The noises of Bilanga
Whoever thinks that because I live in a village that things are quiet and calm, is wrong. Well, it's true village life is much more peaceful than the city. But, it does not come without its own set of noises, and I'd like to tell you about some of them.
music. quite honestly I wish I heard more of it, yet a day doesn't go by without hearing music throughout Bilanga. Whether it is from a radio that is constantly being played by my neighbor, or a cassette at the kisoque (place where you can get food), or on some nights when the moon is clear and the youth get together to play drums. and always if you catch some ivory coast music, it is guaranteed to hear “tout le monde, tout le monde”
roosters (get ready there will be lots of animal ones). whoever said that roosters only crow when the sun comes up, didn't realize that roosters crow all the time. I probably don't go 10 minutes without hearing a rooster, it happens so often that I don't ever notice it anymore. well, except when I'm trying to sleep or relax and it's outside my window...
donkeys. I'm pretty sure if you're 2 miles away you can still hear the cries of burkina donkeys. they use their entire body and let out this enormous yell, and normally for no apparent reason. and there are A LOT of donkeys in bilanga.
dog fights. burkina dogs are definitely not like US dogs. they are mean and are used for protection, and they run everywhere. and one dog gets a whif of another on its property, there is at least a growl or two coming. every so often though you will catch a real dog fight, everyone jumps out of the way, sometimes people throw rocks to try to get them to stop, but usually you just step back and after a minute or two a winner is decided and life continues.
motos. if you have any money here, you buy a moto. basically a motorcycle but more like a scooter most of the time, is the transport of choice. in bilanga cars are limited to 2 people but there are a few more with motos. but the vroom of a moto becomes a regular background noise, but it never goes unnoticed either. when you hear a moto coming, everyone turns and looks to see who is coming. the sound of a moto usually means the arrival of someone with a definite role within the community.
greetings. if you recall my first entry where I talked about the importance of greetings, it might be even more important in Bilanga. so you will always hear people shouting at each other “fa fa ma” or “tusima” or “a cha le” and don't forget all the “o” sounds in gulmanchema. you respond with “lompo” or “n po” or “n to.” haha, lots of “o”s constantly jumping across the spaces of bilanga.
definitely cannot forget the pigs. every morning around 5 or 6 you will hear the noise of pigs eating. for the first month I was convinced I was hearing pigs being slaughtered. I don't understand it, but when pigs feed they squeal, and they squeal like they are dying, it's actually quite terrible. for a while I was sleeping outside due to the heat, and I was greeted each morning with the high pitch squeal of pigs, not exactly the most pleasant way to wake up.
laughter. burkinabe have a fantastic sense of humor, it's quite refreshing. so throughout the village you will always hear someone laughing.
the moulin. the mill. everyone in bilanga eats To. To is something made from millet or corn crushed up and prepared with boiling water to make a porridge type material that you eat with different types of sauce. But in order to get make To you first need to bring you millet or corn to the moulin, a small machine that grinds up the grain into a fine powder. so often you will hear the constant turning of the moulin in various spots of the village.
tin roofs. about half the houses here have tin roofs. they are cheap and easy to install but not the most conducive to sleep or simply not being startled. Often a bird or lizard or who knows what animal scatters across the roof of my house, and sometimes it scares me into a jump. Anything noise that touches the roof is amplified by 10 into the house. When it sprinkles, you think it is pouring. Rainy season is over now, and one more reason they don't have school during rainy season, is that you can't even hear yourself think when it rains and you are under a tin roof.
kids. kids are everywhere and makes all sorts of noises. whether it be crying or screams or laughter or the general noise of kids playing and running about, the children make constant entertainment foron lookers, particularly myself.
well, that's a good start anyways of some of the noises of Bilanga. While overall Bilanga is a calm place, it is definitely not a quiet one.
things are continuing to go well. the more time I spend in village the more comfortable I feel and more friendships I form and the more it feels like home.
I hope you all are well, miss you and I send lots of love from west africa.
