The Gamou Kaolack - a huge religious event for Niassene Muslims (the sect to which my entire village belongs) - is today. Last year I stayed at home and enjoyed the serenity of a village with practically no children, and only a few sedate adults relaxing under the trees. But this year I decided to tag along and share in the excitement. So I crammed into an auto with dozens of other villagers this morning and we cruised off to Kaolack. Many of the cars we passed were blaring religious chants from loudspeakers on the roofs, but I'm grateful that ours didn't have such accessories. As with many holidays, my Gamou mostly consisted of sitting around a lot, then eating an enormous lunch of greasy rice. I'd hoped to go to the mosque with my host family, but they were insistent about my getting back to the Peace Corps house before dark, so they bundled me onto a charette and waved me off before going back to do the celebration part of the Gamou. But preparations leading up to the Gamou have been impressive. Almost everyone has new clothes, the girls have been putting in elaborate braids, the women applying black henna to their feet. Kids are as excited as if it were Christmas Eve - a trip to the big city, where there are ice cream sellers (only 50cfa for a small cone) as well as delicious, protein-filled lunches, visiting relatives, and a break from school. And rumor has it the late-night program at the huge, beautiful mosque in Medina Baye is wonderful as well. It only lasts a day, though. So tomorrow I'm headed to the louma in Nioro, then back to the village, to scrounge up ways to stay busy the remainder of this hot, dry season.
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