Gamou

Gamou: The official celebration of the Prophet Muhammed’s birthday (Islam religion).

Every year in Senegal, people flock from all over the country to a town called Tivaouane (my town where I learned Wolof for 2 months back in August 2009). I was invited to come celebrate this exciting event with my original host family. How to summarize this crazy party? Picture (in the US) a giant music festival and combine that with the energy and noise of a huge theme park…

Tivaouane has about 50,000 residents normally; Gamou hosted about 2,000,000. My compound alone had about 200 people sitting, eating, talking, and NOT sleeping in it. All the sidewalks were lined with makeshift tents full of intense vendors, each attempting to shout out each other with their own megaphone. The streets were also twice as narrow due to all the tents/booths. I walked to the end of town by pushing and being pushed.

We all feasted on freshly killed cows, onions, and fried potatoes. If you were still hungry you could find a plethora of coconuts, sodas, and other snacks. Unfortunately, all water sources had been cut off or exhausted due to the high influx of people. Above all the noise, excitement, and chaos, blared the hundreds of mosques, each stuffed full of devoted Muslims praying and giving thanks.

Luckily, I did not have to spend the night there, as there were people literally sleeping on top of each other and in the streets. This experience was not for the introverted or claustrophobic, but it was a fantastic insight into the Senegalese’s culture and religion. Happy birthday, Muhammed! I hope you had as much fun as I did…

--
Byron Yee
Peace Corps Volunteer - Senegal, 2009