Friday, November 5, 2010

Settling In--The Call to Prayer

I guess exhaustion and jet lag caused me to sleep like a baby my first night in Nigeria. The usual restlessness  I’ve felt, no matter the location, didn’t happen. Lights were turned out about 1 am and I must have fallen asleep immediately.  The next thing I remember was being awakened by a high pitched vocalization coming from somewhere in the area over an amplified system.

Adhan—the Islamic Call to Prayer occurs 5 times a day.  To me, the most notable call heard at dawn, (which has been around 5 am). ( Some muezzins, or prayer leaders ar more melodic than others. Yes, I do realize tonality is not the point)

At this point I am fully awake!  I’ll be returning to Bauchi today via Kano.  One of the vans which will be taken to Kano for service will pick me up at 6:30. Can you hear me singing “On the road again”??  I came for a week, stayed three and have thoroughly enjoyed my work here in Sokoto


Here is a sample of the call to prayer;




2 comments:

  1. Is the call to prayer in Arabic or Hausa? Sound and cadence so familiiar as in Turkey & Israel each morning I would just stare out of the window to to see people and listen. Very meaningful.

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  2. Ms. Anita -- What a pleasant surprise to learn you had moved to Africa. I hope you are having the time of your life and enjoying all of the experiences this journey has to offer. Moving to and teaching in Africa seems like such a wonderful experience. . .

    I look forward to reading more about your adventures.

    Safe travels,
    Nikisha W.

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