Beads

A bunch of us attended a free concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts this evening. The Hungarian Roma folk music group Parno Graszt graced us with their music and dance. It was excellent and so much fun! The concert was part of the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The performance at the Millennium Stage was really enjoyable and I especially loved the interactive element. I imagine that performers enjoy eliciting a response from their audience, and SAWIP did not hold back. We were all right in front of the stage by the end, dancing along to the wonderfully vibrant music. I am a huge fan of live music and today, this was just the after-work relaxation I needed.

In the row in front of me, a little girl sat. She hardly ever sat down, to tell the truth, most of the concert she was dancing in her seat. Her braids and beads were jubilant with her eyes glowing. It made the whole event more fun to me. She reminded me of another little girl I have shared music with, and would like to tell that story now.

In 2011 I travelled to Rwanda with 4 other students from Stellenbosch, all friends of mine who I hike with. We flew from Cape Town to Kigali and spent a wonderful 2 weeks in the Land of a Thousand Hills. Our budget was R150 a day, and most days we spent less than that. Our accommodation was mostly at lodges at a town church and we ate either food we bought on markets or in local “restaurants” similar to shebeens. We walked, took buses and hitch-hiked all around the tiny country in the Rift Valley of Africa. Many outstanding things happened to me during that trip. This story is about one of those.

During an afternoon in the town Butare, we walked into the Cathedral across the road from where we stayed. An Italian nun approached one of us and extended an invitation to the group to attend a mass the next morning. Two local girls would be taking their vows to become nuns. We thought it would be a good experience and arrived the next day, myself and the other girl in skirts with shawls wrapped around our shoulders. It was, in a sense, one of the most profound few hours of my life so far.

The mass we attended was over three hours long and we did not understand a word of the Kinyarwanda spoken. Yet I have never forgotten the rhythm of the chants of that day, nor the amazing power the smile of a child has. During the mass, a little girl came to sit next to me and held my hand for a long time. Her older sister remained at a distance but this girl was curious and just wanted the experience. She was open to seeing why we look different but was totally relaxed when she saw I also had lines on the palms of my hands. The acceptance she showed made me humble. It also showed me that we must never stop believing in the very principles of belief in God that I identify most strongly with in terms of my faith. If we accept each other and pass no judgement, we can walk hand-in-hand into the future. That energises me and continues to form part of how I make decisions and build relationships. The lack of this acceptance and attitude makes me sad sometimes and close-mindedness can slow me down, but at the end of the day, I am committed to keeping to this mind-set.