Baby crazy!

The past few months have been baby season in my village. And not just human babies. The animals also cleverly time their births with rainy season so the newborns have plenty (or at least some) greenery to eat, and the humans just all happen to coincide about 9 months after cold season (when everyone sleeps inside).

All the baby calves mean lots of fresh milk for me!

My house has had 2 new babies in the past few months, both of my host-brothers' wives have given birth. The first came in July and the second was born just 2 weeks ago. 

Mama Dia and baby Hawa Sall (my namesake)

Aissata and baby Oumar Sall

Pregnancies are not something you talk about here. A woman can be ready to pop, and she may still shyly deny that she's pregnant. It's considered bad luck since you never know if the child will make it, and historically, these women have every right to be weary. In my village many women do make it to the health post about a kilometer away, but many more remote villages rely on their midwives for most of the births. Hence, a baby is not discussed until you have a little one laying in your lap.

However, once you have the baby, plenty of fun Senegalese/Pulaar (not sure which overlap with what ethnic groups here) traditions to uphold! First off, the women and her baby do not leave her room for 7 days. This is both to allow the woman to rest, but also to keep the mother and child safe from spirits. The baby is also always lain with a knife under it's pillow for further protection.
After 7 days, you have the Inde (Baptism/naming ceremony and celebration). A baby generally has a few names, the mother and father both pick a name for the child (the man's is the official name, confirmed by the mosque and on all official documents), and names here have many common or familial nick names. Also, you always name your child after someone in your family or friends, so everyone has a namesake (or Tokora, in Pulaar).
For example, my host-brother named his new daughter Fatimata Sall, after his aunt, while his wife named the daughter Hawa Sall, after me. Both names are used interchangeably, as well as Fati and Fama, nicknames for Fatimata. The most interesting nickname is that you can literally call someone 'aunt' if they are named after your aunt, so she get's called that on occasion as well.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoy the influx of babies, as they give me an easy activity during social interactions; it's ok if I'm not following all of the village gossip in Pulaar because I've taken a child off someone's hands! Not that anyone expects me to join the gossip, but with the child in my hands, my presence has purpose.

Tabaski, round 2

Last year, (as you may remember reading about here) Tabaski (Eid al-Adha) was my first major Senegalese holiday celebrated with my host family in village. As with all aspects of living here, it was a lot to take in and I spent most of the holiday mildly anxious, wondering what I 'needed' to do, if I was in the right place, wearing the right clothes. After a year and a half in village, celebrating this year was a much easier experience. I can even say I had fun.

This year, Tabaski fell on the 16 of October. In my village, Tabaski lasts about 3 days, but the first day is when the main event happens: the sheep slaughter. The morning is spent with the men at the mosque, and upon their return the animal is sacrificed.

The first meat cooked and eaten is the liver. 

The females spend the morning prepping the only additions to meat we will eat that day: many kilos of onions and potatoes.

The first meal is just meat and onions, eaten with bread, mid morning. 

 

Lunch follows with the only variation being the addition of potatoes (not pictured, apologies). This is all eaten again for dinner. 

The afternoon is when everyone gets dressed up and hangs out with their respective groups of friends from their age group (called fedde in Pulaar). They all bring a bowl from lunch and eat together, drink fancy beverages (soda or juice), make tea, and listen to music. This is the activity that continues for 3 (or more) days. This year I accompanied my host sister to her fedde's hang out on the first day, went to another friends' house for a wedding on the 2nd, and went to greet other village friends on the 3rd day. Given my wide range of friends, it was nice to have the freedom to visit and hang out with many different groups, rather than spend all 3 days of the holidays with one group.

Me in my Tabaski complet with my namesake, baby Hawa Sall: 

It was fun to compare my 2 Tabaski experiences, from last year to this; it's hard to really see how much I've adapted on a daily basis, but the holiday is a very concrete event that can highlight how things have changed. I felt a lot more comfortable with my family and my village, and therefore really enjoyed the celebrations. Last year I thought people would have expectations of me, but really they are just happy I'm there, celebrating with them in whatever capacity I choose to present. And the fact that I can take pictures of them in their fancy Tabaski clothes doesn't hurt my popularity...