EXPERIENCING A GAMBIAN NAMING CEREMONY

When we booked a week long holiday to The Gambia in January to celebrate my 30th birthday I was pretty sure of how I would be spending most of the long sunny days.  I can tell you that in my mind the days started of with a little bit of a lie in before hitting the breakfast buffet, followed by several hours of lying on a lounger sunbathing by the pool and topped of with a delicious meal and a couple of cocktails.  Sounds like bliss!  Well a few days went exactly as I have just described but soon after arriving in The Gambia we discovered that there are much more exciting things to see and do!

If you'd asked me if I would've expected to have been invited to a naming ceremony on the second day of our holiday by a stranger I would have said no, however after a chance meeting one morning this is exactly what did happen. The stranger in question was a man named Ali whom we met during a morning stroll up the beach.  Anyone who has visited Gambia will know that it's near impossible to leave the hotel without being approached by someone. Sometimes they hope to sell you some goods or a tour of popular tourist spots and others simply want to say hello.

After a brief chat Ali pointed out a restaurant at the edge of the beach and recommended the menu to us.  It was still a little early for lunch so we decided to make a pit stop for a cold refreshing drink and we sat chatting for a while looking out to the ocean.  Ali told us that there was a celebration happening that day at his family's compound and invited us to join him to experience a Gambian naming ceremony.  We decided to accept his invitation and after a quick change into an outfit less beach appropriate we headed off.

The walk to the compound (a group of houses surrounded by a wall and occupied by the whole family) took about 30 minutes and along the way Ali told us information about Gambian culture.  He also showed us some of the plants growing along the roads which included menthol and a plant which he said could be used to soothe mosquito bites.  Very handy!  Once we were away from the hustle and bustle of the busy main road we walked along the dirt roads of the neighbourhoods surrounding our hotel with the sound of Friday prayers coming from a mosque in the distance.

Arriving at the compound we were greeted by a group of excited children.  The more brave of the group approached us first to shake our hands and before I knew what was going on I was mobbed by lots of smiling young faces all trying to hug me at the same time.  It's probably the most lovely greeting I have ever had!  All the children fought to hold our hands and lead us inside to show us their home.  Ali lead us inside one of the homes where we were seated so that we could meet the lady of honour.

The beautiful little bundle was placed into my arms and I cradled her for a couple of minutes as she slept, silently unaware of the stranger holding her.  I didn't ask how old she was but I later found out that these ceremonies traditionally take place a week after the birth.  Ali then showed us around his home.  At the back of the compound the women were busy preparing meals for the day; some of them were preparing rice and others peeling and chopping vegetables.  There were a lot of people to cater for and the women worked hard practically all day producing delicious food which we were able to try later on.

The first meal that we tried was quite hard to describe but consisted of rice and peanuts topped with sour milk.  Peanuts are one of my least favourite foods however I'm not one to turn down trying something new and so I had a few spoonfuls.  I was surprised to find that I really liked the taste of the peanuts in the thick, sweet mixture.  The sour milk on the other hand I could have left; I guess it's an acquired taste.

One of my favourite moments was handing out sweets, which we bought from a local shop just a few metres away, to the children.  They excitedly queued up and patiently waited their turn to receive their lollipop.  No wonder they were so happy to see us when we arrived!  Once they had eaten their lollies they all went about their business playing with each other and whatever was around them. They don't have many toys, if any at all, but they are happy to amuse themselves with whoever or whatever is around them.  I suddenly realised that these children have very little in the way of personal possessions compared to children here in the UK yet they are happy; arguably much more so than those who live here with much more.  I think this was the first time during the trip that I truly realised how unimportant most of my own possessions are and, really, how little they actually contribute to my life in the way of making me happy.

Most of our time there was spent sat underneath a shelter made from wood and sheets of corrugated metal. This is where the men spend most of their time chatting whilst brewing up a delicious glass of sweetened Chinese green tea. The tea is very popular in Gambia and we enjoyed several glasses during the week.  The leaves are brewed in a small tea pot over a charcoal fire.  Once the water has come to the boil sugar is added (these guys like their tea very sweet!) and the tea is frothed up by pouring at a height from one glass to another several times before being reheated.  The tea leaves are brewed 3 times; the first has a potent flavour whilst the second and third get progressively weaker. I'm a huge fan of green tea so I really loved this.  The flavour is strong and they add a lot of sugar which satisfies my sweet tooth!  On this occasion they also added mint leaves which added a lovely refreshing flavour to the tea.

Lunch was served up with several large bowls handed out to the groups of men congregating underneath the shelter.  Each bowl contained some fried short grained rice, almost like couscous, which was perfectly spiced. On top sat pieces of chicken, beef, pumpkin, bitter tomato and chilli pepper.  As each bowl of food is shared between a group of people there is a certain etiquette to follow. Each person eats rice only from the section in front of them; if they wish to eat a piece of meat or vegetable from the centre of the bowl they break a piece off and move it to their own section before eating it.  It's common for a person to divide up a piece of the meat or vegetables and share it out by placing a bit in each section.  This was one of my favourite meals during the whole week as it was packed full of flavour and so filling.

One of the people we met there was an 18 year old boy named Ousman.  He spoke to us about his education and his aspiration of becoming a journalist when he finishes school.  He's a very bright young man who told us all about the history of The Gambia.  Unfortunately his current situation is not good and his family are very poor which has meant that he has not been able to pay his school fees.  It's such a shame that he is so keen to stay in education as he his very keen to study.  We're hoping to raise some funds to help him get back into education.  We asked him if he would like to take some photos using our camera and I've got to say he took some really great shots which I've posted below.  The first and last are my favourites.

As it was about to get dark it was time for us to leave which was a real shame as the party was still going strong with music and dancing.  We also didn't get to join them for the evening meal which I would have like. The naming ceremonies usually go on for as many as 11 hours which is a long party indeed!  I'm really glad we decided to go and enjoy this wonderful experience.  It gave us a great insight into real Gambian life and gave us our first taste of their delicious cuisine!

I hope you enjoyed reading about part of our holiday in The Gambia.  If you are interested to know more make sure you subscribe using the links at the top right of the page as I have a few more posts to come.  You can also drop me an email if you're thinking about booking or have already booked a holiday there and would like any information or tips.