Trampled by Dance Troupe

The drums were not for us--all 12 of them.

The dancers were not dancing for us as a preliminary to the showing of the Jesus Film. They were conducting one of their three weekly two-hour practices.

And they were terrific. I wish they had been wearing their costumes.

We found out later that this troupe performed in Sweden and Norway last year.

They had the community center rented. We did not.

We watched them, though, fascinated by their energy, stamina, and synchronized choreography. They pounded the concrete with their bare feet. I could feel the vibrations beneath my feet. I think the entire concrete slab was throbbing.

The 12 drummers drumming were also chanting with the 12 dancers dancing. They were truly amazing, and the total effect in the darkness of an African evening made for an unforgettable, if accidental, experience for we Americans.

We postponed the showing of the Jesus film until a later date. We did not want this scheduling conflict to cause a rift within the community. We thanked the dancers for allowing us to watch their practice, and we told them it was fine that we had to wait. Some of them were members of Christian churches in Accra, and they were disappointed that the film would not be shown.

The sound for the film was not working, we discovered later, and the advertisements had not been distributed, so it was just as well. We settled in our hearts that God would use this delay to make the public viewing an even more effective event when it does occur. As far as we know, the Jesus film has never been shown in Accra in the Zarma language.

We have had a long discussion about whether to give shoes to the onion boys who are teaching us Zarma and learning English simultaneously. Their culture does not wear shoes, but it is a rural culture, not urban, and the hazards of wearing sandals are evident from the condition of their feet. These wounds are dangerous because of sanitation conditions.

The onion boys might or might not wear the shoes, though they have expressed real interest in them. And they might or might not wear them properly. For now, we have decided against the shoes.

The gift of learning English is truly precious to them. They are learning to write their letters and numbers. They are learning the names of body parts and articles of clothing. They are bright and motivated. They know that English spoken and read and written will open up a new world of opportunities for them.

The ladies will teach in the primary school again this afternoon, after the lessons with the onion boys (they sell onions by the roadside for those not following this blog), and we men will go to the large timber market or lumberyard run by Songhai men. This is a rough environment, according to our missionary, and the ladies should not venture into it. Advances to the ladies are common everywhere we go, but they could be mistreated at the timber market.

The Baptist guest house where we are staying is a revolving door for missionaries from around the world of all different Christian denominations and groups as well and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) doing al kinds of engineering and medical work among the Ghanaian population. We are encouraged to see how many Christians feel the calling to help articulate and demonstrate the gospel for these wonderful people. Dozens of tribal groups are represented in Accra, and dozens of languages. While most Africans we have met speak several languages, communication is still a critical need, especially for new immigrants like the Songhai.

The time here is a little past 10 a.m. This is the slow part of the morning for selling onions and a good time to talk to the Songhai men.

So I am out of this internet cafe and off to the roadside where I will sit under a tree and practice my newly acquired Zarma vocabulary.