Proud Owner of a Goat (and a kid)

This week - I took my first step into the Fulani culture of haɓanaaye.

Haɓanaaye is the Fulani custom of giving a "loaner animal" to one in need. He who has a herd and sees the need of someone else can loan an animal (usually a cow, though occasionally a goat) to the one in need. The recipient of the "loaner animal" is now the proud owner of the calf born while the animal is in their possssion - as a means of starting their own herd and thus the ability to earn income. The one in need keeps the animal for a set period of time:

• cow - is loaned until the birth of a calf. If the first calf is a female, the cow is then returned to it's owner once the calf is weaned. If the first calf is a male, the cow is kept until the second calf is born, in the hopes of having a female calf; but whether the second calf is male or female, the cow is returned to it's owner. As well, the cow is returned after the birthing of a new calf and both the cow and this calf are returned to the original owner.
• goat - is loaned until the birthing of two kids. After this, the original mother goat is returned to its owner and the two kids belong now to the recipient of the "loaner animal".

So this week, I bought a haɓanaaye goat.

The purpose of this haɓanaaye is two-fold, and thus, I've created a bit of a twist to the traditional system:

1. The goat has been given to provide milk for a baby in a village whose mother has no milk. Souley is 4 months old and has been very sick, recently spending a month in the hospital being fed formula.


2. Once Souley is weaned, the goat becomes a traditional haɓanaaye in that his mother will become the owner of the current kid and the second kid to be born.
3. This goat and the third kid will then be returned to me as per Fulani custom - and, as I have no need for a goat herd, I will haɓanaaye again to another woman in need.

The goat and kid arrived at my house on Thursday evening, and I had fun on Friday with a little photo shoot - courtesy of Lisa Rohrick - so, I've attached a collage of photos, as I like a bunch and some make me laugh. I managed to get a few photos in both locations of just the goat and her kid (a much more difficult accomplishment in the second location - as all the Fulani children around run into viewing range whenever they see my camera pointing somewhere, anxious to be in every photo!)

My goat, the kid and I:

The goat and kid:

On Friday afternoon, I loaded the mother goat, her kid, and some goat food into the back of my truck and drove out the village area (edge of town). The mother of Souley was so excited to see the goat arrive! And she ran to the next courtyard to get her head wrap and Souley for pictures.

The arrival of the goat gained the attention of this small group of Fulani spread out in two courtyards and the group arrived in excitement to see the goat that had arrived - all happy for this mother and her child.

The mother's nickname is French: Bébé . . . I still don't know her real name. As the city Fulani will often refer to an infant with the French word bébé, it makes for a bit of confusion at times as I am never quite sure if someone asks me 'Have you seen bébé?' if they are referring to the mother or her child.

The village chief and his wife thanked me profusely for this gift of a haɓanaaye goat for Bébé. As I explained that once the goat was returned to me, I would like to give it to another woman in need, and again a third, and so forth - so that many women in their village would be blessed, they were speechless and then the thanks grew more profuse! It was the greatest display of emotion that I have seen in a culture that values not showing emotion.

When I returned on Saturday to these courtyards, I was told that my goat and the kid have names - based on the colouring of their hair:

Mama Goat: Eera

Kid Goat: Todda

The village chief also proudly proclaimed that both Friday night and that morning, the goat had been milked and Souley drank until he was full!! He then declared that it was good! I pray that this goat will produce milk for a long time so that Souley will both gain weight and no longer have stomach problems. And that from this loaner program, his mother, who comes from a poor family, will have a step up in life from the herd she can start with the two goat kids she will gain during the haɓanaaye.

Thank you to all those who contribute to my work specials - your donations make it possible for me to bless the Fulani as I see needs!