An Evening in Bamako

After our excursion to the museum in Bamako, we headed back to the hotel for a break, then met by the pool for money exchange, language lesson, and dinner. The money exchange was necessary as many of us had difficulty with the ATMs. Myself included. Sigh. I was able to change money with a human person. Dad had been able to use the ATM -- can't figure out my problem. We had troubles throughout the trip -- banks were closed (Army Day), ATMs didn't want to accept cards, etc. The one day when we did manage to visit a bank, I was able to exchange cash. What a hassle!

After the money exchange, we had a brief language overview/lesson. Given my lack of ability with languages, I wasn't surprised at my challenge! One peculiarity of Dogon is the greeting process. Hi, how are you, how are your family, then the other person repeats. The peculiarities stem from the fact that you 1. Greet EVERYONE this way, 2. Greet the same people numerous times throughout the day with the same greeting, and 3. Always answer that all is well, even if it isn't (any problems should come up later in conversation).

We also had a de-briefing on the museum visit. One explanation for why only men mask is that, in the past, women wore masks to scare men. They were so successful that the men forbade them to wear them anymore.

In villages, young people leave from November thru May to get work in the cities and return home for planting and harvest -- villages are no longer able to support the entire populations year-round.

Average age for death is 36.

Islam is perceived by many as an "imposed" religion whereas Christianity is more recent in the county and seen as more of a "choice". There are also still some animists.

Millet is the main dietary staple.

Gifting -- gifting is a HUGE part of the culture. In some tourist areas, people blatantly ask for gifts (yelling "cadeau" which is French for gift -- I actually recognized this as the Dutch use the same word for gift). They do this because we are white as, apparently, many tourists just give them stuff. Tandana encourages gifting between people who have a relationship established, rather than random gifts which can tend to encourage begging. When a gift is given, it is customary to share it with all around to show the gift as well as acknowledge the friendship. This honors the one who has given the gift.

Village organization: The chief is an inherited position and he is advised by elders. Kansongo was founded by 2 brothers and the 2 families still exist.

Dinner was at the hotel. I went with the first thing on the menu that caught my eye and it was particularly yummy -- a buckwheat pancake folded around ratatouille and chicken. Onto bed soon afterward as the jet lag kicked in.........