Football's Coming Home

On Saturday I had the pleasure of going to see Gambia take on the mighty Burkina Faso in the national stadium. I live relatively close to the stadium, so I was glad to finally have the chance to step inside and see a match. True to form, we were treated to a football match “Gambian style” – no pies and hot dogs here! Instead women and children walked around the stands with oranges and groundnuts, doing their best to make a few extra Dalasis. As Gambia is a predominantly Muslim country many supporters got their prayer mats out during the first half to say their five o’clock prayers. It was a strange but equally heart-warming sight to see supporters praying whilst the players on the pitch continued playing. The more fervent fans (football-wise) waited until half-time to pray though.

The game itself was quite fun. It was an international match so there was a bit more pomp and ceremony; we were treated to the national anthems at the start. Tiny Gambia almost sprang a shock, scoring in the 50^th minute with a headed goal. However, party poopers Burkina got a last-minute equaliser to deny the “Black Scorpions” a famous scalp. Gambia’s Belgian coach Paul Pot should be pleased with the performance though. Fingers crossed it will be enough to help him temporarily forget the cruel joke his parents played when naming him.

Daytrip to Banjul – As some of you may know, Banjul is the capital of The Gambia. However, due to Banjul’s small size (it’s basically an island) all the administration buildings, tourist facilities, shops and workers’ houses that you would normally associate with a capital city have spread out to the surrounding area, commonly known as the Kombos.  Up to this point I had yet to set foot in Banjul itself – high time to correct this!

Banjul is usually a buzz of activity, a complete nightmare to get around. Thus, I decided to visit on a Sunday, when things were a lot quieter. The first thing one notices are the quality of the roads. Everything is nice and smooth, very few potholes. The President and dignitaries are ensured a comfortable journey to and from the parliament building. Upon arrival one is greeted by Arch 22, a large monument commemorating the coup which overthrew the previous regime on the 22^nd of July, 1994.

Aside from all the government buildings Banjul has a relatively busy port, transporting goods to and from The Gambia. The port is also home to a transporter ferry, taking people across the River Gambia. This ferry is a must for the Senegalese traders, anxious to take a short cut when transporting things from one side of their own country to the other (the “hot dog sausage” of Gambia separates the North of Senegal from the South). Traders rush to be the first in the queue each morning – a wise idea as latecomers have been known to wait around for 10/12 hours...

It was nice to see a bit of Banjul, but I’m pleased that I don’t work there myself. The journey to and from the capital is quite long and tiring during the rush hour and it can probably be quite a hectic and stressful place at times. I’m happy enough as it is in the Kombos, away from all the crowds...

Family Trees – After several weeks of being confused when people mentioned they had 16 brothers, 18 sisters and 3 mothers I decided to get to the bottom of this mystery. My Wollof language teacher kindly obliged, and as such I am now in the possession of a clear diagram explaining all (please feel free to click on the photograph to the right).

The traditional family unit in The Gambia is worthy of a lesson in its own right. Most striking of all is the potential pool of wives that a son in a family has. Traditionally he would be expected to marry either one of his father’s sister’s children or his mother’s brother’s children. I don’t think my cousins Tiffany and Genevieve would be too impressed with this system, and as they are both “tradition traitors” (they’re already married) I’m in a tricky situation. The children of my mother’s sister and father’s brother are all no go areas, being considered “brothers” and “sisters”, so that’s another avenue closed off. Hmph!

The issue of having numerous “mothers” and “fathers” also arises. Polygamy plays its part in this, as does the traditional Muslim rule that when a husband dies the brother of the deceased should take care of the now widowed wife. These factors, combined with the fact that brothers and sisters help bring up all the children in the extended family, mean that one’s father’s brother is often referred to as a “father” too, and that your mother’s sister is another “mother” to you. Confusingly, aunties and uncles still exist, but only your mother’s brothers and father’s sisters qualify. Got all of that?!

Ok, fingers crossed some of that is of interest to you. Have a great rest of the week, many best wishes and take care of yourselves,

Robert