Steve Grant, an acquaintance who is an author and scholar, is visiting Goree for the holidays. Earlier in the year, he completed a forthcoming book about Peter Strickland, a 19th century shipmaster, merchant and U.S. consul in Senegal, then a French colony.
Steve shares this evocative post with Kiko's House readers:
Here are some of the noises that you are likely to hear during the first quarter of the day, from midnight to 6 a.m. on the island of Goree:
Mouride or Tidjane (Muslim brotherhood factions) chanting, generally recordings, as the faithful stay up late in prayer to welcome in the holy day of Friday;
Somewhat but not always hushed conversations among groups of people who like to stay up late and banter; they may be lying on the ground, or sprawled on a bench. They live in huts with very small window apertures, and sometimes stay out so as not to suffocate;
The lapping of the surf against the basaltic rocks surrounding the island;
Sirens from departing or arriving container vessels that pass by Goree on their way to or from the main port of Dakar;
Very loud dance music recorded or by a live band whenever there are late Saturday nights parties organized by the municipality on the island;
Wake-up calls by roosters, sheep, guinea fowl, and a turkey or two;
A neighborhood cat or two in heat, with the resulting male cat fights;
Call to prayers to the island mosque over a loud-speaker system;
Sweeping of the courtyard as a diligent mother rises early and uses a hand-made broom about 18 inches long; she bends down from the waist and cleans the dirt surface of leaves, faded bougainvillea blossoms, papers, fowl dung, plastic; vegetable peels, and wood chips from cutting firewood;
The creaking open of a wooden door on its hinges, the door could be a couple of hundred years old, and the hinges almost as old;
Ubiquitous crickets.
1 comment:
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