MONDAY

My day at the office began as a productive one. With a few major projects this week, I was using the morning to get through as much of my ‘to do list’ as possible.

Part way through the morning, Razak came down to my office to let me know that we would be going to a funeral. The father of one of our presenters passed away and today was the second last day of funeral procedures.

In the station car (a station wagon…pun intended…but we really do have a station wagon), five of us headed over to the house. It was around fifteen minutes of driving before we pulled up to a grass covered driveway.

Standing along a wall near the parked car was a group of men in their 20’s and 30’s. As we approached them a few of the faces were familiar. We greeted them and took our spots leaning on the wall.

After a few minutes, we moved on from the spot into the centre of the housing compound where some tents and plastic chairs had been set up. A circle of chairs had been set up for us, so we took our seats in the shade. Within a few minutes we were directed to go around to the back of the compound. We approached a small gate where we took off our shows and stepped into an small area with mats covering the concrete floor. Sitting there were two older men that when stooped down to greet. We sat with him and the two other men with him for a few minutes and exchanged greetings.

Following the lead of my colleagues, I stepped into my sandals again and headed back to our circle of chairs. After a few more minutes we were lead to greet a circle of elder men. They were sitting in a similar circle of chairs, which we stooped before. We exchanged greetings, but did not make eye contact with them. Once again, I followed the lead and returned to our circle of chairs.

The last visit that we made was to a room where the widow of the man who passed (it may have actually been widows). We took of our shoes and exchanged greetings again. Of everyone that we greeted, the women were the warmest. All around the room one woman after the next would say ‘desba’ to which everyone replied ‘naaaaa’.

What caught my eye was the silky head ties that each woman was wearing. Being older, all of them had eyes that looked worn to their limits, with not much left. The lines in the faces looked like clear proof of hard work, though each woman had the lines of a smile engraved into their cheeks.

After greeting the women, we returned to our seats where we were offered soda and water. Over a stereo that had been set up we could hear the Qur’an being recited . Across from our circle of chairs was a bench with four old men sitting on it. The age in their faces and the radiance of their clothing, equally African and Islamic, appeared to be supremely photogenic.

After a few more minutes of sitting in our chairs (and after finishing my fanta), we were given a bag of take-away containers containing rice and stew.

Though we went to great care to greet everyone in order of their positions in the family and community, we did not say ‘bye’ to anyone. We just walked towards the car, and left with our food which we ate at the office.

Sunday will be the last day of the funeral and I should be there. As many funerals as I have attended in Toronto, this was a very new experience for me.