On Air in Mali

Thursday, March 26, 2009

At the end of my day, when I'm heading home, I stop by Lahmine's compound. He's usually not home yet, but his wife, Soté, is, getting dinner together or giving the kids their baths. This is Sote sifting millet flour.

A family portrait: Sote with three of her five daughters. Clockwise, they are Batouma, Baro and Npa.

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Cast of Characters

Adama Daou: Adama is the Director of the radio, the school association, and the library. Since none of these positions are paid, he sells gas outside his compound.

Adama Daou: Chief of the village, my dugutigi spends every day, all day sitting in a chair outside his compound, where his villagers and counselors attend him with all kinds of village business.

Aissata Konaté: Matrone at the local health clinic and my Peace Corps counterpart. Aissa is a widower living with her father-in-law, a fierce protector of my safety, and a lover of interpreting dreams and personality tests.

Banta Traoré: The old woman with whom I share my compound. Banta supports herself by picking peanuts and selling cookies in the village.

Bintou Therra: Sister of Moustapha Thera and my neighbor. A real loud mouth.

Fatoumata Thera: The mayor’s first wife and a teacher at the local elementary school. Fatoumata was the homologue for one of the previous Peace Corps volunteers in my village.

Kadi Sangaré: Perhaps the highest ranking woman in my village, Kady is a nurse with the same qualifications as Doumbia. She and her husband, a counselor to the mayor, are the village power couple.

Lahmine Daou: My host, or ˆjatigi, Lahmine is a farmer and the younger brother of the village chief.

Lassine: The clinic pharmacist.

Mapha Daou: Mapha is the vaccinating agent at the clinic, but more importantly, he is Doumbia’s right hand man, which poses some concerns since he has no formal medical training.

Moussa Daou: Our commune's newest mayor, Moussa is a former school teacher. He is motivated, but constrained by the dire lack of finances available to his office. He hopes Peace Corps can help.

Moustapha Thera: A farmer, Moustapha has become my village’s go to man for development projects. He is the treasurer for just about every organization and has been a homologue for a previous Peace Corps volunteer in my village. Moustapha was also recently elected Second Counselor to the Mayor.

Nana: Moustapha’s second wife, a 23-year-old mother of two.

Oumu (Bamu) Daou: The second matrone at the health clinic. Oumu is the younger sister of the chief of the village and Lahmine.

Samouhan Daou: That would be me.

Sekou Boundy: The sous-prefet of my village – the highest ranking government authority.

Siaka Daou: The former mayor of my village. Siaka has two wives, one of whom is Kadia, the woman I was discouraged from being friends with. A lover of prestige and power, Monsieur le Maire has a chauffer. What he does not have is a car. His chauffer, does however, escort Monsieur le Maire everywhere on his moto.

Sitan Gindou: Adama (the radio director) Daou’s first wife and mother of 4.

Soté: Lahmine’s one and only wife (at least for now). She is the mother of five girls and spends her days cooking and cleaning in the village chief’s compound.

Sowese (Marie) Diarra: The midwife, Sowese is the most educated employee at the clinic, which adds tension to her relationship with Doumbia, who is threatened by Sowese. She is a Bobo, and an outsider to our village.

Tata Koné: Aissa's eldest daughter. She is a kick and acts like my big sister. Tata lives with her husband about 8 hours from our village but still calls it home and spends all her vacation at Aissa's. Aissa is fixing up the second house in her compound for when Tata, her daughter Adame, and I all come to visit.

Toubab: A white person, a foreigner, originally a Frenchman -- but hey, aren't all white people the same? Of course, once, a little boy followed me around on his bike shouting, "Chine, Chine, Chine, Chinoise!"

Yacouba Doumbia: The chef de poste (or director) or the health clinic, Doumbia is the equivalent of a nurse, yet he is in charge of any medical condition that enters the clinic. He says he’s a lady charmer, but every single woman that works under him at the health clinic has an intense dislike for him.

On Air in Mali

Thursday, March 26, 2009

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