This was from our trip back in December, just getting around to posting about it…
On Friday, I wanted to go greet again in different homes around the village, but there were no women to be found! Overnight there had been a swarm (plague!) of locusts that camped out in all the surrounding trees. In the morning, we saw evidence of their arrival by the small droppings they left under the trees they had made temporary homes in. I found out a little while after I woke up that all the women had gone into the fields to catch the locusts. Fried locusts are a special, healthy, free treat enjoyed by young and old when they surprisingly show up. It’s an opportunity not to be missed! Our kids also got in on the fun closer to home by catching as many as they could hold in a little plastic bag.
In the late afternoon, I attended a gathering underneath the village tree with all the women. They were making special food to share around in memory of a young man who died a year ago in the desert while searching for gold. Islamic practice is for the men to recite the Quran and say prayers at the mosque for the dead person on the year anniversary of a person’s death. I shared a meal with the ladies which was an experience. Isaac came looking for me, but we were all gathered around our separate trays of food with large pieces of fabric covering our heads. Imagine kids sitting underneath a parachute with the top cut out! Makai tradition prevents certain family relations to eat in front of other family relations, such as a daughter in law in front of her mother-in-law. Because almost everyone is inter-related in the village, every one of us covered up! Isaac had no idea where to begin looking for me when he walked up to 10 or so groups of women all covered!