Funeral and Rain

Last week my friends aunt passed away and yesterday I went to the internement. All week the family spent time at the house, staying with the body and waiting for family to come into village for the ceremony. Friday night everyone stayed up all night (well, I didn't last all night) to be with the body- which I think is a really nice tradition, people giving up so much of thier time to spend with a loved one for thier last night on earth. There was wailing and crying and singing, then a church service and afterwards more wailing and crying, and yes, singing too. There was a band complete with trombones, trumpets and snare drum so the mood wasn't too somber (although the wailing was a bit unnerving). The next morning I went back to the house before the body was moved to the church for another service. Then the band led us down by the fields for the internement, at her husbands home. I had a comfortable seat on a root by a bunch of mamas- comfortable that is until a man comes up, chuckles, and says 'Now you'll see some of our traditions' and puts two freshly cut goat legs onto a bamboo pole. I asked and was told that this is done so that future generations won't have the same problems as the one which just passed.

In other news- it rained today! I haven't seen rain since November so it was a surprise when I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rain on my metal roof. The sound actually masked the noise of roosters and my neighbors radio so I was even able to sleep in a bit! The rain also helped to lessen the dust which made my walk to the market today much better.