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Bamako: inside the entertainment industry

With Mali’s musical reputation having spread far and wide you could be forgiven for thinking that this might be reflected in the night clubs of its capital Bamako. The reality is however at the opposite end of the spectrum to that presented in the comfortable confines of the European world music media. Purely in the interests of research, naturally, I embarked upon a few nights of club crawling with some fellow English speakers. With free entry and taxis at a…

How the other half live

Let me take you away from the headline grabbing suffering in Africa and go down to the simple realities of everyday existence, to my friend Mamadou’s home: a one room mud brick shack with a corrugated iron roof, in a small town a few km outside the capital of Burkina Faso – Ouagadougou. Apart from a lucky few who could afford concrete blocks, all houses are built like this, so every rainy season brings some new collapses. Here, where I…

Women will have their day

I extended my stay in Boukoumbe in northern Benin to join in International Womens Day celebrations: aside from witnessing all the traditional singing and dancing to compliment the interminable speeches, I ended it in fine style lurching out of the village nightclub at 4 30am having jumped around like a sweaty loon for a few hours to some great music, virtually none of which would conform to the European idea of African music and was much the better for it….

In search of mother

At a café in a small town in Northern Benin, a young man asked if it was ok to share my table and I had to assure the waitress that I was only too happy to chat to a stranger who she assumed would only bother me. He introduced himself as Paulin and we spent a few hours discussing life, the universe and everything. It’s always rewarding to find someone interested and knowledgeable in African politics to get a better…

Either end of the West African food chain

I have been checking out the local wildlife, not to look at, but to eat though, principally agouti, which is a like a huge plump rat but actually of the porcupine family and a common bush meat in West Africa. The first time I tried it there was an overpowering, rancid stench which was a tad off putting, but I later discovered that this was just the way some country folk preferred it: once killed you leave it sitting around…

Chicken and fish – but not to eat

By the time I got to Burkina Faso I was beginning to get disappointed by the lack of sacrificial poultry action, so was delighted to discover the Sacred Fish Pond just outside of Bobo Dioulasso. Philipe, a French man I had met kindly let me tag along with his guide and 4×4 for a couple of days. After a short hike over wind eroded rocks, carved into a myriad of interesting shapes, we descended a narrow fissure in the rocks…

Rubbish roads

Public transport is a subject I have already given you a flavour of so the dereliction of its vehicles will come as no surprise but I feel obliged to cover some organisational issues with bus services. To most of us it would seem logical, when providing a regular coach service, to relate ticket sales to the quantity of seats on a coach and the departure times, but Cote d’Ivoire in particular has other ideas. Lets say the basic plan is…

The West African waitress

There is a particularly sullen breed of West African waitress you will encounter that seems strangely common for a service industry. They move in a despondent slouch, to the plodding accompaniment of their flip flops. In a land where loads are borne on the head, walking, by necessity can only be done with grace and poise – I have even seen this maintained whilst hitching up skirts to have a slash by the roadside whilst balancing a fully loaded, huge…

West African women – is it love or confusion?

You may well wonder why I would bother telling you that a 500ml sachet of water costs about 5p, but it helps to illustrate some typical daily economic issues, particularly for many African women, so let me tell you about Cynthia. She lives with her young son in Kumasi, a city in western Ghana and has a room in a building seemingly populated almost entirely by other women without any visible partners. Lets just say the building won’t be appearing…

Voodoo for beginners. Part 2 The festival in Ouidah Benin

In fine African tradition the festival opened at an entirely different location to that given in the programme and started with some offerings from the local Voodoo royalty at what looked like a neglected herbaceous feature outside a petrol station on the outskirts of town, a site for which I can offer no explanation of significance. A parade back into town was motivated by a delightfully shambolic brass section with percussion backing, to which the many women danced with a…

Category: Africa

Bamako: inside the entertainment industry

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How the other half live

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Women will have their day

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In search of mother

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Either end of the West African food chain

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Chicken and fish – but not to eat

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Rubbish roads

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The West African waitress

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West African women – is it love or confusion?

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Voodoo for beginners. Part 2 The festival in Ouidah Benin

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