National Day in Zinder - the parade

We went out at about nine o'clock this morning, not knowing exactly what to expect. Seeing the soldiers on our street, we figured the president and perhaps even the parade would be coming our way, but the soldiers told us the parade would probably not reach our street and that it was best to move towards the Tribune, where it was all going to start.

On our way towards the crowd, we met some friends (Soeur Dolores and Soeur Georgette).

We could see all the people, but unfortunately, we could not see anything else, and rumor had it that the parade would not be turning our way and that we were all waiting in vain.

Soeur Dolores asked a guard about this, and he confirmed that we were indeed wasting our time. "However she can come with me," he said, pointing at myself, "and I will put her in a better place where she can take pictures." And he pointed at my camera.
"Oh that is very kind," I said, "but can I just bring my cousin?" which by the way is a very African thing to say. I could. We followed behind as he placed us thirty meters from the Tribune (!), in front of the whole crowd. There were other guards around us, but they looked at our cameras and seemed to approve. "You are a very important person now," I told Sofia, "so make sure you act the part." She did, even after the batteries went out...

Our new spot! Although we could not see him, the president was sitting thirty meters away under the roof of La Tribune, where everything was supposed to start.

Sorry once again I couldn't capture the music; it was really part of the atmosphere...

Soldiers, soldiers, soldiers... It certainly set the theme of marching!

Les députés nationals...

Sofia acting the part of a very important person, standing in front of the crowd amongst the professional photographers and camera-men. No one seemed to notice that her little red light wasn't on any longer, but at least my camera was still working (or we wouldn't have had any pictures to show you - just a tale to tell!)

The orchestra played really well, standing in the sun for about three hours.

The agriculture movement

One of the political fanclubs

Bororo dancers in feast clothes and yellow/red make-up (the red was new to me)

Camels from all walks of Niger...

And after the camels, the horses arrived... (Boy would Arwen be disappointed if she found out that camels are rated as more important creatures in the world of parades...). However, the horses sure made up for their second position wearing all sorts of historical fashion and expensive jewelry!

There was a LOT of security present that day!

Sofia well-seated among the official camera crew...

Traditional warriors, though I forgot from which region...

More warriors...

Horses belonging to our Sarki - the sultan of Zinder

The Sultan of Zinder

Another very friendly soldier, who sheltered us from the crowd when things got out of hand

Then all of a sudden, just as sudden as it had started, the parade was over and everyone had to back away because-

... the president was arriving!

Now, this was where our adventure ended, but further along the road, where the "goudron" crossed the Eden street, Renate was standing with her camera, the batteries charged...

The camels

The horses

The crowd

The Bororo men

People outside the Edenstreet having lined up to greet the president

And as soon as the president had passed, it was all over...

The end!

Ishtar

Learning the art of riding a camel

After the president had left, we followed Aïssa to the part of the camel camp where her family was staying, where we met a lot of riders with their beloved creatures! Did you know that camels are very affectionate animals? They truly bond with their owners, and even though Arwen appreciates me very much, I doubt sincerely she would do what some of these beast would do for their owners...

Be aware of their "gudu" though! Though they're fast once they're up in speed, they have a less developed break system than my horses... Or my bit is more efficient than the little nose ring these ones have...

Life at camp... Now would that be an interesting (stress-free) option perhaps? You'd get to see life from a totally different perspective!

Aïssa and I behind her brother's camel. "Now how was it that you rode a camel again...? What were the movements...?"

"Oh dear, can't believe I'm actually doing this again. Here we go! Expect to be thrown forward, then backward and then forward again. Follow his movements!" (I fell off the camel last time I tried (in 1999)... The saddle swung around its belly...)

"Lol, that was close, but I made it! I'm up! Just hope this fellow doesn't move..."

5 minutes later... "Oh well, now this wasn't so bad! How come I haven't done this more? Camel riding is fun! It's safe! (as long as the owner is around...) And the view is terrific! Hey why didn't I bring my camera, huh? Ah, always so blond, huh..."

Now my sister in law got good company... And I got to take pictures of her coming off the camel! Not very easy that either, in fact, you have to do more (press your toes around the camels neck) and at the same time, keep your balance while you're thrown forward, then backwards and then forward again...

"Easy, camel, easy!"

"Mmm, good camel!"

So in the end, we had a wonderful morning, took lots of pictures, got loads of sunshine - and the best of all was that we still had half the day left! We used it well: resting on the veranda...

Ishtar

Niger's president visits the camel camp

Today, we went to the camel camp behind the race track with Aïssa. Her family had come from Tanout bringing their camels with them, and we were heading out for a ride...

We were not the only ones to visit the camp, because on our way there, we were passed by some "very important vehicules". It turned out that the president, Mahamadou Tandja, was there as well!

Needless to say, it was a very pleasant surprise because people had put on such a display!

Now, the riders (of both camels and horses) had a show, and you'd be surprised at the cultural variety there is in Niger! These were Kanouri warriors from the Mainasoura area... (within the Zinder department). Sorry I couldn't capture the music as well...

Now, there were loads of camels as well, all aligned in groups depending on what area they had come from. Every part of Niger was represented, and there were many camels with tuareg and fulani riders!

The president was very pleased, and so were we as we got to see all the highlights of Nigerien culture!

I also made some new friends; the first one is a radio reporter and the second one was a vet working for the Ministry in Niamey.

Once the president had left, things calmed down and Aïssa's family found us amongst the crowd... Now, we did ride the camels, but that will be displayed in another entry!

Ishtar

The camels show off

Yesterday, the horses worked on their parade; today, it was the camels' turn. Mmmm, those animals have been created for parades! They absolutely love it!! And I can't believe how peaceful they are; you put five bulls side by side and they walk with their heads together - no fighting... Now if it were horses........... Yes, you get it all right!

Some however did more than work on the parade, they tested their camel's "gudu"!

Mmm, I wouldn't want to race my horse against them... Once the camels have found their speed, they are incredibly endurant! It's amazing how easy they make it look, "flying" over the deep sand...

Now there were some small races as well, and Ali actually convinced me to let Arwen run. She was really happy about it, even though her jockey Chinada was not around (she got another one, a certain Yaronbaba), and to the cheering of the crowd, she won her race... I could not really believe it but I was happy to see that she did not give her all (still, that was enough to win...); now she will take it easy until the little one comes out. I've been "talking" to a vet on the Internet, who said that a turnout in the garden will probably be enough for her, so despite Arwen's love for gudu, she will be taking it easy from now on... Even if that means I have to send her back to Ali for a while!

Ishtar

Preparing for the national day

The president is coming here on the 18th December, to celebrate Niger's national day. Horses and camels from every vicinity of the country have arrived and are currently camping at the race track, where they will perform on the National Day. Yesterday, Sofia and I got ourselves a slight shock as we rode out there on Arwen and Snövit. The camels (twice their size) coming in full speed scared them to death; and so today, I went out with Arwen by myself and Sofia went by car together with Elisabeth and the boys. Good thing they brought their cameras, because there was much to see!

Camels, camels, camels... Beautiful creatures!

The horses were working on their "parade", forming the letter Z which would represent Zinder.

Arwen watched the whole process with great interest... However, after having trained endurance together with her owner, she ended up with a very big fan club that wanted to know everything there was to know about her!

I was told later by the another race horse owner that they wondered what I had done with the crowd, as everybody was supporting Arwen! Nice people!

Ishtar

Eating properly...?

There have been some remarks lately that we are not eating properly down here... But let me assure you, there is no lack of neither fat, proteins or vitamins! Let's just say we're not so much into sweet things, neither Sofia nor I.

Ishtar
PS: North African meatballs are delicious!!

A grey variation of Snow White...

Sahara is still limping, so today we took up the offer from Altiné: to ride his new mare. He asked me to give her a nice Swedish name, and as a joke, we offered "Snövit" (Snow white). The poor mare however is not the least white, but of this not so beautiful grey combination that you finda ll to often (as it is a dominant color). Anyway, Altiné fell in love with the name, and voilà, Snövit it is!

I had tried her once before, and because Arwen was restless, Sofia rode Snövit today. She did not like her, however. Snövit is not a well trained horse. In fact, she hasn't been used for anything at all; neither walking from one village to another, or being allowed to race. You wouldn't believe what Altiné paid for her - more than 50% more than I paid for Sahara and then it must be mentioned that Sahara can actually run! But Snövit's main purpose was to be a brood mare. However, Altiné's mind is changing and he wants me to train her like I've trained Arwen. But for that, he says, he will keep his eyes closed and not ask any questions, as he knows I love "gudu" too much... :-)


Ishtar