Letter from 4-20-06

Dear Deb and Kurt,
There are explosions in the night time here and I am writing by lamplight once more. There is no battle but an announcement of the burial of one of the village elders. He died yesterday and today I went to his funeral. His Funeral was frequented by the local government figures and friends from the capital city. He was a catholic, but religious lines weren't drawn and all factions came to pay respects. There were about 300 people present for the actual burial, but hundreds more are expected to come and pay respects in the next 3 days.

Sidenote: There are currently children outside my gate chanting Islamic verses to try and get my attention and receive money for their poverty. A practice that has gotten way out of hand here. They were attracted by the lamp light and have seen an opportunity to ask the Nasara for money. As you can tell, I haven't yet given them anything. It may sound hard hearted , but there are literally thousands of kids like that all over Burkina just asking for handouts as a right of Islam. It's annoying, they could be in school.

Anywhoo, the funeral of the elder seems to have touched many of my friends. Unknowingly, many of them, unsurprisingly, are related and were the grandchildren of this man.

The protocol for paying respect isn't much different from the states as long as you have someone to show and introduce you around.

Funerals here are the only place it's acceptable to show your grief publicly. Men are allowed to cry and women to wail. People still look, but with sympathy. The emotions were thick at the home of the funeral and I genuinely felt sorry for my friends. However, the wailing by the women and for men seemed staged. The wailing would start and stop abruptly and whenever it sounded it came out in a rhythmic pattern that sounded like a chorus to a song. It was somewhat incredible at the same time.

Admittedly, I was a relative tourist to the occasion, but my friends allowed me free access to all the ceremony. It was simple, disorganized and completely Brukinabi. I need to go to the traditional funeral tonight and pay respects once more.
See you in June,
Always,
Laura