Village life (in Senegal)

I'm not sure what perception I had of village life before I left. I figured people wouldn't be so traditional as to be dressed in loin cloths and holding spears (that's even funny to think about). Senegal isn't that remote. Even though surrounded by the harshness of this environment, villages are little havens of peace, coolness, shelter, cooking, women dressed in bright fabrics, men tending to the animals (goats, sheep which look like goats, cows, horses, donkeys). Places of reprieve.

There are many different ethinc groups in Senegal. The dominant is Wolof, which is also the language that most people speak in their homes and on the streets while French is reserved for more formal settings (school, business, government). However, once we got into the northern regions, we encountered many Pulaar (also Peul) who are generally the nomadic animal herders. They live in the north during the rainy season when watering holes fill with water and the grasses turn greener, then when it dries, they move their families and homes on the back of donkey-drawn carts to the more south central areas which get more rain.

The pictures below are all of a Peul village.