Dancing and Drumming

Dear Friends and Family:

Already a big crowd has gathered in a sort of circle in Shelby’s compound. There are many green plastic chairs and they bring some for us. There are two men drumming and a woman who plays percussion on a steel pipe. Everyone gets up and dances a bit, kind of introducing themselves, getting in the mood. I loved the rhythm and did some dancing – which they seemed to get a big kick out of too. Children were carrying beautiful signs about GambiaHELP – all was so warm and enlivened.

A big feature of the dance and something that denotes great honor is to have a Conkuran at the dance. This is a man dressed in the bark of a tree with a big skirt of green leaves. The costume is quite heavy, is always freshly made, and takes a long time to gather and put on. We were honored with two Conkurans – Shelby had never seen such an extra honor before.

Led by Kumuna, we get up and give 5 dalasi notes – about 25 cents US – again and again to the musicians and the dancers. I am very engaged and delighted in this whole event without really knowing much of what is going on. It seems there are two men with whistles who work with the Conkurans. There is clapping and dancing and a huge amount of joy and excitement.

I don’t know exactly how it ended, but eventually we went inside to a supper. The compound here is called the Out-Post. Built over several years, this gives a comfortable place for GambiaHELP volunteers and assistants to stay and to meet and greet – which you will see is very important. There is no power or running water here. All water is carried for us. We use very little by US standards. I can now take quite a nice bucket bath in – bucket of water. Even handwashing which in San Cheba was about a 3 cup container is now about a 1 1/2 cup container. I feel I’m so conservative using water, but see that we use more water than anyone else and we are lucky enough not to have to carry it.

As with most Gambian homes I have visited, although primitive and often without electricity or running water, everything is well thought out, surprisingly clean and there are no stinky smells. Sweeping everything is a common thing to do each morning. There is a washing area and pit toilet at the Out-Post, 3 bedrooms – one big one where Shelby and Kumuna sleep, a room with 2 beds where Barbara and Sandy will sleep when they arrive and a pass through room to the kitchen stores where I sleep. We each have mosquito nets and it is quite comfortable. It is noticeably hotter here than on the west coast.

The next morning the meeting and greeting begins. I take notes so I can better understand what is going on and help with the incredible organization of GambiaHELP projects.

Biography
Tonna Kutner has her own company – Computer Lynx – which specializes in web sites and search engine optimization for web sites. She and Shelby have worked together for several years with the Seattle Chapter of the American Association of University Women. Tonna has provided technical support to GambiaHELP and has also assisted with the GambiaHELP auctions in a variety of ways. Tonna was the successful bidder at the 2006 auction for a trip to The Gambia with Shelby. Although Tonna has traveled extensively in East Africa, this is her first trip to West Africa.