Badaka de Sallah, or happy Sallah to you all! The moon has been sighted, the feast has been devoured, and the rain has come again! We started the day by driving up to Sabba Njowra with Steve Santos and the men who've been visiting Bamenda the past few days. They joined us as we arrived and were greeted by all the Fulani dressed up in their Sallah clothes, then the men, Katelyn, Sarah and I walked out to the point. It was a clear, beautiful day today and we even saw a rainbow around the sun! (A moon dog? Sun dog? Something like that.)
Then came the feast! We all gathered in Moa's house and were served rice and stew and beef. We were interrupted by the horse skills (not a bad interruption) but came back to finish it with chicken, jalaf rice, and countless cups of tea. The horse performance, though, was amazing! The elders and fathers of the village were seated in a line and all the children and rest of the people gathered around to watch. After we greeted the elders we watched as several men on horseback took turns running forward and jumping their horses up on their hind legs. The goal was to get as close as you could to the seated men; several times they got so close the people had to jump out of the way. As each rider came forward and performed everyone yelled out "Faray-ma!" which is like saying "good job/you da man/etc." It was beautiful and fascinating; the horses were decked out in blankets and bridles covered in colorful fringe, especially pink - apparently bright pink is the color of warriors to the Fulani!
After awhile it began to rain and we returned to Moa's house. With the storm coming in and the lightning and thunder rather close, it was time to head out, so sadly we missed the dancing and drums, which happened tonight sometime. Sarah and I are having another movie night though, and then will fall asleep listening to the rain on the roof. Oh, rainy season, how I love you.
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