More on the Durma trip (Homestay #5)

Mercy with the water

One post was not sufficient for our time amongst the Durma.  We experienced so much and are still processing the needs and things we saw.  We carried some water with us for Pastor Boniface because water is a huge problem for the people out there.  He has the roof of his house set up to capture rainwater into a large tank but this does not last. 

More photo's from the drive

Woman at work

Part of our time there we were able to see a small piece of Durma traditional life. The house below is a traditional Durma house. It's quite large and very strong. 

Inside the house they create a storage section in the top.  The storage is about half as long as the actual building.  In the storage they put their maize.  Then under the store is the kitchen.  The women do the cooking below and the smoke and the heat from the fire underneath the store work as a way to dry out the maize and keep it preserved from bugs.  It is really ingenious!

Here is a way they keep their goats from getting diseased and sick.  The build their pen up off the ground and the droppings fall through the cracks in the floor.  They explained this kept the dudu away (a bug) that adversely affects the goats. 

 

Below is a picture of a place of ancestral worship.  This was just down a very short path away from the goats.  A important man of the community died some 60 years ago and was buried in this spot.  They now honor this man by having a building built over him and coming here to worship.  We had many questions when we saw this place.  The blanket covering the grave has a purpose.  It is because they are concerned that the dead man will get cold!  There are actually a couple blankets stacked together and pegged down over the grave.   The white cloth you see over the blanket was actually a cloth the man used while he was alive.  They keep it to honor him.  

Here Pastor Boniface is trying to explain to us all the details of the place.  Unfortunately, we didn't catch everything.  Again, you can see the white cloth drapped over a big stone at the foot of the grave.  The stone represents the man buried there.  The other posts in the ground represent lesser men but still important that were buried after this man.  They have their burial places in different locations.  There is cloth wrapped around all the posts.  Each cloth represents a tribe of people and I think from my understanding the gods that go with each group.  Then, you can see something like a cup in the ground in front of the posts.  That is where when the villagers come and worship they pour incense or tea, at least some kind of liquid to offer to the dead.  It is obvious this place still holds much power over the people as the building erected over the grave was quite new and would not have been cheap for the people out there.  These are some of the challenges Boniface faces as he serves out in this area.  One of the churches we visited is a very short walk away from this spot.  Pray for the Durma people and that God would reveal His Son Jesus Christ to them.