Time to party!!

Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to all!

Smeins Family Christmas in Ghana

This year, my entire family made the long trek to West Africa, and we were able to celebrate Christmas together in Ghana. We spent a week traveling along Ghana's beautiful coast; visiting the busy markets in Accra; learning about Ghana's history of slavery, colonialism, and independence; swimming at beautiful beaches; and exploring several parks. It was great to see my family again, and they got a glimpse of what life is like in West Africa.

After saying goodbye to my family, I returned to Togo to celebrate the New Year with my community. My friends and neighbors were relieved to see I made it back in time for the festivities. And let me tell you, there's been a lot of festivities since the start of the new year...

The end of December typically marks the end of the harvest season--a good enough reason alone to celebrate. Add religious and traditional holidays on top of that, as well as the start of a new year, and you've got the perfect conditions for a party that will last the entire month of January!

We are now well into the dry season (it hasn't rained since October) and the activities around town have certainly changed accordingly. Cooler mornings (around 65 degrees...brr!) encourage people to sleep in (until 6:30-7AM), and more people are seen mingling about town during the day as farm activities have significantly decreased. While yam farmers are still busy at work harvesting and planting yams, many people have turned their focus to work around the house: home repairs, construction, etc. Soccer season is back in swing, and the community enjoys several matches a week at the high school and among the various club teams in town. Community members return from traveling, school, and work to visit their families and join in the celebrations. In this way, town feels busier than before, and I've been happy to see some familiar faces in town I haven't seen in a while.

As January is a month of celebration, I would like to share some of the traditions I have witnessed and even participated in during this time. Christmas in Togo is well known and celebrated, but remains a predominantly Christian celebration, mostly only celebrated by Christians. While Santa Claus (Papa Noel) exists in Togo, he certainly doesn't visit every house and is still seen as a more religious figure. Christmas in Togo focuses on the birth of Christ and is far less commercialized than in the US. People celebrate by attending church, visiting family and friends, sharing meals, and enjoying dance and music. However, community members who are not Christian typically do not participate in the festivities or celebrate the day.

Christmas Mass in Kpalime last year

New Years is certainly a more widely celebrated holiday, though the Muslim community typically does not celebrate, as January 1st does not mark the beginning of the Muslim calendar. In my community, New Years is celebrated with a traditional Kabiye dance called "Kamau". This dance involves men playing drums while everyone else moves around them in a giant circle dancing to the beats created by the drummers. Dancers often wear unusual outfits: the men cross-dress wearing wigs, bras, dresses, etc., while the women dress as farmers. Meanwhile the kids are showing off their best outfits and everyone is wearing fun hats and sunglasses. Last year, a boy in my community was wearing an old tv on his head as a hat! People dancing often play handheld percussion instruments and flutes while others are dowsing people in baby powder, handing out candy, or shooting off fireworks overhead. Once the dance has finished, the drummers and dancers parade through town, stopping at households where they are served food and alcohol. These dances continue throughout the entire month of January and even into February. Each week, a different neighborhood is responsible for organizing and hosting Kamau. I have really enjoyed participating in this Kabiye tradition, and my community is thrilled to see me dancing in the circle alongside them.

The start of Kamau on New Year's Day

This year, I also had the opportunity to witness a Koto Koli tradition, called Adossa-Gadao. The celebration is held during the third month of the Muslim calendar and honors the end of the harvest season. It is celebrated over the course of three days in Sokode, the capitol of my region. Festivities include horse racing, the dance of the swords, and the women's dance. My friend took me to see the dance of the swords. On this day, Koto Koli villages across Togo are represented by dancers who perform a special dance where they cut themselves with sharp swords and knives. I was told the dancers ingest a product before the dance that protects them from getting cut by the swords. I watched in awe as men violently sliced themselves with any sharp object imaginable: swords, machetes, daggers, saws, samurai swords, etc., and were left unscathed.

Horses in the streets of Sokode at Adossa-Gadao

The festivities will continue throughout the month of January and well into February. During this time, weddings and funerals are also commonly celebrated. The Kabiye perform another dance, Soh, to honor all those who have passed during the past year. It is also important to the Kabiye that this dance is performed in the deceased person's village of origin near Kara, to honor their family ties. During these months, you will see tailors busy at work crafting new outfits from traditional fabrics so everyone can look their best for the celebrations. You will also hear music blasting at all hours of the day to encourage a party, or to protect the deceased from bad spirits as they pass on to the next life.

Near the end of February, the Kabiye will decrease their celebrations as the temperatures rise for the REAL hot season in March. The Muslim community will begin Ramadan and their month-long fasting while Christians enter the season of Lent. This is a quieter; more reflective time of year as religious groups enter into a period of fasting and reflection. Due to the intense heat and fasting, the community becomes lethargic, and it is common to see people napping in the shade during the day. Afterwards, Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, and Christians will celebrate Easter.

Soon after, the rains resume, and the new growing season begins once again. People return to their fields to prep the soil and sow their crops, the Muslim community pausing to celebrate Tabaski (Eid al-Adha) in June, which typically involves slaughtering a cow, sharing meals with friends and family, and of course enjoying dancing and music. The Kabiye will celebrate again in July during Evala and Agbema, two coming of age ceremonies for Kabiye boys and girls respectively. During Evala, young boys wrestle to prove their strength and readiness to become a man. Girls participate in Agbema, a coming-of-age ceremony that symbolizes their entrance into womanhood. Both traditions symbolize the beginning of adulthood for young people and determine their readiness for marriage.

Evala wrestling in my village

While I have had the privilege of observing and even participating in many Kabiye and Koto Koli traditions during my time in Togo, there is still so much more to discover and appreciate about the traditions in Togo. Kabiye and Koto Koli are only two of many different ethnic groups in Togo, all with their own traditions, beliefs, and languages. There are many customs I still do not understand. I have realized it can be difficult to explain your own culture. I often ask people why a certain tradition is practiced, and they often struggle to give me a clear answer. It is clear that these are traditions that have been practiced over many generations and have been widely accepted by people as "just the way it is". It makes me wonder in my own culture what traditions and beliefs I take for granted without truly thinking about their full significance or meaning.