Segou on the Niger River

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MERCI BEAUCOUP!

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Yesterday was just a day of waiting and white knuckles.  I waited for most of the day for my ride to my next destination, Segou....a 2:30 leave time changed to a 4pm leave time but we ended up actually leavng at 5:30pm (patience is definitely a virtue in this great nation).  It gets dark here around 6:30...and the drive to Segou is 3 hours down the Niger River.  Driving as a passenger is scarey enough in the daytime....man, but at night...it makes you find religion :).  I was gripping my seat, eyes wide open most of the way, usually astounded that we had either missed some major pot hole going 100 km plus an hour or blinded by high beam headlights racing towards us.  We did arrive safely, and I absolutely crashed immediately in my welcoming bed.  Last night was the first time I used the mosquito netting that they drape over all the beds (I saw a mosquito in the room).  It felt a little like camping!

My day started with a wedding in a Protestant church not far from the hotel.  I was invited by the young women who traveled to Segou with me last night.  Her name is Leah.  She works at the hotel I stayed at in Bamako.  How could I resist such an invitation!  I gladly accepted and she picked me us at 9:30am on her motorscooter....

The bride's name was Mathias and the groom's, Salome.  Although you will see the bride smiling in this picture, she was stoic and straight faced for most of the ceremony...holding back tears on several occassions.  The culture here is to not show emotion on the outside (same goes for mourning the dead).  I can only assume she was happy with her groom as it wasn't evident from her demeanor...however, there is a good chance that this was an arranged marriage....so perhaps she is not.  The group of women up front are all sisters, cousins and family of the groom singing a blessing to the couple.

Leah and Me at the wedding. 

Leah had such a pretty smile and easy laugh, but each time it came for a picture she would become straight faced :).  Oh well. She is holding a little girl named, Grace. Grace was abandoned by her mom when she was 28 days old.  She is now being cared for by the sister of the baby's mom....no one knows where the mom ran off to, but they assume she is not coming back.  The irony was that little Grace was wearing shoes that said, "Mom Loves Me."  Perhaps she does, but actions do speak louder than words.

The exchanging of rings.

Apparently sometimes at the end of the ceremony the newly wed couples also exchange kisses...not these guys.  But I did see them get presented a series of gifts...4 bibles and a wooden stool with their names etched in both sides.

This is the receiving line.

 We danced and sang most of the wedding...and the receiving line was no different.  Leah taught me to say congratulations in Bambara, a language of Mali.  I practiced it the entire time I was in line preparing to greet the bride and groom. Only women are pictured because the men had already gone through to greet the couple.  Here in Mali, even in Christian churches, the men and women sit apart from eachother.  Aren't all the colors of the pagnes magnificent!!??

  In Bambara I am called toubab, white person. And the little girl pictured, Natalie, was obsessed with this toubab all wedding :).  She sure made me feel special with her need to be near me...I don't think her mom understood it at all....but she charmed me.

One thing about Mali, they aren't short on guides wanting to show you around or venders wanting to sell something to you...and I tend to fall into their nets fairly easily.  Of course I started my outing around town this afternoon thinking I would walk the city and hit some of the important places I had read about on my own, but I was quickly spotted (really I am hard to miss here).  After a small amount of resistance,I ended up walking and talking with Van, who soon became my guide :).  Actually it couldn't have turned out any more perfect. 

Here are some pictures of the afternoon I passed with Van:

Typical smalll market scene.

The gate of Segou.

A Bozo fisherman's hut. 

 These fishermen float the Niger river all day on their pinasses and then sleep in these huts off the banks of the Niger at night.  It is all thatched leaves...and looks like any wind could just take it away!

Masks of Mali.

The middle mask is the circumcision mask used when girls are circumcized.

Although this tradition of cutting out the clitoris of young girls (around the age of 10) and sometime the inner and outer labia is growing more uncommon in Mali, it is still done in small villages and even in the town of Segou.

3 Cups of Tea.

When making tea 3 rounds are served.

The first cup is strong "like death."

The second cup is sweet "like life."

The third cup is sugary "like love."

This guy made me tea many times today...sweet was my preferred cup :)

My first Touregs!! 

These guys live about 250 km north of Timbuktu (ugh, Al Quaida country) and come down south to get supplies to create their jewelry and try to sell it.  They had a lovely bracelet that tempted me made of Toureg silver (part silver, copper and bronze)...but haven't pulled the trigger yet!

Women pounding corn.

It will be used to make a sauce.  Van said this if I was a wife in Mali, this is how I would spend my days...I guess I wouldn't need my free weights any longer to build my biceps and triceps, eh.

Millet Beer being made...the locals enjoy this homemade grain beer. I didn't get a chance to sample...which I am okay with :)

Van, his daughter, Alina, and a little boy.

Van is muslim.  He hopes to have 4 wives one day and "many, many, many children."

He currently only has one wife that his parents selected for him.  He will select the next 3.

He plans for his children to work his millet and corn fields. 

I told him I planned to have 4 husbands....he didn't think I would like that :).

Sunset over the Niger.

Fishermen are casting their nets. They will retreive them tomorrow morning....hopefully filled with the fruits of the Niger.

To my bed I go...tomorrow morning my plan is to go to the Catholic mass here in Segou.  It is only 30 minutes!!!  I love the efficiency :).  AND I already asked what section the women sit in so I will be prepared when I show up at 8:30am.  At noon we head for Djenne!  I wonder if I will have time to try out the hotel pool......hmmmm.....