Living the dream
Hello, Nuala and everyone,
Here is my friend ali wearing a boboo" >
I was planning to move on to an other topic, but your comments-which I really appreciate and will soon reply to - spurs me to carry on lyrically writing about our interesting customs. Are you ready?
ok , you remember the rules,let us go.
Hearing about superstitions is one thing, but living it is an other thing all together. You might have heard about some people who believe that ghosts do exist, but what would be your reaction when you hear others talking openly to them? Any mental disorder here treated automatically as an impact of jinn and it is futile to try to convince any one with an other reason or cause.
Some of us also ask the dead people for help and believe that their ancestors still have a great role to play in their own lives even after their death; they watch them and protect them from evil.
Therefore, do not get surprise when you meet some guys, who are struggling to make their ends meet, want to chip in to finance a very long trip to visit a graveyard tacked in the dunes or amongst scattered trees to slaughter an animal and catch up with their grandfathers.
Secondly,does dream have a meaning to say? We generally believe so.
Moreover, we think that our dreams at night must have prophetic meanings to tell about our fate and our destiny. So, when some guys here see a dream while they are sleeping, they carefully memorize its saga and start looking for an interpreter, who must be a religious scholars, and ask him to find out the sense that the dream ,or maybe the nightmare, had to say .
The interpreter would try to show off his impeccable talents, usually by citing some( holy) verses that mention some of the stuff included in the dream' story. Then he'd start elaborating his presentation by educing out the good or bad indications attached to the whatsis stated in the dream.
It could be a sign for events that would happen to the dreamer in the near future and accordingly, the interpreter would ask the dreamer to do certain things as precautions.
His skills could always be measured with how convoluted conclusion he could come up with based on liaisons between the dream and the verses he recited .
An other distinct fad here is that men used to praise women's obesity and prefer overweight wives. Although this gusto has started to die out, there are some girls still getting force-fed to gain weight so that they get married early as their parents think.
One last strange thing here, which is a bit more real than superstitions and dreams : People here use their hands for very different activities. One; they use them when they eat their food without forks and you probably have guessed the other one. Right, when they go to the bath room, with water of course but without paper towels.
The last but certainly not least, I have to mention the worst tradition ever man practice on this planet; slavery . Which is still a hot debate over here, whether is it still exist or not. Although we used to exert it and see it as a normal issue, the government did prohibit it long time ago and last year we passed a law that incriminates to call some one a slave.Why on earth do you do this?
But as early as yesterday, unfortunately the UN representative in Nouakchott assured that it is still there.
Now, I want you to know that I am not harsh with my people. In fact I used the pronoun( our-us) at times, to tell you that I am a part of those who are being criticized here. I am not fond of self-flagellation nor I am harsh with my beloved brothers.
Just because I lived for quite a while in the weste, I think I can determine what could be striking for them in our way of life and I want only to tantalize you and give you a chance to hear it from the horse's mouth.
But, if I were to write aiming to interest my people, I would probably be telling them about some parents in the west who kick their children out when they become 18 ,the well- equipped hospitals for animals there or about those who bequest their wealth to their dogs or cats while there are people dying of hunger every minute.
Not all that would be so appealing here in Africa.
So, the Saharan also have their side of the human story. I am writing here only about what we have and when you come to Africa you wouldn't probably expect to see the latest invented technology or to watch the last blockbuster film.So, this is what you get.
Ok, I am getting tired. Now I will do my home work.
1-some advice
2-this info
3-exactly, the word I was after was handing
4-I meant by (ridiculed into getting addressing )that it would be ridiculous to fail to write after I apply for it and people can ridicule me for that and make fun of it. Thank you Nuala for your help there and for the pics of the kilt . It is interesting but wait until you know what we wear under the boboo.It is Taya and it is not less interesting. I've just started to learn the ropes of uploading pics, so I want to add some and I hope my computer would not fail me this time.
Best wishes.
CheikhVall
Comments
Hi Cheikh Vall, I welcome you and am exciting too to learn about your country. Your today blog explaining the cultural differences and superstitions (especially over-feeding to girls) prevailing in Africa is very much interesting. Though I never visited west countries, but I am very much supportive of their tradition of kicking out their wards at the time they gain maturity. This makes children self-dependent in terms of many challenging fronts of life at an early stage. Spoon feeding for whole of their life makes no sense. As far as humanity aspect of concerned, a person kind to animals can never be a unkind to human beings. I saw many people who migrate to west for better living. By virtue of hard work, they are leading a good affluent life. A beggar (or say hungry person) having good heath, both hands, should can’t be helped. Begging is a social evil in many countries. It should be discouraged.
Hi Cheikh Vall, I welcome you and am exciting too to learn about your country. Your today blog explaining the cultural difference and superstitions (especially over-feeding to girls) prevailing in Africa is very much interesting. It is universal truth that clever people by using superstitions and performing illogical practices, are exploiting general masses. It is the duty of concerned governments to develop scientific temperament among their citizens and save their citizens from ill-effects of superstitions and prevailing illogical practices. Though I never visited west countries, but I am very much supportive of their tradition of kicking out their wards at the time they gain maturity. This makes children self-dependent in terms of many challenging fronts of life at an early stage. Spoon feeding for whole of their life makes no sense. As far as humanity aspect of concerned, a person kind to animals can never be a unkind to human beings. I saw many people who migrate to west for better living. By virtue of hard work, they are leading a good affluent life. A beggar (or say hungry person) having good heath, both hands, should can’t be helped. Begging is a social evil in many countries. It should be discouraged.
Hi Cheikh, It is interesting to know your customs in your country.
Hi Cheikh! What-such a flat see level with such skyskrapers on the same flat earth? Unimaginable for me. However, I can imagine how fast you tape with long fingers, I can imagine how fast you run with long feet; I can imagine how wonderfully the mind may fly above waste sandy desert there looking for others and some prophetic meanings of dreams. I am happy to congratulate to all that people willing stick up for their odd point of view. How refreshing it is in this expansible unifying world where we are getting almost unable be self. PS: were you happy in the US; there (as I´ve heard) should be lots of fat guys? Cheers!
Welcome Cheikh! I hope you have a fantastic time as the November student blogger :-). I´ll try to catch up with your blogs every weekend as I´ll soon start my final exams at uni. Best wishes, Ana Paula.
Welcome Cheikh! I hope you have a fantastic time as the November student blogger :-). I´ll try to catch up with your blogs every weekend as I´ll soon start my final exams at uni. Best wishes, Ana Paula.
Hi cheikh, nice to meet you once again. You know, somewhere in the world, there are lots of mysteries that we don't know. In my country, old people believe in ghosts exist very much and they usually worship them. I am 24 years now, but i've never seen a ghost before. Do you believe? sometimes i believe and sometimes i dont. 7 years ago, i had a dream, and two days after that in the daylife, thing happened to me exactly like the dream. It was very funny. 3 years ago, i was stucked with my mathematical logic. Do you believe? i solved it in my dream? what a fantastic nightmare. Have you ever been like this before?
The photo,relaxing with friends in the middle of Sahara did make me to have many thoughts.What a different world it is... As I live here in a big city, surrounded with people, heavy traffic and endless noise,seeing your photos and imagining of the atmosphere out there was quite philosophical time for me. Also comparing your customes with us was very interesting. The one, looking for more advanced scientific technology, but seems to losing gradually it's natural energy and the other, still remains in the original nature,and living differently from other society....
Hi Vall! It was interesting to read your opinion about this western wellness in a point of pet animals and their hoptitals and also the other things that we waste resorses as at the same time someone is dying. You are right. We are stubid and idiotic doing that. But We know slowly the world will change and there is more and more people who are so intelligent and cultivated that know how the world's situation in wholy will develop. I mean resorses and global warming and so on. But the countries like you should be more wiser than western world people have been, You should not follow the progress as we have had. I don't mean not to have the same wellness but not waste nature resorses and try to develop government and democracy in a way which supports your countries own progress of development. It is hard I know but It should try anyway. Which you do much more better way than we have done. It is crucial that you have been in west to learn something new, Is there really anything that every should learn of their own? Maybe it is just for to open eyes and value the things you have nearest! Wish you good luck!
Thanks for all your contributions. This blog has now closed and can no longer accept new comments.
