Don't tell mum I work on the rigs...

Reading this blog, one might get the impression that life is one big holiday over here. It's taken a while, but I've got off my bum finally and got a few pics of the real reason we're over here - work... Not quite the kind of tall tales the Paul Carter sprouts in his book "Don't tell mom I work on the rigs, she thinks I'm a piano player..." (haven't read it all, but some of it's quite funny)

Anyway, these were taken by George back in August during a stint out on a rig for one of her jobs

you can see quite a lot of cool stuff from out on the rigs and platforms, like sunrise over Mt Cameroon
or whales!! (seriously, they really are as big as busses)

Trip up North...

With the end of Ramadan upon us, Nigeria has paused briefly for a long weekend - particularly up North in the predominantly Muslim states. It's also the time of the year Durbars up at Kano and Katsina - one of the most sought after NFS trips on the calendar. George and I managed to make it onto the trip with thirty others. I won't get into it too much, other than to say that is was an absolutely amazing five days diving around - we took HEAPS of photos, so I've thrown plenty up below.

The Durbar festival dates back hundreds of years to the time when the Emirate (state) in the north used horses in warfare. During this period, each town, district, and nobility household was expected to contribute a regiment to the defense of the Emirate. Once or twice a year, the Emirate military chiefs invited the various regiments for a Durbar (military parade) for the Emir and his chiefs. During the parade, regiments would showcase their horsemanship, their preparedness for war, and their loyalty to the Emirate. Today, Durbar has become a festival celebrated in honor of visiting Heads of State and the culmination of the two great Muslim festivals, Id-el Fitri (commemorating the end of the holy month of Ramadan) and Ide-el Kabir (commemorating Prophet Ibrahim sacrificing a ram instead of his son).

The Durbars are held in a number of Emirates such as Katsina, Kano and Zaria. They usually begin with prayers outside town, followed by processions of horsemen to the public square in front of the Emir’s palace, where each village group, district, and noble house take their assigned place. Last to arrive is the Emir and his splendid retinue; they take up their place in front of the palace of receive the jahi, or homage, of their subjects. The festival ends with each group racing across the square at full gallop, swords glinting in the sun. They pass just few feet away from the Emir, then stop abruptly to salute him with raised swords.

The last and most fierce riders are the Emir’s household and regimental guards, the Dogari. After the celebrations, the Emir and his chiefs retire to the palace, and enjoyment of the occasion reigns. This fanfare is intensified by drumming, dancing and singing, with small bands of Fulanis performing shadi, a fascinating sideshow to behold.

Katsina Durbar

The Katsina Durbar is regarded as a more "rural" affair, not quite as fancy as the pomp and ceremony of the one in Kano. That said, it was a great family fun day, with the locals getting up close to the action and plenty of rides for the kids and street vendors etc. Personally, I thought it was a better day.

Young and old turned up in their thousands to see the festivities

plenty of fun for the kids

this guy was carrying this thing on his head all day... not quite an ipod, but hey

Part of the show of strength for each family involved a bunch of young guys with improvised weapons (some serious stuff - hoe made axes and swords etc) They'd mock-fight each other, and surprisingly, no-one actually got hurt.

The title of Emir is not a birthright - the successor being chosen by a group of wise folk called "the kingmakers" - it's therefore important for families to get their kids out into the public eye ASAP. So you see lots of tiny kids strapped to horses in the Durbars, I guess their parents are hoping that one day they might get a chance at the title...

The emir arrives under a fancy golden umbrella, surrounded by his guards etc

The emir give a rousing speech to the crowd!!

After the Durbar, we managed to get in to the palace and meet with the Emir's Prime Minister (the Emir himself is actually quite unwell at the moment, so he wasn't taking visitors)

Kano Durbar

The Kano Durbar is regarded as the Durbar in Northern Nigeria. This is the one that all the dignitaries turn up to see. We were up in the stand on the walls of the Emir's Palace with ambassadors etc - not so much a family day, but very fancy. There's a lot more money around these parts and you can see it in the horses and costumes...

It's still the same deal with parent's getting their kids all dolled up so that they can be seen in the right circles...

Whilst the Durbar ground is huge, the general public was not allowed in, masses of police and army folk keeping them outside the gates - a real pity really.

each family came through and presented themselves to the Emir

There were some seriously fancy costumes etc

some, however, were probably a little too fancy. More kind of Elton John going in to battle on a horse...

a future Emir...?

The Emir's cavalry made a grand entrance with plenty of explosions and dust raising as they literally stormed the parade ground - you wouldn't want to bump into these guys in a dark alley

Emir's Cavalry

Emir's Private guards

The Emir himself

The Emir gives a speech to the crowd

Each family gets to charge at the Emir at full pace to show their strength (one guy actually fell off)

The Emir's guards circled the Durbar ground and let off their ancient Dane guns that had been packed full with black powder... seriously loud stuff. After the thirtieth shot my ears started to hurt and my heart was skipping a few beats

I managed to get one the explosions on film - way too much black powder...

Hausa Villages

As well as catching up with the Kano and Katsina Durbars, we managed to get to a few local villages and check out some weavers, potters and some of the local dye pits. Here's a few pics.

Kano streets at sunrise

Beautiful sunset (unfortunately over an open sewer) in the Old City of Kano (Kurmi Market)

Doctors have a strange way of advertising around here. Why they need a picture of a woman vomiting is a bit beyond me (the picture on the other side of this sign was not fit to print... seriously) Anyway, he sounds like he's got most bases covered...

What's left of the Old City walls in Kano (built back in the 15th / 16th century - now being used as aggregate in concrete blocks by the local builders - no sense of history)

Believe it or not, this village makes pots

This amazing woman has been making pots since before I was born, and despite her age, she can turn a lump of clay into a perfectly round pot entirely by hand (no wheel or anything) in under 10 minutes!!

All the locals turned out to check out the rare "herd" of white folk

Local weaver

Everyone was dressed up during the various celebrations in the villages

The local kids chase our bus as we leave town