The West African Pirogue

Yesterday I went fishing with the Dietrich's. We caught a few and enjoyed the scenery. It was nice to get out and into the water. We left around 8:00 AM and got in around noon. It cost 10,000 CFA per person. While I was out on the water I started to inquire about purchasing a small pirogue. My parents just moved to a home on the Puget Sound and there is no dock. A pirogue would be perfect to paddle out on! Turns out that I could get a small one for around $200.00 dollars, which would include a sweet paint job.

After the fishing ended today, I walked around and took pictures of the unique design that each boat has. I think they came out great. They are so colorful!

• Wikipedia defines a pirogue is a: small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with West African fisherman.

Intresting Pirogue facts:

• Pirogues were used by Lewis and Clark on the Missouri River and westward from 1804-1806.
• The word comes from the Spainish word "piragua".

Senegal a Few Hundred Years Ago

St




Currently I am taking a course on primary sources. Basically, I am being led to primary documents that I can use in the classroom. The class is awesome! I have so many sources at week two, that my mind hurts when thinking about it. Looking at them all has also given me ideas to use in the classroom. Just this last week I had my students look at images of America during the 1930's to get a better understanding of the setting to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Primary documents rock!

What this class has also done for me, which I didn't expect, was better understand Senegal. Earlier this week I as clicking around on the Internet and found this incredible website from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery called Africana & Black History (that's a link). There they have primary documents from as early as the 1600's on different regions from Africa.

Looking at the images has made me realize that not a whole lot has changed and that I am living in history (does that even make sense?). I have photographs of some of the images above and nothing has changed. It's amazing! Seeing the images from the 1820's has helped me realize why I have some of the frustrations I do. This place is so different than anything I have ever experienced. How can I expect it to be anything like home? How can I expect locals to live like me?