It is initiation time in the ritual heart of Kaybé culture in northern Togo. On Friday morning, Alex, Rui, Geff, Jesper, Gros and I woke up before sunrise to go to the Evalaa luttes, or wrestling matches, in Koumea. Although I could not really see the matches themselves, the atmosphere was really fun. Faure, the president of Togo, made an appearance, and the women of each village/quartier self-taxed to buy matching pagnes to show pride.
Farendé and Kuwdé do not have the luttes for Evalaa but there is a very symbolic ritual instead. There are also lots of dances in the market, each village with its own circle, celebrating the initiates. Saturday evening while I was watching the Kuwdé dance, Kouwenam pulled me into the circle where I learned how to dance the saissa (?). The dance is simple - tap twice with each foot, turn a bit each time, while swirling a silver plate, but the rhythm is really difficult. Everyone was so excited (or amused) by my dancing that people started sticking coins to my forehead - I made 90CFA!
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