Saturday 25 December - Christmas Day
Mass in Sevare
The Canadians are off on their Dogon hike today so I give them & the hostel staff little koala keyrings for Christmas. Mack, the very good protestant tells me that the catholic mass is @ 8am in town. I indulge again in his FULL breakfast - french toast, pancakes, an array of syrups, tea etc.. and attempt to walk it off to get to the Church. It's open but not looking very active at this time - Then I find a notice for the 9am mass. I wander a bit then get a spot on a pew to begin admiring the fantastic congregation who are arriving to celebrate this wonderful Christmas Day! Everyone is in their best suits, new dresses, beautifully groomed hair braided or tied in matching hair ties. The music is drumming & percussion with male & female choir sections who are magnificent. They sing the most wonderful 'Gloria, in Excelsius Deo' that it brings tears to my eyes. Absolutely sublime experience to witness a small section of Malian society celebrating their faith & the long 2 hour Mass is over way too quickly.
I leave the church with that colourful memory entrenched, and as I wander around I can ignore the dust, poverty and general human survival that is so evident on the streets. If you don't have some food or produce or a service to sell, you'd be very, very hard up...... Every cfa (pronounced see fa) is precious here in one of the poorest countries on the world.
Heading back to the hostel in the afternoon, I'm approcahed by a guide who 'has a Dogon Country trip leaving tomorrow'. 2 Americans (who never transpire) are going and I can cut costs by joining up with others. Later that day Evan, a public servant from Canberra, turns up & wants in on the trip too. Evan is a much better negotiator than I and together we get the cost down another 20,000 cfa. We sign up to leave tomorrow for 3 days hiking in the Dogon tomorrow. WOW I cannot believe my luck here - all too easy really.
Mass in Sevare
The Canadians are off on their Dogon hike today so I give them & the hostel staff little koala keyrings for Christmas. Mack, the very good protestant tells me that the catholic mass is @ 8am in town. I indulge again in his FULL breakfast - french toast, pancakes, an array of syrups, tea etc.. and attempt to walk it off to get to the Church. It's open but not looking very active at this time - Then I find a notice for the 9am mass. I wander a bit then get a spot on a pew to begin admiring the fantastic congregation who are arriving to celebrate this wonderful Christmas Day! Everyone is in their best suits, new dresses, beautifully groomed hair braided or tied in matching hair ties. The music is drumming & percussion with male & female choir sections who are magnificent. They sing the most wonderful 'Gloria, in Excelsius Deo' that it brings tears to my eyes. Absolutely sublime experience to witness a small section of Malian society celebrating their faith & the long 2 hour Mass is over way too quickly.
I leave the church with that colourful memory entrenched, and as I wander around I can ignore the dust, poverty and general human survival that is so evident on the streets. If you don't have some food or produce or a service to sell, you'd be very, very hard up...... Every cfa (pronounced see fa) is precious here in one of the poorest countries on the world.Heading back to the hostel in the afternoon, I'm approcahed by a guide who 'has a Dogon Country trip leaving tomorrow'. 2 Americans (who never transpire) are going and I can cut costs by joining up with others. Later that day Evan, a public servant from Canberra, turns up & wants in on the trip too. Evan is a much better negotiator than I and together we get the cost down another 20,000 cfa. We sign up to leave tomorrow for 3 days hiking in the Dogon tomorrow. WOW I cannot believe my luck here - all too easy really.
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