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Damian:
Becky: The wives, daughters, daughters-in-law, and grand-daughters slaved all day in "the kitchen" to prepare the food, a meal for forty people. One of the youngest granddaughters, the adorable Nabi, looks on as she comes home from school. Also pictured are some of the girls doing each other's hair before the party.
Ashes-to-Ashes: The Lamb-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damian:
Becky: These photos are not for our most sensitive viewers... the sheep has been slaughtered and is being prepared for eating. The sheep head and skin were set aside on a nearby tree trunk, and someone's cell phone hangs nearby. I thought that was a funny juxtaposition. Abou took the lungs and put is mouth around the trachea and blew them up for entertainment. The heart was cut out and given to the person who slaughtered the sheep. My favorite is the legs in the pan. I didn't want to get too close.
The King!---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damian:
Becky: A picture worth a thousand words. Taffa invited about 40 elders including the king to the party. We sat in two straight rows of chairs and ate the rice and the lamb and watched the dancers and listened to the drums. Then all of the older folks headed home and the kids and immediate family stuck around to dance into the wee hours. Damian gave a little speech and tried to explain that it is an American custom to celebrate birthdays... they don't know when they are born in Benin, even the year! Taffa thinks he is in his mid-fifties.
Kids, kids, and more kids-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damian:
Becky: Even though we already have a thread dedicate just to the children, we had to include a few more pictures. The black and white photo is of a girl who was a striking beauty. Unfortunately with the flash this photo just doesn't capture it. There is also a picture of the kids with balloons - they went ballistic when Taffa brought those out. I definitely want to send some beach balls in our next package to Barei.
So You Think You Can Dance----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damian:
Becky: At the end of this thread there is some video clips of the dancing. Professional dancers came to dance for the king and for Damian at this party. The man is wearing some sort of rattle on his ankles. It was a funny mix of old and new... while he was in the middle of his routine his cell phone rang and a friend came up from the sidelines holding it up to him to see if he wanted to answer it... what an anachronism. The woman dancer pulled me up to try to do some of the traditional dance. It was humiliating but I didn't want to be a party pooper so I gave it my best shot. Also pictured below is Taffa's daughter Cherif and her mom dancing together... Cherif apparently used to do some professional dancing herself!
All the King's Wives--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damian:
Becky: This is a picture of one of the girls who is a wife to the king. The bracelets she is wearing are what clues you into it... Damian told me this custom was slowly fading, and that this king is actually more progressive in that he sends the girls to school. Families will actually donate one of their daughters when they are infants to the king's "harem", but we were reassured to learn the relationship is not consummated until the girls become women. I learned also that the Islamic tradition dictates that a man should have up to four wives if he can afford to care for that many women and children. I think it is also part of the local tradition that some men have multiple wives. The polygamous relationships seem more based on survival, security and procreation rather than compatibility, love and affection, so when you think of it in that light it is an easier concept to grasp.
Dance Dance Nation----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damian:
Becky: Aside from the professional dancing, there was quite a bit of free styling going on as well. Taffa ran his generator so that the lights and the music went on well into the night. The younger kids would dance for awhile and then the older kids would take over for a bit. The older kids danced pretty similar to the way US teenagers dance. The younger ones got a little wilder and were more eccentric. The most amusing dance for me was to a song dedicated to the Avian Flu - the kids would all run around like they were possessed by the devil and then fall to the ground and feign a seizure, just like the music video. I'm not sure that is exactly what happens when you have the avian flu, but at least they were enjoying themselves... Damian and I got up and did a little swing dance that was quite the show.
All in the Family------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damian:
Becky: Taffa has a huge family and we tried to get them all into a picture at the end of the night. The photos are kind of blurry from the camera flash reflecting off all of the dust flying around from folks kicking up their heels. Taffa has six children, the oldest in her 30's, and the youngest is six. Taffa's oldest daughter, Kande, has six children herself, five of them are girls. Damian and I were amused that Taffa's youngest son, the 6-year-old Marouf, is the uncle to four people older than him... While I was trying to learn who was who, I sat down with Taffa and drew a schema of a family tree. When it was over he looked at it and said "That tree has a lot of fruit!"
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