Visiting Tanagou and Fish weekend (a tribute to my father)

Well I will be talking about fish weekend later but first my Tanagou trip. This was a much needed breath of fresh air to my life in Benin. I took a spiritual wellness weekend and went to visit my friend Jeremy in the vrai north of Benin. He has one of the most beautiful posts in my opinion, being within 10minutes walking distance from the waterfalls. This is where we spent alot of time and where I searched for God in meditation, which for me turns to singing. I am trying to practice just sitting quietly, but I find that when I pray music just starts coming out of my mouth. If I don't sing it I feel like my head will explode unless I let it out. Sometimes it is praise, sometimes other feelings of yearning or pain or frustration. It is amazing how much feeling I can give to God in song prayers and how many songs I actually know. Besides visiting the waterfalls Jeremy showed me his village and introduced me to the women that he works with in the garden. He also pointed out the dam that the community is building and explained how right now there is a meandering river so they are creating a dam that can be eventually moved in the case that the river would again change course. I enjoyed hanging out with the Senegalise guys as well. They gave us tea which they brew with lots of sugar. For muslims in Benin this is their form of sodabi or chuke...(the local alcohol). One of the guys stopped by one night when we were watching episodes of the office on my computer. He enjoyed watching the screen and seeing our expressions when we laughed. I figured it would be more interesting though if I got out some french movies that Sam had given me and so we watched Babylon which was actually in English but with french subtitles.

The last day I was in Tanagou we experienced part of a 3 day fete that only comes every 2-3 years. The whole village as well as many of the surrounding villages go out to the lakes in the hunting zone and fish for three days. Now dad, this is not fishing like we are used to, they use spears and a basket that has a hole at the top. The baskets are designed in that you trap the fish by forcing the basket into the water and then reaching your hand in the top to see if you have caught anything. Now before the fishing could actually commence, people set up camp, searching for firewood and waiting for the fettishers to arrive. The fettish had to make a sacrifice on one side of the lake, wade through the middle of the lake, make a sacrifice on the other side of the lake and wade back. The goal of this ritual is to evict evil spirits and animals that wish to cause harm to the people as they fish. This was important because as the people fish they dont stand on the side of the lake casting in lines, but instead walk directly into the water, right into places where animals and diseases live. Jeremy and I took pictures and attempted to fish with a spear that a guy let us borrow. Oh yes, we were also approached by one of the fettish guys and he was acting his usual crazy self in front of us. Usually you are supposed to give him money but we didnt have little change. Jeremy bought him sodabi which the guy then gave a little back to Jeremy. He said that women cannot drink sodabi but he said he would buy me chuke which is like a fermented rice wine i believe. Well needless to say that after wading through the muck as we "fished" we were both filthy. We were able to get a lift back to village with some German tourists. I packed my things and ran to the waterfalls, rinsing my clothes in the waterfall and changing up there. It was so refreshing.

As I got ready to leave Tanagou I realized that a burden of frustration and anxiety seemed to have been lifted. I am taking it one day at a time, seeking God and it is amazing, because I have found that as I pray it becomes easier to deal with the things that usually aggravate me. I love how God knows how to meet me and when i will listen the best.