Cleaning the Nation Day

We woke up early expecting to make phone calls to family at La Parisiene, Paul set of with Bradley whilst me and Abi hung out some washing to dry. We set off and bumped into Paul coming back saying La Parisiene was closed.

We headed out for an early morning walk instead and decided to walk to Kotu Point, saying hello to Lamin on the way. Further along the beach one of the fishermen joined us trying to practice his English which was very good even though he hadn’t gone to school. He told us today was cleaning the nation day, we had completely forgotten that the last Saturday of every month you were expected to stay at home and clean and if you were caught out by the police you could be arrested as it is a crime. When we arrived at Kotu Point we had a good view of the next bay and the Senegambia Hotel in the distance at Kololi. I took some photos whilst our guide was stopped by a couple of police officers patrolling the beach we then turned a round and headed back.

Senegambia Hotel in Distance at Kololi

Kankurang Dancers

Our guide left us as we crossed Kotu Stream and we were approached by a couple of other guys trying to sell us juice. Suddenly we noticed three Kankurang Dancers and a group of young boys all with their heads covered. The juice sellers told us they had been circumcised and were celebrating their return after three months away from home. However now a days in the Kombo area they usually are kept in their own compound and are frequently visited upon by their parents, they said circumcision is carried out in hospital between the ages of five and twelve years old. As we stood watching I tried to get a photo but thought they might be offended, then one of the dancers started coming towards us banging two machete knife blades together which is to ward off evil Abi and Bradley were a bit scarred so one of the juice sellers shouted to him and he backed off. The Kankurang Dancers have a crucial role in traditional rites and also entertain at major festivals; I can only describe their costumes as a cloth haystack with a mask to cover the face, not someone you would want to meet on a dark night.

Kankurang Dancer

When we arrived at home we quickly went to get some bread passing the fruit stalls which were all covered and the shops which were closed, when we asked the girl at the bakers she told us they will re open at 1.00pm after cleaning day.

On the afternoon we decided to take a look at the Batiks where John had got his from we finally found the guy and were taken into his house they were so different. We picked out two different prints of village life and asked him if he could make it into one larger Batik in orange colours he said he could. We then picked out a print of an Elephant and Baby for Abigail and a Jungle scene for Bradley they choose blue colours, we agreed a price and he said they would be ready in about a week.

We called at the shops for some flour and bought some fruit and vegetables from the market then I set about making pizza on the stove. I was really please with the end result and we all enjoyed it with homemade coleslaw and salad, Abigail and Bradley have already asked for it again.