Oumar in his Village
My dear mother
I am back from America to see her after 6 years. She is happy yet sad because
my father passed away while I was gone. She wished he was here to see me.
My uncle Baboucar
We are both greiving the loss of my father. They grew up together
Meeting Heidi
"It's so good to see you. We missed you a whole lot."
Our Home. After 2 years in the USA I helped my parents build this house. It replaced the old
house I was born in. As a child, I used to play here with the other children and my grand-father
(Uncle Baboucar's father) used to tell us stories around a big fire right here.That's where I
learned to tell stories myself.
My family is getting acquainted with Heidi
heidi is introduced to the neighbors
Those who speak a little English could communicate better with her
She has to plant a tree as a symbol of her being part of the family now.
My brother Kajaly and Heidi posing by her orange tree
Many of these kids were born when I was away. They are here to see me
"Wow, he has a camera. How cool !"
Aunt mawure
Uncle Baboucar Diatta
Aunt Findo. Uncle Baboucar's wife.
Uncle Aliou Diatta. Uncle Baboucar's brother.
Now notice that I call older people "uncle" or "aunt" . We are all related somehow.
It is in our custom that anyone who saw you grow calls you "son" .
Omar Sagna. Yes, we almost have the same name.
Oulimatou Diedhiou. Omar's mother
Grampa Aruna
"You should wait for me to put on a better shirt for the picture.This is the last time
you are seeing me" , he said to me. He was right . Rest in peace!
My mother
Aunt Fatou
Her kids. They are my cousins. Their father is my mother's brother.
Uncle Mamadou Diatta
Uncle Moulaye. Ansu's Father . We call him" Bobo"
Aunt Mariama Diatta. Moulaye's wife
Cousin Ansou Sagna. Pasteur
One of Ansou Pasteur's 2 wives Astou Combe and her twin boys.
Aare (Cousin Ansou's other wife) and her daughter
Ansou's wives Aare and Combe
Heidi and Ansou's large family.
Uncle Abdoulaye Sagna
Aunt Sounkari. Uncle Abdoulaye's wife
Cousin Mamadou Sagna. "Jean"
Sidy Sagna
Sidy's mother "Mamma"
Sidy's wife
Cousin Bintanding Diatta. Daughter of uncle Boubacar and Findo. We grew up together.
Bintou Diatta (Uncle Baboucar's daughter
Cousin Touty Diatta
Cousin Souleymane Sagna and I
My neighbor Younouss Badji and his Baby
Mama Badji. Younouss' wife
Their family
My entire family
My 5 brothers and I
The circle of life
My older sister Fatou Sagna
Her two children Fatou Bintou and Arfang
Fode Goudiaby. My brother in law. Husband of my older sister Fatou.
My older brother Lamine Sagna
He asked to represent Milwaukee Public Theatre
His wife Awa and his daughter Aisha
My friend Tapha and I
Tapha teaching a song to Heidi
It feels good to be home
My younger brother Kajaly
My younger brother Ousmane
My younger sister Mariama, Mati and Souleye
My younger brother Youssouf
My younger brother Sidya
My younger sister Anna Bintou
My niece Fatou Bintou
My neice Aisha
Nephew Souleye and his friend
To celebrate my return, they organized a feast.
Groups of the same gender and age eat together.
A dish of rice and goat meat.
Rice is the main food in Senegal.
For community gatherings dishes are cooked in these big cooking pots called Kalereng.
Some chores are exclusively for women. Grinding millet or rice in a mortar is one of them.
Young girls learn to do this from their mothers. Boys would be the ones taking cattles to graze.
Heidi and her african brother Moustapha
Thisbig clay jar contains the drinking water for everyone. You would drink out of this pot and
set it back on so the next person who comes to drink uses it. Every house has one.
Heidi learns to braid hair.
They are braiding my younger sister Anna Bintou.
It is her turn to be braided.
It took her a hour to untangle her hairafter her firt shower.
Because of the humidity and well water used for bathing, hair tangles easily and it is very
difficult to comb it. Especially white people's hair.
So African hair braiding is meant to be more functional than merely esthetic.
Posing with nephew Souleye and sister Anna Bintou
Lunch time. The bottled water is for me. It's a precaution. Bottled water is sold in the nearby town.
We are friends, regardless of our differences.
Climbing a palm tree.
To get the fruit. It is called "Fiitafu" .
The belt used to climb is made out of the palm tree branch. It's called "Kandamb".
Many dishes can be made with the palm butter or palm oil
"Yes, I saw it all", says Heidi
And I used to be a good palm tree climber as well. Just kidding.
When the palm nuts a taken apart they are ready to be cooked
In the kitchen. In one pot cooks the rice and in the other the chicken and palm butter sauce.
Firewood is the only way food is cooked. The pots sit on 3 rocks.
The final dish of "Kanyulaku" , palm butter and chicken meat sauce over rice.
Every one eats out of one bowl of course. Some prefer using a spoon.
Men and women eat separately.
Sister in law Awa is washing the dishes. Chore for women only.
By the ant hill
On the ant hill.
Nephew Souleye is being bathed by niece Bintou.
The bathroom is called "Ejonkoong". You stand on the wood, bend down and fetch the water
with a pot and pour it over you. You soap up and wask your self like that.
This is the toilet . You squat over the hole. No toilet paper. People use water and their left hand
to wash up. That's why it's considered not polite or proper to eat or shake hands with your left hand.
Nephew Arfang is coming out of the toilet room. "Hey, no picture please", he said to me.
Both the bathroom and the toilet room are away from the house.
Niece Aisha is holding "Sindip", one of the tropical fruits my region is known for.
Tilling the land to grow millet and peanuts. Who said I would forget how to do that. "Ewan"
Unusual for someone to hold a baby goat there. It's quite a scene for these children to Heidi
pet it. Goats, sheep and caws are raised for the meat.
Needless to say that the children enjoyed Heidi a whole lot.
Here they are singing a french song they learned in school: "Petit Poisson" Little Fish)
Innocence of the flower age
It takes simple things to be happy and feel whole
Fresh peanuts from the farm. First time for Heidi to hold a bunch in her hand. "Cool !", she said.
Look over there
Niece Aicha
Niece Aicha
This was our ride to the village
"Wow, now that's a huge tree!" she said.
Tapha's family
Young men from the same neighborhood form associations and get hired to till the land
for families. Labour songs and sung to boost energy.
There is a lead singer and the rest of the group sing the chorus. The lead singer tells a story
in the song. It's usually a different story every time.
The women get excited, clapp dance
As they plant the seeds in the ground.
Here they are planting millet and corn seeds
Lead singing is a serious business
Of course I wouldn't pass the ooportunity up. Had to get down to business myself. Many of
these guys went to elementary school with me when we were little. Only men till the land.
Sweeping the house early in the morning is another women's chore. Broom from the palm
leaves.
The only "pick-up truck" we can offord.
Sister Anna and I
I was mostly topless. Very hot there. This iguana is called "Ebalass". It eats chicken eggs.
It's dead, don't worry. I am not that brave. They need it's skin to make a talking drum.
The Kankurang spirit comes out during the initiation of young men into adulthood.
Cousin Ans's fish selling business. He rides his bike to go buy fish and resells it in the villages.
He would yell "Chalo, chalo, chalo!" for people to know he is around. Just like your icecream truck .
He is proud of his business that allows him to sustain his family. He has two wives and about
15 children.
This is the type of fish he sells. It's a very popular fish called "Chaalo".
My mother is preparing the fish. Her cat loves raw fish.
Bassirou Sagna. He is currently the elementary school principal
Papa Sagna . History and Geograpghy high school teacher
Yes, interesting to find some fashion here.
Bouba Sagna
brother in law
The one is the middle is my cousin. My uncle's son.
Tilling the rice land with my brothers. This is the "Kanjandu" tool used to till the land with.
Heidi and my mother
Sister Anna listening to the radio
The bird can sit on my head as long as it doesn't ...., you know.
And it better not do it on my shirt either.
Cousin Tombon and her baby
OOH!!
My dear friends Tobias Sturmer and Adama Sagna. Thanks to Tobias I could record the
music I needed to record with the villagers.
Friends for ever. We are all one
Let's have some tea after lunch.
The twins Assane and Ouseynou. Cousin Ansu's children
My mother is holding a bunch of raw rice over Heidi's head as she is having breakfast with
my sister Mariama.
My best friend Tapha and my mother. Because of our everlasting friendship, he is like a brother.
Time for a nap. This chair belonged to my late father.
Cousin Landing Diatta
Uncle Cherif. My friend Moustapha's father
And his brother
Tapha's mom, aunt and sisters in law
Cousin Vieux Abdou Sagna. He is a Sergent in the Army and has a Black belt on Taek-Wondo.
My niece Sona Sagna. Vieux's daughter. Very tall. She loves to play Basket ball.
Fatou Bodjan. Vieux's wife and Sona's Mother.
Uncle landing Sagna. Vieux's Father
Toulaye Sagna and her baby boy
Cousin Combe Sagna
The wise man. Grampa Alfouseyni Sagna
Uncle Mamadou sagna
My uncle Fode who raised me. I was raised by my grand-mother (his mom) till I was 7.
Soukeyna Dieme (The bride contemplating her money)
A visitor from France. A project he was involved in donated medecine to the village clinic.
To celebrate my return they organized the Kumpo and Essamay dance.
The Kumpo. The word means "mystery" since you never know who is wearing the costume.
These are slices of fany palm tree leaves that fly around when he spins.
The Essamay
Girls kneel and look down when the Essamay dances. Sign of respect
The Essamay is supposed to be the "Anafaanou", the old man protecting the village.
Initiation of young.
Women and men dance to celebrate the return of the initiated young men from the sacred wood.
My brother Youssouf dancing the initiation dance.
I coudn't pass it up
Soukeyna and Youssouf in action
Soukeyna is teaching Heidi. Lost cause. It looks like she is doing the American version.
Feels good to play djembes where they come from.
Dakar City. Capital of Senegal. We are on the boat from Goree Island.
Goree from the boat
Our two guides in Goree Island
Goree Island (The slaves santuary)
Inside the Slaves Santuary in Goree
The door of no return. From this door the slaves were shipped out to the Americas. Theywere
gone, never to see their mother land again
Sad moments we are sharing here.
This note on one of the walls reads: "From this door, for a one way voyage, they were gone,
their eyes fixed on the infinity of souffrance".
Picture on a wall
Picture on a wall. Capoera dance. The text on the picture is below.
The slave merchant's rifles and slaves' chains .
Dia Badji
Cousin Insa Sagna
My sibblings Youssouf and Anna
