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This time it was to see women coming of age by reciting verses from the Koran. When the girls turn fifteen they must memorise parts of the Koran in the mosque, in one of the bigger villages nearby. The girls have to wear the religious clothes and enter the mosque to recite Koranic verse to the Imam. I was allowed into the mosque and time slipped as each of the girls fulfilled their religious duty. When the ceremony was completed, the girls left the mosque and were greeted by their relatives and we were also able to eat a small celebratory meal. The process of reciting the Koran now enables them to marry.When the ceremony and congratulations had finished, we all went back to the village. We were not there for long, as we were whisked away to another small village where a little girl was being given a Kina (gloathenna) party. It is a ceremony where the hands and feet are covered in henna, but the paint is wrapped in bandages.The difference between this and the other two celebrations I had attended was that it was an all women affair for the special part of the night. With the party slowly dying down, the little girl whom the festivities were for, was taken home. The women started to sing, and lit small candles. They kneaded the henna mix before applying to the child’s hands and feet.The little girl didn’t like the experience at first and cried when the paint was applied and the bandages were wrapped around her hands and feet. As the process continued, relatives came in and gave her money and some gold on a silver tray. The bandages had to stay on overnight as per village customs. It was another wonderful but exhausting day of shooting.29


































































































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