and out of the car!

Yaya and Assitan pose in front of the
Tour d'Afrique Monument
(that cute little girl followed Assitan all day holding her skirt)

Finally, we ended up at Yaya’s house where we took more photos (and some in front of a city monument) and got a chance to eat something.  I sat with the guys, and then visited with the women for a while and held a brand new baby.  This was fun, but a little more stressful because the women insisted in speaking to me in Bambara.  They then laughed constantly as I tried to reply or to understand.  I don’t know that they were necessarily laughing at me, but it was frustrating, nonetheless.  After dinner and a lot of sitting around watching TV with Yaya and friends, it was time to take him to his nuptial room.  As I understand it, after marriages here, the bride is returned to her family’s house to rest and then her friends bring her to the nuptial room which is at a neutral location (not her house or her husband’s).  The husband then goes to find her, accompanied by his friends.  We arrived to a house where the bride was waiting in a HOT room filled with incense.  She was hidden under a white mosquito net and I couldn’t see her.  We piled into the room, sat around and talked to the woman sitting next to the net, and left Yaya there.  The woman will stay with the couple the whole time they are in the nuptial room to offer guidance, prepare meals, and traditionally, confirm that the bride is a virgin.  The groom cannot leave the house for three days, and the bride has to stay there for 7.  She can’t eat any rice or drink anything but boiled water.  Her meals consist of the millet porridge commonly eaten as breakfast here.  Apparently there was some concern when we arrived because the attendant woman was fairly young.  Yaya's uncle voiced concerns that she was not old or experienced enough to do the job.  But, I went to visit the couple yesterday and they seem to be getting along well.  I took pictures with them in the sweltering room and had yummy dinner there.  Yaya told me the sweet story of how they met (he called and called and called her before she would agree to see him!) and I was filled with happiness for him as I began to understand just how excited he was to be married after courting Assitan for five years! 

With that, I will end a very long entry (sorry).  I really enjoyed the weekend and was grateful for a good night’s sleep on Sunday night.  The wedding was a lot of fun and really interesting to me… I would love to get to attend another and spend time with the bridal party to see all the preparations that the women go through.  Despite the heat and all the moving around, I was perplexed and awed by the beauty of the women at the wedding.  I appeared to be melting, while they looked gorgeous and regal, even when eating with their hands breastfeeding their babies, or sweltering in the sun!  

Congratulations to Yaya and Assitan.  I offer my blessings to the new couple, Ala ka furu ni si be!