When the rains come, the whole village works together
Ganikél: in the rainy season, nobody works their field alone. In Thiobo, the whole village goes from one family’s peanut field to the next — with the masks.
By Rita · · 3 min read · Thiobo, Senegal
When the rains arrive, the fields cannot wait. And in Thiobo, the village you see in this video, nobody works alone.
During the rainy season, the whole village comes together. One day everyone goes to one family’s peanut field, the next day to another — until every house has been helped. We call this work together ganikél.
Every house. Every field.
The work is hard: bending for hours under the sky, working the ground by hand. But nobody is left behind, and the atmosphere is incredible — you have to hear it to believe it.
Ganikél gan thiamera: communal work with the mask
In the video, you will also see figures covered in leaves walking among the workers. They are masks — thiamera. When the masks come to the field, the work has a name of its own: ganikél gan thiamera, “communal work with the mask”.
- Ganikél — communal work
- Thiamera — mask
- Gan thiamera — with the mask
Real people. Real stories. Real life.
This is what I want to show you: the moments that make a community. Watch the video, and tell me — is there something like this where you live?
Written by Rita
A Bédik woman from Kédougou, Senegal. About Rita
