Eric on his bike on the path from Samanko to Tubani So (House of the Doves), the Peace Corps training center in Mali.
Eric and his friend Thor. They are wearing Boubous made by the tailors in Samanko. A boubou is a traditional garment made of light cotton fabric, well suited for the hot climate. The fabric was purchased at the large open market called the Grande Marche' in the capital city of Bamako. The fabric cost approx. $15 and the tailor charged approx. $5. Eric had a total of 3 boubous tailored during his stay.
Bicycles are a significant part of transportation in Mali. Most of the bikes are road-style bikes with thin tires, manufactured in China.
Between cities, many locals travel by Bachee' which are vans or trucks. More expensive are station wagons called neuf place (nine-passenger). There are frequent transportation break-downs due to equipment failure. Motos (motorcycles or mopeds) are also popular.
A mother and her Children, taken on Tabaski, the Islamic holiday celebrating Abraham's obedience to God by showing his willingness to sacrifice his son. An angel tells him he passed the test and a goat is sacrificed instead. In Samanko, the tradition consists of heading to the mosque for a special prayer service and sacrificing a goat or sheep and grilling the meat over charcoal. Malians like to dress up in their finest clothes and have their pictures taken on this day of celebration.
A goat sacrificed for Tabaski.
Malians preparing a meal. Rice, corn and millet are the grains used in most Malian meals. Rice is served with a sauce, usually Jabaji (onion sauce) or tigedegenaw (peanut butter sauce with vegetables and spices) and eaten out of a common bowl. Corn is pounded into a fine flour and boiled into a mushy, gelatinous cake called To, while millet is cooked to a consistency similar to couscous. Corn is the most basic staple in Southern Mali, and the more expensive rice and peanuts are considered a luxury for villagers.
Beef, lamb, chicken and fish are added to the sauce or eaten seperately when available. Seasonings used in cooking include Maggi (chicken and vegetable stock) and hot peppers called Foronto. Most sauces are cooked using peanut oil or butter extracted from the Shea Tree.
Chickens are purchased live at market. So all the preparation is up to you. Malians do not have much meat in their diet, and because the animals tend to be malnurished, the nutrition when they do have meat is not as good as it should be.
I be photo ta! I be photo ta! This means 'you take a picture,' and it will likely
be heard wherever children who know you have a camera are found. Local photographers
charge about $1 per picture for photos taken on holidays, weddings and baptisms.
This was taken at the house of friend Matt Kuiken (Malian name Moussa or Moses.) Dancing at weddings, baptisms and village festivals is an extremely important cultural event. Dances seen in the Bamako area include Tigedegenaw ka di (ka di means 'is good' or 'tastes good',) a celebration of the previously mentioned cuisine, and 'Zavanchi,' a song and dance about a local fruit similar to a lemon which is opened by squeezing between the thighs.
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Eric's house can be seen in the distance in this photo of the village of Sheouba's festival (fete in French) to celebrate the end of the school year at the local grade school. Musicians in this picture are playing the jenbe (large drum with metal discs like those on a tambourine on the sides) and a large wooden xylophone called ballafo ('fo' means 'speak' and is used to describe playing an instrument.) This four-piece band plays at all major cultural events in Sheouba, including a 10-day festival where people stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning drinking tea and dancing.
Musicians at a wedding in Ouensendugu ('dugu' means village) where five Peace Corps trainees were placed for the duration of the 9-week training program. These particular folks were playing at a wedding, which in this part of Mali is a 3-day extravaganza of food, music and dancing.
A couple at their wedding is Ouensendugu. Weddings in this part of Mali do not involve formal exchanges of vows; in this culture, the man is traditionally 30-40 years old and the woman considerably younger (from 15-25.) The right to decide whom one marries rests with the man and the bride-to-be's family, and usually the man pays a dowry to the woman's family. Thus, wealthy and powerful men tend to have one or two wives while less successful men may never marry.
The Sheouba school, built with government grants and private funds in 1998. Three teachers work at the school: Brahma Traore, who grew up elsewhere in Sikasso region and was educated in Bamako, and his wife Bintou Ouatarra, as well as Adama from Burkina Faso. Children can be educated up to the sixth grade in Sheouba's school, and head off to neighboring Woroni for High School-level education. School sessions are conducted in French, but children study written Bambara in the Summer months when the official school is closed.
The sticks the students are carrying are actually hoes, with the blades of the hoe over their shoulders. Farming is one of the subjects taught at the school.
Working the fields.
Students clearing out the plants in the courtyard of Eric's dwelling.
A sand dune at the Southern edge of the Sahara Desert, near Gao. A group of volunteers travelled to Gao for further training. Gao is also the name of the province furthest East in Mali.
A view of the Niger from the Dune, on the opposite side of the Niger from Gao (rhymes with Mao).
Tired after the journey, Eric catches a ride on some local transport near Mopti.
