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Kuukausi: marraskuu 2011

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marras302011

Awful traffic

What is the most chaotic place on Earth? It has got to be Cotonou due to it’s 150 000 zemidjans in a city of one million people. And what is a zemidjan? It is a moto taxi usually driving recklessly and a profession for approximately every sixth or seventh person living in Cotonou. Zemis are also the source of massive amounts of exhaust gas in a city known to be one of the most poluted ones in West Africa. Not to mention the cause of death for numerous drivers and passengers every year (I‘ve never seen a zemi driver or a passenger wear a helmet in Benin, except for a few people that looked like American voluntary workers).

Busy streets and grey air of Cotonou by Jen

But guess what? The townhall of Cotonou has announced a new public transport system to be launched in the city in 2012. It will comprise 52 buses and over 200 bus stops. If this is really taking place, the buses will surely reduce the amount of zemidjans and their negative consequences in the city. The air in the city will hopefully be less grey and it’s habitants a little bit healthier.

But then again, how to find new jobs for the zemi drivers that will lose their clients to the buses?

More about this topic on Adjinakou (in French).

The get an idea about the traffic in Cotonou, take a look at the video on this blog.

marras282011

Afrikka vierailee taas Helsingissä / Africa visits Helsinki again

Afrikka-aiheinen Ars11 päättyi eilen, mutta helsinkiläiset saavat joulukuuksi peräti kaksi uutta Afrikkaa sivuavaa tai käsittelevää näyttelyä.

3. joulukuuta Villa Karon kevään 2011 stipendiaatti Antti Seppänen avaa Beninissä ja lähimaissa kuvaamaansa video- ja valokuvamateriaalia esittävän näyttelyn galleria Volgassa. Unien portit -nimeä kantava näyttely pujahtaa taiteilijan omiin uniin:

”Joku voisi väittää että kuvat olisi voinut lavastaa ja kuvata missä hyvänsä. Kuitenkaan kokemusta joka nämä näyt synnytti, ei olisi voinut lavastaa. Ehkä minun ei Afrikassa tarvinnut nähdä unia öisin, aika hereillä oli liian vahvaa. Mutta olinko sittenkään Afrikassa? En ole ihan varma. Nämä kuvat ovat portteja uniini. Ota avain ja astu sisään, ole hyvä.” – Antti Seppänen

Viettely - Seduction by Antti Seppänen.

2. joulukuuta avautuu Amos Andersonin taidemuseossa Mami Wata ja jumalan puupalikat -niminen näyttely. Se on kahden Villa Karon ystäville tutun keräilijän vuosien työn tulos. Juha Vakkuri ja Matti-Juhani Karila ovat tahoillaan keränneet mittavan kokoelman afrikkalaista taidetta monilla matkoillaan ympäri mannerta. Näistä esineistä koostuvan näyttelyn on koostanut kuraattori Tintti Timonen.

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This week is a real treat for friends of  West African art and culture living near Helsinki as two different exhibitions will be opening.

Villa Karo’s last spring’s scholarship holder, filmmaker Antti Seppänen will have an exhibition in Galleria Volga focusing on video footage and photographs depicting his dreamful experiences in West Africa.

In Amos Anderson museum will take place an exhibition presenting the works of two African art gatherers well known by friends of Villa Karo: Juha Vakkuri and Matti-Juhani Karila. Along with curator Tintti Timonen the two gentlemen are putting on display their favourite pieces, sacred and profane, collected from numerous travels in Africa.

Antti Seppänen : “Unien Portit” / “The Gates of Dreams”
3rd-23rd December
Galleria Volga
Museokatu 34
00100 Helsinki

Karila&Vakkuri: “Mami Wata ja jumalan puupalikat”
2nd December – 30th January
Amos Andersonin taidemuseo
Yrjönkatu 27
Helsinki 00100

marras212011

Helmi Kekkonen blogging on Benin

Finnish author Helmi Kekkonen is staying in Villa Karo as a scholarship holder and blogging about traveling in Benin on www.MTV3.fi. The blog is about her preparations prior to her trip and her experiences there as both a writer and a traveler.

How does Benin and Villa Karo look through Helmi’s eyes? To find out, click here.

And sorry! This is only for those of our readers who know Finnish…

marras182011

A Crash Course in Beninese French: Part II

As I already discussed in the first part of this writing, Beninese French is often used in a different way than European French. Here are some more useful tips for visitors of Villa Karo and Benin.

As words such as “bonsoir” sometimes find new meanings, expressions may also take new forms. That is the case of the exclamation “doucement!”. Literally this means “gently”, but the expression translates perhaps best into “behave yourself“ or “be more careful” in English. Whilst in France the phrase would be most often used by a authoritative figure such as a teacher to give immediate negative feedback to a raging pupil, that is not the case in Benin. Remember, that when you hear that word, it doesn’t mean that you’ve done something wrong. It’s merely something to say when, for instance, your napkin falls down from your knees. “Woops” would perhaps be the best translation. No need to apologize when you here it!

Phrases actually tell a lot about mentality. One of my favourites is the friendship- or deal-sealing “on est ensemble!” (Eng. “we are together!”). This one has multiple uses. It’s almost a substitute for goodbye. It’s a phrase to say when negotiations are going in a bad direction as a reminder that everybody want this deal to happen. It sometimes means “no problem” if you apologize for some harm that you’ve caused.

Another one I personally like very much is “le sang est rouge” meaning literally that blood is red. It has got something in common with “on est ensemble”, but this one is used when white and black people are doing business together. I’ve heard it as I’ve been bargaining at the market, in Grand-Popo, or discussing the rent with the landlord. Sometimes it is wise to state something that has real relevance: human beings come in many colours but blood is always red.