November in Village: Harvest and Cattle Herding

Youssoufu driving his 'misi wɔtɔrɔ' (cattle cart) back from the fields packed with rice stalks, after the grains had been beaten off of them. His younger brother Kasimu is seated on top.

Tayluru packs down rice stalks atop his 'gwa' (wooden shelter). The villagers store as much vegetation as possible following harvest in order to provide food for their animals during the dry season.

As shown above, the piles can get quite high. Daouda is atop with a tool packing the vegetation down to make it sturdy.

I am a huge fan of the 'zɛnasi' (youth committee). They are well-organized and effectively raise rather substantial amounts of money to buy equipment and materials for 'shɛniw' (dance parties) and other activities. Here, the young men are meeting to discuss the procurement of materials to improve their regular soccer games during the hot season. Karamɔgɔ (right center) is holding up a trophy which they purchased in Bamako. They plan to award it to the winning team after each 'konyon' (wedding), when the 'cɛgananw' (unmarried men) play against the 'musotigiw' (married men). They have also raised money to purchase new goal posts and nets, which they will paint in the colors of the Malian flag.

A view along the dike surrounding 'kɔlɔn kɔnɔ' (the rice fields). After the lands were cultivated and seeds were sewn, the canals within the fields flood the whole area with water to allow the rice to grow. In about a month or two, the fields will be drained and harvested.

My friend Bokari and his 'misiw.' For four months, during the growing season, he walked his family's cattle west approximately 100 kilometers through the fields, not returning until the beginning of November. The reason for this is to bring the cattle to open fields free from crops, such that they can graze at leisure. If they were to stay around village, they would gorge on the villager's crops. Now that the harvest has begun, he has returned with the cattle to allow them to graze on the remnants of the crops after harvest. To prevent them from drifting into unharvested fields, Bokari spends his days herding the cattle, and actually sleeps beside them at night to ensure that they don't fight and break from their pen. Once harvest is complete, the cattle can roam free unattended.

Bokari was spending this day alongside a couple 'fulacɛw' (Fulani men), also herding cattle. 'Fula,' or Fulani, are an ethnic group across West Africa who are traditional animal herders. These men are slowly making their way from fields outside Ségou to a village well East of us. Many Bambaran families hire 'fulacɛw' to watch over their cattle, or walk cattle over from distant markets.

A 'fulacɛ' showing off his command over a cow.

Two 'fulacɛw,' Bokari, and Omaru, a villager looking after my friend Aliwata's cattle, posing behind a cow.

This past Monday, the 'zɛnasi' held one of their 'tɔn bara' (committee work days). A villager hired the organization to 'ɲɔ tigɛ' (cutting/harvesting millet) in his field. In addition to raising money from it's members directly, they also raise money through fees from working agricultural fields. 'Ɲɔ tigɛ' is very grueling work, due in large part to all of the prickers found throughout the fields. I helped them for a few hours, and my hands got tore up.

The young women of the 'zɛnasi' assist the cause by carrying buckets of water to serve to the men in the fields. They also served us a tasty lunch of 'kini ni tiga dɛgɛ na.' Brɛnkɛ, the young man in front, was a huge help to me and Daouda (of our Water and Sanitation Committee) in encouraging everyone to wash their hands with soap before eating.