Quite recently I had the opportunity to attend the Ethiopian Good Friday service in one of the churches of Addis second year in a row. Again I was simply amazed by the tranquil atmosphere created by the praying ceremonies that were being exercised on the church yard throughout the day, accompanied by the fairly monotonous reading and singing of the priests who were in charge of the service. Spending time in Ethiopia during their Easter period is a little like entering the times described in the Bible. And it translates into more modern phenomena as well, such as fasting pizzas for instance!

I remember from my childhood that I always woke up in my bed staring straight into an icon hanging on the wall. The icon was brought into our house by an uncle who had been to Russia, and it depicted Saint George killing the dragon. In Ethiopian orthodox tradition, however, there is sometimes a third person watching over this dragon killing procedure: Saint Bula (my spelling may be incorrect). He is sitting up in a tree and looks down at the heroic action of his co-saint with jealousy, I was told. I suppose I should have a look at the Bible written in Geez to find out more about him and the reasons for jealousy. As it happens, he is not the only saint I am not so familiar with: Did you ever hear about Saint Tekle Haimanot, who spent seven years praying, standing on one leg? 

A re-visit to Marrakech after some twenty plus (!) years was well worth it. The medina has not lost any of its charm, despite the fact that busloads of tourists flood into and out of the city continuously. The famous square Jma al-Fna has become a fairly well-organized and commercial yet unescapable tourist trap but you can still be easily attracted by improvised gnawa sessions there, if you are patient enough. The best thing to do in Marrakech is to take a deep dive into the souqs and discover what’s on offer. You may also from time to time need real skills to talk your way out of the shops without buying anything, but that’s only part of the fun!  

Porcupine’s latest craft finds from these souqs include some exciting recycled stuff: tyre picture frames (see above) and pierced tin lampshades. We also bought some cute picture tiles and coin-studded shoulder bags, and more is to come soon.

Yesterday was the International Mother Language Day and the date of the official launch of the International Year of Languages. They both represent occasions for heightening awareness of and encouraging collaboration also on African languages and initiatives in the field. In that spirit, it may be useful during the International Year of Languages to list such projects on UNESCO’s register to facilitate partnerships and promote your activities. This can be done here (you will need a recent version of Adobe Reader to complete the form).

In the aftermath of Tabaski - or Eid al-Adha - we had a couple of pairs of sheep horns boiled in Dakar so that the stuff from inside the horns would come out. This was the easy part of the process and now the idea is to make some new snappy objects out of them, but preferably without the accompanying smell! Washing the inside of the horn with strong tea or beer are the suggestions we have come up with so far, but somehow I doubt the effectiveness of these methods. We already tried bleach but the horn aroma still triumphs…  How on earth did the cupper get rid of the smell of her cupping horns in the old days? Or did she? If you have any ideas - preferably based on experience - please help!

 Somewhat belatedly I’m wishing you all a very happy, inspirational and bacteria-free New Year!

I’ve been off line for the past weeks firstly because of my trip to Senegal and secondly because I fell ill upon my return home. I caught a typhoid fever, which is a life-threatening illness caused by bacteria. It is typically passed from person to person through food and drink or by drinking from contaminated water supplies. The bacteria multiply and spread to the bloodstream and cause high fever, headache and other nasty symptoms. After a week in isolation in the hospital with impressive daily doses of antibiotics and paracetamol intra vena, all the every day trivia at home and small errands here and there simply seem delightful now!