Mauritania

New Years Day in Mauritania with Sheryll’s family required a slight modification above and beyond being in the SoCal desert instead of the Sahara. The vegan lamb chunks from Loma Linda Market were perfect to make sure everyone at the table could eat this delicious recipe: https://www.food.com/recipe/african-lamb-couscous-from-mauritania-252671. Sheryll added a salad from Mauritius (more detail next week) and the candied orange peel had finally come in so I could make the dessert from Malta (see that blog from two weeks ago). We enjoyed the food, the company, and the hope for peace and health in 2022.

One of my favorite discoveries from Mauritania this week is a group of women who follow the tradition of painting murals on their homes. I first saw them as part of a collaborative of muralists from around the world in Murals: A Discussion of Public Space as a Medium on Kanopy. Then I found a gallery of photographs that includes their work and works from other parts of Africa: http://www.margaret-courtney-clarke.com/african-canvas.html

Kanopy has two more films which allow one to experience life in Mauritania, Naked Spaces: A Portrait of Rural West Africa and Women of the Sand: Nomad Islamic Women.

Mauritania brings up some serious subjects. I read the poem The Meaning of the Circus by Tene Youssouf Gueye first because who wouldn’t read poems about circuses. Then I read it again to try and understand his deeper message: https://pierrejoris.com/blog/a-poem-by-tene-youssouf-gueye/

I was blown away by Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi when I listened to it last April. It is so much to take in. The San Bernardino County Library has it electronically both to read and to listen. Heidi and Linda recommend the movie based on this book called The Mauritanian with Jodie Foster. I picked up the DVD from the library and intend to watch it later today.

Words Without Borders acknowledges that Guantánamo Diary and The Mauritanian are probably the most well-known works of literature from Mauritania. Thankfully they add more to get a bigger picture of the diversity of Mauritania. Notice that if you read far enough down in this summary of Mauritanian literature, there are links to a couple of short works: https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/article/may-2021-writing-from-mauritania-movement-and-stasis-contemporary-mauritan

I also read A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa by Alexis Okeowo and learned about slavery in Mauritania and the people who are working to stop it.

Reaching out from Mauritania into the diaspora, I enjoyed watching Omar Sy, a French actor of Mauritanian descent. His movie The Untouchables will only be on Netflix until January 11, but his series Lupin is a more permanent fixture there.

While in Mauritania, I must check out the music! Here are examples from:

· Dimi Mint Abba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19aTW5lIygc

· Malouma Mint Meidah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXgpj-_QIr4

· Khalifa Ould Eide and Dimi Mint Abba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn3AHIowKEY

What surprised me about the list from The Crazy Tourist on the fifteen best places to visit in Mauritania is that I haven’t heard of a single one of them before, but they are beautiful: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-mauritania/#more-19928. How is it that I knew so little about this country before I started this blog? I would, of course, love to go. I look forward to that time when we can travel broadly again, and I wish for a time when we can survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Mauritania and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: Vix Morá https://www.flickr.com/photos/156480947@N03/33287267538/