Learn about Mauritania

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

2009-05-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

First, my apologies for the neglect on this site over the last month. I hope that the end of the school year is not too busy for all of you! For the last post (or what I think will be the last post of the year) I thought I'd write about perceptions of beauty here, because it really is quite fascinating.

Please keep in mind that most of these criteria for beauty are for the Moor/Arab culture, but you do see some overlap into the other southern cultures. However, I am most familiar with Moor culture.

Women: The first major difference that you will see in one's perception of beauty is weight. In the USA, our culture focuses on the importance of slim women's figures. Here... it is the exact opposite. The heavier you are...the more beautiful you are. As modern medicine and western culture (including TV shows, and movies)becomes more and more standard, we see this trend starting to change. Many younger women no longer subscribe to the same tendencies as the older generations. The traditional culture was that women who were very curvy showed that they did not need to do much work. In the past, and even now in the more rural areas of the country, many families still practice the tradition of force-feeding their young girls. They believe that it is so beautiful to be as heavy as possible that families will make young girls of marrying age eat and eat and eat until they literally cannot eat more without vomitting. There were and are reports of "fat camps" existing where families can send their daughters to make them beautiful for their future husbands. As mentioned previously, with modern medicine and western culture gripping the region more and more, these tendencies are starting to diminish.

Another beauty trend here is skin-color. While we in the USA tend to try to soak up the sun, here they do everything in their power to avoid it. Traditionally here black people were of the slave caste, while the "white" arabs were their masters. It is important to note that although slavery has been tecnically abolished multiple times here, there are many families that still practice it. With this past, it perhaps gives rise to the obsession of the culture with light and white skin. So much so that many women use a whitening cream on their face that is actually quite harmful and dangerous. One of Peace Corps' health projects is education on this skin lightening cream that so many women use. I'm not sure of the composition or all of the effects that the cream has on women, however I do believe that prolonged use causes wrinkles and spot on the skin.

Another aspect of beauty for women is a non-permanent tattoo like design on the feet and hands called Hennah. It is important to stress that it is never permanent, but that it stays on for days and/or weeks depending on the quality and how much contact you have with water after putting it on. It is usually a orange-ish brown paste that you put on your hands and feet in intricate designs. You then leave it on there for hours while the dye seeps into your skin to change its' color for a few days.

Men: For men it is generally most acceptable to have a very thin frame, with not much muscle. You certainly won't see men putting time aside to go lift weights at the gym. As with other aspects of culture, men have much more freedom and lee-way with the acceptable norms than women do. If you see a man who has a little bit of muscle, you certainly wouldn't think twice about it. However, that being said... I have not seen a Mauritanian man yet who was over-weight. There is such a strong cultural stigma against an over weight man (because it is feminine... not due to medical concerns or western perceptions of beauty).

I hope this at least gives you a start for what "beauty" is here, and an understading that beauty truely is a cultural perception.

Gender Issues

2009-03-25T03:39:00.000-07:00

There are certainly gender issues and disparities the world over. Unfortunately, Mauritania is one country where the disparities are quite large. This is changing, however slowly. With Peace Corps here, we actually have an entire sector devoted to the promotion of Girl's Education and Empowerment (GEE). There are many restrictions placed on women and girls, that their male counterparts do not need to adhere to so strictly. In dress, a woman must cover completely, wear a dress, and western attire is almost never acceptable. On the other hand, men very often dress in slacks and a collared shirt, or suit and tie.

In athletics, boys are encouraged to play sports: especially soccer, however girls would be ridiculed for similar behavior past a certain age. It is important to note that in the south, among the Black African cultures girls (even past puberty) will play sports such as basketball, but rarely soccer as it is seen as a more high-contact and aggressive sport. Another note: here at my site in the north, there is a small contingency of girls (mostly at the Girls' center) who are interested in starting to play basketball, however they will not play at the stadium because then everyone will know that they are playing sports.

In the home, the men are free to roam around and do as they please while women generally stay to cook and clean. As mentioned in the previous post on Family Units, that is not to say that no men do any housework at all, or that they never help their wives. It just simply is not the norm. If a group of men live alone together, they will often either eat at restaurants or have a woman come cook for them.

Marriage and schooling: Women usually will get married quite young here by our standards. Although looking at it from the other way around, they all can't believe I'm SO OLD at age 24 and unmarried. How they see it is that I have wasted away much of my good mothering years by being unmarried. It's all a matter of perspective and what one's perception of "normal" is. When I explain that I'm unmarried because I went to school, they understand that because here usually a woman will attend school until she marries. That age is just much closer to the 15-17 year old range. My host sister in Rosso (age 16) is now married, and I asked the question the last time I saw them if she still went to school (knowing the answer already). Of course they kind of chuckled and said, of course not... she's married! Now though, the male counter parts are much more encouraged to finish their BAC (a sort of post-high-school/college entrance exam). Many girls are starting to complete high-school, but not as many as boys. Once you get into the College setting, there's an even greater disparity in numbers between the sexes. As much more education is encouraged for males, they also get married at a much older age. Many times men won't marry until their late 20s or early 30s. There are of course many exceptions, but this is just a general rule of thumb.

Genders in the workplace: obviously the first step to gender equality is to ensure that women are getting educated. When you have two candidates for the same job, one is a male with his BAC, and the other is a female with only primary school under her belt, who can blame an employer for picking the more educated man? The lack of education of women spills over into the formal workplace, where you see MANY more men than women. Very often women will have small boutiques, or make artisan items to sell to earn a living for themselves and children.

Mauritania seems to be showing some excellent signs of improvement in gender issues. Even something as simple as a young woman wearing jeans under her veil shows some change. But we're seeing more women getting educated, and with Peace Corps there are special programs in place for the development of womens' education specifically. What's more, is that these programs are not only supported by the women in the community, but many men have come to support the increase in womens' education. There are certainly some very well educated women (and many times they can intimidate many men). I know a woman here who works for the mines, she got married only recently after studying English at the University of Nouakchott... and her English is very good. There's even been a report out of a woman who may be running for President in the next election. I've only heard that though from one source, so we'll have to see.

Family Units

2009-03-25T03:13:00.000-07:00

The family unit in Mauritania is a bit different than what you might find "normal" or "average" in the United States. For starters, many times the number of children in a given family can be upwards of 5 or 6. From the families I've seen, I would say it is rare to find a family with only a couple of kids. (I have met though one lady who is an only child.) Another main difference is that, although not universal, polygamy is not only practiced, but culturally acceptable according to Islam - a man is allowed up to 4 wives, but cannot take a second unless he is able to fully provide for both families. That being the case, in a family where there are multiple wives (and children), sometimes one wife will live with her children in one home, and another wife will live with their children in another home. The husband can sort of float from one house to another. Please don't assume that this is the most common practice in Mauritania... only that it does exist. I would say that polygamist family units are in the minority, but certainly I know of many examples. I believe this trend is on the decline as divorces are quite common-place here. From what I've heard and seen, the divorce rate is about the same as in the USA. I know one lady here in town that has been married 6 times. That is obviously not the norm either, but it is an example of how common divorces can be.

Next, within the home, you will have some times what we would call extended family members living in the same home: Grandparents, Uncles, Cousins. It is very rare for a child to leave the home of their parents until they are married. It is definitely much more acceptable for a young man to leave his parents home to find work in the capital, or to attend school (and that will happen quite often even when he is not married). However, it is basically unheard of for a woman to leave her parents' home before marriage. I believe that women who attend University before getting married will stay with relatives in Nouakchott, but very very rarely would they ever live alone, as this is not culturally acceptable.

Division of chores in the house is also quite interesting. First, in a house where the husband is at home all the time, he will rarely do much house-work. This is not an all-encompassing statement however. I have seen some men help their wives, and I've met some men (1 or 2) who like to cook. Of all of the household chores that get done, the most common chore for men to do is to make the tea. The wife is usually in charge of all of the household chores, and depending on the age of her children she will either do them all herself, have a sister help her, or delegate tasks to the children. Once the eldest young girl reaches about 13 years old, she will usually do most of the household work including cooking and cleaning for the whole family until she is married. After she is married, the mother will resume the tasks, or re-delegate to a younger child. Once again, boys will rarely cook and clean, but they will make tea. With my host family in Rosso, all the kids (in the whole neighborhood) came over to help clean up the trash in a vacant lot next to the house).

I realize that this hasn't covered all of the aspects of family living, but it's at least a start. Let me know if you have any comments or questions!

Market and Shopping

2009-03-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

One of the big things I had to get used to here is how to shop. You certainly don’t go to your neighborhood Target, Walmart, Costco, or Best Buy to pick up whatever it is that you need.

Each city and town will have a main market-place where you can get most of the items that you need. For other big items, you may have to travel to Nouakchott, or another larger city. Different boutiques and/or vendors specialize in different products, and you can just make your way around buying what you need. All of the house wares are located in a part of the market together, while all the vegetable-women sell next to each other too. For meat (at least in my town), there’s a main hall with the butchers in the center and then surrounded by vegetable venders. Usually you will see men selling meat and house wares while women will sell the other items (not always).

Another big difference between here and in the United States is that you need to go shopping every day, and sometimes more than that. There is no refrigeration (at least for most people – myself included), so that means you have to buy what you need for your next meal, eat it all, and return to the market before the next meal. In the cold season you can generally get your food to last about 24 hours without a refrigerator, but in the hot season it may last only a few hours.

Another important aspect of shopping here in Mauritania is the bargaining process. When people see others who they expect to have lots of money (Westerners and tourists), or just may not know the correct price for items they will tell you that it is more expensive than it actually is. When this happens you need to bargain with the seller, sometimes even walk away if the price is not correct. With sellers like tailors and taxi bruisse the price can vary much more with quality and such so you need to be extra careful. After having been here a while, I feel that the sellers know us and they don’t try to take advantage of us because (for the most part) they know we won’t pay the tourist price. You still need to stay on your toes though, and watch out for inflated ‘western’ prices!

Here’s our grocery store. I didn’t mention it in the main section because we are a rare site that has one (due to our ex-pat population). It is very common to see both ex-pats and Mauritanians shopping here, and it’s one of the stops for just about every volunteer that comes to visit us! An interesting note about the grocery store is that prices are fixed.

This is out on the paved road (away from the main market), but it’s pretty common to see the meat hanging in the open like this for people to see before buying.

This is the actual meat market area. You don’t see a lot in the picture, but you can see some meat hanging in the upper right hand corner.

This is a lady’s stand I go to fairly regularly for vegetables. She’s got a
pretty good assortment.

This is just another view of her boutique.

This is the section of the market for house wares. It’s pretty dead right now in the picture because I didn’t want to be taking pictures when everyone was out.

This is what we like to call “bread row”. All the men who sell bread line up with their wheelbarrows full of bread in the morning, and sell until they have no more.

2009-02-26T01:54:00.000-08:00

As with many cultural topics in Mauritania, the type of food one eats largely depends on location and ethnic group. Typically in the north we see less variety of foods and more bland foods than in the south. More specifically speaking, the northern diet consists largely of meat, rice, and couscous. In the south you’ll see an abundance of fish, vegetables, and some fruits, especially the closer to Senegal you get. From what I can gather, there are two main reasons for this trend. Culturally speaking, the Arab Moors (mostly in the north) were nomadic peoples who never stayed long in one spot. This means that in their diet you’re not going to see much in the way of vegetables and fruits because that requires one to stay in one place to tend the fields. Another reason is the geography of the country, and the natural allocation of water resources. As discussed previously, the majority of the water, and rain will be found in the south along the Senegal River, which creates a better environment for gardening. This is not to say that there are not gardens in the north – one town in the north is specifically known for its carrots.

No matter where you are in the country, the variety of dishes is quite limited. Typically a family will eat the same meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. Usually in the morning people will eat bread with their tea, or have a porridge type meal similar to grits. For lunch in the south the favorite is a Senegalese dish “Chub u gin” aka rice and fish. In the south, the fish and rice is accompanied with a number of vegetables such as eggplant, carrots, peppers, potatoes, and/or a green leaf called bissap. When fish is in short supply, people will generally substitute the fish with goat or sheep meat. For dinner many times one will eat couscous along with goat or sheep meat, or just plain couscous. For special occasions at dinnertime you’ll have a plate of couscous with a goat’s head on top. There are many other plates commonly found here such as Mafé (a peanut butter-tomato sauce served over rice – my favorite), Yassa (an onion sauce over rice), and spaghetti and meat.

Another unifying matter regarding food and diet is the way the food is prepared, how it is eaten, and when. First, Mauritanians use a ton of vegetable oil in their food preparation. It increases the calories in the meal, but more importantly it allows you to ball the food up in your hand. That’s right… no forks, spoons, or knifes… you just eat with your hand. The meal will be served in a large single bowl or plate on the floor, and all of the family and/or guests will gather around. If there are a lot of people, there may be two or three dishes. Each person can eat the food that is in the “imaginary pie slice” that is directly in front of you by balling it and eating with your right hand. Sorry lefties… you still have to eat with your right hand! There are “table” manners of course for eating that must be followed. Most importantly one never ever reaches into a common bowl with their left hand! If you have an issue with your right hand, you’ll be issued a spoon. Next, you can never reach outside of your “pie piece area”. Even if your favorite vegetable is in the next pie piece over, you should ask to have someone throw it into your pie piece. The host will typically tear off choice parts of the meat for the guests and visitors. The meat is usually placed in the center, and you may need to ask someone for some help when tearing off a piece. Usually breakfast is served around 7 or 8am (this depends on the family). Lunchtime is between 2-3pm, and dinner is anywhere from 8-10pm. Remember that one always serves tea with every meal.

This is a dish from a little restaurant in Nouakchott. It looks to me like it’s Yassa (the onion-sauce over rice). Usually in restaurants foreigners will be given spoons like you see in the upper right hand corner.

You don’t see a meal like this too often… this was a special treat at for our swear-in ceremony because the ambassador was there. What makes it so special is all of the vegetables and the whole chicken. I don’t think I’ve seen so many vegetables all on the same plate since that day.

Here it is… the famous “chub u gin”! This is of the white variety (meaning there’s no tomato past in the sauce for the rice to make it red). My family in Rosso ate this every day without fail (except when they ran out of fish at the market).

Here is a very popular dish called Mishwii. The city of Aleg is famous here in country for having the best around! It’s grilled sheep, goat, or camel served with some bread, and maybe some onions for good measure. Typically you’ll also have the intestines, liver, etc. also served in this dish.

Current Events

2009-01-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a long time since I've last posted on here. My computer is momentarily down again with no power cord. So no more picture posts until I get a new one. But I was just thinking I could give you a quick update on current events. First, they have set a date for the elections here: May 30th. I believe that there is also a run-off date set for sometime in June if it is needed. Just today I read that the Alternative Party is nominating Mohamed Yehdi Ould Moctar Hacen to run for the presidency. I have not heard as of yet weather or not General Aziz will be running. Moving on to Israel and Gaza... as you can imagine the people of Mauritania feel a strong tie to the Palestinians with their common religion. As mentioned in previous posts, Mauritania is one of three Islamic states that recognize the state of Israel. At the moment, that status seems to be in jeopardy as they have frozen ties with Israel. As far as I know they have not severed diplomatic ties, however they have recalled their ambassador and everything. We will have to wait and see how this all plays out, if the new president will have anything to say about it, and whatnot. Exciting times!

House and Home

2008-12-31T02:54:00.000-08:00

The houses here are quite different than what we see in the US, but then again, our climates are also very different too. Here you’ll never find a house that has a heater because it’s simply not needed. There are a variety of homes available in the RIM, each suited to its population’s economic status and climate. The pictures I have are of places I live(d) and other volunteers’ homes. Although these are for the most part “Americanized”, you can still get the basic picture.

Rosso Home: I lived here with a host family for 2 months during stage. We had a compound with a main house area (single entry door) with 2 rooms, a salon, and a “kitchen”. They did not really use the kitchen for anything put storage of dishes and the refrigerator, but it still existed. All of these rooms will typically be shared by everyone in the family. With Peace Corps policy, we need one room completely to ourselves, so I had one of the rooms, and the family had the other. Outside the main house area there was a lumbar, bathroom, magasin (another room which many people will use as a boutique, but my family used as storage), and goat/cow pen. It’s very common to have colorful plastic woven mats for sitting on the sand outside, and carpets inside. The house has water and electricity… however the definition of running water in this case is having a robinet (a water spicket) inside the compound. In Rosso the water was on almost all day, except for around noon until 3 or 4. To get through that time the family would fill up buckets and other containers for water. There were some families in Rosso who did not have robinets, and had to have water delivered via donkey cart, or use their neighbor’s robinet.

A view from inside the compound. The lumbar is on the left, main house on the right and goat/cow pen is the red door. The bathroom is just behind me.

The family’s goat/cow pen

The family lumbar in Rosso… notice the mosquito netting to cut down the probability of contracting Malaria.

The main entrance to the main home within the compound. Notice the satellite TV dish… very common throughout Mauritania.

Akjoujt Home: I have a compound now that has 2 rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a lumbar. The kitchen was designed to be next to the bathroom, but I like to have it away from there. It’s a fairly typical Mauritanian home for the area with the exception of the fact that I do not have running water. I go to my landlord’s home a few times a week to ask them to pass a hose through the wall so that I can fill a 200 liter barrel. I then will siphon the water out into buckets as needed. Another aspect of my home is that I have a garden. Although it is not unheard of for Mauritanians to have gardens in the home, it is not the norm. Other things that differentiate my house from a typical Mauritanian home would be that I have a “dresser” made of tomatoe crates, I don’t have matalas (colored foam mattresses) laying around the outside of the room, and I don’t have a separate salon.

This is a typical toilet in the RIM… some may be porcelain and/or flushable, but the pit style is what I’ve seen most of.

This is my lumbar… also use it to hang laundry on laundry day. The kitchen is in the upper right hand corner, and the main room is just off the right hand side of the photo.

Cooking in Akjoujt. I have my range set up on wooden planks, but most Mauritanians will cook on the ground.

Getting water out of the barrel.

Another volunteer’s home in Akjoujt: This compound is slightly larger than mine, with a robinet, separate toilet from shower area, but no lumbar. I would say about half of the homes have some sort of a lumbar/outside shelter inside the compound.

A view of the kitchen, magasin, toilet and shower areas

The two main rooms

Other homes in Akjoujt: Here are some pictures of other homes in Akjoujt, seen from just the outside. It is important to note that traditionally the Moors were a nomadic people traveling around setting up tents anywhere they would go. The lumbar is sort of similar to that, and many people simply live in a lumbar or other such tents.

It might be hard to see, but if you look close and zoom in you might be able to see the permanent tent-like structures that are people’s homes.

Chinguetti: One of my friends lives up in Chinguetti and has an interesting house that is much more suited to the climate there. As you know from previous blog entries, Chinguetti is right on the boarder of the Sahara, and gets both very cold and very hot. His house is quite similar to mine in that it is compound-style with separate entries into rooms: kitchen, room, bathroom, but he has a “khyma” aka tent instead of a lumbar.

This tent can be put up and taken down in a matter of minutes. The wooden “floor” stays out all the time though. I just wanted a closer view of the wooden plank. It’s set up on bricks because the sand is so cold in the winter and so hot in the summer.

Nouahdibou: Some other friends live up in Nouahdibou that may have a more similar home to what you might expect. The standard of living for inhabitants of Nouahdibou is generally higher than other regions due to the strong economic activities and development there (namely fishing). These homes are comparable to homes in the capital, and that’s why volunteers in those two places are afforded more in a monthly stipend as their homes also cost more to rent. That is not to say that everyone in Nouahdibou and Nouakchott live in homes like this. There are also shanty towns with homes made of scrap metal for people who come looking unsuccessfully for jobs.

A little closer to a mainstream US kitchen. Fridge, oven, stove, sink with running water at all times that there is electricity. In the first picture is the oven along side the refillable gas container.

A room complete with wardrobe, light fixtures, screened and glassed windows, and rug in the middle.

Now here’s some green technology for you! Every so often you’ll see this hole in the ceiling with thick glass to prevent air, rain and other elements getting in. During the day it lights up the rooms better than lights can… even when it’s cloudy! The roofs here are often flat as there’s not much worry of rain drainage, and it’s used as an extra level of the home sometimes too.

And the bathroom… once again, running water, shower, sink, and toilet (western-style). There’s another bathroom in this house that also that has a bathtub/shower.

A more or less typical Mauritanian salon… minus the computers. The matalas on the ground, pillows as back supports, and a run in the middle. Going back to the green lighting technology developed in the 1960s here… there are no lights on in this room, and no flash on the camera.

Transportation

2008-12-31T02:53:00.000-08:00

I guess we’ll start with airports. There is the one main international airport in Nouakchott (I haven’t been there because we flew into Dakar, so I really have no knowledge of the Airport in Nouakchott). The one in Dakar however, was quite small by US standards with only a few luggage corrals, and everything was open air. When we landed, the plane didn’t pull up to a gate and you got off on a jet-way, rather we walked down the stairs and loaded a bus that took us to the terminal. There is also an international airport in Atar that accepts planes as large as 747s (one or two a week). These are pretty much the only flights in and out of that airport and are always direct from Paris. There is also an airport in Nouahdibou that flies to Atar, Nouackchott and the Canary Islands.

So how do people move around in country here? Well, they don’t hop on the interstate or anything like that. Most roads are unpaved with the exception of a few main roads coming out of Nouakchott. There are about four spokes of paved roads coming out of the capital: to Nouahdibou, Atar, Aleg, and Rosso. There is also currently a project underway to construct a road between Rosso and the Kaedi/Bogue area. The paved roads are just that: paved. No lines, shoulders, just paved. When you’re going up into the mountains however there are barriers as safety precautions.

Many people do not own cars, but almost everyone at least knows someone who does. The cars are usually used/fixed up Mercedes, Peugeots, etc, and are not the most reliable vehicles I’ve ridden in. There may or may not be seat belts, not that it matters much as you don’t get a seat to yourself usually anyway in the common taxi bruisse. There are of course new cars around, not a lot in my town, but you do see them from time to time. A land cruiser-type vehicle is also quite popular with the sandy terrain.

Now to the famous taxi-bruisse. This is what we use for travel around the country for the most part. There are some coach-style busses that run from Nouahdibou to Nouakchott, but they are not very common. I did take this from Nouakchott to Nouahdibou a few days ago, and it’s sort of like a coach bus, but with seats that fold down into the aisle to maximize the number of passangers. The most common form of transportation is the taxi bruisse where you will get 7 people into a small car (like a Mercedes) or 10 into a station-wagon style car. How do you do that you might ask? Well… the driver usually gets his own seat (yes… usually… I’ve also seen them share driving around town with the driver hanging out the open door). Then in the passenger seat you’ll have 2 people sitting. Then in the back seat of a small car you’ll have the remaining four passengers. If you’re in a station – wagon Peugeot style car you’ll get four in the middle seat and an additional 3 in the back. I have not yet had problems with a car breaking down mid-trip, but I hear that it will happen eventually as it is pretty common – more so in the Peugeots, but also in the Mercedes. P.S. You may also have animals traveling with you, either tied down to the roof or in the truck.

There is also a train available if you’re looking to travel from Atar to Nouadibou. It’s not exactly like a passenger train like you might think of – but it’s a coal/iron ore train. You pretty much get to ride on top of the coal/iron ore as it is transported to the coast. I’ve been told this is a “must do” before leaving country!

Now for traveling around town, the most common form of transportation is to walk – everywhere. Our bureau is nearly a mile away from my house, and my work is probably a half mile (along with the market and such) – you just get used to it. People with cars however… they drive everywhere usually. There are always plenty of people around to push the car when you need to start it.

But what if you buy a large item in the market, or need to transport something across town, but you don’t have a car? Well… that’s what the donkey carts are for! The driver is usually a young man, and they’ll load up your stuff, tie it down and take it wherever you need to go in town for about $1.75ish depending on where you want to go and how much stuff you have.

And brand new to Akjoujt is the Taxi! We do have taxis that will take you where you need to go, but I have yet to use one. It’s usually just easier to walk – no need to haggle on prices and all. In the larger towns taxis are very common and used much more than the donkey carts such as in Nouahdibou and Nouakchott.

Sorry, I thought I had some good pictures, but I don’t have too many… just some video, which I don’t know how to post. I’ll see what I can do though.

Geography and Climate

2008-12-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

When you think of Africa you’ll probably think of either rolling sand dunes or vast jungles teaming with exotic wildlife. Both those are absolutely true, however there’s a lot of space to cover in Africa. Mauritania is closer to the “rolling sand dunes” image, but it is so much more than that.

Geography:
On the northweastern side of the continent, Mauritania rests on the edge of the Sahara Desert. To the north lies Moracco and Western Sahara, with Mali to the east, and Senegal as the southern boarder. Even within country there is quite a bit of variation in the land. In the south, along the Senegal River there is quite a bit of green vegetation, and the elevation is quite low. As you make your way north and eastward, there is a transition into rolling sand dunes, and then into mountainous terrain before hitting the Sahara Desert. Here in Akjoujt, we are on the very edge of the mountains. You can see them in the distance, and the terrain is anything but flat. The soil is extremely rocky, and you can tell that if we’re not in the mountains, at the very least in the equivalent of the foothills. As you make your way north towards Atar, you get into real mountainous terrain. Then as you continue towards Chinguetti and Ouadane you will climb up the mountains to a plateau. Then you will have Chinguetti, the gateway to the Sahara Desert. The dunes roll right into the city, and apparently the oldest part of the city is buried by sand.

Climate:
Obviously if there is so much variety in the geography, there ought to also be in the climate. Although it is pretty much hot all year round (that’s the African desert for you!), there is a lot more variation in the seasons than you might think. There is definitely a hot season and a cold season that can be seen throughout the country. Some places obviously are hotter, colder or dryer than others, but they all follow a similar schedule. Generally speaking May-August are the hottest months of the year and November-March are the coldest. From July into September, and even October there is a short rainy season (this also varies depending on location). Along the Senegal river, and in the south in general there is a lot more moisture in the air, while as you go north this moisture disappears. In the south (Rosso – where our Stage is held) during the rainy season the streets flood completely and rubber boots are the footgear of choice for everyone. Here in the North, there is still a “rainy season” but it’s “rainy” for the desert. This year it rained 4 or 5 times – but when it rained, it RAINED! Thunder, lighting, you name it! You can add in a nice sandstorm just for good measure too. This year after a few of the rains the streets were flooded just like you would see in the south, but not to the same extent. When we first arrived in country we were headed into the hottest part of the year. I did not have a thermometer at the time, but I believe temperatures would regularly reach about 120. On really hot days the temperature can soar into the 130s. At the end of July up in Atar we had a thermometer and played the “guess the temperature” game. It was a very pleasant evening, having cooled down substantially from the mid-day heat. We all guessed it might be somewhere in the 80s… surprise surprise… it was 105!!! Right now we’re heading into the cold season – you may not think it’s cold, but just remember that everything is relative! So right now we’re seeing temperatures around 95 during the day, but then they’ll dip usually down below 70 at night. The coldest it’s been yet is just about 60 – and I’m telling you after acclimatizing to the summer heat… that is down right COLD! Further north in Atar and Chinguetti it gets even colder. I just spent a night on the dunes in the Sahara (outside Chinguetti) and the temperature was 45. At the peak of the cold season, there may even be frost on the water pipes up in Chinguetti from what I hear! Here though in Akjoujt, it won’t get quite that cold – but I don’t think 40s and 50s will be a stretch. As far as day temperatures are concerned for the cold season, I believe that on the cold days we’ll probably see high 70s to low 80s (but that’s just a guess right now). In Chinguetti now the daytime highs are usually around 80.

One of my neighbors was over one day and inquired what my thermometer was. I didn’t know the word for ‘thermometer’, so I told her that it was something that told me if it was hot or cold. She looked at it, and said… does it say that today is “not bad”? (as she’s sitting in long-sleeves and jeans). It was 98. I laughed and told her, well yeah, it’s not that hot, but people in the USA would think it’s crazy hot, and she wouldn’t believe me! Now when the sun goes down and the temperature starts to go below 85 I usually go inside and get a fleece and maybe some sweats to not get cold. So moral of the story – everything is relative. You may think you’d never be able to stand the heat, but you would acclimatize… everyone else here has!

Pictures:

In the first three pictures you can see the rolling sand dunes of the Sahara Desert, the mountain pass coming down from Chinguetti to Atar, and the Akjoujt watertower sitting on top of a hill.

Next we have another picture of Akjoujt - you can see how rocky the soil is!, Then there is the Senegal River (Mauritania is on the left, Senegal on the right) - it is much greener here, and finally some rolling dunes on the way from Rosso (south) to the capital Nouakchott - much more greenery on the dunes here!

The Job Market

2008-12-02T08:05:00.001-08:00

So if you were a kid here growing up, what would you grow up to be someday? Just like anywhere else, Mauritania needs business people, trades people, sales people, farmers, teachers and doctors, but not always the same job description as you might think of in the USA. No matter what sector you are in, there will probably be a “guardian” who watches over the workplace, lets in people who are supposed to be there, and make tea.

Mining~
Here in Akjoujt we have a slightly different job market than elsewhere in country. The biggest difference is that here we have a mine. A large percentage of the community works there doing a variety of jobs. People from all over Mauritania come to work in the mines. There’s even a long waiting list just to get in! (Not only are Mauritanians drawn to work the mines, but workers from all over the world – from as close as Senegal to as far away as the Philippines!

Formal Business~
There are banks, companies and post offices, so there’s still a market for business people here. Most of these opportunities are in Nouakchott, but you can still find some in the regional capitals. Most businesses in the formal sector are owned by a few strong families in Mauritania. Many of the workers in this sector will have been educated at the University in Nouakchott. In the informal sector you’ll have cooperatives, boutiques, and other trades which will be discussed in a little bit.

Administrative Government positions~
All of education and healthcare is nationalized, and so there are many positions in any given city or town for administrative positions. This could be from the head of public schools or health care in the region to assistants, secretaries, and affectated personnel to certain hospitals or schools. In these positions it is rare (although it does occur) to find someone who does not speak Arabic and French. As we are in a predominately moor region, most will also speak Hassaniya, however that is not needed.

Cooperatives~
This is probably the staple of the informal business economy in Mauritania. It is a group of people who get together (usually single-sex due to cultural norms, but not always). Many times the cooperatives will focus on a particular trade such as agriculture, finance, or other trades. They are usually structured with a President, Vice President, and Treasurer; and may or may not be registered with the Government. If they are registered, that means that they are a formal cooperative (versus the informal) and eligible for government assistance.

Agriculture~
Obviously most of the agriculture activity will take place in the South along the Senegal River, but there is still quite a bit of activity here in the north as well. There are set seasons for certain items (such as Mango season, Manderine season, carrot season, etc.). Generally speaking, Mauritanians are not real big on the variety of vegetables and fruits in the diet, so a lot of what they grow they might not even eat. Probably the most popular item to grow is mint because they take that with their tea (and they take the tea at least 3 times a day!) Here in the north, even though the soil is quite rocky we are able to grow quite a few things, and carrots actually come from a town near Atar. Many primary schools have gardens complete with bell peppers, carrots, corn, and of course mint. I am in the process of planting a garden in my courtyard… I’ll have to let you know how it turns out (I am not very good with plants in general – so it’s definitely an uphill battle!).

Teachers~
Families here are usually quite large, and so there are many children to educate. Teachers have a 4 year degree from a university (usually Nouakchott) and will be affectated to teach in a city, town or village by the Government. They do have the option of requesting a change if they so desire, however that may or may not be granted. There are a variety of subjects taught at various levels including: math, science, French, Arabic, English, and geography.

Doctors~
People still get sick, so obviously there is a need for doctors, nurses, and other support staff. Many times as with other jobs that require higher education, these personnel are affectated by the central Government to a particular post. I’m not sure what kind of education is required to be a regular nurse, however to be a head nurse I believe (if I understood correctly) you need to have a 4 year degree from university in nursing related studies. A doctor obviously will have further training. In many bruisse sites there may not be a hospital, and even in regional capitals the amount of care that can be provided is limited. For all serious cases you will be transported to Nouakchott (fortunate for us that it’s so close – only 2.5 hours away).

Government

2008-12-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Right now the government is in a bit of a transition shall we say. If you haven’t heard, the first democratically elected President of Mauritania (Sidi wel Abdulahi) was ousted in the beginning of August in a bloodless military coup. Before the elections for the President, there were a series of coups that culminated in a military junta taking power to organize elections. Although there is a history of coups as the primary means of transition in the government here since independence (1960s); fortunately, the coups are almost always non-violent. President Sidi wel Abdulahi served just over a year before he was ousted (elected in March 2007). Basically, the President tried to fire some high ranking military officers, who in turn overthrew the President within days. The Prime Minister was also taken out of office, and these positions have been replaced with a military council at the moment. They have promised to hold elections “soon”, however have not set a date as of yet. I would also like to mention a comment one of our facilitators said to us regarding the nature of the coup. He said that it’s nothing more than a family spat that will pass. You see the military helped get the President elected, and he couldn’t have been elected without their support. Now they don’t want him, so they took care of it.

So I guess that right there begs the question of what is the definition of a “democratically elected” President?

Reactions to the coup:
Generally speaking, Mauritanians did not like the President – they said he did not accomplish much. However there was a camp of people who did not support the coup. They either supported the President (very small number from what I can ascertain), or they were pro-democracy. The people in the latter camp generally did not support the President, but did not like the idea of reverting back to the series of coups as a means of change in government.

Now moving on to the reactions from the international community. Both the EU and US were very quick to condemn the coup as unconstitutional, and pushed for a swift re-installation of the ousted government. The US quickly withdrew all non-humanitarian aid to Mauritanian pending the return to the democratically elected government, and the EU currently has an ultimatum on the table to follow suit. Here in my town, there was a unit of US Marines that was pulled out as soon as this all happened. The AU (African Union) has also joined in the chorus with the international community, and issued an ultimatum that expired on the 6th of October. There was not really any consequence tied to the ultimatum, it was just to help re-instate the democratically elected President. Needless to say, President Sidi wel Abdulahi has not yet returned to the head of government… not only that, but there is still no date for elections.

Demonstrations:
Immediately following the coup the government staged various support marches throughout the country in many cities that were subsequently aired on national TV. It’s hard to say if people who participated actually supported the coup, or just wanted to be on the “winning side”. One man I knew initially was in the pro-democracy camp, where he didn’t approve of the coup, but also didn’t like the President. Later, when the marches came to Rosso, he participated. He was also someone who was quite high up in the local government, and so I’m not sure if he was expected to participate.

There have also been demonstrations against the coup as well, but much smaller in number. There are a few that have actually made the headlines. The first main one was in Nouadibou where the ex-Prime Minister (who had been released from house arrest) lead a protest. He was captured again and put under house arrest a second time. Right before the October 6th deadline set by the AU to return to democracy, the military council got wind of a rather large demonstration being planned on the eve of the expiration date. They subsequently placed a ban on all anti-coup demonstrations. The police actually used tear gas and batons to break up the demonstration.

The most recent news regarding the coup is that the leader of the military junta has said that he does not intend to stay in power indefinitely, but that is all that I’ve heard.

So all in all, the National government right now is in the process of a major change, and I’m not sure what the outcome will be here. I try to follow it as best as I can, but I only get to check the internet a few times a week, and then there’s not always much new in developments. If you would like more information on the coup and events, Reuters or Google News both have excellent coverage of pretty much any event happening here in Mauritania.

Now to local Government:
Mauritania is divided into 13 regions, each with a regional capital. I am serving in the region of Inchiri, in the capital of Akjoujt. Each region has a Wali (Governor – appointed by the central government) who oversees all regional administrative tasks. This would include, but not be limited to, the Gendearmies, (police/military type units that have checkpoints along the roads – main use is to control traffic into and out of major cities), and the DREN (National organization for Education – although it is Nation-wide, the Wali will oversee the organization in each specific region). It is interesting to note that there were 2 Walias (women) of the 13 total, however that makeup has changed slightly in the last week. We had a walia here in Inchiri, however a man replaced her.

Under the Wali(a) is the Hakem. This is another appointed official who is in charge of affairs of the prefecture (a sub-region). Basically the Hakem does the same thing the Wali does, but on the prefecture level, and reports to the Wali.

Next we have the office of the Mayor. In any given city there may be a number of Mayors. There is the main one, and then a number of Adjuons (vice mayors – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) As in the US, the Mayor is directly responsible for the affairs of the city (water, sanitation, etc.) and is elected. As the mayor is an elected official, many times they will be in the capital Nouakchott because they have more political ties than the appointed Wali or Hakem. That is why there are so many vice mayors. When one is out of town for work or whatever the case may be, you work your way down the ladder to talk to who is there.

With the coup these positions and functions have remained unchanged.

I’m not very familiar yet with the government after that point here in this town, however in Rosso, after the Mayor there were a variety of neighborhoods that were organized with leaders as well. From what I could gather, each neighborhood had a sort of “chiefton” who represented them to the mayor’s office and also helped organize cooperatives and distributing supplies for those cooperatives.

For us, we have to go and talk to one, maybe all of these people in order to get projects approved (depending on the project). It will also matter the order in which you go and see the people. Generally speaking if you need to see all three VIPs (Wali, Hakem, and Mayor), you need to first see the Wali, then Hakem, then mayor (and so on down the totem pole if applicable). Fortunately I only have 2 projects that require the visits (my English classes for the community and math class at an elementary school).

I’m sorry I can’t be more specific at this time, but please email me (Katie.jajtner@gmail.com) with any questions you might have. I’ve been having some troubles with viewing/responding to comments on the blog right now, so just shoot me an email instead. Thanks!

A day in the life...

2008-12-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

So what is life really like here? Life as a Peace Corps volunteer here is significantly different than that of a Mauritanian, but there are still some similarities.

Peace Corps Volunteer – My experience:
It’s important to note that not everyone has the same experience or work schedules, so that will cause some variation. The technical “work-week” is Sunday-Thursday as the Holy Day here is Friday. Outside of banks, post-offices, government agencies, and major companies in Nouakchott, there is not much change from a weekday to a weekend. This means that many times volunteers will be doing work on a “weekend” and sometimes not during the “workweek”. I have been affectated to a government run micro finance institution, and so I have a more concrete work-week schedule.

Most days I like to get up early in the morning to get in some exercise before the sun gets the temperatures too high – this means I usually leave right before dawn. After my exercise I have to clean up the house and get it ready for the day. So, many times that involves sweeping out the sand that has migrated into my rooms, putting the mattresses inside (because I sleep outside), and making sure I have enough water for the day. Most people here have what is called a robinet (faucet or spicket) in their compounds, however, I do not. For those with a robinet it may take between 30min to an hour or more to fill up all their buckets, badones, and/or barrels with water for the day. My water comes from my landlord’s robinet, and so I have a 200 liter barrel in my compound that I fill every few days. I have a small hole in my wall so that the landlord can pass the hose though to me. After the house is picked up I can go to work, get food for the day, and/or visit with neighbors. Currently I am going to CAPEC (the micro finance institution) from about 9-12 each day (time is extremely flexible here). Around noon is when things start to die down for the afternoon heat and lunch hour. I generally go to my house to cook, eat, shower (again – you shower multiple times a day to help keep cool in the hot season), and sleep. Here lunch break is usually 3-4 hours because it is the main meal of the day and pretty much everyone will take a long nap (about an hour or more). After lunch break the market opens up again for a few hours, and I’ll do some more work, go to the market for dinner food, and/or visit. I will have a few pending evening projects with two English classes and a Math Club at a local primary school (each one day a week). After that, I’ll make dinner, relax, read, or visit people to close out the day.

Adults
Here in Akjoujt we have a Mining Society (Mauritanian Mining Company) that is open 24/7. It is actually mostly owned I believe by a Canadian Company, so the schedule is not very reflective of a traditional Mauritanian day. The vast majority of the workers are on a shift schedule that rotates every so often. So they will work either 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm, or 11pm to 7am. Other mining workers will work your traditional 9-5 workday. These mine workers will take what meals they can with their families. Lunch is usually around 1pm-3pm, and dinner is often late: between 9 and 10pm.

For those adults who do not work at the mines, there are a variety of other options (the job market will be discussed in greater detail in another post). There is a Post office, bank and CAPEC which will all operate on a Sunday-Thursday schedule with at least 6 hours of business a day. Usually this is 8-12 and 4-6, but with the post office and CAPEC here the hours are just 8am-2pm, rather than re-opening after lunch. Other options include owning a boutique, carpentering, metal work, and electricians (all in the market place). Each of these tend to run around 9-12 and 4-6 each day in the market. As far as boutiques are concerned, many times these are run out of the home and will be “open” from 8am to midnight. The owners sit in the boutique and usually take their meals and tea there all day long.

Children:
Right now we are into the school year with compulsory education for all children after the age of 7 (technically – although it is not strictly enforced always). The traditional school schedule is from 8-12 and 3-5. Some private schools will take all 6 hours at once and end at 2pm before the children go home for the afternoon meal. I’ll discuss the subjects and schedules in more detail in an education post. When they are not in school kids will play outside for pretty much the entire day only breaking for the afternoon meal and a possible nap.

A special note on girls: it is very common for a young girl (around the age of 15) to begin doing all of the cooking and cleaning of the house. She is at that time of marrying age, and so she does all of the housework instead of the mother until marriage.

Religion

2008-10-02T04:07:00.000-07:00

It would be difficult to begin to grasp Mauritanian culture without a discussion on religion. The official name of Mauritania is the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (République Islamique de la Mauritanie… aka RIM). That being said, religion plays a huge role in every aspect of culture from schedules to conversations. Here you’ll find some basic information that you can supplement with google searches on the topic…

The Basics:
The Koran is the holy book, a collection of the teachings of the last prophet sent from God, Mohammad. Islam actually recognizes both Jewish and Christian people as brothers and sisters or “people of the book” meaning that all three came of the same beginning, and worship the same God (Allah in Arabic). In Islam, you have many of the teachings of the Jewish and Christian faiths, however those people had strayed after the time of Christ again, and God’s will needed to be revealed again by Mohammad.

There are of course the Five Pillars of Islam that play a very important role in the daily lives of Muslims in general, and Mauritanians in particular. (Five pillars are: The profession of faith, Prayer, Fast during Ramadan, Charity, and the Pilgrimage).

There are two main branches of faith, Sunni and Shiite. Mauritanians are Sunni, aka Orthodox. The split came from a disagreement over the correct succession of power after the death of the Prophet.

This is probably the quickest explanation EVER of Islam, and I don’t want to diminish the complexity of the religion, but please look for supplementary material online that could give more information on the nuts and bolts of the religion than I can. This is just a very basic overview based on the information we were given in our Cross Culture handbook. Following here are the parts that will help explain how the religion is incorporated into Mauritanian life.

Holidays:
This time is very appropriate to discuss Ramadan as we are just finishing up here. The start of Ramadan is based off of the cycles of the moon, and this year it began around the 1st of September and will be ending here shortly. Actually here in Mauritania, the night that there was a new moon it was overcast, so they started a day late and have to make it up at the end. It is 29-30 days of fasting (depending on the moon cycles) where any person who is past puberty, not traveling, sick, or with child should abstain from all food and drink during the hours of 5am-7pm. This is one of the 5 pillars of Islam, and so is very important. So what does that mean in Mauritania? Well, the schedule changes completely! First, schools do not start until after Ramadan, and many people don’t work either (can you blame them with the crazy heat and no food or drink?). Many people almost become nocturnal as they stay up “breaking fast” until 12am-2am, and then wake up at 4am to eat again before the fast begins again. Walking on the streets at about 2pm, you’ll see very few people out, but come midnight the streets are teaming with people!

The next major holiday will be Tabaski, which is 70 days after Ramadan’s end. It is the festival that celebrates Abraham sacrificing a ram instead of his son at God’s will. For this festival, apparently everyone will slaughter a sheep, and buy new clothes to celebrate. Hopefully I’ll remember to put up another post about this holiday when it comes around!

Daily Life:
Religion is not a taboo subject as it can be in the US. Here, people are very open about their religion, and are very nosy about yours too! There’s always someone who will ask me, are you fasting (because it’s Ramadan), are you Muslim, etc… For them, this is just normal, and the fact that you are religious is very important. As it is an Islamic Republic, just about 100% of Mauritania’s inhabitants profess to be Muslim (I have yet to meet someone who does not). It is important to note however that the government does not restrict non-Mauritanians from their worship. There are still a few churches left in major cities from the French-colonial era that still function.

One of the most obvious points of religion in daily life is the 5 prayers a day (another pillar of Islam). Here in the city, we have tons of mosques all equipped with loudspeakers. At the respective prayer times, someone comes over the loudspeaker to say, Allah Agbar (Allah the Great) and other citations from the Koran. At this time, many men will go to the mosque to pray (especially on Friday – the holy day). Women will generally pray at home, although there is some change with women being allowed in the mosque after menopause. Alternatively you can see people who were walking in the street just stop and pray right there! Now, not everyone prays when the loudspeakers sound, it’s just a guideline. You have a few hours to do your prayer, before the next one. However it is important to note that time is taken out from daily activity to pray, and that the work week is scheduled around Friday. This means that the “work week” is Sunday-Thursday, with weekends on Friday and Saturday. As much of Mauritania’s economy is not in the formal sector you don’t see a huge difference in many jobs, but you will see this schedule in banks and schools.

A note on the positions of prayer that I thought was kinda neat… one of our facilitators pointed out that the different positions of prayer are based in the formation of the letters of God in Arabic “Allah”. So essentially you make God’s name with your body position – just a little side tid-bit.

Religion in Language:
Religion is so important that it is also a huge part of the language here. Whenever someone enters your home, to welcome them you say, Bismillah (literally “in the name of God” but figuratively “welcome” in this case. Bismillah is also said before starting any task such as cooking or cleaning, and traveling. Machallah and Alhamdullillah mean roughly “Thanks be to God” and are a major part of the greatings here. For example, something as simple as saying “Hi, how are you” in the States here you would use at least one if not both of Machallah and Alhamdullillah. Even insults and disciplining children take on a religious tone with sayings such as “may God shorten your life” (which is used ALL the time with misbehaving children, and is not meant literally in the least!), and “may God make you go away”.

Views on other religions:
As mentioned earlier, people recognize Jews and Christians as “people of the book”. Unfortunately, many people do not understand the diversity of the US, and automatically assume that everyone is a Christian. Even so, when someone asks you why you are not Muslim (as the always do, many times because they sincerely want you to join them in the after-life), you can simply say, “you have your religion and I have mine” which is a quote from the Koran. Alternatively, I have said, my family is not Muslim, and they quickly identify with the need to belong in the family and say no more. As far as other and no religion goes… it’s not a real favorable alternative here. We are told it’s probably best to not to let them know. As one facilitator put it, it would make life very difficult here as the Koran forbids relations with those who are not of the book. I only heard that though from that one source… so who knows?

And in closing off the section on religion… a small note on law. The judicial system uses a combination of both Islamic law and French civil law. I don’t have a lot of experience with the law, so I’m not very familiar with this aspect.  This is by no means all-inclusive, and if you have more questions, please just ask!

Here is a picture of the mosque in Chinguetti (the oldest standing mosque in Mauritania, and the 7th most holiest place in Islam). Notice the tower on the right side. There are actually loudspeakers mounted for prayer call to be broadcasted over the whole town.

Dress

2008-09-23T00:58:00.000-07:00

Mauritania is an Islamic Republic. As such, you will notice that the dress code here is very different than our standards. I want to be careful to say more or less conservative, it’s just plain different as you will see. It is very common to see men and women in what you might consider to be “traditional Arab dress” in the Moor communities. In the other cultures however, you will see more of what you might think of as a “traditional African dress”. I believe that there is a difference between the Soniké, Wolof, and Pulaar community’s dress, however I really can’t tell the difference. It is very obvious though how these cultures differ from the Moors. There some common threads among all of the groups that you should be aware of that concern the dress code.

Legs: Both men and women must always cover their legs. There are exceptions for when you are participating in sports for men in all cultures, and women mostly just in the South. For sports, it is acceptable for men to wear what you would consider to be normal athletic shorts – usually for soccer. When I’ve been out running, I’ve seen other Mauritanian runners (only men), but I have never seen anyone in the short running shorts that runners wear. I saw women in Rosso who wore shorts to play basketball (what you would think of regular basketball shorts), but the shortest is just above the knees. Apart from sports, it is unacceptable to see the outline of a woman’s leg generally speaking. That means obviously no pants, but also you must be very careful to make sure that you can’t see the outline of your legs through your dress at all. So, you’ll see women double layering and wearing slips often. For men, it is acceptable to wear a very baggy pant that almost looks like a skirt that goes to just below the knees. It is however then accompanied by a boubou, which is basically a king sized bed sheet draped over you.

Women and heads: Women generally speaking always cover their heads once they reach puberty. In Rosso, there were some women who bent the rules, but I think this was mostly due to the liberal atmosphere and proximity to Senegal. Here in the North, I always cover my head.

The torso: In general, one should cover their sholders (both men and women). However, on very hot days, I’ve seen men walking around with no shirt under their boubou, and some women in the South will wear cover only a little of their shoulders. Around the house (not on the street) both men and women may walk around topless. This is only for when they are working in the house with only family present.

Moor dress: Women will wear what is called the veil in English, in Hassaniya: the Mulafa. It is a 6yd long piece of fabric that is wrapped around the body and then around again to cover the head. Generally women do not cover their faces, unless it is very windy when it is best to cover up to avoid getting sand everywhere. Underneath this women will traditionally wear a full length skirt as well to make sure you can’t see their legs. With the younger generation we’re starting to see young girls wearing jeans and such underneath the mulafa, however that is not mainstream. The traditional dress for men is the kafta and boubou. These are the shorter baggy pants with the big sheet. They will usually wear a t-shirt (with sleeves) underneath. It is becoming very acceptable for men to wear “western style” clothing as well, especially in cities.
Other cultures: Unlike the Moor population, these cultures will use a tailor to make their clothes. Women will wear what is called a “complete” meaning a shirt, skirt, and head piece. All the pieces are made from the same brightly colored fabric, but separate from each other. Men will also wear very brightly colored clothing. They have a boubou that is apparently different from the Moor boubou, but I can’t tell a difference (but I also haven’t seen many non-Moors wearing a boubou). Men will very often wear either western dress (jeans and a t-shirt) or what we like to call the pajama outfit. It’s just pants and a long-sleeved shirt made out of brightly colored fabric. Many times they will have the tailors embroider fancy designs on this outfit to make it very dressy.

This is my host Mom standing outside the front door. She is wearing the traditional Moor outfit.

This is a picture of some other volunteers with their host family. Notice the woman in the veil, and the man in the “western-style clothing”. The regular dress code as described in the text is applicable only to those persons past puberty. For this reason you can see kids in shorts, and no head cover on the girls. This picture was also taken in Rosso, so the female volunteer does not have her head covered.

This is me in what my family called my “Wolof outfit”. All three pieces are from the same fabric, and it is obviously quite bright!

This is my host sister, again in a Mulafa.

Here I am with some other volunteers and a host parent. The Mauritanian man is wearing the “kaftin” – which is usually white. Notice that the male volunteer’s legs are only covered past his knees – this is acceptable for a foreigner, but usually Mauritanians would accompany the shorter trousers with a boubou.

Here you can see a variety of dress on some volunteers. From left to right, you have a male wearing western attire on top, with the “chis” on bottom. The chis are the short, baggy pants men wear usually under a boubou. Next is me, in a Wolof outfit. The guy to the right of me is wearing a boubou, but you really can’t see it. The next female is wearing the Mulafa. Next to her is another non-moor outfit (but made of Mulafa fabric). The next man is wearing the “pajama outfit” as described in the text. This was made of Mulafa fabric as well, but his host mom dyed it because it was too “girly of colors”. The final guy is in a fancy boubou with complete western attire underneath.

I had three more pictures... but I did something to the desktop that I'm going to have to fix... hopefully I'll put these up in a few days. Thanks!

Language

2008-09-23T00:57:00.000-07:00

There are four main languages for communicating here depending on one’s ethnicity and geography. In addition to these four, there are two written languages that are used for instruction in school, and to communicate cross-cultures. In the North (where I am located), you see a very heavily concentrated Moor population. These people were traditionally a nomadic group, and further divided into Black Moors and White Moors. These two groups cover the majority of the area of Mauritania, covering the North, and make an appearance into the South. Once you get further South however, along the Senegal River and near the boarder to Mali, you see the other languages mostly. In the South we have the Soniké, Wolof, and Pulaar communities, each with their own language.

Hassaniya: This is the language spoken by all Moors. There is obviously some regional accents like you see in English, however it is fairly consistent throughout Mauritania. A Moor from the South can easily go to the North and have no communication problems. Hassaniya is not technically a language though; it is a dialect of Arabic, and not written. They say that it is the closest of all the Arabic dialects to the mother language, with about 70% of the structure and words being the same. Of our class in Peace Corps, most of the people will learn Hassaniya, as it is very widely spoken.

Pulaar: Like Hassaniya, Pulaar has traditionally been an unwritten language, however I believe that they are in the process of changing that. I think there may even exist a French-Pulaar dictionary, and some books. Pulaar is spoken mostly in the South along the Senegal River, however we do have a small Pulaar population here in the North (this is probably due to the mines we have here that draw people from all over Mauritania to work, and may not be entirely reflective of a more traditional Northern city). This is the second most learned language in the Peace Corps as it is very prevalent in the South.

Soniké: In our class we had 3 of 77 who learned Soniké. You will find small villages in the South that will speak Soniké just dotted along near the boarder. In Rosso, where our training site was, it was very rare to find Soniké speakers due to the proximity to Senegal (where I believe they speak Wolof and Pulaar). Once again, the language is not written.

Wolof: We only had one person from our class who learnt Wolof, but it is a language that used not only in Mauritania, but also in Senegal. As with the other languages, it is also not written.

Arabic: This is technically the “official language” of Mauritania. Everywhere you go, there are a ton of signs in Arabic. All of the coke cans have both the roman lettering and Arabic. Many people watch news programs broadcasted in Arabic, and one of the most popular TV program here is Latin American soap operas dubbed into Arabic. It is obviously much easier for the Moor community to understand the Arabic due to the proximity of the language, however only well-educated people (usually men) can read Arabic. Most everyone can read, write, and speak some things in Arabic, because it is the language of the Koran, but there are many people who have very little literacy in Arabic.

French: Brought to Mauritania by the colonizing French, the French language is more or less the common denominator among all of the communities. Many people know at least a little bit of French, especially in the South because Senegal has a great deal of French influence as well. Like Arabic, it is one of the languages of instruction for school, so many of the school children can speak a little bit once they are of school age. Walking down the streets though, many of the kids will only know how to say, “hello, how are you?”. There are a few news broadcasts and channels in French, but not to the same extent as Arabic – this is probably due to the satellite dishes here pick up many programs from UAE and Saudi Arabia. The French programs that are picked up for reception are usually from Senegal, a little bit from France, and there is one Mauritanian news case in French.

It is very common to see people who speak many of these languages, especially in the South. In the North, for the most part the people I’ve come across will first speak Hassaniya, a little bit of Arabic and French if they are well-educated. Otherwise they will generally speak just Hassaniya. In Rosso (the South), where there are more cultures present, it is very common for people to speak many of these languages. There was one lady I met who was completely illiterate (did not even know the letters for either French or Arabic), but she spoke impeccable French, Arabic, Hassaniya, Wolof and Pulaar.

Hospitality in the RIM

2008-09-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

One of the cornerstones to Mauritanian culture is hospitality. Mauritania is of course an Islamic Republic, as such they are required in the Muslim faith to be hospitable.

When someone walks into your house (they very rarely knock), the person entering says, Is-salaam alle-kum (may peace be upon you), the owner of the home is then required to at least say, Walle-kum is-salaam (and peace on you). It is polite for them to follow up with Bismillah (In the name of God), meaning: please come in, you are welcome. They will then serve either tea or zurig, but most commonly tea.

Tea: Mauritanians drink tea all the time, morning, lunch, dinner, night, and anytime they have a visitor (which is often!). The tea is a mint/green tea, and served in a small glass 1oz sized glass. Drinking tea though is not as easy or straightforward as you might think. The whole process can take literally hours as there are three rounds of tea. People will serve tea at home, in the office, along the road… it does not matter. Once you accept to take tea (as they almost always do), you are expected to stay for at least the first round, but some say that is bad luck. The first cup is usually quite bitter, which symbolizes death. The second cup is very sweet and symbolizes love. The final cup is a combination of the previous two, which is life. A Mauritanian would never not offer to make you tea, however you can tell how welcome you really are based on how much foam is in the glass. To make the foam they will pour the tea from one glass to another multiple times. It is really an art form where they don’t just pour the tea from one glass to another but you must lift up the one glass so that it falls a long distance into the other glass. The more you do this, the more foam you get. If you are very welcome, your host will have about 50% of the cup as foam. The reasoning behind this is that it takes more time to make more foam, and so they are showing you that they enjoy the pleasure of your company. Conversely, if your host gives you hardly any foam, you know that they’re only serving you tea as a hospitable moral obligation.

Zurig: A nice alternative to tea, and it doesn’t take much time. It is a good substitute when you’re looking for a cool drink at the end of the day. It is not as common as tea, but still quite common. It is a sugar-milk combination that is served cold and actually quite tasty.

Help: When someone asks for help, it is a religious and moral obligation to do your best to comply with their request. Some of my facilitators explained that even if someone does not ask for help, you just jump right in and help anyway. Even if you yourself are busy, or running late, many people will stop to help someone – especially if asked to. It is polite to decline help if someone does offer it. I ran into this when I was trying to do my laundry at my host family’s home. My little sister would just walk right up to me and start doing my laundry with me.
Staying at one’s home: This is really quite common. A friend can come into town unannounced and stay at their friend’s house pretty much indefinitely. My French facilitator explained that they could stay even a month or two, no problem! You’re just plain required to be hospitable to everyone!

This is a picture of my host parents in Rosso. Mom is making tea here, you may need to zoom in a bit, but the tea part is on the silver tray. There is a small tea pot along with various tea glasses.

Here is another volunteer making Zurig. Rather than mixing the drink with a spoon, you mix by pouring from one glass to another like this. The same technique is used for making the foam in the tea, remember that the more distance the drink falls from one glass to another, the better!