Home Stay

Home Stay in Kalabankoro, Bamako Mali.

The Toureg people are a minority in Mali. They are traditionally the nomadic herders who live up north in the Sahara desert migrating through several countries where ever there was water. They have only recently settled down in a few locations here in Mali, a northern city called Gossi and a few neihboring villages, many are still nomadic. Eventually Bess and I will live in these primative locations but for our nine-week language training (home stay) we needed to live with a family closer to Toubaniso. As it turns out, there are many options. Our language instructors (Elmedhi and Abdalla) know a small community of Toureg people who live in the Kalabankoro section of Mali. Unlike most PC volunteers who go to more primative villages for home stay, Bess, Nattalie, Susimita, and I are living in a nice Urban section. The Touregs here are some of the few who have found a living in what they call an evolving world. They still use the Tamashek language but have also developed Bambera, French and even a little English. The Toureg family that Bess and I live with are pretty modern in one sense: they live in a wealthy section of the city, have electricity, running water, I-pods, a bambera servant girl, a motorcycle, and our brother Abdalla (not our language instructor) is a DJ who also works at recording studio, he is very good at the traditional American Guitar as well as the Toureg Trihardtent, which is really a drum, rattle and guitar all in one. Abdalla`s father, Amano Ag Issa, is a famous Toureg musician (called a Griu) who travels around the world with his Toureg music group. Amano was travelling Switzerland, France, and Morocco when we arrived at his house. Amano returned today to slaughter a goat and perform the ritual in which he gave Bess and I our Tamashek names. So in another sense, the Touregs here in the city keep a pretty good hold on there traditional lifestyle. After feeding us a meal of goat brains and other organs, they placed my guitar in my hands which were still wet from eating goat organs, yes with my hands. We played music, the Griu way. chanting the traditional sounds, dancing the traditional movement, and they and Bess wore the traditional clothes.





During this ceromony, Amano Ag Issa, had much wisdom to share, as he played his Trihardent our language instructors translated the songs he sang, the songs that have been passed down from generation to generation in the Toureg community, the songs that speak of the Toureg heros and what makes them heros. He sang to us the same songs that he carries around the world to inform people of the Touregs, their story, their faith, their wisdom, he embraces everyone as his children, this is the Toureg way. Amano is a Griu, his job is spead the Word with his music, he is a leader in the Toureg community.

Amano said, "The salt does not tell you that it is salt, you put the salt in your mouth and then know that it is salt, the same is true with the good man, he does tell people of the good things he does, the people know the good man by his good works".

Our Toureg Mother

Our Toureg Home