Leaving Namiungo

 This is Bagamoyo, It is the old stone city. This is the Indian Ocean.

 This is a picture of one of the hills in Masasi were I stopped an rested for a day before going to Dar es Salaam

 This is Charles and he is playing an instrument called the Kayamba. He is incredible good with it. He somehow gets five different noises out of it in a matter of a second or two, I can at best maybe get 4 sounds out of it. It is small shoots of bamboo with beans inside it.

 This is a shirt they gave and had made for me. That is from the Candidates, priests, and brothers here in Namiungo

Celebration of my last night there. We are drinking home made beer which I taught them how to make. Well we tried to make it out of corn, wheat, sugar and water. It tasted better than I expected. It was flat though. No carbonation. It was probably fermenting for about two weeks.

Wow a lot has happened since I wrote last. I try and remember everything. I saw two different witch doctors. I went to her hut with Brother Fulmance. I took off my cap, shoes and socks. In side the hut is really small but 6 off us were in there. She put on a white robe with a sash around her body and red sash around her head. I sat across from her and we are sitting touching barefeet to bare feet. There is something in the middle between us. I don’t know what it is like the size of a shoe box. It is covered in a cloth. She starts singing in her tribal tongue and there is a person on each side of her singing as well. After a while she start breathing heavy. She is starting to struggle keeping her head up. Her eyes are closed. The shakers are getting louder and louder. She falls forward . Her helpers pull a sheet over her. She is breathing really heavy now. Then it is silent. The assistant takes a rattle and shakes it next to her head. She immediately springs up. She starts talking and her voice is incredibly low. Lower than I could ever imagine. Lower than I could ever speak and she is a littler lady maybe 5,2. Her face even looked different to me. It used to be sweet and gentle now it looked more contorted and old, a bit roughed up. The people in the hut welcome Babu, The lady is now possessed. They start shaking the rattle furiously and chanting in the native tongue. Very low voice she is singing with. After a while they tell her a Muzungu is here and has a question for her. I tell Br Fulmance that I had a dream about a month ago which this is a true story. My Grandmother was talking to me in my dream, however I couldn’t understand what she is saying to me. So I was wondering if she could talk to me dead grandmother and ask her what she was trying to tell me. Br Fulmance tells the assistant and he then tells the withc doctor in what ever tribal language they speak. She then starts chanting and shaking the rattles again. After a while she tells me that her sisters are present. That is her dead ancestors and she is going to communicate with them. She starts chanting again and then someone walks into the hut and she throws the shaker at the person who entered and grabs a new shaker. Babu is not happy the person entered the hut. After the chanting is done she tells the assistant something and then he tells br Fulmance who then tells me in English. That the ancestors said that they will make something for me tonight. So I must come back. What ever she gives me will open my eyes so I understand what my grandmother was trying to tell me. The ancestors told her how to make what ever it is and I will take it tonight. They also told me to bring money tonight. So I said ok. They start chanting with joy in what ever song they were singing. After a while she is getting more tired and more tired, drops the shakers and falls forward. They cover her with a sheet and she is breathing heavy. She stops breathing. Once again the assistant shakes the rattle really hard next to her ear. She awakens and slow comes back to it. I take a picture with her. Thank her and leave.

I tell Br Fulmance there is no way I am drinking whatever she gives me. So now I’m worried im going to have to drink something. So now im trying to think of an excuss why I cant drink or maybe I shouldn’t go back. Br Fulmance said , You have to go back. You have to show up.    

Well I bought her a kanga it is a tranditional cloth that you give to older ladies as a gift. Br Fulmance was going to tell her that im sick and the medication that im taking I cant eat or drink anything for 4 hours. Well we show up to her place and right away tells her right away that I cant eat or drink anything but another time and I have a gift for her. I give her the cloth and she puts it on and is happy. She tells him that I wasn’t going to drink something. That they were going to bath me naked and use some sort of special medicine on my body. Br Fulmance tells her he has a sick patient waiting for him and he must go back to the dispensry. Thank goodness. So we left in a hurry. It was quit an interesting experience. Wow that is just one story. Its time for lunch. Im in Dar Es Salaam for a week of relaxation.

I will write about the paradox later. I’m glad for my time in Namiungo in the bush but I’m glad to be back in the city to enjoy some simple pleasures.

Tuta onana baday – See you later