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I am writing this entry in Kaolack where we're staying for a couple of days. Last night the centre here held a party and all the volunteers still in Senegal attended and danced or played another role...
We arrived in Kaolack yesterday, around 4 o'clock and rejoiced because we now only have to travel through the Gambia once more! All sept places journeys in Senegal are less than comfortable but the journey from Ziguinchor to Kaolack is particularly bad. Most of this is because we must cross the gambian river... The crossing itself only takes about 20minutes but the queue for the cars and lorries to get on the boat always winds deppresingly far down the dusty road. This means we often wait hours, in the heat of the day, to cross and then travel along the very pot-holed road which connects the Gambia and Senegal's trading centre - Kaolack.
The party was due to start around 8 30 but it was not until around 9 30 that the organisers announced that they wanted to have a white Queen and a black King to play in the celebration. Being tall can have it's advantages and I was chosen to play the Queen because I would fit the costume. I was a little apprehensive because there were many chairs set out for the party and in a large, very noticeable circle. However, I decided that it's not often that one is asked to play a Queen and that I might as well make the most of it.
When the women announced that they were going to do my makeup I became rather excited about the whole thing, so I sat back, assumed a serene expression and shut my eyes - good and ready to be transformed. I only opened my eyes when I felt what seemed to be an extortionate amount of makeup being smeared on my chin. Reasoning that I don't have THAT many spots on that area of my face, I turned to one of the Joal girls, Katie, with a quizzical expression. I then realised that all the girls were staring fixedly at my chin.
It turned out that I was being transformed into a Puular Queen. The Puulars are one of the ethnic groups here and the women sometimes get traditional tattoos on their faces. I ended up with a dark "tattoo" all over my chin, above my lip, on both cheeks and down the centre of my face. Then came the clothes: two full length wrap skirts, two massive 'Grand boubous'(like a long dress), a headscarf, hair ornaments, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and traditional beads to go round my ankles, waist, neck and across my body, like a sash. I also had a length of stiff fabric to hang across my shoulder and a stick to chew on(many of the older women here do this). All set with my bowl full of sweets to throw at the crowd and a couple of attendants(one of whom was fanning me), the King and I walked slowly out to greet the crowd.
The King was played by a member of the centre, Mohammed, who works at the market. He was very calm and helpful when I was unsure of what to do. We got through the party(although at points I thought my knees were going to give way) and enjoyed the drumming, singing, etc from our thrones while the other volunteers were dragged into the centre of the circle to dance.
We have just heard that there will probably be a transport strike tomorrow so we may be prolonging our stay in Kaolack for another day. Much as we enjoy it here, we want to get back to Ziguinchor as our plane is on the 19th!
See you all soon!
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