FETES ON FETES ON FETES: Part II

FETES ON FETES ON FETES: Part II

As continued from Part I. More fete-ing below.

Circumcision fete

I will preface this by saying it was not nearly as grotesque as I had imagined..

Also that some of the information I write below is merely conclusions I drew from observation. I am not the volunteer of this village. I was merely a guest and and sharing with you what I witnessed.

This fete takes place in Sola, a village about an hour north of me where another volunteer lives.

The men of Sola, once they come of age, undergo a public circumcision ceremony in which they are not permitted to show any pain. This is to prove their strength and courage.

It happens once every two years.

Alicia invited me to attend this year’s ceremony and, although most fetes in Sola don’t allow photography in an effort to keep their villages traditions sacred and private, I was lucky enough to be allowed to take pictures. With that privilege also came a lot of front row seating..

In the early part of the day, the men who are going to participate in the ceremony march in a procession around the houses on top of the mountain (the designated area for Sola ceremonies). They wear feminine accessories and what I can best describe as a diaper made from traditional pagne. Apparently this “diaper” shows every one that they are a participant this year. If you have already gone through the ceremony, you are allowed to wear nothing but a cup on your penis made from woven palm fronds..  I only saw about three of these guys..

During the parade, the participants carry something along the lines of a fan or plate with them that they can hold out for people to put coins or small gifts on. This continues for several hours, all the while people are drinking and socializing.

There are several areas all over the mountain where the circumcision takes place. Some had it done leaning against trees and others situated their bodies in a clay pit shaped like a crucifix. There was a wide vertical area for the torso and two short horizontal impressions extending off it for the arms. When they weren’t being used, these clay pits were covered with palms to keep them cool for the next person.

I saw three circumcisions. One against a tree and two in the clay pits.

Before both events, the men were stripped of all their female accessories. I assume it’s a representation of shedding everything feminine before embracing the purely masculine. They then leaned against the tree or placed themselves in the shallow pit. In both scenarios the boys held a branch over their eyes.

A traditional priest would hold their … goods while another priest prepared the knife. The boy would lie perfectly still for the few seconds the cutting lasted. You could see their eyes closed, jaws clenched, and hands tightly squeezing the branch.

Just moments later, the priests would stand and the family would come to carry to boy out of the crowd. They’d inspect everything and if it was complete, the now-man would push his way back through the crowd, jump on the place of his cutting and have baby powder thrown on him. He’d continue off with a crowd of people to be cleaned, bandaged, and enjoy the rest of the party.

I was allowed to photograph one man immediately after he had been cut. He didn’t seem to be in any pain. (I’m not saying he wasn’t. I’m sure it was excruciating. I’m just pointing out he seemed very calm for just having something cut off a very.. sensitive area.)

You know that rush of adrenaline you have when you do something crazy? Like cliff jumping for example. It just builds and builds and builds until you launch yourself over the edge. Then, once you break the water and resurface, you look back up at the cliff and you can’t really believe what just happened. You’re happy you didn’t die, surprised by what you just did, and don’t really have a grasp on how to process it. Coming down from that adrenaline high, your body is kind of dumfounded for how to react.

That’s how this guy looked. He seemed relieved, but like he had just done something he couldn’t quite get his head around.

A woman rinsed the now-man with clean water. After the bleeding subsided, she wrapped his.. goods in a large leaf and tied it with straw.

After the third circumcision, we’d been on top of the mountain in the sun for about 5 hours. I’d seen all I could and gotten more photos than I could have ever hoped for so I headed back to village.

Premiere Mai

National holiday for all the hard workers here in Togo.

Schools close and every one gets 2 days off.

Oh, and of course there’s a fete.

Thursday morning, May 1^st. A few kids from my health club showed up in the t-shirts I had made for them. On the front it said “CEG de Kemerida” and below it “Club de Sante”. On the back, “La santé avant tout.” Of course.

I welcomed them into my house and asked what the visit was for. They told me that they were getting ready for the parade for Premiere Mai and everyone agreed to meet at my place. After about 20 minutes, there were 30 kids in my courtyard. They told me to get dressed and that we were going to actually walk in the parade.

Some of the boys picked up sticks and empty plastic containers to serve as drums, the girls picked flowers to carry, and a guy wanting to serve as the “conductor” made a hat. We formed two lines outside my compound and starting marching towards the main road. The guys played a beat and all the students started singing.

They’d made a song out of our health club slogan!

Highlight of my service so far. Right there.

I was beaming with pride as we marched through the street. We were joined by tons of children clapping and trying to sing a long. Lots of older Togolese people I knew were giving us a thumbs up.

 I think they were as surprised as I was to see an organized group of Togolese students taking initiative to come together and represent themselves at a community event. Outside of soccer games.

We were definitely a crowd favorite.

The parade went to the border of Benin and reversed back towards the other side of town. We ended at the chief’s compound where he made a speech for Premiere Mai.

That was the end of the parade. Or so it should have been.

My students were so hyped up that they wanted to continue marching around town as a single act. We visited the major of the dispensaire and a few more teachers houses, singing and dancing at each. Finally, after a 45 minute extension, we headed back to my place and called it quits. We were hungry.

That night there was a huge dinner at the school. There were four large circles arranged with desks. A food serving station at each.

The separate circles represented different organizations/occupations. I was invited to sit at the school employees’ circle. I was served 3 plates of food, most of which I snuck to the kids behind me. With the exception with what tasted EXACTLY like BBQ chicken. And I’m from Texas. I don’t consider just anything BBQ.

Pirette, my friends Judith’s youngest daughter, and I wore matching pagne (dress fabric). She sat with me and pretended she was my child for the evening.

Afterwards, I made my way through the various groups. Sharing drinks and dancing with a group in each circle.

Surprises from my health club, BBQ, and an adopted daughter. This might be my new favorite holiday.

As always, life stays interesting here in West Africa.

Stay tuned for a blog on my hosting a community malaria fete.

Kumealo