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Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village
by Sarah Erdman
from Henry Holt and Co.
A portrait of a resilient African village, ruled until recently by magic and tradition, now facing modern problems and responding, often triumphantly, to change
When Sarah Erdman, a Peace Corps volunteer, arrived in Nambonkaha, she became the first Caucasian to venture there since the French colonialists. But even though she was thousands of miles away from the United States, completely on her own in this tiny village in the West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire, she did not feel like a stranger for long.
As her vivid narrative unfolds, Erdman draws us into the changing world of the village that became her home. Here is a place where electricity is expected but never arrives, where sorcerers still conjure magic, where the tok-tok sound of women grinding corn with pestles rings out in the mornings like church bells. Rare rains provoke bathing in the streets and the most coveted fashion trend is fabric with illustrations of Western cell phones. Yet Nambonkaha is also a place where AIDS threatens and poverty is constant, where women suffer the indignities of patriarchal customs, where children work like adults while still managing to dream.
Lyrical and topical, Erdman's beautiful debut captures the astonishing spirit of an unforgettable community.
When Sarah Erdman, a Peace Corps volunteer, arrived in Nambonkaha, she became the first Caucasian to venture there since the French colonialists. But even though she was thousands of miles away from the United States, completely on her own in this tiny village in the West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire, she did not feel like a stranger for long.
As her vivid narrative unfolds, Erdman draws us into the changing world of the village that became her home. Here is a place where electricity is expected but never arrives, where sorcerers still conjure magic, where the tok-tok sound of women grinding corn with pestles rings out in the mornings like church bells. Rare rains provoke bathing in the streets and the most coveted fashion trend is fabric with illustrations of Western cell phones. Yet Nambonkaha is also a place where AIDS threatens and poverty is constant, where women suffer the indignities of patriarchal customs, where children work like adults while still managing to dream.
Lyrical and topical, Erdman's beautiful debut captures the astonishing spirit of an unforgettable community.
French Colonial Rule and the Baule Peoples: Resistance and Collaboration, 1889-1911 (Oxford Studies in African Affairs)
DREAMS & REVERIE
Michelin Map No. 747 Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire)
from French & European Publications Inc
Cote d'Ivoire: a Country Study (Area Handbook Series)
Un enfant d'Ussel, l'explorateur Marcel Treich-Laplene (Memoires et documents sur le Bas-Limousin)
Cote D'Ivoire Revue De L' Aide De LA Banque Mondiale Au Pays
from World Bank
Notes sur l'histoire economique et sociale de la region de Kokumbo, Baoule-sud, Cote d'Ivoire (Travaux et documents de l'O.R.S.T.O.M)
Chroniques ivoiriennes: Cent ans d'enseignement en Cote-d'Ivoire
La democratie par le haut en Cote d'Ivoire
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