4 days of happiness and fun leads to a long entry – be prepared!
Christmas in Sangha – Well, let’s just say that Christmas in Sangha was perhaps the most necessary and amazing thing that has happened in months. I knew I was getting giddy before we even left, but I didn’t know how great it would be to meet other volunteers and party our asses off together. Lots of people came from all around the country and the group was just the right size. We squeezed 22 into the bachee which was crazy and scary and made our way on the journey. The road from Sevare to Bandiagarra wasn’t bad, but then from Bandiagarra to Sangha was long, bumpy, motion sickness filled and I probably could have done without it. But, finally after a slow 40 km, we finally arrived in Sangha to see all the Dogon’s in their Dogon greatness.
The first day there we got settled into the Mission Houses – basically, Sangha has been a Protestant mission settlement for awhile and there have been missionaries living there forever. So, the houses are pretty nice. We ate some lunch and chilled but got ready to go on our first walk. Now, I don’t remember the names of the villages we visited, but it was a pretty low key walk. Nothing too strenuous and it was nice. It was a preview of Dogon Country and it was great to see a little of the culture there. We saw the bright green onion fields and then the hard rock of the Falaise along with the Hogon’s house, sacred alters for sacrifices, little kids that were nuts and much, much more.
The first night not too much happened. A lot of us were tired and plus there was a 4 hour hike the next day at 7 AM which was pretty intimidating. So, most of us went to bed pretty early. The next morning we all got up and got ready for the hike. We went with Amadou, Cristina’s friend, but unofficial guide, and it was awesome. I didn’t know if I could make it all because we walked all the way down the cliff which didn’t seem possible, but we did. We passed all sorts of crazy rock formations and Tellem Caves and other burial sites, but what was by far the best and most interesting thing was seeing the women walking up the cliff. They walk on the same paths that we and other tourists walk on, but they have 50 kg sacks of rice, huge buckets of water, cases of soda and beer, and other assorted, really heavy things on their heads. The amusing this is that while I’m holding on for dear life in order not to fall up or down, they’re not holding onto anything except the goods on their heads, and then sometimes not even that. The problem with living on a cliff, you can imagine, is the lack of water. It’s so dry there, and the only water is on the plateau beneath all of the villages. So, women descend the falaise in the morning with their bucket and then hike back up. Sometimes it can talk 4 hours just to fetch one bucket of water. As far as the soda and beer go, Sangha is really touristy, so they have to keep the tourists happen. The women are paid 500 CFA, about $1 to carry up a case of drinks. It’s just really crazy. I know it sounds crazy, but seeing it is something else entirely. I would love to include a photo of it here, but the funny thing about touristy places is that people demand money if you take pictures of them (it’s the same in Peru, South America) and I didn’t carry any to pay the women. So, maybe later. I can’t say I paid all that much attention to the explanations of certain things. I was just having a good time with the other PCVs and I didn’t feel like paying attention in French. Here are some great pictures of the rocks and Dogon villages along the way.
Dogon Village houses and graneries, overlooking the Plateau.
Dogon Village embedded into the cliff.
Amadou, Emily, Jackie and Beth - hiking down the Falaise, overlooking the Plateau.
Christmas in Sangha – Well, let’s just say that Christmas in Sangha was perhaps the most necessary and amazing thing that has happened in months. I knew I was getting giddy before we even left, but I didn’t know how great it would be to meet other volunteers and party our asses off together. Lots of people came from all around the country and the group was just the right size. We squeezed 22 into the bachee which was crazy and scary and made our way on the journey. The road from Sevare to Bandiagarra wasn’t bad, but then from Bandiagarra to Sangha was long, bumpy, motion sickness filled and I probably could have done without it. But, finally after a slow 40 km, we finally arrived in Sangha to see all the Dogon’s in their Dogon greatness.
The first day there we got settled into the Mission Houses – basically, Sangha has been a Protestant mission settlement for awhile and there have been missionaries living there forever. So, the houses are pretty nice. We ate some lunch and chilled but got ready to go on our first walk. Now, I don’t remember the names of the villages we visited, but it was a pretty low key walk. Nothing too strenuous and it was nice. It was a preview of Dogon Country and it was great to see a little of the culture there. We saw the bright green onion fields and then the hard rock of the Falaise along with the Hogon’s house, sacred alters for sacrifices, little kids that were nuts and much, much more.
The first night not too much happened. A lot of us were tired and plus there was a 4 hour hike the next day at 7 AM which was pretty intimidating. So, most of us went to bed pretty early. The next morning we all got up and got ready for the hike. We went with Amadou, Cristina’s friend, but unofficial guide, and it was awesome. I didn’t know if I could make it all because we walked all the way down the cliff which didn’t seem possible, but we did. We passed all sorts of crazy rock formations and Tellem Caves and other burial sites, but what was by far the best and most interesting thing was seeing the women walking up the cliff. They walk on the same paths that we and other tourists walk on, but they have 50 kg sacks of rice, huge buckets of water, cases of soda and beer, and other assorted, really heavy things on their heads. The amusing this is that while I’m holding on for dear life in order not to fall up or down, they’re not holding onto anything except the goods on their heads, and then sometimes not even that. The problem with living on a cliff, you can imagine, is the lack of water. It’s so dry there, and the only water is on the plateau beneath all of the villages. So, women descend the falaise in the morning with their bucket and then hike back up. Sometimes it can talk 4 hours just to fetch one bucket of water. As far as the soda and beer go, Sangha is really touristy, so they have to keep the tourists happen. The women are paid 500 CFA, about $1 to carry up a case of drinks. It’s just really crazy. I know it sounds crazy, but seeing it is something else entirely. I would love to include a photo of it here, but the funny thing about touristy places is that people demand money if you take pictures of them (it’s the same in Peru, South America) and I didn’t carry any to pay the women. So, maybe later. I can’t say I paid all that much attention to the explanations of certain things. I was just having a good time with the other PCVs and I didn’t feel like paying attention in French. Here are some great pictures of the rocks and Dogon villages along the way.
Dogon Village houses and graneries, overlooking the Plateau.
Dogon Village embedded into the cliff.
Amadou, Emily, Jackie and Beth - hiking down the Falaise, overlooking the Plateau.So, I’m going back in about a month and a half, so I’ll listen better then. Later the night, we went to Cristina’s house. We all climbed on her roof using a traditional Dogon ladder which is basically a tree limb with notches carved in it – scary! We all chilled up there with 20 litres of beer and it was great. At first we were drinking of a couple of shared cups and calabashes, but toward the end, we started drinking out of the bucket! Check back soon for that photo! I think it tastes good – a lot like a light Belgian beer, and could even be made with guavas or mangoes for some flavor. It’s not very alcoholic though, so no one got drunk which was good because we had to descend that tree limb too! We went back to the Mission Houses and got ready because we were having a pig BBQ. Before dinner though, we all started singing Christmas carols and it was awesome. Someone busted out a hymn book and so we even had the words! One of the guardians watching over the house plays a major role at the nearby church and invited us to sing the next morning, and we accepted.
Christmas morning we arrived at church a little after 10 and stayed there until 12:30! Not a Catholic church, but Protestant, though in French/Dogon, I couldn’t really tell the difference. It was awesome though. Almost all the women bought the same Malian material for their outfits and were all matching, and it was churchy mixed with African. We sang songs like, “Angels on High” in French, but with African drums in the background and kids dancing and swaying their hands. It made me smile. It was a long service and most of us were getting antsy but we finally got up to sing and sang “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Joy to the World” – serious and fun. Now, I know Malians are poor, but some of these people had digital cameras/phones and promptly got up to take our picture. A little embarrassing, but whatever! Shortly after our singing, we all snuck out of the church to go to lunch at the Femme Dogon. After a couple of us headed out for cell service which was sketchy at best and then headed over to the Auberge Castor for the Dogon Masked Dance. We missed the beginning, but it was really cool. I was afraid my photos wouldn’t turn out too well because we were kind of far away, but we were invited up after to get closer and take photos and get an explanation of each mask. I can’t remember them all, but this one is a representation of the most important woman who has to be present at every Dogon gathering. Again, I look forward to paying more attention next time!
Probably the best thing about Christmas this year was that a lot of volunteer’s families came to Mali to spend the fete and we all met them in Dogon Country. So, they were all decked out in their Malian complets/boubous and they just looked so great. They were even nice enough to bring things like crackers and salmon from Duty Free and M&Ms and Chips Ahoy – always welcomed to PCVs. So, we hung out with everyone for awhile and drank some more millet beer and waited for dinner. We killed a sheep to splurge on with everyone and it was pretty good. Even though we waited awhile for dinner, it was good to build up our appetites. After we ate, the Auberge Castor was kind enough to let us stay there until 2 AM for a crazy PCV dance party. Now, being my first PC dance party, I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, the DJing was terrible and we spent more time waiting than actually dancing. Oh well! I still managed to have a great time with the other PCVs dancing the night away. It got really cold and the wind was blowing and the party was dying, so some of us headed back to the houses. I thought we were going to go to a different establishment and continue the fun, but it was closed. Instead, we went back and decided to set some fireworks off. Never let 20something men play with fireworks after beer. No one got hurt, but there were some close calls. Hearing things like, “Oh shit, RUN!” from the window is always a bit alarming. We all stayed up late talking and getting to know one another.
The next morning we headed back to Sevare and to our respective areas of the country.
All in all, even though I couldn’t spend Christmas – perhaps the most family oriented holiday – with my friends and family in the states, I was able to spend it with my friends and PC family here in Mali. It was absolutely wonderful and I can’t wait for more PC parties!
