salouva - Tales of Tyre-racing, Makis and M'zungus.

25 mai 2015

Salouvas for All

Clockwise from top left: Samianti, Nisma, me, Nadhrati, Moinécha, Moinécha's boyfriend Matthias (who ended up in the photo for some reason), Hoby, Chaharazadi, Djaha, Nabaouya, Laïla and Nassifanya. And the odd unrecognizable fuzzy student. My kids have...

Posté par calligraphy à 01:27 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: girl, salouva, school, teacher, blue, students, miss, samoussa, same

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15 septembre 2014

Cats and Miss.

School's been back for three weeks now. I've met all my classes, and there's everything from sweetness and light to ear-splitting caterwauling in there. These are some photos of my school. Right at the top is the tropical almond (Terminalia Catappa, if...

Posté par calligraphy à 02:06 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: mayotte, cat, food, dress, salouva, kawéni, pupils, school, teacher, tree, students, miss, building, badamier, litter, mew, playground

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28 juillet 2014

This Little M'Zungu Went To Market... and she bought...

This is the outdoor market in Mamoudzou. Pretty much a permanent fixture, currently augmented reality thanks to the Ramadan market which has appended itself on top of the original. I'm quite pleased with these photos because photos of the market are hard...

Posté par calligraphy à 01:55 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: mayotte, cassava, fruit, tomato, vegetable, clothes, salouva, fish, boat, market, fat, headscarf, onion, china, fisherman, mamoudzouThis l, size, taiwan

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8 mai 2014

Salouva Deba

Most Mahorese women dress in a salouva, which is a big cotton tube knotted around the chest and which falls down to the feet. Underneath the salouva, they usually wear a sparkly t-shirt, or one with artistically cut-out pieces made to resemble flowers...

Posté par calligraphy à 02:39 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: mayotte, kishali, mbiwi, salouva, music, traditional, dance, sing, stick, deba, prophet, rhythm

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15 juillet 2013

Tsumu n'djema wa aïd m'baraka

Ramadan started last Wednesday. People started rushing into various markets and supermarkets to buy the necessary food for the feast before the fast. In Mayotte, celebratory foods include mabawas (chicken wings), green bananas, cassava, breadfruit, goat...

Posté par calligraphy à 03:20 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: mayotte, salouva, sea, culture, ramadan, allah, evil eye, faith, highway code, mubarak, muslim, purification, rite, ritual, spirit

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6 août 2012

Population Study episode 1 : Bouénis

Bouéni means "madam" in Shimaoré. It's the name given to all married women, or those who look old enough to be married. It's more than a name, though, it's a way of life. Bouénis are the ones who have all the power in Mahorese societies. They're the ones...

Posté par calligraphy à 01:16 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: mayotte, salouva, women, chicken wings, beautiful, bouéni, market, wedding, children, hair, m'biwi, married, poverty

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23 juillet 2012

Ben and Toirfia

We went to our Very First Grand Wedding on Friday. Just part of it. Grand Weddings in Mayotte generally take place in the austral winter months, read from June to September. Weddings here are very ritualised occasions. For months before the wedding, the...

Posté par calligraphy à 03:47 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: food, ceremony, salouva, women, henna, wedding, m'biwi, kofia, make-up, marriage, men, money, parade

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9 juillet 2012

M'biwi Contest

On a Sunday at the end of last month, there was the 2nd M'biwi Contest. M'biwi is a ceremony which is generally practised during weddings or other big occasions. It's a women's ceremony. They sit on the floor and bang two pieces of bamboo together to...

Posté par calligraphy à 03:07 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: mayotte, ceremony, girl, mbiwi, salouva, women, traditional, dance, contest, sing, wedding

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2 décembre 2011

Playing dress-up

I went to the Mayotte M'Gombani Fashion Salon today, as you can probably see from the photos. Different creators were holding stands with their various wares: trousers and tops, colourful dresses, earrings, necklaces, oven mitts (rather the odd one out),...

Posté par calligraphy à 15:20 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: mayotte, clothes, kishali, salouva, december, beauty, boueni, bouéni, henna, mahorais, mdzindzano, mgombani, mode, salon

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28 novembre 2011

What Not To Wear

Before coming to Mayotte, I’d looked them up in books and on websites, talked to people about them, looked into what was available locally. I’d looked into the materials that went into making them and how said materials would stand the test of time, humidity,...

Posté par calligraphy à 06:13 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

Tags: mayotte, clothes, dress, salouva, t-shirt, shop, advertising, british telecom, december, jeans, summer, tesco

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