Dombondir

Hello everyone!
I realize that I'm not doing very well with keeping this blog updated- a sure sign of fatigue. I've been spending a lot of time based in Kartong lately. At this point, eleven days from departure, I feel most productive and at ease when in the rural areas such as Kartong and Abene.
Last Friday, the 4th, we left Brikama after lunch and headed to Dombondir- a small village in Casamance just on the other side of the Gambian border at Darsilameh, Here, a one day festival would be held on the site of the Dombondir childrens center, which is currently under construction, and has been for the last nine years. Currently, the concrete structure is complete, but there is no roof. Like many similar structures here in the Gambia, the community hasn't had the money to complete it. The hope was that the ticket costs would be enough to help complete the project. As we drove into Dombondir, Vikki, Peter, Moriba, and myself witnessed the results of some amazing community service. A red, white, and black striped flag hung suspended by a rope, over the dirt road just before you entered the village. This flag was also used at the site of the Kartong festival a couple weeks back. I'm not quite clear of it's true significance, but it appears to have some sort of festive feel to it. At the children's center, the villagers had erected a wall of large palm leaves that surrounded the entire site. This was to ensure that people would pay for a ticket, and it looked pretty cool too! White letters were painted on an abandoned building not far from the center reading: "Welcome to Dombondir Festival 5 April", and in French "Bienvenue Festivale Dombondir 5 Avril". The village certainly let it be known that something special was happening here. Quite the contrary from Kartong, where you wouldn't know anything unless you heard the music that was being played. We stayed with a local family in their compound. A little off the main road (dirt), it was a very peaceful setting in the woods. Friday evening, I witnessed a traditional kumpo dance, which consists of people walking back and forth in a line while a person dressed in a full length grass costume draped from head to toe, walks around, chasing people, and moseying about while occasionally blowing through what sounds like a kazoo. A long, wooden stick sits erect atop of the head, and sometimes, the dancer will point his head down, standing the stick on the ground at an angle, and dance to a wild abandon. Women villagers playa traditional metal bell and stick in rhythm to accompany the activity. Bystanders would frequently walk out into the middle of it all and do a crazy solo dance. To give the grass costume a break, a gorilla would enter the scene, and chase the villagers away. This dance went on for some three to four hours, never seeming to get old or monotonous. People were just flat out enjoying themselves. Peter and I walked back to the compound and called it a night before the rest of the group. It had to have been close to 2am. The environment back at the compound was wonderful, and only a ten minute walk from a beautiful river basin where there were views of palm trees near and far, and a clear, beautiful sky. Vikki (Peter's friend from the UK, Kartong Festival organizer) and I went here on Saturday morning, the fifth, to escape a somewhat hairy situation that had evolved from the night before. Nothing serious really, just someone trying to sell me some cashew nuts behind the curtain. Moriba wasn't too pleased about it, and he told the guy off for me.
The performances on Saturday were nice. Traditional Kumpo dancing from the same folks the night before consumed the first two hours of the evening. A Guinean group, now based in Kartong, consisting of an mbira like instrument attached to a closed, halved calabash, two maraka type shakers, a small drum, djembe, and wonderful vocals would follow. The lead singer has a very wonderful, powerful voice. He accompanied Moriba and I for our performance that followed- as did much of Salaam Band, which would follow us. I was expecting that it would only be Moriba and I playing traditional kora, but as always, I know not to be attached to a particular expectation. In fact, soon after we started with a piece called "Kaira", Moriba got up out of his seat and began walking about the front stage area, acting as a leader, smiling all about. The next two songs we would play were ones that I have never learned! Thanks Moriba! I improvised fairly well, I think- quite a surprise though. For this performance, a vocal mic was placed inside my kora, while Moribas was plugged in to the PA system. It didn't feel like as much of a shock like it was at Kartong. It's nice to be able to get over my stage fright while I'm here, so hopefully things will be a little easier when I perform back home.
The next day there was a huge meeting at the compound to discuss the event, and future plans for a longer festival in Dombondir. After lunch, we headed out around 4:00 and headed back to Brikama. We dropped Moriba off at his compound, and I headed with Peter and Vikki back to Kartong. There would be a performance that evening that I wanted to see- Jaliba Kouyate and his band- only I didn't get to see it. The performance was scheduled to start at 7:00, and Jaliba didn't arrive until 10. By this time, I was struggling to stay awake as I sat in my seat at the same school grounds where the Kartong Festival took place. Lamin from Halahin resort, where I was staying, and I walked back and promptly went to sleep.
Yesterday, I was able to interview my friend- my brother, Fansu Jaiteh and his uncle Buba- the owner of Halahin. For some reason, interviewing people that are not associated with the Jali society has been easier for me to obtain information, although Moriba has been pretty helpful as well. Some of the things that Fansu shared with me were shocking to me- especially in regards to traditional circumcision ceremonies. They seem to be quite violent in nature. I will tell more when I get back.
Eleven days doesn't seem like too long. I am going to be heading to Guinea-Bissau on Saturday for a few days with Buba, Peter, and Moriba.

Until next time!

Love,
Sean