Senegal: Bandafassi - Ethiouwar - Endiele - Salemata - Ethiolo - Dalaba - Sambaïlo - Koundara
Written by traveladdictLast updated 2005-06-01 01:45:04
February 14, 2004: Bandafassi There we arrive at campement Bedik with the very sympathic host Léontine. She is a young Bedik woman. The Bedik are a minority tribe with Mali origin. They fled for the Islam into southern Senegal - department Kedougou - and created their traditional villages on top of the hills. Although they turned to Christianity, many animistic aspects stayed and they didn't loose their traditions. By the lack of water on top of the hills, many Bedik families were forced to come down. So did Léontines parents some thirty years ago.
Since seven years, Léontine Keïta is running her campement (hotel) at the foot of the hills, next to her family.
Some of her sisters help and Marc, her older brother is an excellent guide.
Her father Yoro, is a wise man, who has been to school and who speaks fluently French. All of his children have been to school. I sit next to Yoro, while he is making placemats and we have an interesting conversation.
It's a relax atmosphere here in the little village. Some are making potteries, others cook, boys play football? or watch television in the evening. This is the latest thing now.
Daily life in Indare: relax, peaceful, friendly, full of activities, but also hard and hot sometimes.
February 15, 2004: Bandafassi - Ethiouwar - Bandafassi Marc brings us in the morning - while the heat is still bearable - to the Bedik village of Ethiouwar. This village on top of the mountain has 96 inhabitants. Three families live here: The Keïta, who are head of the village, the Camara, who are head of the festivities and the Samora, who are blacksmiths and also judges in conflict between the different families. They are Bonapasse Bedik. This shows in the remarkable amount of ear piercings the women have. They are slightly different from the Biwol Bedik of for example the village Endiele. The Biwol have besides the ear piercing also a nose piercing. But not all women choose to have these physical features, so you can't always tell who is Biwol and who is Bonapasse.
In Bedik life, tradition and rituals play a very important part. At the age of fourteen, boys have to go through a first initiation, which takes six months. When they pass the tests, they become "members of the first hut". Six years later, after a second initiation of six months, they are allowed in the second hut - that is, if they pass the tests again. Tests involve many things, mostly practical, to build up a good character and show capacity and endurance. This involves: cooking meals for others, carrying water on the head, making beer, finding the best wood,? A man who did not pass the tests will have difficulties to get married. Socially he is not a good catch. Marc is member of the second hut and keeps the traditions in honor. But he is also well educated at school and belongs to the new generation of Bedik. They do believe in the power of their traditions, but they also try to change some lesser aspects. For example: traditionally girls were not allowed to go to school. This needs to change. The practice of circumcision is another debated subject, as well as for boys as for girls. We hope this generation will find a good balance.
February 16, 2004: Bandafassi - Endiele - Salémata - Ethiolo - Salémata A visit to Endiele, a Biwol Bedik village shows us the difference with the Bonapasse Bedik. Although not many of the women do have the nose piercing. Maybe it shows more during the festivities.
This village is a lot bigger than Ethiouwar and more used to tourists.
Important in all these traditional villages is, that you first of all meet the head of the village and ask him permission to visit, to take pictures etc? They will ask for money or/and gifts like kola nuts, salt, sugar,? This is normal, when you consider that their crops can't carry a whole year round, so they need the money to buy food supplies. They also try to sell little artifacts like pots, mats and clay dolls. These little dolls are traditionally given to the children to learn them to take care of others. They can dress them, feed them,? They have to take good care, so they don't break.
The scenery is just magnificent with the huge baobab, the mountains and the rocks. The big church is an eye catcher and a bit strange to us?
Good-bye Léontine, Marc, Yoro, Elise, Delphine,? Thank you all for the warm and kind hospitality. We were honored to learn about Bedik customs. A French writer, Marie-Paul Fery has written about the Bedik and we will try to find this book, once we are back in Belgium. We have only seen and heard a fraction of what there is about the Bedik.
Up to Salémata now. Over a sometimes very bad dust road. Hot and exhausted, we arrive chez Gilbert. A hotel (campement) with nice big huts and shower with running water! We meet a very nice guide Mamadou Diallo. He offers us an excursion to Ethiolo, a Bassari village. We take the shortest way - on a very rough piste. Not to be done without 4x4 and not in the rainy season!
We pass a huge baobab tree and soon we arrive at the village. We first are welcomed by Mohammed Bendja, the son of the head of Ethiolo. He is a very enthusiastic and intelligent artist. We visit his gallery - which is a mistake on traditional customs: we should go to the head first! - and he explains us the mask rituals in Bassari traditions. He makes the wooden masks himself, as well as paintings, statues,? He is also in the midst of writing a book about the Bassari. We hope he gets it published, we will be the first ones to buy it! Good luck Mohammed!
Finally, we meet the head of Ethiolo: Tjan Dénien Bendja. He is a very charismatic little man with a laughing face. We feel so at ease in his company. He is friendly, open and very much "man of the world". He has already been abroad many times: to France, Brazil, New York,? It's easy talking to him, especially because he speaks fluently French. When he notices our chameleon on the car, he is very surprised. The chameleon happens to be the totem of the Bassari. What a coincidence?! Now really all barriers are gone and it is very hard to leave the village. But it is getting dark and we have to get back to Chez Gilbert. We will try to return for the "feast of the chameleon" in the month of may. If not this year, then an other?
February 17, 2004: Salémata - Eberakh - Obadji - Dalaba - Sambailo - Koundara
Now we leave Senegal. Or we try hard to leave Senegal. Since our visa for Guinea has started the 13th of February, we are keen to arrive there. But these last few days were much more intensive than we had planned. If we had realized before that this southern region of Senegal has so much to offer in beauty, hospitality and tradition, we would have planned our trip differently. But no regrets! Only a reason to return.
The piste from Salémata to Younkounkoun is not possible due to the heavy rainfall last year. So we decide to take an other piste (which turns out to be only slightly better) over Eberakh - Obadji - through the Parc National du Niokolo-Koba and Dalaba. It was a beautiful, but very hot, long, difficult drive over a border without customs. With all difficulties resuming. Such as: an illegal crossing of the Parc National du Niokolo-Koba and arriving in Guinea without the necessary formalities involving the very important stamp on our Carnet the Passage at the - on this piste not existing -Senegalese customs. There's a tail on this story! Read it in the first section of Guinea?
Pictures with this story: www.traveladdict.be
