So my host father has a new name. El Hadji Tambajan Danfakah (yes, Danfakha is a common last name, and yes, I still do giggle at it). He and my host mother recently returned from their pilgrimage to Mecca, thanks to the funding from family in Europe. They are the first in Nafadji to make this pilgrimage, and two of the very few in the district of Saraya to make this trip, so this trip was a biiiig deal.
Now, when we learned about Islam in Senegal during training, we learned that the pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the pillars of Islam, but we also learned that one should not make this expensive pilgrimage unless their family and neighbors are all in good health and stable financially. My host family is quite patrone as they say here in Senegal (no, they don’t drink a lot of tequila, it means they have money, well at least compared to other families in the village). My host father (also the village chief) has tons of kids. Not sure how many, I am always hearing about new ones, and many of them have made it out of Nafadji and hold stable jobs in Dakar, and some of them have made it to Europe. This means we have solar panels and a TV, yet somehow our food is still not nutritious or particularly delish). Anyways, the point is nobody in my immediate host family is starving, but shouldn’t, as the chief of the village, he should be looking out for our neighbors? Children do die of malnutrition in Nafadji, and there are many families who do not do well financially. So was it really the right thing to do to go to Mecca? As an outsider, I feel that I have no authority to judge this but as I observe the culture and the religiosity of the people here I often ponder priorities when it comes to religion. Go to Mecca or pay to restore the health post? Buy vegetables for the next month, or buy boisson for this holiday?
So, pondering aside, the whole experience of my host parents’ return has been quite interesting. When he returned to the country, he took about two weeks for him to actually get to Nafadji. Everyone was anticipating the day of their arrival, they kept telling me they were coming today, and then maybe tomorrow, or the next day. Then finally the day came, he was returning that evening.
When their car came up, it bypassed the house and went straight to the mosque. My father did not greet anyone but entered the mosque while my host mother waited for him to do his thing and greeted us all, happy to be home, telling us all the people of Mecca greet us (which sounded so odd for some reason). So we had to wait like 45 minutes outside of the mosque while he was in there praying. Then there was a procession of about 50 of us behind him, singing and praying as they walked to our compound. I wondered if this was a set thing that people do when someone returns from Mecca or if it was impromptu.
So the next few days were “Mecca doron” My host father just stayed in his hut, putting up posters of the same three images of mecca all over his walls, gorgeous photos, sort of creepy in multiples of 8 everywhere. Also, they must have visited every tourist trap and spent their life savings on bringing things back. They had suitcases full of random souvenirs, a lot of which they didn’t even know what they were. At one point my host mom pulled out an inflatable chair made for a two year old and asked me what it was. I mean, really, you spent money on this come on! They also bought me a sweet dress. All I have to say is 100% polyester with sequins. Love it. They also brought back Mecca water for everyone in the village so it is like everyone went by proxy, which seemed important to the village, almost like they were doing a public service by going and sharing this experience with everyone else, which the people in Nafadji were grateful for and appreciate very much.
Now so far, speaking of religiosity, since their return there have been some slight changes around the little village of Nafadji. Previous to this trip, I barely ever saw anyone pray, go to the mosque, the speakers on the mosque did not work so I never heard the call to prayer. And what did I hear the other day but the call to prayer on the newly fixed mosque speakers. And what do I see? More people walking there at prayer time, more people praying at home. My host mother now wears all white and covers her head when she is going to the mosque.
This, is of course, all after Sarakhabo, the big Mecca Party that happened a couple of weeks upon their return which involved killing three cows, four vats of rice, and literally busses of people coming to Nafadji from as far as Spain and Dakar to greet and pray (and of course eat). Everyone wore their new Mecca outfits, including little babies in sequined dresses and prayer hats. It was fabulous to say the least. Photos to come.
