Barka de Salaa, or A La Fete Numu!

The title to this post are two ways to say bon fete/ happy party day, the first in Hausa, the second in Tamashek.

The past two days in Niger have indeed been cause for celebration, because Thursday was Eid-al-Fitr, the last day of the month of Ramadan (I believe, it is the day after the moon disappears), which means Muslims are done with the month of fasting and are able to eat during the day. The month of Ramadan is a crucial element of Islamic faith (it is also one of the 5 pillars of Islam), and this entire week has been a reminder of the significance of this period. Wednesday was an insanely busy market day and there was tons of traffic in town, because everyone was shopping for fresh produce and meat for the feast the next day; prices skyrocketed and women in cabs decried the price of a pimtard/guinea fowl--5000 CFA or 10 bucks, when they usually go for 3000 CFA, c'est fou! In one particularly memorable cab ride of the day, I made friends with two very kind Hausa women, who said I was a nice American girl even though I don't speak Hausa, and then the other woman in the cab, a mother, had to hop out of the cab unexpectedly when her little toddler barfed on the seat, poor dude. Cab rides are certainly a highlight of the day, because the squished nature of the experience often elicits interesting conversations. The other day, I was given a Nigerien name (by consensus) by my cabmates: Fatimata. The Wouros were pleased because this is a good Tuareg name as well.

Right now I am using free internet at my friend's place, and unfortunately I don't have access to my Ramadan photos, but I will post them soon. For the party, I brought my housemate Sam, a British guy working for an HIV/AIDS NGO, to the Wouro's house, where we ate (of course), welcomed guests, asked questions about Tuareg culture, and drank goat's milk mixed with millet. Later, Habsou's niece Mariam and her husband Aboubacar offered to drive us around to other houses; we visited Aboubacar's old boss' house, where we had some a good discussion about democracy promotion in Africa; the old boss works in Sierra Leone on democratic development projects. When we decided to head out, we discovered that I had locked the car keys in the car, so all the neighbors emerged to help us extricate the keys from the ignition. About a half hour (and lots of laughing and photosnapping), someone managed to pull up one of the locks with a crowbar; as the Cameroonian adage goes, nothing ever works, but everything always works out! After feting with the Wouros, I went to a concert with the BU study abroad students, where I was lucky enough to watch kiri kiri for the first time! Kiri Kiri is (to the unaccustomed observer) an incredibly scandalous dance, but it seem to fit the festive mode; although I opted not to try it, I did join in when the band (composed of a jazz quartet of sorts, drummers, singers, etc) started yelling 'annassara, annassara, annassara,'(= white christian person) to the beat of the drums.

Today was another holiday day, and it was fun to see so many kids out in the street. My friend Rama and I tried to go the National Museum, but it was completely flooded with kids, which was a very happy sight to see. Everyone was wearing their Ramadan finest and clearly enjoying themselves. Eid is an excellent example of the huge importance of family and community in Nigerien society that I witness every day here. People here really seem to enjoy the company of their loved ones, and it is a wonderful feeling to be included in these celebrations.

It is almost 3 am here, so I think I will now take a brief nap...my friend Alice and I are leaving in about an hour and a half for the bus station, where we will take a bus that will arrive in Burkina Faso 12 hrs later (incha'allah/if G-d wills it)!

Although my family and American friends are not here, I did think of you all on the fete day, and I wish you a very happy and prosperous beginning to the new year (well not the traditional american new year, but you might as well take as many best wishes as you can get:))!

xo mags