#balafong

[swytsuccess]

Having spent some months in Dakar, I finally visited Goree Island. Oh my! I had a super awesome time at Goree. One of my best days in Dakar so far.

The boat ride, the food, the atmosphere, everything was refreshing. But nothing tops the company I was with. Damn! My newest Banjul-Dakar crew rock!

I must say that I didn’t enjoy the slave house tour like I did in Cape Coast Castle, Ghana. I had no emotional attachment to slave house. Probably this is so because the tour guide was mixing French with Wolof hehe.

I’m glad that I was able to see the place and pose for a picture at the DOOR OF NO RETURN.

But how can I forget my gifts??? I got two amazing gifts from Goree. A Sand Art Bottle and a ‘Balafong’ ❤ I love and appreciate my gifts. Thank you Sheriff <3 Thank you Sainey MK <3

…  Before I go, please note that Goree Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A former slave house where slaves were kept before they were being transported to the West >>>

Enough of the history lessons lol. It’s time for some Swyt time. Tata xx

Photo Credit: Sheriff Jr <> Kemo Bojang

  Having spent some months in Dakar, I finally visited Goree Island. Oh my! I had a super awesome time at Goree.

[balafong]

[dblackdemz]

#RV @Jama #Hall... S/O 2 da #Balafong #Crew... (at Kairaba Beach Hotel)

[balafong]

Wolof Word Of The Day

                                           KUMPA

Translation: Curiosity

Proverb: Denj kumpa baahut

Translation: Do not be too curious!

[neogambian]

"Just My Imagination". By Baboucarr Saho: I had to steal this piece i love it much..

Dear ‘’Gaindeh’’,

      Knowing you to be the king of our small but big family, the architect of our destiny, majestic master with all the knowledge in the world plus more, to you, I say Asla-mua-lai-kum.

      You have never failed in showing us, your cousins, how ‘’grraw’’ you are and we have come to ‘’raggal’’ you over the years or pretend to ‘’bugga’’ you. As a family member, I have been de-educated by your system whilst the rest of my brothers and sisters continue to swim in the pool of ignorance. Uncle and Aunt have whispered in my ears that they are very much aware of the rot in your deeds but prefer to bury their heads in the ground since that will massage your ego, and you like it as it is. We have become a dreadful frown masked in a veil of the cutest smiles.

       I still can’t comprehend why you find it difficult to hear us unload our minds within our small but big family. Religion is powerful and you have used it effectively to suit your taste and preference. Fixing a door or tile the floor does not make you the owner of the family home, after all it is the family ‘’Deh-pas’’ that paid for it. Your numerous portraits in the living room are not necessary to remind us of your presence. Family members once feared only Allah, but you have now proved to be a formidable contender. Dad is caged, Mum has fled, nephews and nieces devoured.  To ‘’bugga’’ you should come naturally so why force it down our throats.  Take your ears from the praise singer and listen to the family’s voice. This was not what you promised back in the early days. So what happened along the way? Did you promise to break the promise or did you never mean to fulfill any promise?? You broke the family’s heart. I believe there is still some good in you ‘’gaindeh’’, I do.

        I sometimes get mocked at by my peers from other families, because you, ‘’gaindeh’’, act in ways that I just can’t get it, even when I attempt to defend the family name, I find myself without a shield. Let me tell you an open secret; *whispering* family members think you are arrogant, self-centered, corny, a bully, a butcher, an imposter, and property grabber. Your persistent ‘’gaindehnees’’ and ‘’grrawness’’ have caused the family so much loss already, both within and outside the home. I shall continue to hope against hope that change ‘’deena amm’’ at least from your side, it's not too late.

        I always hear you express how much love you have for the family, so we have something in common and I like that,  the only difference is there is no correlation between your words and actions and that creates a huge deficit. One person cannot make nor maintain a family. I wish you and all family members a Progressive, Peaceful, and Prosperous New Year. To our family ever true…

                                                                                                                                                Yours faithfully

                                                                                                                                                Baboucarr Saho

[isafatma-blog]

Womb to Tomb

WOMB; His Mother's original and sole storage of HIM

Weeks turned to months, he kicked like Pele and proved hopes weren’t SLIM

In the delivery room after Mother's ‘big push’, he finally popped OUT

Received friendliest pinch ever, then he cried to erase any DOUBT

His wailing echoed right across the hospital wall strengthening his LUNGS

There and then he confirmed to the World that he BELONGS

The elated Family heads home with a bouncing brand new ADDITION

Nosy relatives converged, Baby's physicality put under the radar to confirm RELATION

Ears? (check), Nose?(check), Eyes?(check), Baby is initiated and accepted into the CLAN

The celebratory foods they washed down with beers, yet denied that the nose-poking was a PLAN

From Baby to Toddler to solid-food-eating ‘Household Terrorist’, he continued to AMAZE

Education he made look easy, at sports he conquered, challenges he tackled with GRACE

For the expensive tuition fees he's constantly reminded of, his report card muted all NAGGING

In delivering consistent A+ grades, he induced the whole clan into non-stop BRAGGING

Graduation? (Check), High-Flying Career? (Check), Wife and Kids? Not yet. That’s trouble he CARRIES

Nosy relatives resurfaced, again questioning why, requesting that and offering who he MARRIES

He succumbed again, weds the most beautiful of his uncle's daughters; relative peace at LAST

But work and more education he prioritized; Clan then pronounced ‘Have A Baby’demands in a BLAST

Nine months and change later, a bouncing brand new addition to the ‘relation’ is UNVEILED

Swiftly from hospital, he presented his new triumph to the clan showing his 'Manhood' PREVAILED

Baby after Baby, decade after decade, he proved he belonged, raising his off springs the clan's WAY

Educated, exposed, opinionated on top of prevailing his 'Manhood', the clan still had the final SAY

Retirement loomed and arrived, but his plans to relocate to quieter surroundings are REBUFFED

Clan commands that ‘Elders’ stick around, just so Younguns don't swallow unruliness and get STUFFED

‘Baby-sitting’ his new profession, in between he gazes at his Wife, reflects on Life thinking what COULDA

Youthful exuberance are just faint memories to him, now he's thinking, running away he SHOULDA

From his deepest bowels though, he again selflessly extracts love and care and sticks AROUND

Old age has finally crept up, but this is where he was born, exactly where he will die; his TOWN

Oh God, How far long ago was the Clan’s joy when his existence was confirmed in his mother's WOMB

To right now, a life lived mostly for others; Surely regrets are bound to accompany him to his TOMB.  

-Valentine Kabby Banjakey