Ramadan is the ninth month of the islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until dusk. Ramadan officially started yesterday here in Senegal. The days of Ramadan change each year depending on the moon. During this holy month, Muslim families wake up each morning at 5 am. They eat and stuff their faces until about 6:15... say their prayers... and then back to bed. They lay around all day, maybe sleep some to ward off hunger pangs, some even have to work out in the fields all day. They do not put ANYTHING (not even water) into their bodies until dusk when the sun has just set down over the horizon. The sun is usually out for about 13 and a half hours each day. This is hell on earth for many people. Others beg to differ and say they love fasting. I am not participating in fasting but i can imagine the suffering these people go through all day long for the month of Ramadan.I experienced Ramadan last year from the training center in Thies but experiencing it with a family is completely different. First off, even though i wasnt fasting, i spent most of the first day starving as well. Who knew that when Ramadan started that all boutiques in the village would be closed?? I sure didnt. I didnt buy anything for lunch in advance because i thought i would be able to just get something at one of the boutiques. That didnt happen so i jumped on my bike ready to pedal into Sokone. Whomp, whomp... sure enough my bike had its third flat tire of the week. And in observance of Ramadan, there was no public transportation the last three days in a row....ugh! I cant complain too much because i know it could be a lot worse and i could be missing lunch for thirty days in a row, not just one!
I went for my evening jog and hurried back just in time to break the fast with my family. I kind of felt like a chump participating in breaking the fast with them because i actually wasnt fasting... but the family wanted me to be there. Around 7:20 just as the sun had just gone over the horizon, my host father passed around a bowl of dates. Each person took one and broke their fast. Breaking fast with dates is a muslim tradition. After that each person received a small piece of bread and a cup of coffee. Everyone scarfed them down quickly. To my surprise no one reached for the water. I cant imagine not hurtling towards the bucket of water after not drinking for an entire day. Shortly after, the father lead the family in prayer. I have seen this many times but will describe it for you. They all line up on prayer mats and face the same direction. The father is in front, followed by the boys, and the women and girls stay in the back. The women MUST always be in the back because they think that if a woman is in front of the men, the men might let their thoughts wonder... Anyway, the father led the prayers and they all did the bowing and kneeling simultaneously. This is the part where i was shocked. My host mothers and sisters sat in the back and talked and did not pray. They did the movements and pretended like they were praying but were actually laughing and talking about dinner. When the host father turned to check on everyone, they stood up straight and put on their prayer faces and pretended to be deep in prayerful thought. I stayed off to the side and waited with the kids for the family to finish. After the prayers, we ate a very large dinner and the night went on like normal.
After the dinner was over and everyone seemed settled, i asked one of the family friends why the women pretended to pray if they really werent into it and didnt care. He gave me a short answer and just said "they have to"... i continued to press him and ask WHY do they have to if they never pray any other time and why do they even bother with fasting. He just told me it was not their choice and since they are muslim, they have to... simple as that. I feel that many things in Senegalese culture remain like this. I do not think that it is Islam, i think its the culture in this country. There are no real answers to many questions, people just do things because they HAVE TO or because they know a friend or neighbor is watching. After seeing the way the women in my family were acting on the first night of prayer, i now feel strongly that there really is not as much fasting going on as one would think. If they just pray only when others are watching, i have a feeling that they are just fasting when others are watching as well.
Sometimes its hard to differentiate the culture from the religion because people here blame many things on the religion when in fact, its just the culture. For example, women walking around topless/ breastfeeding in public. In true Islam, women would never, ever be allowed to take off their shirt in public or feed a child while someone was watching. Even the fact that men can marry up to 4 women at a time is a controversial one. In true Islam, a man can take on a second, third, or fourth wife IF AND ONLY IF he has enough money to financially support them all comfortably and not have to worry about money. In my opinion, there are very, very few people in this country that have the means to do that. People take on as many wives as they please here and always fall back on Islam as their support and justification. I am not a muslim and have no intentions of every becoming one but i find it enlightening when a true Senegalese muslim can admit that there are many problems in this culture rather than just join the crowd and blame Islam. I have had many a arguement with village men about how they blame Islam for their reckless behavior.
New topic: We finally completed the Mangrove project that i have been trying to get going since January. We did a mangrove restoration day last week and it was a success. Three other volunteers and i went out on a small boat into the already existing mangroves last Monday and collected over 6,000 transplants (see attached photo). The transplants grow on the trees but when the tide comes in they usually get swept out into the ocean and dont have a chance to grow. Mangrove trees grow near beaches in water that is about waist deep. The tide comes in and goes back out twice a day where the trees grow. When the transplants get swept out into the ocean and away from the beach, the water is too deep from them to grow. We ended up collecting 4 rice sacks full of transplants on our day out at sea. The following day, we held a meeting in Sokone and invited the Mayor and many other small political groups and random committees to help us plant. The meeting lasted WAYYY too long but the groups learned about the importance of the mangrove trees in the ecosystem here and they were also taught how to collect and plant the transplants so they could continue the project in the future. A few days later with about 50 Senegalese people and 15 volunteers, we set out onto the beach to replant. Just at the exact wrong minute, a huge storm blew over and we ended up outplanting in a downpour. The outplanting was quick and simple. The project was great and i hope people will do another project like this in the future.
In the last week, the rains have finally started to hit us hard and it has been wonderful. I finally have been able to start sleeping in my hut now (instead of in my backyard by the latrine!) since the temps have dropped below 100 degrees. The fields are all green and farmers are starting to have their crops sprouting. I have spent many days in the last week just going to each farmer that i gave seeds to so i could check and see their progress. People are more inclined to do good work when they know someone else is looking. My "boss" is coming this week on Friday to check out my work and to see how things are going with the farmers. everyone has been in a hurry to weed their fields for him.
Other news: Peace Corps finally bought us another regional house so we will be moving out of this rodent-ridden dump in just a few short weeks. THANK GOD! Also, I heard last night that a new volunteer will be moving into the village next to me. It is a Sereer village so i am hoping someone fun moves in there. Its always nice to have cool people living near you. I am excited to find out who/when/where, etc. There is only one bad thing, the volunteer moving in there will be doing a sight visit with me from Sept. 12-17th. I will be spending my 25th birthday in the village with a stranger. Not exactly ideal since i already had a island vacation planned with another volunteer yet again. Last year's birthday was spent in the village so i guess i will live through another. Maybe this just means an even bigger/better vacation than i already planned later!
