Palmarin-it's village time baby
THE VILLAGE
Part of the semester here includes a visit to a village where we carry out our independent studies and service learning projects. This semester the program is going to Palmarin, a village (made up of four smaller villages) of about 5,000 in the Sine Saloum region, a couple hours south of Dakar and just north of the Gambia. We spent one week there already doing preliminary research and we’re returing next week (on Wednesday or Thursday) for a three week stay.
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Palmarin is right on the coast so it actually gets chilly at night (being cold in Senegal still feels bizarre). The name of the village is derived from palmiers sous-marines, or underwater palm trees. It’s a fitting name for the village because it is slowly being swallowed up by the sea, palm trees and all. There have been several Palmarins in the past that are now completely underwater. Walking along the beach, it’s obvious that the same thing is going to happen with this Palmarin. At high tide there are only a few meters of beach to walk on. The waves are slowly eroding the coast line and there are a few buildings that have been abandoned and are falling into the sea. Trying to develop this village seems pointless at times, when we all know it’s going to disappear eventually. But I guess the same goes for any project in any village, it’s just a matter of time and certainty. Palmarin will definitely be consumed by the encroaching sea but even if it was further inland, any number of problems could arise that would impede or dismantle development. Anyway, focusing so intently on the future isn’t really how things work here. Going with the flow is the way to go, even if the flow is coming further and further inland.
Another interesting aspect of Palmarin is its religious and spiritual life. Muslims and Christians live side by side and traditional beliefs and practices are also clearly evident in every day life. It’s hard to nail down an exact percentage but depending on who you ask, the population is 85%-95% Muslim and 15%-5% Christian. There is a mosque and a church in the village as well as a mixed cemetery where Muslims and Christians are buried side by side. You can even find different religions in one family. The children usually follow the father’s religion, but if I understood correctly, it’s largely up to them to decide what religion they follow (although a lot of them take whatever religion the father is).
The point is that everyone lives in harmony side by side. When there’s work to be done on the mosque, the Christians put in just as much effort as the Muslims. When there’s a Christian holiday, the Muslims celebrate it too. During the week we were there, I saw no separation between religions, no barriers, no animosity. The only concrete separation I could find is that Christians aren’t allowed in the mosque because it’s against the rules of Islam. Aside from their names (Georges and Gilbert for the Christians, Samba and Makha for the Muslims) there’s no way to differentiate the villagers.
We’re going back to Palmarin tomorrow (Nov 9th) and coming back some time around the end of the month. I’m looking forward to going back and seeing my host family there (Mom works for a micro credit group and makes mango jam, dad is a farmer and leaves for three days at a time to work in the fields. Six brothers and sisters, all younger than me. Mom and Dad and some of the older siblings speak French, thank god, and we have an uncle who comes by all the time that lived in New York for ten years. We also have turkeys who wander into the house during breakfast. I’m thinking about killing one for Thanksgiving).
Village life is much calmer than Dakar life. I can’t wait to get to know the villagers and see a different side of Senegal and practice my Wolof and Serer (Serer is the dominant ethnic group in the village so they all speak Serer with each other but they understand Wolof too).
I’ll be doing research on traditional medicine and mental illnesses. This means I’m going to be hanging out a lot with old women (traditional healers) who are really cool and intimidating and don’t speak any French and wear awesome clothes. I’ll also be chilling with Pere Abdoulaye, a tall (even by Senegalese standards) wise old man who wears a headdress all the time and speaks to me in rapidfire Wolof (or maybe Serer, I don’t even know). He’s the head of the traditional medicine organization in the village. His secretary, Gorgui, speaks French so I think he’s going to be a good buddy of mine.
Other random facts about Palmarin: pigs and cows chill out on the beach all the time. When I first saw them I wanted to tell them to go find a farm or field to graze in and ask them why, being farm animals, they were chilling on the beach. Things are just different here, even when it comes to cows.
Toubabs in Palmarin are obviously more of an oddity than toubabs in Dakar. Thus, the entire village knows about our stay there and everyone is super friendly and outgoing and interested about what we’re doing. I found it easier to meet random people in Palmarin than in Dakar because everyone in the village seems more trustworthy and don’t have ulterior motives (like getting a visa to the US).
I get more marriage proposals in Palmarin than in Dakar. Not proposals actually, but offerings of sisters and daughters.
This isn’t a random fact about Palmarin but I feel it needs to be said: I’m going to get fat while I’m there. The food is awesome. Fish and rice of course but also omelets, spaghetti, cooked veggies, mangos mangos mangos and, believe it or not, SALAD. We get soda and mangos after lunch and dinner and stuff ourselves every night. We’re a bit spoiled.
Sorry this is incomplete and slightly random but something’s better than nothing. I miss you all and am keeping you in my thoughts. I hope things are going well back home. Enjoy the cold weather for me, have a bowl of cocoa puffs in my honor and good luck with the rest of the semester/whatever you may be doing. You’ll hear from me in three weeks, Inch Allah (god willing).
Posted by: Michael Blau on Nov 08, 07 | 10:38 am
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