.. and I have decided to start writing post about current events as opposed to constantly trying to catch up on the past.
So for those of you who are not aware today is Korite! Yay! Sooooo what the hell does that mean? Well, here goes. Please feel free to elaborate where I am lacking –
The past 29/30 days (depending on when the individual started) have been Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar AND is the month of fasting. It is also one of the five pillars of Islam (generally speaking the other four would be prayer five times per day, pilgrimage to Mecca, giving of alms and there is no god but Allah). The intention of fasting is to teach Muslims about patience, humility, and spirituality and to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and charity. This means that all Muslims have not been eating or drinking ANYTHING from sun up to sun down. You can imagine how difficult this can be in such a hot country. You are not even allowed to brush your teeth! Oh, and one must also refrain from “sexual relations” during this same part of the day. Double ouch… To help elaborate, this is a potential schedule for a Gambian Woman in the village during Ramadan (I am not totally sure that these prayer times are correct, but you get the idea):
4:30 – 5:45AM Wake up and cook and eat breakfast
5:45 – 6:00AM Pray
6:00 – 12:00PM Clean and feed children, clean house and laundry, watch children, go to market, garden, get water from pump, general work
12:00 – 2:00PM Rest with no food or water since before dawn
2:00 – 2:15PM Pray
2:15 – 4:00PM Continue to rest… and still no eating or drinking
4:00 – 7:00PM Begin preparing dinner, iron clothing, general work
7:00 – 7:15PM Pray
7:15 – 7:30PM Wait until Imam announces break fast and potentially walk in circles to not think about eating or drinking
7:30 – 8:00PM Yay! Break fast (usually with tea and bread or dates and juice)
8:00 – 8:15PM Pray
8:15 – 9:00PM Finish preparing and eat dinner and clean children
9:00 – 9:15PM Pray
9:15 – 11:00PM Continue to eat more and hang out with friends and family outside and put children to bed
11:00PM – 4:30AM Sleep
Side note: Their day is NOT easy. Think about doing all of these things without electricity OR running water. Cooking alone is a chore
There are however, a few exceptions to the fasting rule. The elderly and the sick can abstain for obvious reasons. Children are not required to fast until their teenage years, and may only fast for half a day before being required to follow the fasting rules completely. Also, menstruating women are not required to fast, but the best explanation I have for this is that they just are not required to do so. I believe it is stated in the Qur’an, but why this is, I am not sure.
You can imagine that as a result of this fasting everything moves a bit slower. It is also MUCH harder to get work done because everyone is so damn tired during the day.
Back to where I started. Korite. Korite is the celebration that occurs the day after Ramadan. So yesterday was the last day of fasting and thus today is Korite. All Muslims go to pray at the Mosque from 9:30 – 10:30 (or around there) in the morning and they are dressed in their Gambian finest. They will also sacrifice a goat, or something similar, and cook an extremely large celebration lunch to eat with family, friends, neighbors and villagers. Oh, and this is definitely like the second biggest day on the Muslim calendar and it TOTALLY messes up the start of the academic year (to be complained about at a later date).
Since I am still stuck at the stodge with a few others I was sadly unable to celebrate Korite with my future host family. However, the head guy here (don’t know his official title, but his name is Lamin) invited us to go to the Mosque with him this morning! Excellent! So about seven of us dressed nice and conservative and headed over to the Fajara Mosque to pray with several hundred other Muslims for a little less than an hour. I got a few funny looks, BUT I also received a compliment on my head wrap (a scarf that I loosely wrapped to cover my hair). I was being very respectful and fashionable I must say.
Lamin also invited us back to his house for the lunch celebration; however, I had a work meeting at 11:30 so I could not join. Instead I headed back with Caroline after prayers… and we obviously got lost/caught in the pouring rain... once again. I am only slightly embarrassed to admit that this has now happened multiple times. We are not a good pair when it comes to directions. This will make our time together in Brikama extra extra interesting.
A few pictures for your enjoyment ---
Washing hands and feet and face before entering the Mosque and praying
The empty Mosque as a few people begin to arrive
Praying from my place outside on the mat. Women sit outside and upstairs. Most of the men are inside or around the other side of the Mosque.
Part of the crown finishing prayers as I am leaving
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