It was a truly impressive weekend (20-21 September). I was invited to participate at the Eid-al-Fitr, or locally known as the Korite feast celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan which involved visits at local families, giving presents to children, dressing up in beautiful and colourful dresses and trying out different delicious dishes. A very intense but wonderful week-end indeed.
As I wrote in my last blog, for that occasion I went to a local market to buy an appropriate african-muslim dress (two-parts shiny Haftan in baby blue with a nice sewed-in decor on the chest). It was one of the best decisions that I could make in terms of the ice-breaker effect, following the very decision to participate in the respective prayer. As a result people here (luckily) don't seem to view me as a tourist any longer and more often than not I hear: "Darko, you are a Gambian now" (a very fast integration process indeed...and yes, to underline it I bought a Gambian basketball jersey yesterday).
It was a very nice saturday morning in Bakau (check out Google Earth) at the outermost nortwestern part of the country nearby the UN House, on a sand-type square surrounded by palms and other trees and the local craft market where whole families gathered to attend the prayer and receive the blessings from the Imam. Knowing a little bit the area, which is an interesting mix of hotels, parks, the local fish and vegetables market as well as a nearby perfect-for-mosquito-breeding-slum, I was amazed by the harmony, peacefulness, joy, smiles and colour that the locals had on display on this very day. No matter the age or gender, everyone had the best and most colourful dress on display and the area was becoming with every minute filled by a happy and smiling crowd. It was virtually an explosion of colour which impressed me most prior to the prayer.
Yes, eventhough being a Catholic, I did participate in the muslim prayer seated next to my Gambian friend called Buba whom I got to know only two days after my arrival. He was the one who actually invited me for this event as well as for a visit to his village and family afterwards (btw. his father has two wives and, I think, a total of 14 children). Having a fairly limited knowledge of Islam, barely scratching the surface of its substance, I had the fortune to understand much of the prayer and the lecture of the Imam with Buba's help. Of course, and understandably, the greatest part was about advocating peace, understanding, patience, modesty and piety as core values guiding the beaviour of the faithful. There was also the handshake of which the purpose was to extend peace upon our sitting neigbour, all of which was strinkingly identical to the practice in my religion.
However, most intersting for me in the prayer were the apparently obvious and 'small' things the Imam was preaching, such as not to dump waste on the street, keep the house clean, extend the neigbour always a helping hand, for parents not to beat the children and always to keep a smiling face and positive attitude, no matter what problems are encountered. Having realized that Islam and religion in general have a strong standing in The Gambia among its different peoples, I guess that one of the explanations of why this country is so peaceful and 'smiling' lays with the positive, 'good' and tolerant attitude that religion, and especially its leaders, down even to the most local rural level exert on its people. Unfortunatelty I also have to realize that in other places and surroundings this might not always be the case, especially if religious leaders try to assume political leadership.
After the prayer I even got the chance to meet and talk to the Imam in person, who like everyone else was obviously more than happy to see a white stranger in a haftan showing respect to his local community. This, of course, was not the only occasion to see and meet locals. Many times more in the course of the last week I visited during my free time locals and villages with each encounter being a story for itself. So far the most important conclusion? Wonderful people. As if it was an oasis of peace. Hope it truly is.
And returning to Ramadan, well for most of the people here it is finally over and a sort of normality enters the daily schedule. For me personally, however, I have the feeling that a sort-of-Ramadan will become a regular involuntary act during my working days, considering the amount of work to be done on a daily basis...sigh.