Our friend Joanna was hungry and fancied getting a wee bite to eat…

So, she strolled down the road to find some take-away food. Unfortunately, the place she usually went to was closed, but there was a lady selling street meat, so she thought she’d give it a whirl. There were only a couple of pieces left on the griddle, so she decided to take them. As it was getting dark, she didn’t get too close a look.

However…when she got home, she opened up the bag and here’s what she found - one ear and one snout:

Mmmm - tasty!

I’m sure there’s a moral to the story somewhere, but I haven’t figured it out yet. Needless to say, her appetite was somewhat diminished at the sight of the above fare and she decided to give it a miss!

Well, in spite of all the comments, nobody quite hit the nail on the head. It’s actually that there’s a French-style phone box in the middle of the photo and nobody here actually uses them. They must’ve been installed a few years ago, but in some cases only a concrete base remains. Furthermore, I’ve never seen anyone making a phone call from them. No, in Benin if you want to make a phone call, you go somewhere like this:

That’s more like it - just the job! A wooden shack with a conventional telephone inside. The phone is connected to a device which counts your units and there’s a person in there who tots it up at the end and tells you how much. I guess Africans are much more into person-to-person interaction then putting coins in a machine! Incidentally, this box was just a few yards from the green one in the same village.

Just thought you may be interested…

How people (over?)load their vehicles in Togo/Benin is always an interesting subject.
(Click here for previous blog post on this subject).

Here’s a truck with at least a year’s supply of bananas on top:

However, that’s not as ‘bananas’ as the following picture, which I took on my latest trip to northern Togo. There are a good couple of dozen folk sat on the top of this lorry, for cheap transport and free air-conditioning:

Eeek! Perish the thought of the vehicle having to break suddenly!

Notice, by the way, the Harmattan in this picture. It was especially strong ‘Up North’ (ee by gum!), so much so that I was actually cold in bed. Waking up to 16 degrees C outside may not seem cold to you, but after the 28-30 of Cotonou, it was FREEZING! Also 10% humidity did not help matters, as my feet and lips started cracking and my eyelashes felt like they’d been super-glued together!

Still, back in steamy Cotonou now, so I shouldn’t complain too much!

Cheers!

On Friday, Rob went to meet the King of Allada!

Here’s his royal palace:

Not quite Buckingham, but not to worry! We had to wait for a couple of hours before he would grant us an audience, then we were invited into his throne room. Here’s the throne:

Each king of Allada has a symbol which characterizes them. This king’s symbol is the Lion (yes, I know they’re technically leopards or cheetah’s or something, but apparently it’s the same word as lion in Fon!) He is a real king, descended from the first King of Allada in the 1500’s. This one is the 16th King of Allada, although he does not have the same ruling powers as his ancestors (remind you of anyone closer to home?!) Here’s the man himself - you can tell he’s a king because: (i) He has a special king’s stick (left hand), (ii) He sits on a posh chair, (iii) Someone’s holding an umbrella over him, even though he’s indoors.

Although he initially told me off for having lived in Benin for over 3 years before coming to see him, we had a nice chat for about half an hour. I asked him what he thought about traditional song genre usage in church (a spot of research) and he talked about the importance of tolerance between religions and of a cohabitation pacifique between them. Something we all need to remember!

Beninese children have a unique way of greeting Western visitors. They ALL seem to know this cheery - but somewhat nauseating - chant, which goes:

“Yovo, yovo, bonsoir. Ca va bien, merci.”

These days, I just join in and sing along merrily, like I haven’t heard it about 3,000 times before! They mean well, and - after all - it’s better than being ignored!!! Have YOU been “Yovo’d”??? Do you like it? Leave us a comment…

See for yourself…

(Entrance to the ‘Village de Noël’, Cotonou)

(Outside the ‘Tornade’ supermarket, Cotonou)

(A toy shop in town - how many Santas can you count?!)

(The 10ft inflatable Santa outside the ‘Supermarché du Pont’, down our street)

(one of the many ‘Black Santas’ found all over town)

So, whilst Christmas could almost go unnoticed in some villages, Cotonou has plenty to remind us of the season (though mostly, as you’ve seen, LOTS of Santas, dressed in most inappropriate clothing for the climate!!) So, what is Christmas like in an urban African context?

Well, to start with, we do not have:

* Snow (apart from occasional fake snow on shop windows).
* Log fires (much too warm for that!)
* Holly, mistletoe or real Christmas trees.
* Parsnips or Brussels sprouts (what a shame!!)
* Mince pies (anywhere!)
* Premature decorations - the first signs of Christmas appear in early December, no sooner.
* Nauseating Christmas hits of ‘Slade’ etc. piped into every shop (only been in 1 or 2 shops which had carols playing).

However, we do have:

* Turkey - ordered from the ‘Championne’ supermarket and others
* Christmas pud and Christmas crackers (available at the ‘Mayfair’ supermarket only).
* Some Christmas decorations about town. (Last year, there were even colourful lights on one of the main roads).
* Lots of kids in the street with Christmas scenes made of cardboard boxes, singing “Mon p’tit Papa Noël” for some extra cash.
* Parties and special Christmas meals etc.
* Extra chocolates on sale in the supermarkets (even Ferrero Rocher…)
* A chance to visit Santa:

Whatever you’re doing this Christmas, have a good one and keep in touch when you can.

Cheers!

How’s your general knowledge of Benin?

Yesterday, I was feeling a tad under the weather, so decided to create a 10 question quiz on Benin!

Have a go and see how many you get right by clicking here: ROB’S FUN BENIN QUIZ.

The quiz is now in the links on the RHS of this blog too. Also new to the right is the cool A Cotonou site, full of places to go and things to do in the city. I’ve also added links to a couple more friends: Beth and also Max & Wai Ling.

That’s all for now…

(NB That’s not a political slogan from the late 80’s!)

It’s the end of an era - the famous ‘MAGGI TOWER’ in Cadjéhoun, Cotonou has had a complete makeover!

For years, the bouillon cube, as some call it, has been a prominent landmark in the city - great for giving directions as you can see it from so many places. Oh yes, we’re also grateful for the thousands of gallons of water it holds and provides us with!

Here’s my mate Clive Rahn with the tower in it’s old livery last December:

…and here are some guys giving it a new lick of paint last week (I know, I know, don’t THINK about health and safety!!)

Maggi is a brand of a stock cube and various related sauces, used by many Beninese in their cooking. Now you’re all wondering what Moov is, right? It’s one of the two largest mobile phone networks in Benin, it’s main rival being MTN. As one friend said recently, it’s a sign of the times that the bouillon cube (a symbol of local cooking for decades) is replaced with a mobile phone network. Still, it looks very smart now (although I preferred the old colour-scheme!) Here’s the finished article, taken just this morning:

Which do you prefer? Let us know!

Last week, Rob did a song-writing workshop and recorded many songs of the Ditammari people of northern Benin/Togo and made some interesting cultural discoveries…

First off, here are some musicians (and one intruder - can you spot him?!?) dressed in a traditional costume: a ‘hat’ with animal hair coming out of it (goat, monkey or horse, I’m told), sticks, beards and glasses(?!?) I’ve no idea why!

Day 1
The journey north was tricky as ever, but nothing out of the ordinary - I must have been up and down this road at least 12 times now, and this journey was a round trip of over 1,000 miles! The Land Rover did well most of the way, until I got to Natitingou, when the front right wheel started making an awful noise. Thankfully, there was a garage right there, so I pulled in. “I think it’s your wheel bearings, Monsieur,” says the garagiste “we’re unlikely to find any replacements in Natti, but probably in Kara.” Kara is in Togo, but only a couple of hours’ drive away. I leave the car and get a lift to a hotel in the town and crash.

Day 2
The only way to get to my destination of Boukoumbé in time for the workshop is on a motorbike taxi, so the hotel calls one and we’re on the road by 7:15am, with my travel bag and recording equipment on the front of the bike, just behind the handle bars (only my mic stands I leave behind - that would be just too tricky!) It’s a bit chilly on this 35 mile journey over the mountains on a dirt road, but I still manage to get my camera out for a quick shot. Have a butchers:

I get there in time and meet Norbert, my contact there. Some folk are still arriving on foot from a village about 15 miles away, so we don’t get started until around 11:00am, looking at song genres and composition techniques etc. I quickly realize that this workshop is going to be different from most others in the following ways: (i) over half of those attending were not Christians, even though it’s a Bible song-writing workshop. Instead they follow traditional or animistic religion and (ii) because they are almost all men, with only about 5 teenage girls attending and (iii) there are NO DRUMS!!! Hang on, this is Africa - where are the drums?!?

Here are some of the folks reading one of the scripture verses in the local language. The Ditammari are fortunate, as they already have the whole Bible in their language, whereas the majority of Benin’s 52 languages only have some Bible or none at all.

There’s no mobile phone signal in Boukoumbé, but I find a cabine téléphonique and call the garage in Natti - to my amazement, the Land Rover is mended!! He found the bearings in the town and it’s all done! So, I decide to catch another motorbike back, stay in Natti, then drive back the next morning - that way I can have my microphone stands at hand. Unfortunately, there’s a HUGE thunder storm on the way back and I get completely drenched. In the end, the driver stops for shelter and I wring out my shirt. Click here to see the video of the storm. I get to the garage, but by then it’s closed, so I find a hotel …and crash.

Day 3
The garage is not open until 9:00am, so I get the car then and head back to Boukoumbé. The guys are already composing when I get there. Later, I present three parables: The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan and The Sower. These work well in Africa, where story-telling is such an integral part of the culture and where the way of life is still similar to that in Bible times. In fact, as I’m explaining the Parable of the Sower, I notice that, just outside the door, there is a field of maize, in front of which are weeds and then a path. Wow - how very fortuitous - shame there was no rocky ground! Dinner with Norbert then - finally - a night in Boukoumbé!

Day 4

Breakfast at a local joint with a colleague. No coffee or bread, but instead this:

Mmmm! Very nutritious, and all for 30p!! Back to the meeting place and folks are practising their songs. Today, we begin recording and the local school seems the best location as it’s still school holidays and the site is far from the road and has plenty of open spaces and trees for shade. It takes a while to get and extension cable and the key to a classroom. We also go on a wild goose chase for drums and find one small drum, which some local nuns lend us! Recording starts by midday and all nine new songs are in the can by 5:30pm. Although there’s not much drumming, there is other percussion, including these plaited palm leaves which act as shakers round the legs (a bit like Morris Dancers’ bells!)

Day 5
Although the new songs are recorded, there are several musicians here who have their own songs they would like me to record and that’s today’s job. I’m back at the school by 7:50am, setting up mics etc and we begin recording by 8:20 when the first folk arrive. Some of the songs are Biblical, but many are educational songs, on subjects such as deforestation, literacy, child trafficking and bush fires. By 12:30, we’ve recorded 22 songs - that must be a record! Other instruments they use are metal ‘castanets’ which they click together for percussion, a small 3-holed flute and…traditional gourd guitars:

I’m all packed up and off by 1:15pm and manage to get over half the way home before dark. Phew!

Videos of the trip:

Traditional Dance (men)
Traditional Dance (women)
Recording session

Audio files for you to listen to:

song-based-on-1-john-1v8-10.mp3

song-on-the-fruit-of-the-spirit-gal-5v22-26.mp3

the-parable-of-the-sower-song-disuori.mp3

Any ideas? It’s actually a pick-up truck carrying way too many palm branches! We see many ‘excitingly’ overloaded vehicles here in West Africa, like this one:

…or this one:

(NB Just returned from workshop, and so have changed the last two photos to even better examples I saw!)

Alas, this phenomenon is not limited to cars and trucks - here’s a motorcylce with half a dozen bikes on the back. I suppose if he breaks down, at least he’s got alternative transport at hand:

And one more favourite. There are two people on this motorcycle, and the person on the back (I hope!) is somehow holding 6 or 7 large plastic jerrycans (empty, I imagine). Watch out for that lorry, guys!!