The magic door and the sacred garbage pile

I have been at post for about three weeks now and haven’t got much done yet. I’ve been to the CLCAM a few times and met the President of the artisans association again, but that’s about it. I have walked around my neighborhood (quartier) a bit and talked with some people and been able to feed myself at least. I have also met Steve, the TEFL volunteer posted in Ketou. The problem is that I’ve had to spend a lot of time at my apartment.
I do not have electricity or screen doors yet. The landlord (proprietaire) did not do much in the time since I was here a month before. I have been trying to get things done myself with the help of my homologue. I have been able to get screens installed over my windows and the electrical work is done inside; switches, fixtures etc. I have also spoken with SBEE, the national electrical and water utility company here. I have been assured that the proprietaire has paid for the connection and it will be done by the end of the month. That could mean up to three more weeks without electricity. There are some volunteers here who are expected to go the entire two years of service without electricity so it could be worse. Also, the pole for my concession was installed last week so it looks like SBEE is right on schedule. I hope so.
I have the ability to ask for another apartment if this one is not sufficient but that too could take a while too. I don’t want to move because this place is convenient, clean, plenty large enough and about as quiet as you can get in Africa. I guess I’ll stay for a while and see what happens. I’ll keep you posted whatever happens. Welcome to Africa.
Another reason I don’t want to move is that I have already been to Sakete and moved all of the stuff I bought from Travis. I don’t want to have to repack my stuff and move everything again after the Sakete experience. It was expensive to rent the truck, about six days pay, and a wheel almost fell off on the way there. This problem added about four hours to the process, made me wonder about being able to get back to Ketou at all and ultimately forced us not to get back until after dark anyway. Another move would only be across town and not involve an hour and a half drive each way but would probably involve having to rent the same truck.
OK, now for the part you have all been waiting for, The magic door; le porte magique; and the sacred garbage pile; le tas d’ordures sacre. Along with the resident king and his newly constructed palace these are the tourist attractions in Ketou. It is not possible to see the king or his new palace yet as he has not been officially ordained. That is scheduled for early next year. I’ll tell you all about that then.
First, la Porte Magique. When the then kings of Abomey conquered Ketou they took the door back to Abomey with them. It is a fairly substantial object and I imagine it probably would have been a significant spoil of war. It is called the magic door because it apparently had it’s own idea about where it wanted to be. Maybe it didn’t like Abomey or was just homesick, but whatever the reason or method, the door returned itself to Ketou. The door is the original gate into the city and is now back in place in a section of the original city wall. The door and courtyard are still used today in the occasional ceremony. There is also a small tree in the courtyard that is said to have been planted be the first king of Ketou. There is allegedly a small fetish buried beneath the tree that can grant the wishes of true believers who make the proper sacrifice. Also, there is a story that a hunchbacked woman is buried under the original gate to the city, the magic door. This is supposedly how Ketou got it’s name. There is a saying that you can’t get the hunch out of a hunchback. With the burial of the old woman this was added to locally that you similarly cannot get the people out of Ketou. I have been told that in French ketou is contained in the word for hunchback. The city had a longer name but once the French came they interpreted the saying and shortened the name to Ketou. I have to check this out further as my dictionary gives "bossoue" as the word for hunchback. More on that later, maybe.
Now, onto the sacred garbage pile, literally. There is a garbage pile near the edge of town. Fortunately, it is at the opposite end of town from my domicile so you can see another reason I don’t want to move; the possible neighbors. The pile is maintained by a family living at the bottom of it. Maintainance consists of making sure it remains of considerable size, removing broken glass and keeping the handrails in working order for those who wish to ascend its heights. Even with the maintainance it is as disgusting as you might imagine. It’s a garbage pile!!! The story goes that the first settlers of Ketou, or whatever it was originally called, were being chased by another group. Nobody remembers who. When the settlers arrived they were told by the elders to bury a fetish and cover it with everything they owned. The only thing they had was garbage. The citizenry did as they were told. When the group that was chasing them arrived spirits emanated from the fetish, and garbage pile, to turn back the threat thus saving the populace and allowing Ketou to exist. Ever since, the plie, and fetish, has been maintained in case it is ever needed again. The good thing about the pile is that the top is the highest point in the city. It is not so high as to be a distinguishing feature of the city skyline but it does offer good views. When I get another camera (Did I mention that I lost mine along with my CD player and a few CDs?) I will go back and take a few pictures.
As if you haven’t figured it out by now with the talk of fetishes in the last two stories, voodoo is fairly widespread here. So are many other religions as well. There is a huge Catholic church, at least a dozen mosques that I have found so far, the local amalgam of Catholicism and voodoo; Christianisme Celeste, and a multitude of private, nondenominational churhes. None of these create any problems, other than noise during services, but it is unusual in my experience to see so many places of worship in an area this size. The population of Ketou is less than 40,000.
I have heard the bad news about the Sox (That’s the Boston Red Sox to all you foreign readers.). At least I won’t miss much this year like last I suppose. Hopefully there will be a lot to miss next year again though.
I have been able to post this because I am back in Cotonou for some administrative matters. Imagine, more paperwork for the Peace Corps. I have found an internet cafe (cyber) in Ketou. It is very expensive at 700 francs per hour so I probably won’t be using it often. I expect to be coming back to Cotonou once in a while, roughly monthly, so I can probably post something new about that often.
Alafia