Ramadan Year #2

Ramadan is the time of year that most volunteers try to flee site, if possible, for vacation, meetings, or anything that will allow them to hide from the effects of fasting. This year, the beginning of Ramadan happened to sync up with my visit from Jessica & Jake. They were present for the first night of prayer when the crescent moon appeared to signal the start of the month, one of my favorite days in village. To give them a true cultural experience, we woke at 4:30am the next morning to eat breakfast with my family as they began their fast before we headed off to Dakar to leave for our trip to South Africa.

Naturally, after fasting that first day, I chose not to continue fasting while on vacation in SA. After that weeklong trip, I returned to Senegal alone and had training at our Peace Corps Center. As the days ticked on, the fasting loomed closer. Of course my family had already been fasting for 2 weeks by the time I got back, but I jumped right in and fasted the next 13 days in a row – no food or water from sun-up to sun-down. 

He looks cute but he can be a terror!

On my first day back in village, I biked in from our regional capital and was instantly greeted by a storm of children in my house. One kid in particular, Siddif, always yells my name and then follows me around for a bit when I get back. He watched me carry by bag to my room, move my bike into my backyard, and fill my bucket with water so I could take a shower. However, he wasn’t interested in me taking a shower. I set the bucket down in my room and Siddif proceeded to tell me to follow him so we could go play (Keep in mind that he is 2 ½ so talking is still somewhat interpretive). I told him I wanted to shower first and we could play later. He refused with a big “uhhuh”, walked across the room, picked up my bucket, and dumped the water all over my floor. Welcome back to village.

The aftermath of the bucket incident.

The days that followed were filled with a lot of reading, afternoon naps, and communal break-fasts around 7:30pm when the sun goes down. 

Bread, tea, and water - our traditional meal to break the fast

Some work was done, but most people tone down their activities during the month of Ramadan. This year, though, the start of raining season also coincided with the start of Ramadan. What that meant is that many of the men in the village had to go into the fields and prep them for planting, exhausting work when you’re not eating or drinking! This tenacity and the optimism displayed throughout all of it amaze me.

My brother, Alfa, hard at work even while fasting

As the month winded down, preparation for the much-anticipated Korite celebration began. The women in my compound spent DAYS getting their hair braided. I was a pro this year and managed to tape the design and put the henna on my feet all by myself, which impressed a lot of people!

Yes, that's fire... they burn off the "wisps" of hair that stick up after braiding is complete. It's terrifying to watch.
And my awesome henna. That's "WK" for "Weli Kande".

On the night that the moon appeared to signify the end of Ramadan, the kids went crazy as always! On this day each year, something as close to Halloween as you could find here occurs. Each household prepares snacks of pounded millet/sugar balls (the consistency of a no-bake cookie and surprisingly tasty) to give out to the children. The kids run around the village in large groups singing songs and demanding this snack or small change. There is one last mass prayer session at the mosque that night, and then in the morning the holiday begins.

Trick or Treat! Ok so not the same thing but the activity feels similar minus the costumes...

Everyone eats breakfast, finally at a normal hour, and then puts on their finest clothes for the morning prayer session. They gather in an open spot in the village and are led in prayer by the Imam (my host father/chief of the village).

The morning prayer in village 

Side story for a moment – at a recent end-of-year cultural celebration at the middle school near my village, the school administration and a few teachers surprised me with a gift. They presented me with a very traditional complet to thank me for all the work I had done with the school the past year. This gift was a huge sign of respect, so though I felt I looked like a certain singing purple dinosaur when I put it on, I decided to briefly show it off for my village that morning.

While everyone was gathered to pray, I went to my room and donned the outfit. I peeked out of my room cautiously, honestly hoping no one would comment at all, but was instantly called out by one of the kids in my house. I spent the next 30 minutes having my outfit admired by literally everyone since they all had to walk past our house to go back home after the prayer session. It’s a great reminder that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because something Lindsay Swisher would never wear is exactly the kind of thing that Weli Kande puts on to awe her village. 

My neighbor, Fatou, & me - Check out those threads!

And best of all, that day, we got to drink tea & eat real lunch in the middle of the afternoon, what after a month of Ramadan is surely one of life’s simple pleasures.

Thanks for reading. Peace & love,

Lindsay