#maulidi

HARIANACEH.co.id — CALANG, Wakil Bupati Aceh Jaya Tgk Maulidi meyerahkan  paket bantuan bahan sembako  untuk korban  kebakaran rumah  yang menimpa warga  Desa Sapek Kecamatan Seutia Bakti, Senin (30/03)

Paket bantuan tersebut merupakan hasil  sumbangan dari Dinas Sosial, Badan Baitul Mal, Setdakab Aceh Jaya Melalui Bagian Kesra dalam jajaran  Kabupaten Aceh Jaya

Tgk Maulidi dalam kesempatan…

This past week, Lamu held a celebration for the Islamic holiday of Maulidi, which celebrates the birth of Mohammad. Every year, thousands of Kenyans (and hundreds of international tourists) flock to Lamu, which holds one of the liveliest Maulidi celebrations on the East African coast. The island town raises prize money and hosts competitions for swimming, dhow (see above), and donkey races, bao tournaments, henna contests, and even a greased pole walk. 

We rearranged our trip to Kiwayu in order to attend, and I gotta say, it was pretty worth it. The whole town becomes much more lively with the addition of so many more people, and the events themselves are a blast to attend. Above is a snap of the greased pole competition. It is what it sounds like - the organizers stick a log out from the main pier in Lamu, grease it up, andmen compete to grab a flag from the end of the pole. It’s hilarious to watch people wipe out (hard, sometimes) over and over again. I definitely see Olympic potential here.

Maulidi was a blast, and a great way to cap off our time in Lamu. Today is our last full day in Lamu (also, today we have our final Swahili lesson with Reuben, our freakin’ fantastic teacher) - tomorrow we head back to Mombasa for our second homestay. While it will be nice to head back to a major city, these past few weeks in Lamu have been fascinating. Lamu is one of the more unique cities I’ve visited (and I’ve visited quite a few (GTROT)), with a flavor and culture totally unique to the Swahili coast. It’s narrow alleyways and surprisingly large donkey population are pretty foreign to my Tennessee roots, but the time we spenthere honestly just makes me want to come back. 

However, next time, maybe I’ll stay in a place that has hot running water.