Calling the Bluff

"It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what (the day)will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea." - Jonas Salk

Murphy's law has taken effect again. The expensive converter/adapter that I bought before coming here no longer works. So I couldn't recharge my phone. It died today before I borrowed Andrew's to recharge it. Hopefully this issue is resolved soon.

Mieko is holding a party on Saturday for us and our NGO partners. I'm looking forward to it. Coumba told the guys they were only welcome to bring their girlfriends if they did not have wives. Wow. (Just for more info she is a doctor, obviously feminist and less obviously married for 9 years, who consults with both Projét Jeune and ASDAP.)

We've noted how laidback Malians are about religion. They are Muslim and they are also open to other's religions. Katie says they would be most concerned if you didn't believe in any God. During our security briefing, Daley said that during the Dutch cartoon riots someone called for a riot in Mali and only 10 people showed up. Dana lived in Senegal for two years and says the Muslim influence seems more prevalent there. Coumba says yes they all walk around fingering their prayer beads saying nothing; The Sengalese bluff a lot. Then she tells us a story about an American in Senegal who wanted to buy a crocodile so a Senegalese painted up a lizard to look like a crocodile and sold it to the man for lots of money; Always bluffing Coumba says.

Instead of meeting at ASDAP this morning we met at the National Museum. Once again I was the first on ready to leave the house in the morning. What's up with that? I live with guys... On the grounds of the museum we saw two men filming a guy in traditional dress dancing and singing. For one second I was puzzled and then I realized they were filming one of those cheesy African music videos which will probably include a screen split into 16 parts post-production.

Inside the museum we learned about the artifacts, culture, and textiles of Mali. There were symbols for fertility and rain, and Madonna and child icons as well as of the first couple Adam and Eve. We looked at mudcloth and tie dye styles. Mudcloth is usually black and white, or brown and white. Mud and water are mixed and fermented and then added to cloth in patterns. The darker parts are where the mud stained the cloth. The intricate tie dye patterns are made from plain cotton that is embroidered then tie dyed. The designs are very distinct and very detailed.

Mali's Dogon tribe is possibly the most well-known out of them all. During the time of slave raids, they moved away from the Niger River, where slave raids regularly took place over a period of 400 years, and into the inhospitable cliffs of the desert. From that vantage point they could see any intruders from far enough away to stage an attack. They were also very sophisticated with their astronomy. They focused specifically on Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and somehow accurately described its orbit and knew that it had a companion dwarf star although Western astronomers were not able to see the companion star using technology until the 1900s or prove its existence through photography until 1970.

After the museum Coumba said she would give me a ride. A huge open-backed truck full of police went down the street and I got out my camera and then asked Coumba if she thought I could take a picture. She said sure but by the time the lens was ready the truck was gone. We backed up and headed out of the lot and there was the truck again. This time we were alongside it. I snapped a photo and at least five police officers jumped out.

One came up to the car and demanded my camera. I flipped to display mode, reviewed the photo and deleted it immediately. Coumba and I both said that I erased the picture. Thank God for digital cameras. He reached into the car and grabbed the camera. I grabbed it back and we were having a tug-of-war during which I put my arm through the camera's strap saying all the time I erased, I erased. He said something to Coumba and she told me that he wanted me to get out of the car. I let go of the camera and followed him to five feet away.

He asked me to show him the picture I took of the police. I flipped through my pictures of the museum grounds. He said what's after that. I came back around to pictures from my graduation. I said these are my graduation pictures from the US. I deleted that picture. He asked where I was from and then he said never do that again and gave my camera back. When I turned Coumba was right behind me. She had parked her car on the side of the road, left the door open, and come to where we were. We didn't say anything until we were down the street. She asked where you scared? I said yes where you? She said no, they bluff a lot like the Senegalese.