It all starts with a piece of bubble gum

There is a strange (to me) Saturday morning tradition here.  Its nothing like the American tradition of waking up late then eating a bowl of Lucky Charms while watching cartoons.

It all starts with a piece of bubble gum.

This is your invitation to a baby-naming ceremony: a piece of bubble gum is handed to you about a week before the ceremony.

A baby-naming ceremony, sounds like fun right? It is, except for one thing. They are always on Saturday morning. And not late morning...traditional start time is 7 am!  And, unlike many things here, the party starts on time.

After working for 12 days without a break, we dragged ourselves out of bed this morning to attend the baby-naming ceremony (biki) of some friends of ours.  When we arrived, Luke stayed outside with all the men, while I went inside the compound with the rest of the women.

All the men sit outside in plastic chairs.

The women are inside the compound, cooking food (see the metal pot in the background) and going inside to meet the baby.

Holding the baby before the name has been announced.

This is also the time to give a gift (usually done by discretely handing the mom some cash- awkward) and then to receive a "party favor" which is usually a plastic bag containing some variation of popcorn, biscuits, and the ubiquitous Robot bubble gum.

When the preacher officiating the ceremony outside is ready to announce the name, the baby is whisked outside and the name is announced to all of the men. The news quickly spreads in to the women waiting inside.  Then we eat breakfast. With our hands.

Breakfast- meat sauce with chunks of tuwo (pounded rice).

Then, its over.  On our way home, Luke stopped to buy a more American-style breakfast.

The doughnut shop. Hot and Ready...just add sugar. (As opposed to the traditional chilli powder, oil, and beans.)