First Mango of the Season

The mangoes in Salémata aren’t quite ripe yet, but last week Katie O. and I walked over to the Bassari village of Ethiolo, where the mangoes have been ripe for a few weeks now. We went to greet our friend Tatiana’s old host family and to buy some souvenirs – the Bassari craftsmen make fantastic masks and figurines. Over the years the Bassari have been mostly converted to Catholicism, but they’ve retained a lot of their traditional animist culture and hold initiation ceremonies every spring.

On the way back Katie’s shoe broke, and she did what any Senegalese kid would do in that situation: root around for a bit of plastic bag, MacGyver it back together, and keep on walking.