Senegal

This section has two stories that can be used seperately or together.

Not Just a Game

by Uyai Stacey Umoren

It is usually a busy little town but tonight it is refreshingly quiet. The market women hurriedly pack up their things and head back home. After the evening meal, families and friends gather in front of the TV. Even the children know to be quiet. The soccer game begins...The men hang on every kick of the ball, every call of the umpire, and every save of the goalkeeper.

Expressions of pure joy when their country scores! They get up and dance to African rhythm! It feels like forever before the quiet has returned.

The men look away, tense, when the other team makes the winning goal. The women sigh and comfort their husbands while the children idolize the soccer players.

The town is, once again, a busy little town as it prepares for the next game.


The Wedding

by Uyai Stacey Umoren

It is amazing how much one small community can do in a week. The week before a wedding in the Annang tribe of Akwa Ibom is probably the most important week of festivities during the ceremonies. There is so much going on that everyone finds a way to help.

The women in the village are forever cooking all sorts of food. The final week means extended cooking - in bulk - for it would be a shame to the bride's family should the guests not be satisfied. Popular food such as edesi (rice), stew, nsung edia (pounded yam), afiafere (white soup), egusi (bitterleaf soup), jollof rice, coconut rice, garri (cassava), and pepper soup are made in huge quantities. The teenagers and younger children usually prepare snacks like chin-chin and biscuits. Everybody chips in, and from the early hours until dusk one can hear the women calling to each other and the eternal pounding of the pestle in the mortar. The men have other duties, as is usual among African families. They set up seating canopies and are in charge of buying the palm wine. They provide the master of ceremonies, and often the dancing entertainment. The men in the groom's family settle all monetary issues like gifts for the bride's

On the day of the wedding, everyone wakes up bright and early to prepare. Food preparation is at its peak, everyone is hyped up and the music is blaring. The guests begin to arrive, dancing to the music and helping themselves to all kind of delicious food. After the preliminary entertainment, the master of ceremonies comes out. The feast is ready to begin!