The Hunting

On New Year's day, despite going to bed after the first call to prayer, I dragged myself off to Banjul with Joe, where we met Ellie, Joshua, Martin, Munya and Maja. We went to see The Hunting - an annual event where historically hunting groups would parade what they had hunted and killed. These days the animals are depicted as masquerades, with stuffed animal heads and intricate robes. 

The main activity doesn't start until after sun down but the build up begins days before the event, with smaller masquerades all over - even in Bakau which is about 11km or so away from Banjul. Crowds line the street, vendors sell food and drink, and more alarmingly fireworks whizz horizontally past people's ears! 

Intricate back of a costume

It was a nice day, although a lot of waiting around for not all that much to happen - by the time the main event got going I was ready to leave and go and find food. But it was fun to see the costumes and even better to people watch. 

I made friends with a young boy called Memusa, who was there with his brother Musa. Memusa was a chatty little thing, who was keen to have his photo taken. Musa was a bit unsure at first but eventually got into the photo thing, stretching up nonchalantly whenever I took a picture so that he would 'accidentally' get into the shot.