SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2009
I Ka Ka Ke Ne Wa (How Are You?)
We woke up at 5:45am to go to the Mosque for the baptism of one of the Coulibaly’s newborn girls. We dressed up and scurried over and learned that we missed the ceremony- it was quite a confusing combination of rain postponement, time misunderstandings, and other things of which I do not know. We walked to the Coulibaly house and everyone was wide-awake at 6am! I gathered with some of the Coulibalys for the slaughtering of a ram for the afternoon feast. We met the beautiful newborn baby girl and proud mother and sat down for the best tea I’ve ever had. 3 generations of Coulibalys live in this house! It was incredible to see the family interact- most of the 9 brothers and sisters live in the house with their spouses and their growing children. I think it would be great to live in a house like this with my extended family. It is such a supportive and loving environment where the communal spirit is very alive. After tea we went back to Yererdon where I slept for quite a while.
I woke up in the late afternoon (missed the Ballonni- party), studied for a bit, and ate dinner. We decided to pursue “karaoke night” and a club called Savannah. Before leaving to the club, I sat outside for my nightly talk with Seydou. He shared his favorite proverb with me:
“You can’t scratch your butt and run at the same time.”
Even though this proverb is hilarious and light-hearted (demonstrating Seyoud’s true colors as well- reminding me of my Dad), this was a nice reminder of the work I am doing and that I will perform best when I realize my limits. I will be in a position to do the most good if I am aware of my physical, mental, and emotional thresholds. This is something that my parents have always reminded me of and it was quite affirming and refreshing to hear this in the form Malian wisdom.
As we were walking down the road and a Bashette (bus) approached us and tried to get us to pay a ridiculous amount for a bus ride. We told him that we would pay only 1,000 CFA for a taxi so that was our plan. He followed us and told us he would give us a ride for 1,000 CFA. We double checked the price with him and then hopped in our private Bashette- also the fastest driving Bashette in the world. We arrived at Savannah, paid our 1,000 CFA, and the driver angrily demanded 1,500 more CFA. David, in his eloquent French argued with the driver until the bouncers kicked the driver out of the establishment. When we sat down, we learned that karaoke night was cancelled because there was a wedding reception. The wedding band played hilariously cliché American Wedding songs in Bambara accents and we sang along quite loudly- to get our fill of karaoke. We had some drinks and some delicious pizza and danced! Our cab ride home (it actually wasn’t a cab but a really random and friendly guy who was a cab-wanna-be) was the best yet- we sang and shouted English with the driver and he was a blast! It was great to let loose after a long week- the end of my first week in Mali!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2009
Deniw (children)!
Morning dance class was amazing! I studies a lot in the afternoon, learning the notation for Ngoni and reading about the Donso (hunter) traditions because later in the evening we would be attending a Donso ceremony and I wanted to be prepared. While I was studying, Pappisse (guitar player) walked in and we played together and he taught me “Jamma Jamm Yoo Fo Te Mogo Ban”- the Malian equivalent of “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.” It is such an empowering and beautiful proverb- among my favorites so far.The afternoon was an AMAZING time. Some of the neighborhood kids came to our door to ask if we wanted to play and of course, we did. We gathered our troops and walked with these 6 girls to the field a couple of blocks down the road. As we walked children just started walking with us, coming out of their houses (some probably abandoning housework) and before we knew it, there were 50 kids walking with us. On the walk I met 3 older boys, Arma, Dadao, and Bizarie, who were about 17 years old, and even though I only spoke broken Bambara we hit it off right away. When we got to the field (now there are about 150 kids with us), the kids sort of organized us by flocking around whoever they were interested in hanging out with (it was weird for this organization to play out because we didn’t even lead it- it just happened). I had a group of about 25 boys and we played a massive game of monkey in the middle and once I started taking pictures things started to get crazy fun. We took SO many pictures, posing as a group for most, making silly faces, and laughing hysterically. We played soccer, had dance offs, we sang songs, and we just had a great time laughing and hanging out together.
This was the highlight of Mali so far- my first time with a group of amazing kids!
For the evening we went to the Donso ceremony in downtown Bamako. There was quite a crowd and the ceremony was essentially in a wide alleyway. The patron of the ceremony greeted us and cleared some front row seats for us so that we could enjoy a good view. The musical ability and fast-footwork of the participants in the ceremony was impressive. It was cool to recognize the Donso Jeli (hunter musician) playing Ngoni and his four apprentices playing Ngoni, Ngarigna, and Djembe behind him. Periodically a loud gunshot would go up and the crowd would get pretty excited. Hunters from each of the communes in Bamako would join the walk-abouts (led by the Donso Jeli) and then would dance for the Donso leaders and Donso Jeli before sitting down. After a while, we left the ceremony to get to bed for an early morning rise (we stayed up talking to Jibby for quite a while).
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2009
Namasa (banana)
Another rainy day- I slept in for the morning because my stomach was reaping the less-than-pleasant rewards of Mali. After waking for lunch, I practiced some Ngoni and piano for a while. I wrote down some plans for the orphanage meeting and outlined some of the goals of my work. After evaluating my experience thus far, I could better predict my goals for my time in Mali. As of now, there are two main components of my research:
- 1. Audio CD: “The Yellow Mosquito Net”: An empowering and collaborative music project among Malian musicians, the children of Madame Togo’s orphanage, my peers, myself, and local Providence youth. The music on the CD will be a narrative of life without Malaria, on account of preventative action, in a region where Malaria is prevalent and poses many negative consequences for the community.
- Record Malian proverbs with Sekou, learn Ngoni parts where appropriate
- Record 3-5 songs with the children at Madame Togo’s Orphanage (to mix and use for 4-6 tracks) and other neighborhood children
- Write songs for the CD
- Plan songs to be recorded in the fall with Providence youth
- Learn Malian proverbs (Bambara and English) and their implications in Malian (specifically Wassalu) society
- Document the history of the Donso Foli (hunter’s music), the Donso instruments, and notable Donso Jeli (hunter musicians)
- Document/Transcribe the Western Notation for the vocals/instrumentation of the songs and proverbs
In the evening we went to a Grio ceremony in downtown Bamako. It was a nationally televised event (of course we were filmed being the only toubabou in the crowd) held in one of the largest venues in all of Mali. The tradition of the people of Bamako was truly illuminated this evening- families in their finest garb, gathered in one place to celebrate each other. The best Grios of the community sang the story of the Sundjiata Epic and then the praising began. The way this worked was someone’s Grio would enter the stage and begin singing the family legacy (the western equivalent of this would be singing our family histories- great grandfathers, great great aunts, etc…). As the Grios were singing, the family member (patron of the Grio) would enter the stage and give money to the Grio bill by bill. It was astounding and curious how much money was being thrown at the Grio for (what seems to our culture to be) the simple act of recognizing a family legacy in public. It was truly remarkable and very telling of how rich in tradition, history, and family the community remains. What our culture would pay today for a car, fine jewelry, and fancy electronics, this culture would pay for the singing of their family history.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2009
Encaton (lets go!)
There was a huge storm in Bamako during the night. My roommate Remy and I woke up to the sound of dripping water and made a makeshift barricade against the window so that our room didn’t flood and so that mosquitoes wouldn’t be attracted to our space. Because of the huge storm, many people at Yeredon had restless nights and weren’t able to get much sleep so we didn’t have dance class- of course, I slept like a baby. When I woke in the morning, M’ba, our dance teacher, had a fire outside ready to begin work on our Calabash instruments. Since most people were still asleep, I went ahead and started work on my Calabash with one of my peers, Sophie. The process was a long one. We began by burning decoration into the Calabash with heated twigs. We would put the sticks and twigs in the fire pit and after they had set for a while, we would pull them out and scourge the gourd with dots and lines. Once that process was done, we burned holes along the rim of the gourd so that we could string shells through them. Once we tied the string to the shells and tied them to the gourd the instrument was finished. (M’ba was so helpful and finished many of the gourds for us since we were taking so long) The finished Calabash instrument is used in Malian dance and is incredibly beautiful. After instrument work, I fell asleep for an afternoon nap.
The late afternoon for me was an ATM adventure. Sekou brought me into downtown (a 20 minute and $3.00) taxi ride and we went through the bustling markets and finally to an ATM where I could get some more CFA (the Malian currency). I rode a taxi home by myself because Sekou was on his way to a clinic- he thinks he has an ulcer and wanted to see a doctor. As soon as I returned to Yeredon, I went to hip hop class with Madu which was incredible and so difficult! After class we showered and got ready to go out to see Pappisse and his band playing at a local club. I sat outside with Seydou for a while we were waiting and learned a little bit of “talking drum” and caught up with Seydou on his work for the week. Seydou taught me about certain instruments and their roles within Malian society.
Finally, 2 hours later, we were ready to leave. Jibby, my best friend in Mali, (he’s trying to learn English so that he can come work as an electrician in America) took us to the club “Bamako 2” (complete with inflatable Santa Clause decorations, Christmas ornaments, tinsel, and hanging foil snowflakes- why Christmas themed? I don’t know and neither does Jibby). It was a small venue (the sound was SO loud) and Pappisse, one of our musician friends, was brilliant. He completely stole the show with his amazing guitar playing. The rest of the band was almost karaoke style- anyone could go up to play an instrument, which made it…interesting. We got up to dance (with the drunk man who was trying to steal the attention from the band) and it was a blast. Jibby is so much fun. We stayed up to the wee hours of the night practicing English/Bambara and catching up. Great way to end the day - learning about the performative culture by day and experiencing the music and culture at night.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2009
NE KA NYI (I am good!)
My second full day in Mali- I went to bed early the night before because 1) I was exhausted and 2) I knew it would be another full day so I thought it would be a good time to just take a breath and sleep for nine hours- especially since my whole summer in Providence had been staying up late for my (awesome) night classes and waking up at 6:30am for my (amazing and wonderful) job at Providence Summerbridge (shoutout).Dance was absolutely remarkable. Sali has astonishing control over her movement and training with her is a privilege! We didn’t get to dance as much with M’ba because we spent so much time doing Maraca with Sali. Even though my first drumming class was frustrating, the second class went quite well. I am starting to improve my technique (the tone, slap, and beat) of the Djembe and today I bought my Djembe! I am so excited to name it soon and bring it home to share with my friends and family. Note to self: invest in hand bandages. After classes (for which I was drenched in sweat) I had Malian spaghetti (SO GOOD- back-story: I’ve eaten spaghetti all summer because I love it and it was quite splendid to enjoy my favorite food Malian style).
After lunch we showered and got dressed (in Malian attire) for a filming of a performance by Troupe De District D’Bamako, which represents the district of Bamako. Coming with us was Marie, a designer from America who is opening her second couture boutique in Mali. Marie is a mind of possibilities and ideas and I am looking forward to getting to know her and her two talented daughters. Alex and Sharon (two researchers staying with us at Yeredon) organized the performance to get promotional footage for the troupe. During the performance, the drummers displayed jovial personalities and a very skillful capacity and connection with their instruments. While I expected much of their aptitude as musicians, my expectations of the drummers as performers were truly transcended by their ability to perform and engage and audience. The dancers endurance and coordination was beautiful and it was delightful to see a performance of such high caliber. After the (nearly 3 hour) performance we went out for some Malian ice cream and I was able to speak more with Seykou and Sharon and Alex about my work. Seykou taught me a saying (appropriate because someone stole my seat) that goes:
“if you go for hunt [taking a photograph in my case], you will lose your seat- but if you come back with a loaded gun, you will have your seat back.” (Just an example of why I love Seykou)
Over ice cream it was great speaking with Sharon and Alex because of our shared interest in anthropology and of course, Mali. Hopefully I can send some more instruments for Madame Togo’s orphanage after they come to visit family in America. I will be meeting with Madame Togo soon to discuss her needs for her children and to work on our plan for the coming week. I hoping that she will be open to selecting about 10 children to come to Yeredon to collaborate on my project. Seydou was so grateful for the keyboard that I brought to him for the children. My goals to present for Madame Togo are for the children to record 4 songs with them, for them to share their instrumental experience with me, and for me to share my piano and vocal experience with them (also known as jamming). I am going to solicit collaboration from Seykou for maybe 2 or 3 tracks (aside from the immense about of knowledge he shares with me and from the lyrical and musical lessons) and from my fellow travelers for some other pieces that they are learning and writing while in Mali before I return home to work with the children in Providence. It is so exciting for my work to be developing!
The last portion of my night was spent on the porch with Seydou and the other men. This has probably been my favorite part of my days in Mali. Seydou explained to me that night-time sitting was a time for us all to catch up on how our days were and share other things on our mind. It was also a great time to practice Ngoni and sing with the other Coulibaly men. Seydou is pretty much my hero and role model at this point.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2009
NE TOGO MATT (My name is Matt)
Wow! My first full day in Mali- and what a fulfilling day it was!I woke up in the morning (an hour early for breakfast because my clock was set in Paris time- oops) and had bread and finished unpacking- not to say I’m not living out of my suitcase- I am. Every morning we have breakfast with Sekou (my friend from the airport who is absolutely awesome and my best friend in Mali) and he gives us a Bambara (Malian language) lesson. From jatebo (counting) to inyi sogo ma (good morning), I’m really enjoying the language and practicing as a community and when we go into town. After breakfast and Bambara lessons, we moved to the roof top for dance rehearsal. We stretched as the instructor prepared and we began (I caught up) on 2 new West African dances. We had a GREAT and sweaty class- our instructors Sali and M’ba are incredible! We took a water break after 2 hours of dance and began djembe lessons- a difficult challenge at first because I am behind a couple of lessons and because our incredible teacher doesn’t speak English. I began learning the drumming patterns for “Maraca” and though my hands were quite sore, I am enjoying the djembe so much!
After a delicious lunch, we moved into the market to purchase fabrics for our outfits for an event today. We walked through the Cumin A (subdistrict of Bamako) and saw many children just standing around, waiting for excited, eager for action. Once we made it to one of the Coulibaly’s household’s boutique and the local children helped us choose fabrics, we purchased some fans and journeyed to down town. After our return, I sat down once again with Sekou and we just talked about music for hours. I began learning the Ngoni- the Bamara rendition of a lute- a six-stringed instrument made from a gourd; only plucked, the instrument is absolutely beautiful. It is a mix between a guitar and a cello and a harp (and a ukulele?) and I absolutely love it- I have been practicing on the rooftop at night and I can just get lost in it! I learned some Ngoni and proverb songs with Sekou and we even did some two part harmonies- he was such a blast (especially after just finding out that he is 56 years old- he looks and is just as fun as my peers most of whom are my own age). We sang together and I asked many questions about his experience as a musician and member of the musician’s community within Mali.
Seykou, with his wealth of knowledge and passion for his people, agreed to be my mentor during my time in Mali. He is truly an inspiration and while his wisdom is beyond his years, his heart and personality demonstrate the child in all of us. The music and song traditions of the performative culture of Mali being my primary focus in my time in Mali, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the speech community of the musicians and other artists here. I am thrilled to be learning.
MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2009
Sigh of Relief
I landed in Bamako last night at about 8:30pm on Monday night. A crowd hustling to get through customs accompanied me, shuffling through their paperwork to fill out the “entering Bamako” pamphlet. After waiting about 30 minutes for my luggage to appear on the luggage cart (and after about ten people tried to get me to just forget my baggage and just get in their taxi), a man offered to sketchily help me find my luggage- he spoke broken English but seemed to know the system and intimidating crowd better than I did so what the heck- I went with it. 15 minutes later, he found my suitcase and graciously handed it to me. What a relief! Luggage: check!I was greeted outside of the airport by an emphatic crowd-desperate to get me in their cab.I finally saw a tall man holding a side reading “MATT the duchess GARZA” (the duchess was one of my roles in New Works last piece- “Crude”). He asked me, “Are you Matt?” to which I sighed the biggest sigh of relief of my life, “Yes!” He walked me over to Seydou, who I was expecting to meet me, and after an “embrace of relief,” we began the drive to Yeredon upon which I learned the name of my new tall friend, “Seykou.”
After driving through the late-night market, I arrived at Yeredon in Dumanzana with Seydou (we dropped Sekou off at his home a couple miles off) and was greeted by Michelle, my friends, and some new faces. I took a tour and after about 5 minutes of being at Yeredon (about 2 hours of being in Mali) the group decided we were going out with our contemporary dance instructor Alhasan. What the heck! 20 minutes later and we’re at a club (next to a restaurant called “BlaBla”). We sat and caught up and then decided to pursue the (empty) dance floor. The club was playing American music from Beyonce to Aqua (many techno renditions) and the whole crowd seemed to enjoy our energy. We danced and let loose (the club owner even gave us unlimited free drinks!) and stayed for several hours. After a great night at the club we returned home where I began to unpack and then just fell asleep on my pad.
What did I learn on my first night in Bamako? Trust the scene, go with the flow, smile, be yourself, and share your positive energy and smiles!
