Today was a blast! Samantha and I got up at 7:45 am to prepare to go to Gore Island to visit the Mariama Ba School for Girls. We traveled in our first Senegalese taxis to the ferry. At the port, I could see many school groups of children who were also planning to visit the island and the Maison des esclaves. Once we traveled to the island, we got off the ferry and walked through the colorful alleys filled with blue, yellow and red houses. Today we learned that these were the colors used because they were easily found in nature. We arrived at Mariama Ba School and met the headmistress, Madame Sambou, and talked about the school. We learned that the Mariama Ba School is a girls’ school made up of the top 25 highest scoring middle school girls from all over Senegal. With Madame Sambou we talked about the girls’ rigorous curriculum and daily schedule. We were surprised to hear that not all of the girls that attend the school would have the opportunity to go to the university. We all felt very grateful for the opportunities that Americans, especially we Holton girls, have. After leaving the Head mistress’ office, we went to meet our peer who belonged to a type of student council called Memba. We began our discussion with a brief overview of So Long a Letter written by Mariama Ba which discusses a woman's painful experience with polygamy. This conversation developed into a lively discussion about polygamy in Senegal and same sex marriages and homosexuality in the U.S.
We learned that the Quran instructs that a man must spend equal time, attention and money on each one of his wives. If he cannot do this, he cannot take a second wife. The limit of number of wives is four. The Memba girls explained that they believed that men were not naturally monogamous, and polygamy lowered the chances of amorous interactions outside of marriage. It also sometimes provided solidarity among the wives as they raised their children together. We Holton girls had a difficult time understanding how girls our age could accept that a man could have several romantic relationships, but a woman could not. The girls explained that women had other responsibilities that didn't allow time for more than one relationship. They also explained that a woman’s responsibility was to have, raise, and protect children. Finally, they said that if a woman had more than one relationship, the paternity and family name of her child would be in question.
We than gave them the opportunity to ask us about things about which they did not understand about our society. They chose homosexuality and same sex marriages. Some of the students believed that homosexuality was impossible and unnatural because it disrupted the possibility of procreation. The Mariama Ba students wanted to know why the U.S. promoted homosexuality in the States and in Muslim countries. Holton students explained that the U.S. did not promote homosexuality, but rather promoted freedom to love and marry whomever one chooses. We explained that many states are grappling with whether same sex marriage should be legal.
After the discussion in large groups, we broke up into smaller groups and began moving outside. The Mariama Ba girls taught us some popular dance moves and then treated us to a wonderful lunch around large communal platters filled with rice, carrots, chicken and beef. After lunch, we visited the girls’ dorm rooms and their balconies that overlooked the sea. They were so welcoming and eager to bond with us. They braided our hair, even Mackenzie's. After a bit of free time, we left the campus to visit La Maison des esclaves. I had mixed feelings about my experience. After hearing in our lectures that Joseph Ndiye created the Maison des esclaves as an example of a slave house and stretched the truth about how many slaves actually passed through that particular building, I wasn’t sure how to feel. However, we were reminded that the Maison really stood as a reminder of the reality of the horrors of the slave trade. I learned that there were several slave houses around the island of Gore and other islands near the Gambia from which slaves were shipped. I learned that there were rooms where men and women were forced to stay while they gained enough weight to be sold as slaves. I also learned that the “signares”, the Senegalese women who entertained French men, wanted to breed strong slaves for sale across the Atlantic. To do this many men and women were mated like animals.
After leaving the Maison des esclaves, we walked to the beach where Becca, Kelsey, Mackenzie, and Malaika and I went for a swim in the refreshing waters. Before we got into the water, the group couldn’t help but burst into laughter as a multitude of school children stampeded down to the water after the afternoon break. Once we had finished collected shells and sea glass and emptying the sand from our bathing suits, we headed back to Mariama Ba for their cultural festival. We attended their end of the year dance party. I had a fun, but mildly embarrassing time showing off the dance moves that my friend Assa taught me. All of us were encouraged to meet in the center of the circle and dance. Afterwards, the Holton group took a break and began taking pictures with the younger girls. Meanwhile, the real dancing began. Both the young girls and the older girls could dance and move their hips better than all of us put together. We were shocked to see girls dancing to the drums and moving their hips in a way that would make Beyonce blush. Assa invited all of us to try out the new moves, so finally Malaika gave in. All of us can agree that Malaika made us proud.
Although we enjoyed attending the party, many of us were confused because up until then, we had been told that girls needed to be modest and conservative in their dress and behavior. However, they were dancing to the drums with moves that even we Americans found provocative. Ousman reminded us that there were very few boys present. In fact, only the drummers, Mr. Moreau and Ousman were male. He said this was a celebration for the female teachers and students at the end of the year during which they were allowed to let their hair down. It was obvious that they were having a great time!
Today was definitely one of my favorite days because I really felt that I was experiencing the culture hands-on! I want to send a shout out to my mom, my family, and Conrad. I love you and will see you soon.
Aimee
· Note: Today at Mariama Ba School was fascinating for the trip leaders as well. It was powerful to see the girls realize that something they found so confusing and unacceptable was not only acceptable, but sometimes preferable for many people in Senegal, while something confusing and unacceptable in Senegal was acceptable and preferable for many people in the U.S. We agreed that the way we are raised, educated, and acculturated has a strong influence on what we believe and what we can or cannot except. We also agreed that sensitive cross-cultural communication was essential to understand each other. What a day!
